Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Rite Aid.....BOGO MANIA! Free StayFree with Qs this week!

I rolled out of bed on Sunday morning.....Nay, I LEAPT out of bed Sunday morning!
Why?
Because I wanted to get to Rite-Aid bright and early to take advantage of a really nice couponing opportunity there this week.

Seems Rite-Aid had StayFree pads on a BUY ONE GET ONE FREE Sale this week.
And having glanced through the list of coupons coming out in the Sunday newspaper inserts I noticed a BUY ONE GET ONE COUPON for StayFree Pads.
Hmmmmm......BOGO Sale+BOGO Q=FREE Stuff!

So grabbed the insert from the newspaper hubby had bought that morning before I got up & going, 2 $5 off $25 Rite-Aid IP Qs I had printed off, and my trusty scissors and headed out the door with my coupon binder.

Having seen this week's Rite-Aid sales flyer online, I pulled a few Qs from my binder before heading into the store.
I grabbed 3 newspapers to purchase and pulled out the inserts and clipped those StayFree Qs.
Yes, I have no shame.
Here is what I bought....


Transaction #1
3x Newspapers @$1.50=$4.50
8x StayFree Pads on sale BOGO($3.99)=$15.96
1x Degree Clinical on sale $6.99
Subtotal $27.45
Tax $.36

Coupons Used
$5 off $25 Rite-Aid Q=$5.00
4x StayFree Pads BOGO=$15.96
1x Degree Deodorant $1.00
Total $21.96

$27.45-$21.96=$5.85OOP

Hauled this out to the car and went back in....

Transaction #2

3x Newspapers @$1.50=$4.50
6x StayFree Pads on sale BOGO($3.99)=$11.97
2x Carefree Pads on sale BOGO($3.99)=$3.99
1x Degree Clinical on sale $6.99
4x Band-Aid(antibiotic ones) BOGO($4.49)=$8.98
Subtotal $36.43
Tax $.36

Coupons Used
$5 off $25 Rite-Aid Q=$5.00
3x StayFree Pads BOGO=$11.97
1x Carefree Pads $1/2=$1.00
1x Degree Deodorant $1.00
4x Band-Aid $1/1=$4.00
Total $22.97

$36.79-$22.97=$13.82OOP

The actual OOP was $.00 because I used Rite-Aid Gift Cards I had from previous Single Check Rebate deals I had submitted.

I will get back $10 for the 2 Degree Deodorants I bought(2x$5 SCRs) and the StayFree, Carefree & Band-Aids all qualify toward SCR #160(purchase $50 of select J&J products and get a $25 Gift Card). I have $40.90 already so only $9.10 more to purchase to get that Gift Card. Maybe some more StayFree(I have 1 more BOGO Q left)or some more Bandaids or some Listerine, which would also get me another SCR of $1 besides qualify toward the $25 Gift Card. I'll have to figure which is the least cost vs. most return for the money.
I've still got about $10 left on 1 Gift Card so whichever I pick, I'm playing with FREE Money! ;-)

I'll update later this weekend when I get the time to get online.
I've got important family business to deal with the next few days so I won't be hanging around online.
See ya'll soon!

Sluggy

CleanseFest....Thar She Blows!!!


What can I say?
The CleanseFest at Chez Sluggy has been prematurely ended.
I was doing well with Phase One-the Slim Fast Week.
No Problems there......well, except for all the sweetness.
After 4 days of what was to be a WEEK of Phase One, because of conditions beyond my control, we moved to Phase Two-the Lemon Cleanse Week waaay ahead of schedule.

I lasted 2 DAYS.....ok, a few hours shy of 2 FULL Days on Phase Two before I threw in the Towel.

I rather enjoyed subsiding on nothing but pure water & lemon or lime with water. The hunger pains got to me a tad but I could deal with that.
I could also take the maple syrup added to the lemon water, no problem.
I didn't care for the cayenne pepper I was suppose to add(just a pinch!)to the lemon water but I could put the cayenne into capsules and take it that way to get around having a perpetual mouth on fire.
Straight pepper and I don't get along too well....
But.....

This whole deal of a Sea Salt Oral Enema first thing each morning was the deal breaker!!!
Yes, I was required to mix 2 teaspoons of sea salt into a quart of water(lukewarm)each morning upon rising and drink it down. It is suppose to shoot through your system and get 'things' moving, if you catch my drift.
O.
M.
G.

I tried.....really I did!
I got it down the first morning. Then I sat for 2 hours trying NOT to throw up. I kept it down but I was soooo nauseous for most of the day. Which made me a tad crankier than usual and did NOT lead me to get things done as planned.

And without getting too graphic, let's just say it had no ENEMA AFFECT on me, as it was suppose to.

The morning of Day Two I started feeling queasy just thinking about having to down another quart of tepid sea salt water. Daughter came downstairs on Day Two, took one look at me sitting there about to drink that glass of briny hotness and declared that she was quitting!
What a rat!!! So much for the Cleansing Buddy system!
She said she would cheer me on though......gee, thanks......what a kid! 8-P

Since my brain knew what was coming, every time I tried to put the glass to my lips, my gag reflex would kick in.
So, I tried putting some sea salt on the back of my tongue and washing it down with some plain water. I figured it would mix and dissolve on the way down my gullet and have the same affect down below(or not have the affect, as it didn't the day before). It was a little easier to stomach getting the salt and water down this way for me.
After 15 min. or so I had polished off the quart of H2O and the salt.
So I sat......and waited.......and waited......waited for those all too familiar waves of nausea. And they came and they screamed at me, "I'm not staying down!"
And I bolted for the bathroom and hurled FOUR quarts & swamped Mr. Tidy Bowl Man's little boat.

I stayed on the Lemon Water Concoction for the rest of the day before sending up the White Flag of surrender.

Lemon Cleanse 1
Sluggy 0

So, I'm going back to my Phase One regime for now and will contemplate another method to irrigating my innards that isn't something out of the Marquis de Sade Playbook.

I don't have a scale so I don't know if or how much actual weight I lost(if any), but I do feel better....not from the experience of drinking sea salt water but from the whole giving my gastrointestinal tract a bit of a break. The fasting part of this ordeal is something I want to do again and for a longer time when things here settle down a bit. We've got some stuff going on which is not going to let me doing any fasting for the time being.
We'll continue with this Project in some other form, in the near future hopefully.

Sluggy

Saturday, June 27, 2009

Shop Rite Week of 6/21 Kraft,Unilever & General Mills PROMO DEAL Results


Shop Rite is running a Promotional Deal that calls for you to buy up to $120 of Kraft, Unilever &/or General Mills products. Depending on how much you purchase, you get a $off Coupon good on your next order. The most you can get is $40 worth of catalinas(you will get them in $5 increments). You don't have to complete the deal in one trip and you have 2 Weeks(until July 4th)to make your purchases. You can read more about the details Here.

Anyway, all the coupons I had traded for had arrived, so daughter and I took the hike to Shop Rite on Friday.
I purchased more than just the Cat Promo items, as there were some other good deals & I had coupons for those too.
Here's the big list of everything we bought. Everything was bought in 2 trips/transactions....except for 2 bottles of barbeque sauce.(More on that later.) I have highlighted the items that qualified for the Kraft/Unilever/General Mills Deal in green.

Items purchased & not pictured below are...10 Kool-aid packets, 13 produce items, 4 packages of hot dogs & 30lb. of fresh meat.




8 Kraft Mac&Cheese on sale .86¢=$6.88
2 Country Time Lemonade Mix on sale $1.99=$3.98
30 Knorr Rice/Noodles Sides on sale $1.25=$37.50
1 Fiber One Yogurt 4 pack on sale $2.00
2 Cheerios Cereal on sale $2.50=$5.00
2 Chex Cereal $3.49=$6.98

2 Fiber One Cereal on sale $2.99=$5.98
3 Fiber One Chewy Bars on sale $2.99=$8.97
12 Barbeque Sauce on sale $.89=$10.68
8 A-1 Sauce on sale $2.99=$23.92
2 Taco Bell Shells on sale $1.99=$3.98
8 Santa Cruz Organic Lemonade on sale $1.39=$11.12
3 Hefty Kitchen Bags on sale $5.99=$17.97
4 Bumble Bee Tuna on sale $1.00=$4.00
10 Kool-aid Packets on sale $2.00/10=$2.00
1 5lb bag Sugar on sale $2.99
4 Marcal Facial Tissue $1.59=$6.36
2 Schick Razor 15 Packs $6.99=$13.98
12 Limes on sale $1.99
1 Coconut on sale $2.00
1 Sausage Patties $2.49
1 Ground turkey $2.67
4 Ground Turkey $2.65=$10.60
2 Ground Turkey $2.63=$5.26
1 Ground Turkey $2.61
1 Ground Beef $11.52
1 Ground Beef $11.80
4 Hebrew National Hot Dogs sale $2.50=$10.00
Subtotal.....$235.23
Tax.....$3.05
$238.28

Coupons Used....
2 Kraft Mac&Cheese B3G1=$1.72
1 Country Time Lemonade Mix $1.50/2=$1.50
10 Knorr Rice/Noodles Sides Asstd. Qs/some doubled=$6.00
1 Fiber One Yogurt 4 pack $1/1=$1.00
2 Cheerios Cereal $.55/1 doubled=$2.00
2 Chex Cereal $1/1=$2.00

2 Fiber One Cereal $1/1=$2.00
2 Fiber One Chewy Bars $.45/1 doubled=$1.80
12 Barbeque Sauce $.75/1 doubled to $1.00=$12.00
8 A-1 Sauce $2/1=$16.00
8 Santa Cruz Organic Lemonade $.75/1 doubled to $1=$8.00
3 Hefty Kitchen Bags $1/1=$3.00
4 Bumble Bee Tuna $1/1=$4.00
1 Kool-aid Packets $.50/10 doubled=$1.00
4 Marcal Facial Tissue FREE Item Q=$6.36
1 Schick Razor B1G1=$6.99

I also had these DOUBLE DIP & Other Coupons....
1 $2.00 off Sugar Purchase when you buy 10 Kool-aid Packets=$2.00
6 $2.50 off Meat Purchase when you buy 5 Knorr Sides=$15.00
10 $2.00 off Meat Purchase when you buy 2 Kraft Items=$20.00
And there was an Instant Savings on the Schick Razor Packs of $1.50=$3.00
$2.00 off OYNO Q for buying the Razors, used on trip #2=$2.00
$5.00 off OYNO Q from the K/U/GM Deal, obtained on trip #1, used on trip #2=$5.00
Coupon Total.....$122.37

$238.28-$122.37=$115.91 TOTAL Out of Pocket


And I have $35 in OYNO Catalinas(the balance of the $40 in Cats I got for the K/U/GM Deal) & 2 FREE Gallon of MILK Coupons(for buying 6 GM cereals) to use for my next trip to Shop-Rite.

Add that $44 worth of future free products and I got a Total Value of $282.28 worth of groceries for $115.91!

I was .88¢ short of the $120 needed to get the $40 in Catalinas for the K/U/GM Deal after 2 trips, so I sent daughter in to buy 2 more BBQ Sauces for Zero out of pocket, so my grand total OOP for the K/U/GM items was $63.38.
Add the $44 of FREE $$ Cats I still have for buying the K/U/GM things, and I am technically OOP only $19.38 for that $120 of product!

I misread the Fiber One deal and bought 3 Chewy Bars but they didn't count toward the 4 items to get the free Chewy Bars, so I didn't get the free Chewy Bars.argh I might have to return the 1 Chewy Bars that I didn't have a coupon for.....the one I thought would be free.
Lesson to self.....read the fine print!
And the Coconut was rotten.....lesson to daughter, don't buy fresh coconuts in PA.

The best deals were the free items.....Marcal Tissues, Tuna Fish, Kraft BBQ Sauce. Also very good deals were the Santa Cruz Lemonade(.39¢), the A-1 Steak Sauce(.99¢), 5lb. sugar(.99¢), Kool-Aid(.10¢ea.),Cheerios($1.50 for a BIG box), Kraft Mac/Cheese(.64.5¢), & all that FREE MEAT! ;-)) The best "Get Meat when you buy" deals were pairing the meat Q with buying 2 BBQ Sauce, since the Qs I had for the Sauce made both the Meat and the Sauce FREE! Gotta love that.....

Be sure to get to Shop-Rite this week and pair your coupons with the sale prices to get some awesome deals!

Sluggy

CVS Shopping June 21-27 Week Soy Joy & Always

Daughter & I made various stops at assorted CVS stores this week. I think we hit 8 stores in our travels during the week so we didn't wipe out any one store of Infinity pads. We did take the last 2 boxes at one store tho.... 2 stores were already wiped out of them before we got there.
We have TONS of CVS stores around here....I never realized until this week just how many!lol
For brevity's sake, here are the totals only. We had a card each so it's all combined for both cards.
I had 20 BOGO Qs for all the Soy Joy Bars, so 10 of them were free and didn't use any ECBs.
Also had $4/1 Infinity Qs and $1/1 ThermaCare Qs for the Heat Pads that gave ECBs. Everything else purchased beyond these things was filler so we could use ECBs instead of cash.

40 Soy Joy Bars
4 Therma Care Wrap
9 Always Infinity Boxes
**Not Pictured**
1 T-Shirt on clearance $1.49
1 Arizona Iced Tea $.99
1 Stride Gum 3 pack on sale $2.00
1 Cayenne Pepper clearance $.99


Total Spent OOP...$3.46
Total Coupons Used...$60.00
Value of Items bought...$169.63(reg. prices)
Savings of......98%
ECBS Used...$36.40
ECBs Received...$49.96

So I was able to roll most of the ECBs I had and I don't have to worry about darkening the door of a CVS until July 18th or so.lol

Sluggy

WAGS Shopping June 24th It's Toothpaste Week

I had more RRs to roll before they expired, so I hit WAGS this past Wednesday when I was out taking daughter to the Orhtodontist.
The only Freebie this week was the Aquafresh Toothpaste. I didn't have any Aquafresh Qs for the Sunday inserts and only could manage 2 measly IP Qs.....so not so much Toothpaste for me this week. I've only got about......150 tubes, so no worries! ;-))



Transaction #1

1x Aquafresh Toothpaste $3.00
1x Rolaids Soft Chews $2.99
8x One-A-Day Vitamin Drink clearanced .75¢=$6.00
SubTotal $11.99
Tax $.00

Coupons Used
Aquafresh IP Q $1.00
Rolaids $1.00
2xOne-A-Day off any product $3/1=$6.00
Total
$8.00

$11.99-$8=$3.99

RRs Used
$3

$3.99-$3=$.99OOP
RRs Received $3(Aquafresh),$2(Rolaids)


Transaction #2

3x John Frieda Shampoo $5=$15.00
1x Rolaids Soft Chews $2.99
1x Aquafresh Toothpaste $3.00
2x Lip Balm clearanced .75¢ea.=$1.50
Subtotal $22.49
Tax $.99

Coupons Used
3x John Frieda $3/1=$9.00
1x Rolaids $1/1 $1.00
1x Auqafresh $1/1 IPQ $1.00
Subtotal $11.00

$23.48-$11.00=$12.48

RRs Used
$5RR(from last JFrieda), 3x $2=$11RR

$12.48-$11=$1.48OOP
Received RRs $5(JFrieda),$3(Aquafresh), $2(Rolaids)


Transaction #3

1x Rolaids Soft Chews $2.99
12x One-A-Day Vitamin Drink clearanced .75¢=$9.00
1x Mint Drops clearanced $.15
SubTotal $12.14
Tax $.01

Coupons Used
Rolaids $1.00
3x One-A-Day off any product $3/1=$9.00
Total
$10.00

$12.15-$10=$2.15

RRs Used
$2

$2.15-$2=$.15OOP
RRs Received $2(Rolaids)

GRAND TOTAL
OOP Spent $2.62
Q & Sale Savings $70.19
RRs Used $16.00
RRs Received $17.00
Value of Items $72.81
Savings of 96.4%


Each of those One-A-Day Drink Powder boxes has 2 straws of mix. 18 boxes is 36 packets of mix. Gee, I'll be about the most vitamin packed gal around these parts!lol


Sluggy

WAGS Shopping Catch-Up June 19th Body Wash & Cake

I had more RRs to roll before they expired, so I hit WAGS June 19th.



Transaction #1

St. Ives Body Wash $2.99

Used $1.50 Q from Sunday inserts a few weeks back

$1.49+ $.18 tax=$1.67OOP
Received $3RR



Transaction #2

2x Cakesters $5 (on MegaSaver for June)
1x Rolaids Soft Chews $2.99
1x Toothpick Holder clearanced .29¢
Subtotal $8.28
Tax $.02

Coupons Used
2x Cakesters $1/1 -$2.00
1x Rolaids $1/1 -$1.00
Subtotal $3.00

$8.30-$3.00=$5.30

Used $5RR(last meter RR)

$5.30-$5=$.30OOP
Received RRs $3Kraft, $2Rolaids

Transaction #3

1x St. Ives Body Wash $2.99
1x Walgreens Shopping Bag $.99
Subtotal $3.98
Tax $.20

Coupons Used
1x Wags IVF Q for Shopping Bag -$.65
Subtotal $.65

$4.18-$.65=$3.53

Used $3RR

$3.53-$3=$.53OOP
Received RRs $3St Ives

Transaction #4

2x Cakesters $5 (on MegaSaver for June)
1x M&Ms filler $.69
Subtotal $5.69
Tax $.00

Coupons Used
2x Cakesters $1/1 -$2.00
Subtotal $2.00

$5.69-$2.00=$3.69

Used $3RR

$3.69-$3=$.69OOP
Received RRs $3Kraft


Rinse & Repeat #3...
Transaction #5

1x St. Ives Body Wash $2.99
1x Walgreens Shopping Bag $.99
Subtotal $3.98
Tax $.20

Coupons Used
1x Wags IVF Q for Shopping Bag -$.65
Subtotal $.65

$4.18-$.65=$3.53

Used $3RR

$3.53-$3=$.53OOP
Received RRs $3St Ives



Transaction #6

1x Breyer's Ice Cream $3.99 **Not Pictured**
1x A&W Root Beer $1.59
Subtotal $5.58

Root Beer Free Deal -$1.59

$5.58-$1.59=$3.99

RRs Used $2

$3.99-$2=$1.99OOP


GRAND TOTAL
OOP Spent $5.71
Q & Sale Savings $33.69
RRs Used $14.00
RRs Received $17.00
Value of Items $39.40
Savings of 85.5%

My out of pocket was high for me this time. If I had had more than 1 St. Ives coupons I could have done better.....ah well.
It's always nice to get back more RRs than you spend, isn't it? ;-)


Sluggy

Friday, June 26, 2009

Cleaning Out the Freezer Challenge-June 25th & Recipe

June 25th, Thursday, I was rooting around in the deep dark recesses of my Freezer and came up with a DOUBLE PLAY in the Cleaning Out the Freezer Challenge.

First I found these 2 forlorn breaded chicken cutlets. They are the long lost survivors from a rather large pack of cutlets that was consumed many months ago.
Just the perfect size package of chicken for tonight, as Hubby is the only one eating solid food today in this house.

But what to do with breaded chicken cutlets, what to do....
Oh, here's an opened bag of shredded mozzarella cheese!
That gives me an idea.....

And then I found & thawed out 2 large bags of spinach. I was going to prepare something grand with this until I opened it and saw that the spinach was itsy bitsy chopped pieces, really only good for adding to a creamed soup or such.
Note to self.....do NOT buy this brand of frozen spinach again.

So what to do with stringy, watery, itsy bitsy pieces of green mush???
...And make it pseudo-healthy & a side dish for the chicken that hubby will eat?

So I grabbed an egg, garlic powder, milk and parmesan cheese.

I had printed out a recipe eons ago for an 'Easy Spinach Souffle'. Now is as good a time as any to give it a whirl, right? You can find the recipe on the Allrecipes site HERE.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees(unless you want to make this in the microwave if you are short on time).

In a medium bowl, whisk together 1 egg, 1/3 c. milk, 1/3 c. parmesan cheese, 1 teaspoon garlic and salt & pepper to taste. Fold in 2(10 ounces)packages of frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained.
Put in casserole dish.
Bake in oven for 20 minutes or until lightly set.

Alternate baking method:If you are in a hurry, use a microwave safe casserole dish, cover with palstic wrap and cook on high for 3 minutes. Release the steam, recover and cook on high for another 3 mintues.



And here is what it looks like after baking.

I have to say that mine took 30-35 minutes to set up, not 20 mins. But then again, maybe I overbaked mine. At 20 min. it was still very loose.
Hubby said it could have used more cheese. Next time, I'm going to add some mozzarella too.

The chicken cutlets got a quick saute in some EVOO in a skillet and then some spaghetti sauce(from an opened jar in the fridge)and a handful of mozzarella on top. Cover with the lid and let melt for 5-10 mins.
Spoon up the spinach and mange!
Ok, so my food photography skills are somewhat lacking. I'll put it on my master list of things to conquer right after curing AIDS and disarming North Korea. 8-P

If you are a beginner or one of those cooks who is scared of souffle preparations, this recipe is a good one to try.
It's not a true souffle but it gives you the taste/feel of one without the work.

I've still got some of that bag of spinach left to use up in the next couple of days. I'll have to dig into the fridge and see what is lurking in there that I can possibly combine to make something fabulous to use this EX-Freezer item up.

Freezer-0
Sluggy-2

sluggy

CleanseFest....Day 3 & 4 My Kingdom for a Salt Lick!

Day Three went rather well. I think I was over the hump with the nastier hunger pains by the end of the 3rd day of the CleanseFest.

I will say that at the end of Day 3 I was so tired of Slim-Fast shakes! Why are these things so blasted sweet?? Why do they think that people on reduced or restricted calorie intake diets ONLY want to eat sweet flavored stuff? These things have so much sugar in them.
After 3 days of sweet, sweet, sweet, I would give my eye teeth for a DILL PICKLE.....or a Greek Salad with Oil & Vinegar Dressing......or a big Vat of SAURKRAUT. I DETEST Saurkraut by the way....

Ok.....just give me Salt & Vinegar Potato Chips!
************drool***************

So Day Four(today) & I took daughter and we made our run to do the Kraft/Unilever/General Mills Catalina Deal at Shop-Rite.
As we were far from home during meal time with no SF shake with us, we broke down and ate FOOD today for lunch.
Not just any food.....Chinese Food!
I took it easy with the meats, staying away from any Beef dishes and sampled from the chicken & shrimp dishes. I loaded up with the veggies in the dishes as well as sauteed green beans. No rice except for what was on the sushi I ate. I did eat some dumplings though, which I shouldn't have had. I usually get a soup bowl and dip dumpling sauce into it for my dumplings. Well I put the dumplings right in the bowl so they REALLY soaked up that sauce.
I didn't notice that the sauce was a tad RED today(aka CHILI OIL!!!)and took a big honking bite out of one of the dumplings. It took exactly 4 seconds for my mouth to catch fire from that bite.
Great.
Googley.
Moogley.

I took the dumplings out of the sauce of FIRE! and tried to dry them out. After picking chili flakes(!) off of them, I tried dunking them in Duck Sauce. But that just kept my mouth from burning about 5 extra seconds after putting a piece of dumpling in again. Then the HEAT hit me on the 'back end' of my mouth, as it slid down my esophagus.
I choked down 2.5 dumplings before my lips went numb and I raised the white paper napkin of surrender.
9 hours later, I can still feel a bit of tingle on my lips.....
I KNOW I ate too much but it was so good! And I haven't had anything else today because of it.

The Shop-Rite run kept me from my water consumption most of the afternoon so I am downing glasses of water this evening to catch up.
I am sure my kidneys are screaming at me to stop by now.

Oh, but the kidneys haven't seen anything yet! As daughter may be returning to work at camp a week from Sunday, we have to step up the schedule so we can get in at least 7 days of the second part of this CleanseFest.

Tomorrow, Phase Two begins.
Phase Two is 7 days of drinking a mixture of Water/Lemon/Syrup/Cayenne Pepper, in addition to plain water too. Actually, the spicy dumplings was probably a good way to get me used to the Cayenne Pepper in the drink I have to consume.

And I get to begin the next seven days with an Oral Sea Salt & Water Enema.
Oh goody!
Can't.
Wait.

I'll be sure to take LOTS of pictures and share this part of my adventure with you.
I'm sure ya'll can't wait for that, huh?LOLOL

Off to work on some Frugal Shopping reports. I have Wags, CVS & Shop-Rite to post on, as well as some Cleaning out the Freezer stuff and a Recipe.
Look for those in the coming days....in between trips to the bathroom. ;-))

Sluggy

Thursday, June 25, 2009

WEIS/GILLETTE CAT PROMO...Final Numbers!

The Weis Markets 2 Week Long GILLETTE $5 CAT PROMOTION ended yesterday, June 24th. Here is my Final Tally.
Gillette Razors-11
Gillette Hydra Gel-11
Gillette Body Wash-55
Gillette Shampoo-55
GRAND TOTAL.........132 Products



Total OOP.......$14.65, $8.37 of that was tax.
The OOP comes out to .11¢ per item.
Value of all Items.....$561.18
A Savings of 97.4%

I probably could have gotten more but I didn't jump right on this deal & I didn't get more coupons. And I didn't wipe out any store of product in a single trip, even though I had the coupons to do so. I spread the procurement out over 5 Weis Stores & over an 11 day period, so plenty of time to restock between shopping trips.

I had found some coupons I hadn't cut from the inserts yet a couple of days ago, including 2 more razor and hydra gel coupons, so I had some last minute shopping to do. I had a very hard time using those last 4 razor/gel coupons. I would find a store that had razors, but no hydra gel....then I'd find the gel in stock and no razor. I did finally find both in the same store yesterday and finished using the last 4 coupons. I didn't get any razor/gel coupons off of eBay(like I did the b-wash & 'poo Qs), first, because sellers wanted way too much for the razor Qs and second, the tax here on those razors raised my OOP more than I wanted to spend. I tried to stay away from the 'poos that had conditioner in it too becasue here, in WACKY PA, 'poo is NOT taxed but if the 'poo has conditioner in it, you DO pay tax on that!
Like I said.....WACKY.....
'

So how did you do on the Weis/Gillette deal?
Give us your totals/figures.
Did you get any other great deals last week at Weis? I'd love to hear!!

Sluggy

KFC FREE CHICKEN Throwback Can You Smell the Fowl?

So after I sent the CLEANSEFEST/EXTREME HUNGER Post, the mail arrived.
And just to prove that the gods are up there laughing at me, here is what arrived.

Can you see the return address??


Ok, here is what was inside.....


Remember all those bazillion Free Chicken Coupons everyone in North America printed out and tried to use on the same day a few months back, forcing KFC to run out of chicken?

Yep, it's the KFC FREE CHICKEN RAINCHECK COUPON!
Actually it's FOUR of them.

Taunting my non-eating body with Free juicy chicken........oy, the pain!
At least the coupons can't be used until July 20th through August 3rd, so I should be able to use one or two as I'll be eating by then.

Did you get your FREE KFC Coupon yet?

Sluggy

Please Sir, I Want Some More......gruel, swill, anything!!

Day Two of the Cleansefest is over & in the books. I am feeling sort of like poor old Oliver Twist here, but I look more like the Orphanage Taskmaster holding the ladle......thus the need for a Cleansefest in the first place.lolol

Wednesday was a rough one to get through gastrointestinal-speaking. My schedule of 'meals were'--1 glass of orange juice with 2 big spoons of a fiber supplement & assorted vitamins and medications for breakfast, a SF shake for lunch, a SF shake for dinner & a Glucerna snack bar for a snack.
Fresh-brewed iced tea with lemon and water rounded out my fluid intake for the day.

Having things to do took my mind off of food, which helped. I had Gillette coupons to finish using. Then we had running the daughter to the Orthodonist....AGAIN! While we were out at their distant office, I ran into some CVSs & a WAGS to grab a few deals(or TRY to!)& rolls some RRs & ECBs. All totaled, I think I spent $7? yesterday for everything(including the iced coffee I had to buy daughter). I'll post the shopping and what I got later tonight or tomorrow.
Hubby was a doll and made his own dinner-frozen burritos and canned chili-so I wouldn't have to cook in my psychologically 'food vunerable' state.

The only bad thing about having errands/shopping to do yesterday was having to drive by aaaaaaalllll those fast food restaurants and smell aaaaaaaallllllll those wonderful MEAT COOKING SMELLS, which made my olfactory organs send signals to my digestive tract via my brain to CRAMP MY STOMACH UP INTO KNOTS!
Serious.
Hunger.
Pains of Death.

I think I actually blacked out for a moment at one point at a red light after passing a remarkably fragrant Burger King(must have been that flame-broiling!).
I came to, gnawing on the steering wheel.

I have 2 more days of this phase of the Project to get through, as we start the Lemon Flush phase on Saturday. We had to step up the timeline a few days, as daughter may be returning to camp the following Sat.(yes! there is a God)when we go to pick up #2 son, instead of in August. If she leaves next Sat. we have 7 days to get the Flush phase done with her here if we begin Sat., but wouldn't be able to fit but 3 or 4 days of Lemon Flush in otherwise.

So I have 2 more days of living on shakes & such before we go onto the Lemon stuff. I hope to stay out of the car(and thus off the roads driving by Food Temptations) today. I'll be digging out something from the Freezer in a bit for Hubby's dinner. This will be my temptation highpoint for the day, seeing all those cold blocks of food.
Yummmmmm.....

Sluggy

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Spend $120/Get $40 Unilever Kraft General Mills CAT PROMO DEAL-or 2 Weeks of Shopping Fun!


Oh, there is a Promotional Deal so good that I am going to have to take the 30 mile hike to visit my closest Shop Rite grocery store this week. Ok, it might not be that great to you, but I live in the Land of Mediocre or Nonexistent Cat Deals, so for us this is big doings.

For the next 2 weeks (June 21st-July 4th) when you spend $120 using your Club Card you can get $40 OYNO! It doesn't have to be done in one shopping trip/transaction either! The store will track your spending on the Promotional Items over the 2 weeks and print out a savings voucher on the bottom of your receipt when you hit the $40, $80 &/or $120 marks.

There are oodles of items to choose from to do this deal too. You can pick from Unilever, Kraft & General Mills products. And many of these companies brands are on sale this week(and probably next week too). If you got the Kraft Barbeque Sauce coupon in the 6/14 paper, you can get almost free(or free if your ShopRite doubles coupons)BBQ Sauce this week. Other good buys include A-1 Steak Sauce for $2.99. Use the $2 Coupon in the 6/14 insert to get this for .99¢. Also the Knorr Rice/Noodle Side Dish Packets are 4/$5. Pair these with the various denomination of coupons out there and get them for cheaper. All 3 of these items count toward the "Spend up to $120/Get up to $40 Cat Promo".

Go check out the weekly ad and deals on the ShopRite website Here and for a better list of the Items on sale & Coupon Match Ups, check out 4 Hats & Frugal Here.

I have or have coming in the mail some coupons that should make this deal even better.
Once all the coupons are here I'll take a ride to ShopRite, so check back in late this week or early next week for my Shopping Post.

For now I'm off to go grab some more Gillette for FREE(well, except for the tax) and then to begin some much needed organizing in this house!

Sluggy

CleanseFest......like a Fat Farm but without the Glamour


Today is the 1st day of my CleanseFest. What is CleanseFest you ask?? It's my attempt to clean out my digestive system.

Week One involves 4 Slim-Fast drinks spread throughout the day, 1 glass of Orange Juice with a Fiber supplement, some fresh fruit, some vitamin/mineral supplements, green tea & alot of water drinking.
Oh, and ALOT of running to the bathroom too!lol

It's not strictly a liquid diet regiment but it's close.

Week Two we move to the Lemon Cleanse phase. No food, just tea, water & the maple syrup/cayenne pepper lemonade stuff and my vitamin and supplements.
We'll see how long I can stand this. I am not hopeful that I'll last 2 full weeks.

Please realize that I am under the care of my doctor with this. I'll have a check-up after the 2 weeks are up.

I was inspired to do this by this article I read a year or so ago by a British journalist who was paid to go experience & report on the granddaddy of all Health/Fasting Spas in Thailand....The Spa on the Thai Island of Koh Samui. You can read the original article Here.
The journalist's photographer passed a marble he had ingested as a small child during his treatment at the spa. That was enough for me to know this kind of thing would clean you out.lol
I am not going to the extreme of coffee enemas like the Spa in Thailand does however. Nor am I paying to jet to Thailand or even buy their prepackaged "do-it-yourself" fasting/cleanse kit. This will be my version of a 'frugal cleanse'. I bought the SlimFast on sale, with coupons at KMart a couple of weeks ago. And the Lemons needed for Week Two are in season now so I won't have to spend a fortunate for fresh fruit.

The only thing that might sink me is the intense hunger pains. Ya see, I can endure most any kind of pain(can we say teeth drilling w/out novacaine or natural childbirth of not-one-drug with 1 of my offspring?), except hunger pains. These pains have been the ruin of many of my tries to reduce my food intake. I don't know....it's like I'm hyper-sensitive to them. If I can keep them at bay for the 1st 3 days, I've got a shot at lasting 2 weeks.

I am also doing this at home, where the demands of cleaning, shopping, cooking, & other work is ever present. No going to a spa where I can lounge by the pool and read or nap. Things need to get done so I can't just concentrate on 'me'. But then again, staying busy will keep me from obsessing over every ounce of anything I'm ingesting and how long to the next glass of whatever.

Day One is almost over here. I have 1 shake still to drink later tonight. I made Hubby's Spaghetti & Meatballs without drooling into his plate. I get a glass of iced tea and some cantaloupe to suck on in a few minutes. Yay!!!
Tomorrow or Thursday I am sure I'll start to have to stick close to the bathroom as my body realizes the regular food has stopped coming down the gullet.
Uh oh......
I will spare you from the grizzly pictures.lol

Sluggy

Meal Plan Monday...June 22nd & the Beginning of my CleanseFest


I am late again with my Meal Plan Monday, due to being out of town until late yesterday. This past weekend was taking #2 son to Camp & picking up daughter from her Staff Training Week at the same Camp. Daughter is hopeful that she'll be called back to work before Aug, when she is slated to work. People, for whatever reasons, don't show up to work their weeks every year, so she might get offered a few additional weeks. This would make us BOTH quite happy. ;-)

Since I have started my 2 Week Dietary Cleanse Program, my Meal Plan for the Week hardly IS a Meal Plan. (I'll be posting separately about the CleanseFest details.)

Daughter is doing this Cleanse Program with me, so 2 of the 3 family members here aren't eating(except for some fruit this week). That just leaves Hubby to plan Meals for.
Hubby is of Italian extraction so he says to just make him a big vat of pasta with sauce and he'll eat off of that all week. lol You just gotta love a LOW MAINTENANCE kind of guy!
I'll throw some meat on the grill for him every few days for a change of pace and that should make him happy.

Here's what our family of one will be eating this week...

Monday Stuffed Chicken Breast, Green Beans, Applesauce
Tuesday Spaghetti with Meatballs, Salad
Wednesday Kielbasa, Onions, Potato Salad
Thursday Spaghetti, Chicken Parmesan, Cauliflower/Carrot Mix
Friday Burrito, Corn, Rice
Saturday Rigatoni, Salad
Sunday Pork BBQ, a yet to be determined Veggie, Coleslaw

No recipes this week. Nothing here that needs or has a recipe. Just plain old food. It's a good menu for this week for me. Since I am not eating, I really don't want to be spending long hours in the kitchen preparing food. That might have a negative impact on my 'not eating' plan. The less I am around food, the less I will obsess over it, right?lol

Grocery List for this menu is some coleslaw mix or a small head of cabbage and some rolls for the bbq. Everything else is in house. This shopping list might run me $3-$4. There is a wonderful 2 week Catalina Promo over at ShopRite the next 2 weeks, so I'll be spending most of my grocery budget the next 2 weeks over there. ;-)

Of course, I am continuing in the "Clean out the Freezer Challenge" this week. The meatballs, burrito, bbq & kielbasa are all hidden treasures I found buried in the freezer that are single or very small portions, so this week is the perfect time to use them up on the 1 family member who is eating like normal people this week.

Food Waste Report.....lots of leftovers for the doggies, due to the week of family visiting and the extra food that was prepared and not eaten. I'll be stripping down the fridge this week and cleaning it out(more goodies for the doggies this week!) and then cleaning it up.

Check out Organizing Junkie's Website Here to see what other Home Cooks are serving this week!

Sluggy

Saturday, June 20, 2009

K-Mart Clothes for Dad, Movie Tickets & Gift Card for ME!

So, I saw this deal over on this Blog HERE. That got the lil' wheels in my head turning....uh oh, this is trouble!lol

The Hubby & #2 son needed some clothes, so we headed down to KMart this morning for a few things. While I am a Compact-or(on year 3 so not nearly as strict as I once was but still very mindful when consuming), hubby and the family still aren't on board. I have gotten them to recycle more and repurpose things but they want brand-spanking new sometimes, especially when it comes to what they wear...though I have made inroads with daughter with shopping at the thrift store. I can get the rest of the family to tow the line with some used things, but clothes, no way. I do question purchases though and make sure that what is bought is NEEDED.

Before we left, I printed out one of those $5 off a $50 purchase coupons for K-Mart. Once in the store, I had hubby & #2 son head over to the men's dept. to pick out what they needed and I made 2 purchases before I joined them there.
1. I went to the Pharmacy to pick-up a prescription. I had a coupon to get a FREE $10 Gift Card, which I received. The prescription had to be filled SOMEWHERE....might as well fill it at KMart and get free money, right?lol
2. Next I went to the check-out and bought a $50 KMart Gift Card. KMart is running a special that ends today, where you get a FREE $10 Reward Card(it's a Gift Card)when you purchase a $50 Gift Card. I put the $50 GC on the credit card. We pay the cc off each month and we'll get points for that $50 good toward a Free Gift Card at one of the participating stores(CVS is one!).
Then I headed over to the Men's Dept. and helped my fashion-challenged menfolk pick out some clothing. ;-) Most of the men's clothing was on sale today too! We got some shirts, jeans, socks & a belt. Hubby also needed sneakers so he picked up a pair for 50% off!
With the shoes, the reg. retail came to $112.92 for 4 shirts, a bag of socks, a pr. of sneakers, 1 belt & 1 pr. of jeans.
With the sale prices, everything came to $68.45.
I used that $5/$50 KMart coupon I printed online.
The bag of socks also had a $1 Peelie coupon on it(and an extra pair of socks inside too!lol), so that made $6 off my total...$68.45-$6=$62.45.
I paid with the $50 Gift Card....$62.45-$50=$12.45.
Then I paid with the $10 Pharmacy Gift Card...$12.45-$10=$2.45.
$2.45 in Cash to the cashier.
And out popped the code for 2 FREE MOVIE TICKETS.


To recap.....
I got--
$112.92 worth of Clothing the menfolk needed.
$10 free Gift Card-2 free $10 Gift Cards if you count the Pharmacy card too.
$14 worth of movie tickets(2).
$136.92-$146.92 worth of stuff.

I am out of pocket $52.45(the cost of the $50 GC and the $2.45 cash, or $62.45 if you count the prescription I had filled).

The "Reward Card" Gift Card had a label on the front that it had to be activated to be valid and you can't activate it until Monday, June 22nd. This meant I couldn't use it right away for my clothing transaction. The Reward Card has a July 31st expiration date so I'm hoping for Double Coupons again in the coming weeks. If not, KMart will be having summer clearance sales and I'll get a good deal on something else if I don't pick up food or toiletries. I could always use it to pay for another transferred prescription I suppose & then use an Rx coupon to get another free $10 Pharmacy Gift Card(that doesn't expire in 5 weeks).

Not a bad morning's work.

Sluggy

Thursday, June 18, 2009

How I spent my Week when I wasn't doing a Mountain of Laundry

Monday 2 of my 3 kids drove off for job training. It's been crazy quiet here with only 1 sullen, moody, uncommunicative teenager at home this week. I am loving the peace(NO FIGHTING!) but I miss having them all home. If you dare tell my kids that I'll deny I ever said it!lolol
I've been decompressing from playing hostess & having company for a week, running around getting deals and doing errands, finishing up the kids school stuff, still dealing with a sick puppy(she's doing better as of yesterday finally!!), trying to get the house back in order, catching up on the blog here and hacking away at a MOUNTAIN of laundry the kids left behind for me....UGH! At least they aren't here to make MORE laundry, right?lolol

This weekend we take #2 son to camp and pick up daughter from her training week. I then get 2 whole weeks with no commitments or having to play chauffeur, etc. Gee, an actual Summer Break for me! Woohoo!!!
Then when #2 son returns we enter into MARCHING BAND Season. #2 has decided he wants to be in the Marching Band. They take their MB seriously around here and it's a fulltime commitment for the kids for the second half of July and all of August to go to Band Camp. There is a mini Band Camp next week that #2 is going to miss because we signed up for summer camp last July and I wasn't about to NOT send him after I'd paid for it a yr. ahead.

Marching from 7am-8pm(with 2 breaks for meals)with instruments in the blazing sun in August.....
We'll see how long it takes for #2 to decide he really doesn't want to do this anymore.lolol

I mentioned earlier in the week that the WEIS/Mr. Z's Grocery Chain had a nice little Catalina Deal on Gillette Men's Products....specifically the Shampoo, Body Wash, Shaving Gel and Fusion Razors. I posted about the 'Poo and B-Wash deal Here.

To recap, when you bought a Gillette Shampoo and a Gillette Body Wash you received $5 off your bill Instantly. The 'Poo & Wash were on sale for $3.49 ea., so if you had the $1/1 Coupons for both items, your cost after discounts, sale & coupons was just tax.

There was also another Gillette deal I soon found out. When you bought a Gillette Hydra Shaving Gel, on sale for $2.49 & a Gillette Fusion Razor, on sale for $8.49, you received another $5 instant savings on your bill. Pair this deal with the Shave Gel $1/1 coupons & the $4/1 Fusion Razor coupon, your cost after discounts, sale & coupons was $.98 plus tax.
Not free but a pretty good deal if you need razors and shaving gel, right?

So, I hiked up to the grocery store during last weekend, after the SIL left for home and bought some sets of the 'Poo and B-Wash and 1 set of the Razor/Shaving Gel combo.
I still can't figure it out but the sets of 'Poo & B-Wash cost me .10¢ per pair and the 1 Razor/Gel combo cost me .90¢ out of pocket. Now the razor/gel combo should have cost me at least $1.something with the tax, but my receipt read .90¢ for those two items.....go figure.

I traded for some more 'Poo & B-Wash Qs and went back to use up my few Razor & Gel Qs while waiting for the new Qs to come in the mail. Back at the grocery store, there were no more Razors on the shelf but I spied some Bonus Pack Razors in boxes(not hanging with the other Razors that were marked as part of the Bonus $5 off deal). I had the CS guy price check those Razors and they gave the $5 off bonus too.
Niiiiiice! Razors with bonus gel/'poo/wash in the boxes. Better than just a stinkin' razor alone. ;-)
The traded Qs arrived mid-week and I spent Wed.(the last day of the sales flyer ad) hitting up 3 different Weis stores that were on the way while running my errands.
Here is what I ended up with.....Men's Toiletries as far as the eyes can see.lol


Because it's taxable stuff, not exactly free.
I spent OOP $9.85, $6.29 of that was tax, for 84 items.
That comes out to .12¢ per item.
The value was $360.06 using the reg. retail prices.
A savings of over 97%!

But wait!....it gets better.
Weis, as well as other grocery stores, are running a P&G Promotion where when you spend $35 in 1 transaction, you can mail away for a $10 Gift Check to use at the store you bought your $35 worth of products at.
By buying all this Gillette stuff in transactions of at least $35 before all the discounts, I now have lots of receipts to submit for Gift Checks. I'll have them sent to all our extended family members and let them know it's an early Christmas present from us! ;-)

But wait!......there's more.
In one of the stores I found a tearpad with these coupons.

You can buy a Gillette product and submit for another one like it FREE! As I had a few receipts where I didn't spent $35 or more, I have some receipts to submit for our family and some men relatives in our extended family to get a Free Gillette Grooming Product.
I figure I can supply another $70 or so of Gillette to our extended family for just the cost of some stamps & envelopes.

Not a bad return on my initial $9.85 expenditure!

And what's more, this Gillette/Weis $5 Cat Deal doesn't expire for another week!
I noticed on the shelf tag that this Instant $5 off goes until June 24th.

I just adore when you can take a purchase and get multiple benefits & deals from it.

I am just about up-to-date now so I'll shut my gob for awhile & free up some oxygen in the room for all of ya'll. ;-))

Sluggy

June 14th....Sunday Rolling RRs & CVS quickie

I needed to roll some RRs by June 15th and buy some Sunday papers so I headed out early to WAGS on Sunday morning.
As I came through the door at WAGS, one of the cashiers who knows me told me right off that they had NO St. Ives Body Wash in the store. She said they started the day with about 6 bottles and they had sold them all first thing in the morning. As this is a 24 Hr. store, those 6 bottles probably didn't see the sun rise before they were snapped up! They were suppose to get more in, early in the week, but I just haven't had time to get back to WAGS this week to check.

Transaction #1
6x Ragu Sauce @ $2.00=$12.00
2x Skippy PButter @ $2.00=$4.00
1x Envelopes @ $1.29
1x Mechanical Pencil @ $1.09 clearanced
1x Inkjet Label Sheets @ $1.29 clearanced
2x Mechanical Pencil Lead Refills @ $1.29=$2.58
SUBTOTAL $22.25
TAX $.34

Coupons Used....
2x Ragu Sauce @ $1.25/3=$2.50
1x Skippy PButter @ $1.00/2=$1.00
1x Envelopes IVF Q= $.62
RRs Used....
$3, 6x $2=$15
SUBTOTAL $19.12

$22.59-$19.12=$3.47OOP put on Gift Card
Received $8 RR(ConAgra)

**Again, I bought 13 items but the register only let me use 11 coupons/rrs.

Transaction #2
4x Sunday Newspaper @$1.25=$5.00
Used $2 & $3 RRs
$0.00 OOP


Transaction #3

1x Cottonelle TP @ $3.79=$3.79
3x John Frieda Root Awakening 'Poo @ $5.00=$15.00
2x Maxwell House Coffee @ $2.50=$5.00
1x M&Ms @ $.69=$.69
SUBTOTAL $24.48
TAX $.90

Coupons Used....
1x Cottonelle IP $1.00/1=$1.00
3x John F. RA $3.00/1=$9.00
1x Maxwell House $2.00/1=$2.00
RRs Used $10.00
SUBTOTAL $22.00

$25.38-$22.00=$3.38OOP put on Gift Card
Received $5 RR(John F)

Yet again, 7 items purchased but only 6 Qs/RRs were accepted. I had to buy those blasted M&Ms before the register would take my $10RR!


Transaction #4

3x John Frieda Root Awakening 'Poo @ $5.00=$15.00
2x Maxwell House Coffee @ $2.50=$5.00
4x Ramen Noodles @ 4/$1=$1.00
SUBTOTAL $21.00
TAX $.90

Coupons Used....
3x John F. RA $3.00/1=$9.00
1x Maxwell House $2.00/1=$2.00
RRs Used $3,$3,$2,$1=$9
SUBTOTAL $20.00

$21.90-$20.00=$1.90OOP put on Gift Card
Received $5 RR(John F)

Yet again, 9 items purchased but only 8 Qs/RRs were accepted.
Tell me I'm hallucinating about the registers being programmed to do this!lol

Transaction #5

3x Sunday Newspapers @ $1.25=$3.75
Used a $3RR
Total....$.75OOP $.32 put on Gift Card, $.53 paid in cash

There goes the last of my Gift Card money....sniff, sniff....

OOP $9.50 All but $.53 put on Gift Card
Used $42 in RRs
Value of Items $115.22
Received $18 in RRs ($8 ConAgra, 2x $5 JFrieda)
Savings of 91.75%

Then, since I was in the neighborhood, a quick run into CVS to do the Aveeno & Razor deals & get some cheap cereal to make Rice Crispy Treats....

Transaction #1
1x Schick Quattro Razor @ $7.99
2x Purex @ $6.99=$13.98
1x Aveeno Shampoo=$6.50
1x Aveeno Lotion=$7.00
1x Aveeno Lotion=$4.24
3x Kellogg's Cereals @$1.88=$5.64
SUBTOTAL $45.35

Coupons Used....
1x Schick @ $4/1=$4.00
2x Purex @ $2/1=$4.00
1x Aveeno @ $2/1=$2.00
1x Aveeno @ $5/2=$5.00
3x Kellogg's Cereals @$1/1=$3.00
Subtotal $18.00

ECBs Used.....
$4, $5, $7.98, $10=$26.98

$45.35-$18-$26.98=$.37

I was suppose to receive $5 for the Razor, $4 for the Purex(2x $2) & $10 for the Aveeno because I thought I had spent $20 on Aveeno. I didn't realize that one of the lotions had rung up on clearance for $4.24 instead of the shelf tag price of $7 until I got my receipt.
So I went and bought another of the clearanced Aveeno Lotion that wasn't marked and spent another $4.24-$2/1 coupon & $1ECB. With the .08¢ tax, I spent another $1.33 OOP and the cashier forced my $10 ECB.

Total Spent OOP...$1.70
Value of Items bought...$74.47
Savings of......97%
ECBS Used...$27.98
ECBs Received...$19

Sluggy

KMart Saturday 6/13 Double Qs-The End & Totals

After SIL left town on Saturday and started her drive home to IL, daughter & I headed out south of Teeny Tiny Town to hit another nearby KMart. SIL had visited this one a few days back when I was off dealing with the Orthodontic fun. Not much good or cheap but here is what I managed to get.....

6x Zip Loc Bags @ $2.00 ea.=$12.00
4x Pedigree Dog Treats @ $2.99 ea.=$11.96
2x Keebler Cookies @ $3.00 ea.=$6.00
4x Bic Razors @ $5.29 ea.=$21.16
1x A-1 Steak Sauce @ $3.79
1x Cascade Dish Detergent @ $4.29
SUBTOTAL $59.20
TAX $1.83

Coupons Used....
3x Zip Loc Bags @ $1.00/2 doubled=$6.00
4x Pedigree Dog Treats @ $1.00 doubled=$8.00
1x Keebler Cookies @ $1.00/2 doubled=$2.00
4x Bic Razors @ $2.00/1 doubled=$16.00
1x A-1 Steak Sauce @ $2.00 doubled=$3.79
1x Cascade Dish Detergent @ $1.00/1 doubled=$2.00
$5/$50 KMart Q=$5.00
$5 KMart Gift Card=$5.00(from the cereal deal I did in April)
SUBTOTAL $47.79

$61.03-$47.79=$13.24OOP

I didn't use my $14 CAT here.

After dinner I went back down the mountain to do two more rounds at my local KMart & to use that $14 CAT.
First this haul....

3x Axe Shower Gel (#2 son will LOVE me for this!lol) $4.29 ea.=$12.87
3x Bic Razors @ $5.99=$17.97
1x Bic Sensitive Razors $3.49
3x KY Warming Gel @ $4.79=$14.37
4x Pedigree Dog Treats @ $3.79=$15.16
3x Snausages Dog Treats @ $2.99=$8.97
5x Cat Treats @ $1.89=$9.45
7x Ragu Sauce @ $1.99=$13.93
1x Hormel Micro Dinner @ $2.99
2x Whipped Cream @ $2.99=$5.98
5x Slim Fast Snack Bars @ $3.59=$17.95
4x Slim Fast Drinks @ $5.99=$23.96
SUBTOTAL $147.09
TAX $2.53

Coupons Used....
3x Axe Shower Gel $1.50/1 doubled=$9.00
3x Bic Razors @ $2.00/1 doubled=$12.00
1x Bic Razors @ $2.00/1 doubled=$3.49
3x KY Warming Gel @ $2.00/1 doubled=$12.00
4x Pedigree Dog Treats @ $1.00/1 doubled=$8.00
3x Snausages Dog Treats @ $1.00/1 doubled=$6.00
5x Cat Treats @ $1.00/1 doubled=$9.45
2x Ragu Sauce @ $1.00/2 doubled=$4.00
1x Ragu Sauce @ $1.25/3 doubled=$2.50
1x Hormel Micro Dinner @ $1.00/1 doubled=$2.00
2x Whipped Cream @ $1.00 doubled=$4.00
5x Slim Fast Snack Bars @ $1.00/1 doubled=$10.00
4x Slim Fast Drinks @ $1.40 doubled=$11.20
1x $14 CAT Q=$14.00
SUBTOTAL $107.64

$149.62-$107.64=$41.98OOP
And I got another $14 CAT Q for spending $50 or more on Unilever products.


And finally, this haul....


2x Axe Shampoo $4.99 ea.=$9.98
2x Recycled Foil @ $2.99=$5.98
2x Hot Shot Spray @ $3.19=$6.38
1x Hot Shot Spray @ $3.99=$3.99**Not Pictured**
2x Snausages Dog Treats @ $2.99=$5.98
5x Cat Treats @ $1.89=$9.45
1x Better than Ears Dog Treats=$2.67
3x Mac/Cheese Dinner @ $2.29=$6.87
6x Hunt's Pudding @ $1.00=$6.00
8x Hershey's Syrup @ $1.99=$15.92
5x Mustard @ $1.49=$7.45
1x A-1 Sauce @ $3.79=$3.79
3x Sunkist 12 packs @ $3.67=$11.00
SUBTOTAL $95.46
TAX $1.60

Coupons Used....
2x Axe Shampoo $2.00/1 doubled=$8.00
2x Recycled Foil @ $1.00/1 doubled=$4.00
2x Hot Shot Spray @ $1.50/1 doubled=$6.00
1x Hot Shot Spray @ $1.50/1 doubled=$3.00
2x Snausages Dog Treats @ $1.00/1 doubled=$4.00
5x Cat Treats @ $1.00/1 doubled=$9.45
1x Better than Ears Dog Treats $1.00/1 doubled=$2.00
1x Mac/Cheese Dinner @ $1.00/1 doubled=$2.00
1x Mac/Cheese Dinner @ $1.50/2 doubled=$3.00
2x Hunt's Pudding @ $1.00/3 doubled=$4.00
4x Hershey's Syrup @ $1.00/2 doubled=$8.00
2x Mustard @ $1.00/2 doubled=$4.00
1x Mustard @ $.50/1 doubled=$1.00
1x A-1 Sauce @ $2.00 doubled=$3.79
3x Sunkist 12 packs @ $1.00 doubled=$6.00
1x $14 CAT Q=$14.00
SUBTOTAL $82.24

$97.06-$82.24=$14.82OOP

TOTAL RESULTS for KMART DOUBLE COUPONS SHOPPING WEEK.....
Total Spent Out of Pocket.......$100.79
Total Value of Items Bought....$479.27
Savings of...........................79%

Not bad but I am plum worn out!!
I think I am finished stockpiling for awhile, especially at KMart!!
I noticed that KMart has raised their prices on some of the things since the last double coupons sales event in May. Things that would have been free last time around weren't this time so I passed on them.

I tell ya, with this Cleaning out the Fridge/Freezer Challenge this month, I have been depleting the Freezer stockpile but I sure stockpiled enough shelf-stable stuff this week at KMart to counter all that space in the freezer I've been gaining!lol

This closes out last week's fun. Gee, I'm almost caught up to this week. 8-))
Now comes the hard part....finding a place to put all this!!!
I think it's time for a major pantry/stockpile re-org.

Did you get any good deals at KMart last week during the Double Coupon Event?!
Tell us about them, won't you?

Sluggy

June 11th Trouble & June 12th....K-Mart Double Coupons Again

I forgot to mention that the last trip to K-Mart, on June 11th, the $14 Cat for the $50 or more Unilever products purchase didn't print at the register. I tried to explain to the cashier what I was suppose to get from the CAT machine but she was, shall we say, "a tad slow" and just not comprehending. So I hopped over to the CS counter to see what was up with the CATs.
The CS person wandered over to the registers and conferred with someone and came back and called someone else.....without saying a word to me about WHAT was going on. So I opened my BIG MOUTH and started asking questions.....lol
Turns out the CAT machine had NO PAPER in it. Well, duh, maybe that's why it didn't print??lol
Come to find out, NONE OF THE CAT MACHINES IN THE WHOLE STORE HAD ANY PAPER IN THEM & HADN'T HAD PAPER IN THEM ALL DAY!
The management knew this and didn't post signs or tell anyone either! Imagine all those Catalina Coupons that were suppose to print that didn't.....all those people getting CHEATED OUT OF THEIR COUPONS if they didn't know any better, all day long!!
Man!.....this K-Mart store sure failed in the putting the customer first dept. in MY EYES!
Maybe that's why they have had to file for reorganizational Chapter "Whatever Number it is" Bankruptcy and let SEARS by them out in the last few years.
This store will be avoided if at all possible in the future and the one closest to Teeny Tiny Town will be frequented instead.
After the Manager finally called the CS gal on the phone there was much discussion about how to handle the $14 in store money I was owed. About 20 seconds into her phont conversation I offered that they should just give it to me on a Store Gift Card. She gabbed with the Manager for another 2 minutes(or more)and then I guess what I had said finally registered with her and she asked her Manager if they could put the $14 on a Store GC.
Wow! What a great idea.....why didn't I think of that!!LOLOL
So I ended up with a $14 KMart GC.


So SIL & I headed back down the mountain on Friday for a quick stop into K-Mart again.
Here's what I got....


More Slim-Fast stuff....
4x Slim Fast Drinks @ $5.99=$23.96 **Not Pictured**
4x Slim Fast Bars @ $3.59=$14.36 **Not Pictured**
12x Knorr's Noodle Sides @ $1.00=$12.00
1x Bic Razors @ $5.29=$5.29
SUBTOTAL....$55.61
TAX....$.17

Coupons Used....
4x Slim Fast Drinks @ $1.40 doubled=$11.20
4x Slim Fast Bars @ $1.00 doubled=$8.00
4x Knorr's Noodle Sides @ $1.00/3 doubled=$8.00
1x Bic Razors @ $2.00 doubled=$4.00
$5/$50 KMart Q
$14 CAT
**Usually you can't use one of the KMart $x/$xx Qs AND a CAT good OYNO Qs on the same order BUT the $14 CAT was on a 'Gift Card' instead, so I got to use both....woot!
SUBTOTAL.....$50.20

$55.78-$50.20=$5.58OOP
AND I got another $14 CAT to spend on the next order.

Yay me! ;-))

The Last Day of KMart adventures to follow.....

Sluggy

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Breaking my WalMart Fast & Jimmy Who??

Remember back in early May when Kraft Foods released all those Kraft product coupons through Coupons.com and on various Grocery stores' websites?
Well the bulk of all those Qs I printed were expiring on June 10th. I didn't notice until I was rooting around in an old envelope and dug out the stack of $1.50/1 Kraft Salad Dressing Qs I still had that were expiring June 10th. Tucked behind that stack were all these IP Kraft Qs. Boy, did that month fly by!lolol

So after my day of Braces, CVS & Wags, Hubby took us out to Bob Evans for dinner and then SIL said she'd like to accompany me to WalMart to use some of these expiring Qs.

I have to tell ya'll that I haven't set foot in a Walmart since Before Easter. It's not someplace I go for deals, especially on Weekends. The one here is just K-razy on weekends. Too many people who could seriously use some additional bathing, in too close proximity to me. 8-P
Just walking into that place makes me sad.....I can't explain it but it does.

So we hiked down the mountain to STUFF-MART to see what deals we could find.

Here's the haul....
8x Kraft Salad Dressings @ $1.58=$12.64
4x Sierra Mist 2ltrs. @ $1.48(EEK!)=$5.92
2x Kraft Mayo @ $2.74=$5.48
5x Ritz Bits @ $2.00=$10.00
1x Ritz Crackers @ $2.50=$2.50
4x Alpo Dog Food @ $.67=$2.68
4x A-1 Steak Sauce @ $2.98=$11.92
3x Graham Crackers @ $2.50=$7.50
1x Nabisco Cookie Packs @ $3.98=$3.98
2x Kraft Deluxe Dinners @ $1.98=$3.96
5x Pace Salsas @ $2.48=$12.40
3x Pace Sauces @ $2.84=$8.52
8x Kraft Easy Mac Cups @ $.88=$7.04
2x Baked Lay's Potato Chips @ $3.28=$6.56
1x Kashi Waffles @ $2.54=$2.54
Subtotal.....$103.64
Tax.......$.52

Coupons Used....
8x Kraft Salad Dressings @ $1.50/1=$12.00
2x Sierra Mist 2ltrs. @ BOGO=$2.96
2x Kraft Mayo @ $1/1=$2.00
5x Ritz Bits @ $1/1=$5.00
1x Ritz Crackers @ $1/1=$1.00
2x Alpo Dog Food @ BOGO=$1.34
4x A-1 Steak Sauce @ $1/1=$4.00
3x Graham Crackers @ $1/1=$3.00
1x Nabisco Cookie Packs @ $1.00/1=$1.00
2x Kraft Deluxe Dinners @ $1/1=$2.00
3x Pace Salsas/Sauces @ $4/1=$12.00
4x Kraft Easy Mac Cups @ $1/2=$4.00
2x Baked Lay's Potato Chips @ $1/1=$2.00
1x Kashi Waffles @ $1.50/1=$1.50
Subtotal.............$54.80

$104.16-$54.80=$49.36OOP

Value of Items....$103.64
Savings of.....53%

I only bought stuff I knew the family would eat. The deals weren't wonderful, just ok.

Looking at it all now I can see that about half of what I got can be labeled 'junk'. Ok, the graham crackers aren't too bad but soda, ritz crackers, cookies, chips and all that Mac & Cheese with marginal nutritional value....hello!lol
The lesson here.....sometimes using up coupons just to use them up is NOT worth it.
The deals weren't amazing and I bought lots of junk. Yah, the junk will get eaten(probably before the 'good' food will!lol). At least I bought baked chips, right? That's a little better....

I REALLY wanted to use the Qs I had for frozen food items...like the Kashi Waffles and such but turns out our Walmart is in the midst of remodeling. All but 1/2 of 1 aisle of Frozen Food Cases were emptied out and shut off, so no frozen food for me!
My first thought when I saw the remodeling notices was...."Great! Now they'll be jacking up the prices. Everytime I've been in a WalMart AFTER they fancy it up(I think WalMart has a serious case of TARGET Envy!), the prices are higher than before the remodel. I'm sure the faux wood floors are WalMart's justification for charging more for their indonesian child labor sweatshop clothing that falls apart the 1st time you wash it.

There was also a HUGE HOLE right in the middle of the food section of the store, near the back where the open refridgerated cases for meats and the soda/paper products aisles use to be. Next to the hole was a Huge Backhoe looking machine surrounded by some boards they had put up to keep people out of the area. I briefly thought about taking a pic of it but knowing WalMart, I wasn't in the mood to be asked to leave the premises after schlepping up & down all those aisles & before I was checked out at the register.

I asked the Cashier about the backhoe thingy and she said every night at around 9:30 they start drilling and banging and they don't stop until 7 am. This is a 24 hr. WalMart & the cashier works nights. She said she goes home every morning with a headache from the nocturnal cacophony. I asked her what they were digging and she shrugged her shoulders. My guess is they are installing an underground missle silo right in the middle of WalMart....who would suspect, right?
Hey, with the way North Korea is headed, might not be a bad idea.

Either that or they are looking for Jimmy Hoffa again..... ;-)

At any rate, it will be some time before I set foot in WalMart again.
Did I just use the word AGAIN enough for you?
Thought so.....

Next time.....Back to K-Mart for more fun w/Double Coupons!

Sluggy