Starting the Stockpile

Ok. I have to confess that until recently, I did not see the logic behind "stockpiling." Well, now I do. If something is dirt cheap, or better yet free, get a mess of them! Then, when you need it later, you don't have to spend full price. In order to avoid hoarding, simply acquire what you need for the next couple of months (the likely length of time before you can get that item for free again.) Or, better yet, when you have stocked up what your family can use, start donating! I can't wait to put together a box of full-size health and beauty products to take to the Rescue Mission.

So, here's some of my shopping this week to add to the "stockpile."

CVS:

Skintimate Moisturizing Cream Shave or Gel, 6-10 oz $3.49
Buy 1, Receive $2.50 Extra Bucks, Limit 1
$0.55/1 Skintimate Shave Gel from SS 3/27
Pay $2.94, Receive $2.50 Extra Bucks
Final Price: $0.44 (Bummer that the limit on this was one, but what a great deal!)

Stove Top Stuffing, 6 oz $0.77
$0.50/1 Stove Top Stuffing – (coupons.com)
Final Price: $0.27 each (I did this twice for a total of $0.54)

Clean and Clear Body Wash $2.99
Use Buy One Get One Free coupon from SS 3/27
and Use $2.00/1 Clean and Clear Product
Final Price: 2 for $0.99

Buy 4 Axe Shower Gel $4.50
Use 2 B1G1 Axe Shower Gel or Detailer from RP 3/27
Pay $9.00, Receive $5.00 Extra Bucks
Final Price: $1.00 each

I really wanted to do the KCL deals for Pledge, Physicians Formula, and Halls Cough Drops, but I just haven't been doing this long enough to have the necessary coupons.

I had ECBs from last week's purchases. (See previous posts.) That's the great thing about CVS- if you buy the right items with the right coupons, you can spend next to nothing on your purchases- just roll the ECBs to the next week! You cannot, however, pay tax with ECBs, so today for 6 bodywashes, 2 boxes of stuffing mix, and some shave gel, I paid $1.88!!! That was literally the change out of my van. A savings of 96%, plus I received $7.50 in new ECBs for next time. ;)

Rite-Aid:

American Greeting Card $0.99, buy 3
Use $3.00/3 – American Greeting Cards from Rite Aid Ad 3/27
Final Price: Free

Northern Ultra Toilet Tissue, 12 Pk $11.99

Sale $6.49 with Card (I would normally wait for a coupon to sweeten the deal, but if you need toilet paper.....)

I really wanted to do the KCL deal for Tums, but they did not have the type specified on the coupon I had. Not sure if they would have taken it anyway. Maybe I should have tried? I'm still new at this. ;) Obviously, the toilet paper brought my total savings down. I paid $6.99 which is a savings of 55%. Not bad!

Walgreens:

Huggies Wipes, 64 or 72 pk $2.50
$0.50/1 Huggies Baby Wipes, any 64 ct. or larger from SS 3/20
Final Price: $2.00 (again, this is not earth-shattering savings, but I will take it since we need wipes.)

2 Popcorn Snack, $0.75 each

Sale, $0.25 each

With tax, I paid $3.47, that's a 40% savings.

It's hard to remember that you don't have to go after every deal. It's also hard to accept when there is a deal that you want to go after, and you don't have the right coupons. There is always another sale tomorrow. Happy saving!

Link to The Krazy Coupon Lady

84% Savings Today. Get Saving!

If you're not already following www.thekrazycouponlady.com, start. This week she started a new blog feature that will show what deals she is going after, and she's going to start a "stockpile" from scratch. I've decided to follow her plan, adding and subtracting a few deals here and there to meet our needs, of course. ;)

Today's savings included a few special items that may not appeal to you, but you'll get the idea. If any of these sound good to you, jump in! Couponing is easy.

CVS:

2 Boxes of Wheat Thins, Reg $7.78/2, Sale $4/2, Used 2 Facebook coupons $1/1, Paid $1/ea

2 Boxes of Triscuits, Reg $8.58/2, Sale $4/2, Used 2 Facebook coupons $1/1, Paid $1/ea

2-12pack of Coke Zero, Reg $11.98/2, Sale $8.67 (usually wouldn't buy w/o coupon, but it triggered a $5 Extra Care Bucks, so it was really like paying $3.67 for 2-12 packs)

5 ct Allegra, Reg $7.29, Sale $6.99, Used web coupon $2/1, Paid $4.99 (this also triggered ECBs)

7.8oz Crest ProHealth toothpaste, Reg $5.49, Clearance $1.37, Used coupon fm paper $0.75/1, Paid $0.62

Total Value of Items: $43.54

Paid Out of Pocket: $11.70 (in addition to the coupons, I used $9 in Extra Care Bucks earned last week to get my total so low)

New Extra Care Bucks Received: $11.99

Total Cost: I actually made $0.29! Plus I got $9.25 in new coupons! (Don't forget to scan your Extra Care Card at the kiosk. Keep scanning until it says, "No more coupons available." This means you've received 1 of every type being printed at this time.)

Target:

Circo Socks for baby, Reg $1, Target coupon $1/1, Free!

Soft Scrub Total, Reg $3.49, Sale $2.49, Used $1.50/1 web coupon & $1/1 Target Coupon, Free!

Revlon eyelash curler, Reg $4.49, Used $2/1 web coupon & $2/1 Target Coupon, Paid $0.49

Exedrin 50 ct, Reg $5.99, Used $1/1 web coupon & $3/1 Target Coupon, Paid $1.99

Rimmel Mascara (deal is still going, so why not stock up?) Reg $2.99, Used $2/1 web coupon, Paid $0.99

Lunchables, Reg $2.50/ea, Sale 4/$5 + buy 4, get 1 free, Paid $1/ea (obviously bought 5)

Trident Layers gum, Reg $1.29 each, Used BOGO coupon fm paper & $1/2 Target coupon, Paid $0.30 for 2

Shadow Box Craft Kit (This was simply something I found on a clearance end-cap and snagged for a Christmas present. Always check the end-caps for great clearance items at Target!), Reg $14.99, Clearance $3.74

Total Value of Items: $50.08

Total Cost: $15.62 plus I received $10.50 in new coupons

Daily Total: $93.62 worth of merchandise for $15.33!

That's an 84% savings!

I can't wait to see how I can match up my $19.75 in new coupons with in-store sales to get more free stuff!!!

Free. That's right. I said free.

Here's how I got all this for free...

Step 1: Took in recycling. 2 bags of cans, and 3 bags of plastic bottles = $12. I know recycling seems like small potatoes sometimes, but when you are "extreme couponing," you only need a little bit of "seed" money to roll from week to week.

Step 2: Dug out my $5 Target Gift Card from purchasing participating products last week. (See previous post.)

Step 3: Organize coupons and make a plan of attack. (See below for what worked in Bako.)

Step 4: Earn Extra Care Bucks from buying participating products this week.

Here's what I bought...

CVS:

Irish Spring Body Wash, Sale $2.98, Used $0.50/1 coupon fm Sunday paper, Paid $0.99

Aussie Gel (7oz) and Aussie Mousse (6.8oz), Sale 2/$5.97, Used BOGO coupon fm Sunday paper, Paid $2.99

Frosted Mini Wheats, Sale $1.88/ea

Special K Red Berries, Sale $1.88/ea

Clean and Clear Body Wash, Sale $2.99, used $2/1 fm www.cleanandclear.com, Paid $0.99

Betty Crocker Fudge Brownie Mix, Sale $1.99

Total $9.51, Used $5.00 Extra Care Bucks, Received $9 Extra Care Bucks back

So, actually, I made $4.49! Plus I got several coupons from the kiosk up front.

Target:

Mitchum Deodorant, Reg $3.44, Sale $2

Up & Up Ibuprofen (24 ct), Reg $1, Used $1/1 Target coupon, Paid $0.00

Cover Girl Foundation, Reg $6.99, Used $1/1 coupon fm Sun paper, plus $1/1 coupon, Paid $4.99

One-a-day Vitamins, Sale $7, Used $1/1 coupon fm coupons.com, plus $2/1 Target coupon, Paid $4

Total $13.19, Used $5 Gift Card fm last week, Cash Paid $8.19, Taken fm recycling money, so my true total, $0.00!

77% off!!!

Here's my haul for the week and how I did it...

Albertson's (if you're not checking the clearance shelf at the back of the produce section, you're not maximizing your savings.):

Febreze Luminary- Reg Price $16.99, Clearance $1.99

Glade Plugin with refill- Reg Price $2.29, Clearance $1.09

Three packs Organic Whole Wheat Pasta- Reg Price $3.49, $3.69, & $3.69, Clearance $0.75/ea

Ghirardelli Coffee (peppermint mocha)- Reg Price$11.99, Clearance $5.99

Torani Sugar Free Pumpkin Spice coffee syrup- Reg Price $5.69, Clearance $2.75

(BTW-The total savings for my grocery shopping trip was 41%)

Target (You can use 1 Target coupon and 1 manufacturer coupon per item. stack this savings on top of in-store deals and sales for maximum results!):

75 oz Tide- Reg Priced $11.99, on sale for $9.99, used mfr coupon $0.35 off, paid $9.64

Tide Stain Release Spray- Reg Priced $4.49, used mfr coupon for buy 75 oz Tide, get this free (unfortunately the max value of the coupon was $3.99, so I paid $0.50)

C9 Cotton shorts- Reg Priced $7.99, on sale for $6, received $5 Gift Card for purchasing in conjunction with Tide, true cost $1

Coffeemate- Reg Priced $2.39, on sale for $1.79 (Good lesson here about printing coupons online. I missed the opportunity to get this for $0.79. Do your research!)

SatinCare Shave Gel- Reg Priced $2.19, On sale for $1.89, used mfr coupon for $0.55 coupon, paid $1.34)

Ponds 30 count Facial cleansing Wipes, Reg Priced $3.19, used 1 Target coupon for $1.50/1 and 1 mfr coupon for $1.50/1, paid $0.19

Received my $5 Gift Card and two $1 coupons at the register.

CVS (Sign up for an Extra Care Card and make sure the cashier scans it every time you check out. You will earn rewards that can be used like cash.):

2 Dole 4-packs of fruit cups- Reg Priced $2.99, On sale for $1.67/each, used 2 $0.50/1 mfr coupons, paid $1.17 each

2 Trident Vitality Gum packs, Reg Priced $1.29, On Sale for $1.00, Used mfr BOGO coupon, paid $0.50 each

Crest Prohealth Toothpaste- Reg Priced $5.49, On Sale for $2.74, Used mfr coupon to discount $1.29, paid $1.45

I received two $5 off/$25 purchase coupons. One at the coupon kiosk, and one at the register.

Total Value- $94.12

Total paid OOP (out of pocket)- $38.32

Value of coupons and gift cards received for qualifying purchases- $17.00

True Cost- $21.32

Savings percentage- 77%!!!!!!!!

Dallas in Wonderland

Call me a procrastinator. We just went to the first birthday party for our nephew Beckam a week and a half ago, and I realized that I never posted pictures of my sister-in-law's baby shower. /here's a quick look at Dallas in wonderland....

Invitations by one of my favorite Etsy sellers Viva la Violette. They are printed backwards so you can only see them "through the looking glass."

It's a little hard to see in this picture, but I painted cutouts of several Alice in Wonderland characters to stick around the lawn. Trees were decorated with paper lanterns.

Good food is a must..

Of course, we had to reference the movie everywhere!

Long tables were set for a Mad Hatter tea party. Centerpieces were mismatched teapots filled with silk flowers.

The Mommy-to-Be got lots of great gifts!

Favors were little jars of jam for home tea parties, you know, just in case your doormouse freaks out. :)

Dahubby and I with the Mommy-to-Be. What a fun day!