Frugal Friday.....the June 21st Edition

There are a few Frugal wins over the past week.

*   Picked up prescriptions at Walmart with no money OOP.  Filling that Humira prescription the first time put me in the Catastrophic category so I pay nothing for medications until the year ends and everything resets.

*  Every PT session I grab a bottle of water from the fridge there.  So free 14 bottles of water so far and counting. 8-)

*  I hit up Walmart on Tuesday after PT........

10 x Cesar wet dog food for $9.80.

2 x G-Fuel drink mix sticks for $13.96

That's $23.76 spent.

I got back $7 on Ibotta, $8.26 worth of points on Shop Kick, $4 on Shopmium, $4 worth of credit on Alexa and $6.98 on VTAGZ for the G-Fuel or $30.24 in cash and credits.

I bought all this at my local Walmart that same day.....

2 x Gatorade Water=$3.36

2 x Beggin' Strips=$6.96

2 x Carefree Pads=$17.46

5 x Dove Hand Soap=$24.85

1 x Colgate Toothpaste=$4.96

1 x Barilla Pasta=$2.52

1 x Soft Scrub Toilet Cubes=$3.77

1 x Soft Scrub Cleaner=$3.27

1 x Dial Body Wash=$3.97

Total....$43.98 after using a free $25 gift card and $7.25 in coupons.

I received back $33.25 Ibotta, $4.12 Shop Kick, $6.00 Shopmium, $3.63 OTC Offer, $5.00 Alexa credit, $4.25 Swag Bucks and $9.50 on Fetch or $65.75 in cash or credits making all this a $21.77 moneymaker.

The pads, pasta, toothpaste and body wash will go to the food bank.

*  Remember that $20 gift card we won at Trivia last week?.....

Well we went back for trivia on Tuesday and the freaking place was closed!  They closed up that day and never notified anyone or even put a sign on the door.  Great!  We win a gift card and now we can't even use it.

So this regional chain only has one location open now so we drove there Wednesday to use the card and play trivia. 

*  So we drove to the bar's other location on Wednesday for trivia and to use this gift card.  This is their last location.  And even though I was scared now to win, we got 3rd place! lol

*  On the way home from the closed bar Tuesday evening, we stopped at CVS so I could use my $5 in ECBs......

2 x Garnier Shampoo on sale=$8.00

1 x Cereal on sale=$1.99

I used a $4/2 Garnier Q and paid with my $5 ECB and .63¢.

I earned back a $2 ECB for the shampoo. Agh, another trip to CVS is on my horizon now. ;-)

This pictured is all bound for the food bank.

*  After PT on Thursday I stopped at where else? Walmart and picked up all this....

1 x Old Spice deo=$12.97

2 x Dove Shampoo=$11.96

2 x Clorox toilet cleaner=$5.36

1 x Crest toothpaste=$8.97

6 x Cesar dog food=$5.88

1 x Bactine liquid bandage=$5.97

2 x Splenda liquid sweetener=$6.99

Total.....$58.10

The only items bought at Kroger were the Splendas, they were BOGO and I got $4.10 from Ibotta(2 x $2 Splenda and a .10¢ any sugar substitute offer).  Plus these were bought on Wednesday got me to my $5 Midweek Bonus.

The rest of the rebates/credits were $22.99 Ibotta(including a $3 Weekend Bonus), $13.34 Shop Kick, $1.50 Shopmium, $4.00 Alexa, $8.50 Swag Bucks, $4.00 TaDa and $2.50 on Fetch.  $60.93 in rebates in total so a $2.83 moneymaker in total on all that.

The deodorant, toothpaste and shampoo will all go to the food bank.

*  As for Kroger and my KCB account...it continues to be a f**king cluster!  The last phone call was with "Charleen" and she can't find the $3.30 from 5/17 or the $12.50  I am owed from 5/19.  She can only see I didn't get a .75¢ KCB offer and put a ticket in.

On Wednesday I get a Korporate form letter from "Mherie Ruth".  After checking with the KCB team it shows that "the offer has already been redeemed on 05/19/2024 with 2 total redemptions".  WTF!  This tells me nothing....no specifics or identifying information.  It's just word salad.  Then she goes on to tell me how to send my KCB to my shopper's card.  I am not an idiot....I know full well how to do that!  That is not the problem.  So I responded in kind and just laid them out as the worthless pieces of sh*t they are.  ALL the items I didn't get back KCB for are going back to the store(except for the Tortilla chips Hubs ate lol)and I am done with this totally dysfunctional operation.  They would rather dance around customers and talk nonsense to them than Fix. Their. System!  This is a major corporation and there is no excuse for offering a system, making a customer jump through hoops to comply with this system and then deny the customer what they are owed.  Ridiculous.

*  I saw a new neurologist this week.  She is on the ball and gave me the thumbs up to fly to VA and try to have that Focused Ultrasound Procedure.  She doubled the amount of meds I was on for ET too as I was severely under medicated for the condition.   I have now transitioned away from that crappy Healthcare System to a new one that is competent.  I am so relieved!

*  I found money!

I found two pennies in Walmart when I went in to return something on Saturday.  1 penny by the CS desk and another by a self-checkout machine.

This penny was found in a different Walmart on Tuesday.

This penny was found in CVS on Tuesday evening by their self-checkout.

This penny was found on the carpet by the vending machines at PT.  I got there early so used the restroom and spied this coin.

And then I found this dime at the Walmart by PT under one of the self-checkout machines.

Total Found last week.... .15¢ 

Grand Total Found this Year.......$5.11 & 5.30 Euros

That's all I got.  

Any frugal wins in your neck of the woods?  Let's hear all about them!

Sluggy     

 

Frugal Friday.....the January 7th Edition

 So here are a few of the frugal-ish things that happened here this past week.......

*   No food waste so far. ;-)  The VA ham got cut off the bone and the bone will be utilized in a ham and bean soup soon.  Lots of the ham went into the freezer as well.  We have a few bits and bobs from the Holiday to polish off for lunches and snacking still.

*  I did a few Rite-Aid transactions this week.......

I still have to figure the finally number on this(maybe tomorrow?).  Basically I cashed out mostly or fully on 3 cards, utilizing Bonus Cash and a free R-A gift card.  I got a little BC back on 2 of the cards plus I got Ibotta rebates, a Swag Bucks rebate and Coupons dotcom monies.

*  I forgot to mention I sold something the previous week on eBay, the day after Christmas.  I had a different person offer me 25% LESS for this item the week before Christmas with the caveat that I could guarantee it's arrival by Christmas.  As I am not in charge of the USPS that was a hard no.  Plus this person had NO feedback and had just signed up the day they tried to buy the item. lol  Just goes to show you, don't jump at the first offer since I got full asking price from the other buyer. ;-)

*  I got a bag of almost free dog food at Walmart from Shop Kick.....

I paid $5.98 + tax, got $4.08 back on SK and $2 back on Coupon dotcom, so it cost me .28¢ in sale tax.

*  I bought 10 bags of this on NYE at Walmart when everything Xmas went to 75% off.......

10 bags of pecans in the shell for .50¢ each so $5 total.  These normally got there for $3.98 a bag so these were a great deal because we all know how expensive pecans are, right?! ;-)

*  I also bought this stuff at Walmart yesterday to finish off my Weekend $5 Ibotta Bonus....

The only thing missing is the box of Entenmann's mini cakes(which Hubs took).  The Palmer's shampoo and the 2 Revlon items weren't Ibotta offers but were on clearance and gave me $1.55 in overage after coupons.  The Palmer's shampoo WAS an Ibotta offer but also on clearance of $1.09 so that gave me $1.82 in overage as well.  I think the $1 Bumble Bee tuna pouch attached to the any soup offer as well as the .25¢ BB tuna offer.  I spent $4.39(.30¢ of that was sales tax)in cash after $20 in free SK and Ibotta gift cards.  I earned $16.38(including the weekend bonus and the .03¢ back for using $5 in Ibotta funds to buy a gift card-which also gave me an item toward my bonus)for this transaction.

*  I stayed home 4 of the last 7 days so I didn't spend anything then.

*  While I was out that way I hit the Produce Market instead of going to Weis(PMITA)in my town as foodstuffs there are much cheaper except for Weis loss leaders. I probably saved double what I spent there on fresh veggies and lunchmeat.

On a very sad note, I went to the shop next door to the Produce Market, my Bread Outlet only to find that is was GONE!! argh  Let's all bow our heads in mourning for that.  Having to pay full retail for bread products might just kill me.......*sniff*

*   I found money!

Both of these pennies at my Rite-Aid, one in the store....

The other in the parking lot.  Guess which one is which. lol

After hitting a R-A in a nearby town I hit Burger King there for a $2 Whopper deal on my app(using my free gift card to pay so there's a win within a win).

Under the drive-thru counter proved to be a honey hole of change!  I was able to scoop up most of it while the cashier tried to run my BK gift card(BK gift cards always take awhile to work).  Mostly pennies but throw in a dime and a nickel and I was up .24¢ there.

Then on Thursday I hit another R-A trying to use up my Bonus Cash before it expired/the snow came and found this dime by the front counter.  Yes!

Total Found in last Week...... .36¢
Total Found This Year...... .36¢

Not a bad start for 2022!

That's about all I've got for this week.

Any frugal wins in your neck of the woods?  Let's hear all about them!

Sluggy

Rite-Aid & Walmart Plus Reader Questions....Mostly Last Week

I ended up doing a few hauls at Rite-Aid last week after doing the gift card glitch too.  There were 2 $15 BC wys $50 coupons...each one had a different code on it so you could do each of the two once per card.

This transaction was mostly about getting some paper products and converting BC to cash rebates on Ibotta....

1 x Cottonelle tp on sale=$8.99
1 x Scott paper towels on sale=$8.99
2 x Lady Speed Stick deo on sale=$5.98
4 x Snuggle dryer sheets B2G2Free=$10.98
1 x Nivea shave gel 20% Wellness discount=$3.99
2 x Nivea moisturizing After Shave on sale=$11.98
SubTotal.........$50.91*

Coupons Used
1 x $15 BC wys $50
1 x $1/1 Cottonelle L2CQ=$1.00
2 x $2/1 Speed Stick In-AdQ=$4.00
1 x $1/2 Speed Stick ManuQ=$1.00
Coupon Total......$6.00

$50.91-$6.00=$44.91+$2.22 tax=$47.13 paid with Bonus Cash and gift card.

Bonus Cash earned back was $29($15 wys $50, $5 wyb2 Cotonelle/Scott, 3 x $3 wyb2 Nivea).  2 of the $3 on Nivea was expected as there was a double dip but a third one came off for buying "Nivea, Bull Dog, Edge or Schick" too.  Doesn't matter now as those monthly deals are finished.

I got the Snuggle and Nivea to complete Ibotta rebates. Ibotta gave me back $6 for the Snuggles(4 x $1.50), $1.20 for the Nivea shave gel and 2 rebates each for the after shaves-those qualified for a Nivea Moisturizing rebate($2 x 2)and a Nivea after shave rebate(2 x $2.50), giving me back $16.20 total.  That gave me 4 of the 10 rebates I needed to finish an Ibotta Bonus too.

* The shave gel should  have rang up 20% off w/my Wellness discount but it didn't so I ended up cashing out $1.06 of my BC because I got a refund the next time I went in, so cash to put into my refund/overcharge/post coupon envelope........

Then on Saturday Hubs needed to go to Walmart so I tagged along to finish my weekend Bonus.......

2 x Good Thins crackers=$4.32
1 x Wheat Thins family size=$3.67

2 x Oreo Thins covered cookies=$5.12
2 x Mead folders on clearance=.50¢
3 x Arm and Hammer Scent boosters=$11.91
SubTotal......$25.56

I used 1 x $1/3 Nabisco items ManuQ so $24.56+.75¢ tax=$25.31
Then I paid with a free $25 Fetch gift card.....

This made my OOP .31¢.

Nice. 8-))

I earned back with 6 rebates(Mead, 2 x Good Thins, Oreos, 2 x Wheat Thins)totaling $8.31 and the $1 Weekend Bonus. Total earned last weekend on Ibotta $25.51, total cash OOP between Walmart and Rite-Aid was .31¢.

I also earned $2 back on Checkout51 for the Good Thins and the Oreos.

I submitted to SwagBucks for the Scent Boosters as they were giving back $12 in points so a freebie and .06¢ moneymaker.  They didn't pick up the third container from the receipt submission but after a review later that day I got the full amount of points.  I was planning on doing the frozen pizza(CA Pizza Kitchen)deal but they changed that rebate from full price paid to $3 on 2.  Wasn't interested in the Ferrero-Rocher chocolates as we aren't big hazelnut fans here.

Debbie had asked in the comments what sort of gift cards I get from ShopKicks.  Since I use any gift cards earned from rebating to put back into the rebating game and the only store gift cards I can use are Walmart(Weis and Rite-Aid cards aren't an option on any of them, ShopKick, Fetch or SwagBucks)so I get Walmart.  I could get CVS gift cards but I don't go there much and I'm trying to wean off of that store right now.

ND Chic asked how I put together my Ibotta deals too.  First I'll go through the offers for Walmart, Weis, Rite-Aid and any other store I think I might go to that week that participates in Ibotta.  Then I'll go on YouTube and see what other couponers are doing at the stores and what offers are double dipping too and if there are any internet printable or ManuQs I can combine with offers.  I write up a list and it's usually got way more offers than I end up doing as I have to allow for A-items being out of stock that I want to do and B-items not carried in that particular Walmart, etc.

It helps to follow/subscribe to a vlogger or two that coupon.  Choice ones that frequent the stores you do too.

Right now I am only 10 offers done out of 36 needed to get that $10 Cold Hard Cash Bonus and it ends on Jan. 31st.  It's highly possible I won't finish that Bonus at this point between the bad weather here and lack of deals I want to do this week but that's ok.  You don't have to do them all just to do them.

And if anyone wants to use my referral codes to join one of the rebate apps, here they are--

IBOTTA-mkaaxa

SHOPKICK-FUN260238

FETCH-GC73D

SWAGBUCKS-email me for an invite

Later on Saturday I went back to R-A and did this to stock up on some supplements.....

2 x Nivea breathable lotion on sale=$11.98

2 x Nature's Truth Turmeric gummies b1g1=$17.99

2 x Nature's Truth Elderberry b1g1=$14.99

2 x Nature's Truth D3 b1g1=$12.99

SubTotal......$57.95

Coupons Used

1 x $15 BC wys $50 Q

2 x $3/1 Nivea Breathable IPQ=$6.00

1 x $3/1 Nature's Truth Gummies HangtagQ=$3.00

2 x $2/1 NTruth IPQ=$4.00

I had a $2/1 NTruth L2CQ I didn't realize came off as well.

Coupon Total..$15.00

$57.95-$15.00=$42.95+.36¢ tax=$43.31 paid for with Bonus Cash.

I earned back $38 in new BC($15 wys $50, $3 wyb2 Nivea lotion, $20 wys $40 NTruth).

Then I did the P and G Deal on a third card.  Parameters were spend $50 to get the $15, but also spend $30 on P and G qualifying items(to get another $10BC)and spend $15 on Cover Girl items(to get another $5BC)within that same $50.....

1 x Gain detergent on sale=$4.94

1 x Tide pods on sale=$4.94

1 x Tide detergent on sale=$4.94

2 x Secret aluminum free on sale=$10.98

1 x Crest toothpaste on sale=$4.00

1 x Glide dental floss on sale=$4.00

3 x Cover Girl mascara 20% Wellness discount=$16.77

SubTotal......$50.57

Coupons Used

1 x $2/1 Gain IPQ=$2.00

1 x $2/1 Tide pods L2CQ=$2.00

1 x $2/1 Tide L2CQ=$2.00

1 x $5.99/2 Secret aluminum free L2CQ=$5.99

1 x $2/1 Crest toothpaste L2CQ=$2.00

1 x $1/1 Glide floss L2CQ=$1.00

2 x $2/1 Cover Girl eye ManuQ=$4.00

1 x $2/1 Cover Girl eye L2CQ=$2.00

Coupon Total of $20.99

$50.57-$20.99=$29.58 paid with Bonus Cash.

I earned back $30.00 in new BC($15 wys $50, $10 wys $30 P and G, $5 wys $15 Cover Girl).

Except two things went awry.  The first one I noticed as soon as the transaction was done.  Someone had put the wrong Tide pods(20 ct.)where the 16 ct. and on sale ones were suppose to be so I bought the wrong ones that didn't count toward the $30 spend/get $10 BC offer. sigh.

So I returned those and rebought the correct ones, thus the $2/1 L2CQ came off on the rebuy.  I ended up with $3.49 in cash.  I also returned a lip balm so that was another $2.79 back in cash as well on that trip.......

Then when I got home I noticed I didn't get my 20% Wellness discount on the regular priced Cover Girl

items so when I went up to R-A on Monday I got that $4.51 back in cash as well....

The transaction I did on Monday was this one......

1 x Irish Spring bar soap pack on sale=$3.99

1 x Irish Spring body wash on sale=$3.99

2 x R-A rulers 25% off sale=$1.48

SubTotal.......$9.46

Coupons Used

2 x $2/1 In-Ad Irish Spring RAQ=$4.00

1 x .75¢/1 Irish Spring body wash ManuQ=.75¢

Coupon Total....$4.75

$9.46-$4.75=$4.71+.29¢ tax=$5.00 paid for with Bonus Cash.

I earned back $6 in new BC(2 x $1 Irish Spring, 2 x $2 R-A office supplies)so a $1 moneymaker this one.

Not a great Rite-Aid week but there are a few wins this week especially if you have the Irish Spring coupon and/or the Unilever inserts from Sunday(of which we don't get here).

Sluggy

Frugal Friday 2021.....the January 8th Edition

 Not much qualified as frugal this past week here at Chez Sluggy.  Here are our few wins for the week....

*  My sleep doc decided it was time to replace my BiPAP machine seeing as mine has seen almost 7 years of service.  I contacted my DME supplier BEFORE 2020 ended and our deductible reset to Zero.  With the gallbladder surgery we had exceeded the maximum OOP for our health plan.

Here's my shiny new machine which is much quieter than my old clunker.  OOP for us was $0.  This model retails for over $2K.  

The old clunker still works so that will be kept as a backup/travel machine(if we ever get to go anywhere again).

*  Here are some of the best "deals" recently using sales/coupons/Ibotta/Shopkick.......

Most are from December but I had to wait until January for some of them to "process".

Froot Loops Jumbo Snax $4. at Walmart.  Used a $1/1 Q, got back

2 Suave Professionals were $3.96 at Walmart.  Got $4.80 back at ShopKick with a Bonus.

1 Find Your Happy Place hand soap was 50% off at $1.98 at Walmart.  Got $3.60 back at ShopKick.

1 Apple Jacks Jumbo Snax box was $4.  at Walmart.  Used a $1/1 Q and got back $2 on Ibotta and $1.40 on ShopKick.  I did this deal 3 times as it reset for me 2 more times.  I also earned 2 Ibotta Bonuses-$1 for buying 2 Jumbo Snax and .50¢ for buying 3 Kellogg's items(I guess Jumbo Snax qualified?)

I did the Deep Dish and Large Plate Dixie plates twice at Target at a cost of $3.19 each(.10 cheaper than Walmart).  I used 2 x .75¢/1 Dixie IPQs on the first set and earned back $3 on each of 4 packs on ShopKick so $12.76-$1.50 qs=$11.26-$12=better than free plates.

The larger Dollar Shave Club pack was $7.44 at Walmart and I earned $5 back on ShopKick.

The smaller Dollar Shave Club pack was $4.94 at Walmart and I earned $2 back on Ibotta.

The Quaker oatmeal cup was .98¢ at Walmart and earned .25¢ back on Ibotta.

The Persil laundry packs were $4 at Walmart.  I used a $1/1 IPQ and earned $2 back on Ibotta.  I did this on 2 different trips and earned the Persil $2 Bonus too.

The Tazo tea bottle was a freebie after Ibotta rebate of $1.68.

More Persil and the other set of Dixie plates.

Also I did the Afrin deal on 2 different trips after it reset.  $4.98 at Walmart, used $1/1 IPQ, got back $2 on Ibotta and $4 on ShopKick.  Rinse and repeat.

Scott tissue triple soft .86¢ at Walmart and earned .50¢ on Ibotta. I'll take facial tissue for .36¢ all day long.

Dog biscuits were $4.98 at Walmart and I earned $1.50 on Ibotta and $2.40 on ShopKick.  Having that ManuQ for it would have been better but we don't get any RetailMeNot inserts here in our newspapers.

Purex was $4.47 at Walmart and I used a $1/1IPQ and earned back $1.50 on Ibotta.  I think there was a Purex Bonus involved too but I can't remember at this point.

The Mentos gum was $3.12 and I earned back $1 on ShopKick. and $.50¢ on SwagBucks.

The Poise pads were $4.84 at Walmart, I used a $2/1 IPQ and earned back $3 on Ibotta.  I did this moneymaker deal a few times in December.

I bought Delsym twice, once at Walmart and again at Target after this offer reset.  The Walmart price was $9.88 and I used a $4/1 IPQ and got back $4 on ShopKick and $2 on Ibotta.  When I bought it again at Target I paid $7.51(Target Circle discount), used a $4 IPQ, got $2 from Ibotta and the ShopKick rebate was doubled at $8!

I also bought Hubs a bottle of "Simply Almond" at Target.  I was $3.99 and had a full $3.99 rebate on Ibotta for it plus the bottle had a .75¢ Peelie Q so I was paid .75¢ to cart this home! 8-)

I also found lbs. of Ground Beef packs on the Xmas eve trip to Target marked down to $1.49 each.

Lots of Ibotta Bonuses too in December.  It was a very lucrative month to be a rebater/couponer. 8-)

That's just some of the awesome rebates/Qs from the end of December.

*  I'll post about this week's Rite-Aid deals on Saturday(if the computer cooperates)but here is my first refund on the year courtesy of the Rite-Aid across from the discount grocery outlet....

I bought 4 Nivea men's products on clearance for $3.99 each there.  After she finished the transaction I looked at the receipt and the cashier has rung up 5 of them by mistake so this $4.23 cash refund actually was turning Bonus Cash(which I used here)back into cash.  Nice.

*  I hit the after Christmas clearances at Walmart/Target/Rite-Aid.....

                                                    

This all I can show you from Target since most of what I got that isn't in the photo was for gifts.
Xmas themed hand soap and lotion, holiday gift bags and then a small bag of meltaway HF mints and a cannister of fruits and nuts for a charcuterie board/tray for moi.  All this as 50-70% off depending on what it was.  But even better, I used gift cards bought on discount 2 years ago to pay so no OOP now. ;-)

*  I hit the discount food outlet on Thursday since it is across the street from a Rite-Aid. ;-)

.

Uncured sheshe hot dogs were $1.99 pack.

Bag of fresh steam-in-bag green beans were .59¢

Bag of Romaine Hearts was .79¢

Bag of Carrots was .59¢

Also got Tomatoes on the Vine for .59¢ lb. and Hubs a gallon of Almond Milk for $1.99.

This is the place that puts out "freebies"(mostly overstocks they can't sell or just out of or short dated items)for those who spend something in the store.  Here's what I got for free too.....

2 x Organic quart of milk

2 x bag of Croutons

4 x Hebrew National fat-free hot dogs

Those hot dogs are $5.49 at my Weis(PMITA)Markets

*  I found money!
Starting off the new year right I spied a penny by the bag holders on a self-checkout at Weis ](PMITA)Markets on my trip Tuesday.......

Then I saw a penny smiling up at me on the floor in the foyer at Weis as I left the building.

Then I found a penny on the floor in front of the pharmacy counter at Rite-Aid later that same day.

 

I hit up another Rite-Aid on Thursday and found this penny under the rack where they keep/sell the newspapers.

A slow start to 2021 but a start nonetheless. ;-)

Total Found This Week.... .04¢

Total Found This Year.... .04¢

*  Hubs thinks he can fix the fridge instead of having to buy a new appliance.  It's the gasket that sealed the freezer door that's broken so I Youtube'd what the fix is and Hubs found the replacement part.  Cross your fingers it gets here(coming from CA!)and then that we can fix it.  I'll call a repairman to install the part if we can't do it(not very handy over here)which will still be cheaper than purchasing a new fridge.

That's about all I can think of that was frugal lately.

What frugal wins happened in your world lately?

Let us all know!

Sluggy

It's All About the Rite-Aid Baby!....A Woot!, The End of an Era and some Ranting

Ok, so that title may be a little misleading.  It IS about Rite-Aid but in a larger sense it's about couponing too in general.
So even if you don't Rite-Aid, it's worth reading....maybe. ;-)

First off, I need to catch up with a Rite-Aid trip I took weeks! ago.
It's a big one......are you ready for it?

1 x Doritos on sale=$2.50
SubTotal....$2.50

No Coupons were used.

Total...$2.50
I used $2 in +Up Rewards to pay and put the .50¢ remaining on my free to me Rite-Aid gift card.
I received no new +Ups.

Here is my updated Grand Totals at Rite-Aid for the September SCR Period.....

THIS TRIP
Number of Transactions.....1
Total Spent....$.50 put on free gift card
Value of Items....$4.29
SCR qualified for...$0.00
Other Rebates earned...$0.00
Gift Cards earned....$0.00
+Up Rewards earned...$0.00
+Up Rewards spent.....$2.00
+Up Rewards left to spend.....$0.00*
And I have $32.65 left on my gift card.**


And now, the monthly totals so far.
Rite-Aid GRAND TOTALS--SEPTEMBER Rebate Period

Number of Transactions......1
Total Spent....$.50 put on free Gift Cards/Certificates so ZERO OOP
Number of Items purchased.....1
Value of Items purchased....$4.29
SCR qualified for....$0.00
Other Cash....$0.00
Additional Rebates....$0.00
Additional Non-Cash Rewards....$0.00

+UPS Totals for September SCR period
+Up Rewards carryover from 8/26.....$2.00
+Up Rewards spent....$2.00
+Up Rewards earned....$0.00
+Up Rewards left....$0.00  includes ALL +Ups not just ones from this SCR period

*If you remember, I was owed $2 in +Up Rewards from last month.  I opted to return the item instead of fighting to get my rightly deserved +Ups from Corporate.  So instead of having $4 in +Ups, I started September with $2.

**After returning the item in question above, I got a credit toward my gift card balance so that it why it is larger than August's ending balance.


If you haven't noticed yet, I've been taking a Rite-Aid break.
I want to share 2 different thoughts on deal hunting at Rite-Aid with you.

First I want to blow my own horn.

Since I wore myself out physically yesterday at storage I have been doing nerdy sedentary things today....like going over all my spreadsheets and transaction logs for recent years from Rite-Aid.
Because that's what us nerds like to do! 8-)

I found I achieved a major accomplishment with my Rite-Aid shopping.
From September of 2010 through August of 2011, I spent not one cent of my own money at Rite-Aid.
That's one solid year, 12 months, of hauling home bags and bags of goods without forking over ANY CASH.

Sssssshhh....don't tell them.
 
Between sales, strategic use of coupons, +Up Rewards and free gift cards I was able to supply my family with toiletries, HBA, cleaning supplies and a little bit of food(and non-foods like snacks and candy) for $0.00 spending.

It would have been 3 months longer(from June 2010-August 2011)without spending actual cash, if I had taken a RA gift card on vacation with me in August of 2010 and hadn't paid $8.99 cash for that coffeemaker I bought at a Rite-Aid in New Hampshire.
Doh!

Here are the numbers.....

From September 2010 through August 2011 at Rite-Aid--
I spent $0.00 cash OOP.
I spent $141.97 in gift cards that cost me $0.00 cash to obtain.
I took home merchandise that retailed for $11,224.28.
I earned gift cards/certificates worth $95 during this time.
I earned cash rebates of $412.12 during this time.
I also sold excess items for $682 cash.
I gave away many items to friends and family, as well as made 3 sizable  food bank donations from the excess items.
I also still have an "ass ton" sized stockpile of drugstore items.

So you could look at this and say that I was paid $1,094.12 in cash(rebates and garage sale profit)to take $11,224.28 worth of merchandise home from the store.
Now if THAT is not an accomplishment, I don't know what is!LOL

You may notice that my free gift card value earned was less than my gift cards used during this 12 months, so how did I not spend any cash on all this?

In 2010, there were MANY SCR deals that gave gift cards instead of cash.  I must have pursued ALL of those deals, since from 7/2010 until 12/2010 I earned $280 in free gift cards.(I earned even more gift cards earlier in 2010 which I am not recounting here.) And that $280 worth doesn't even count the ones I earned from transferring prescriptions to Rite-Aid last year that earned me a $25 gift card for each one.  This explains why all my $141.97 OOP was paid for with gift card that cost me nothing to obtain.
And I still have about $70 left from my gift card stash.

Another thing I noticed was that since Rite-Aid introduced the +Wellness and the +Ups Rewards program early in 2010(Feb. in my area since it was within a test market program), this is the FIRST TIME I have had NO +Up Rewards in 20 contiguous months to spend.  At. All.
Wow.....

My Other Thought--
Now, I love my Rite-Aid stores here and the people who work there.
While my local employees are missing me coming to see them(yes, I am loved!lol),the bean counters in corporate are breathing a sigh of relief that, for now, my plundering and pillaging of Rite-Aid is over.
Now they don't have me to bring down their profit numbers.
Maybe now, my local Rite-Aid stores can show a profit. ;-)
(Did I say NOW enough times for you in the last few sentences?lol)

So I'll look at my Rite-Aid break as my way of helping them stay in business.
Because it everybody shopped there like I did/do, they would be long gone. ;-)

On the down side, the "perfect storm" of conditions that aided me in getting so much for free at Rite-Aid no longer exist.
I benefited from being able to combine SCR deals, free gift card deals, liberal coupon policies, bonus coupons and deals and promotions from the company and some amazing deals that made many items free.  It was all perfectly ethical, legal and in every other way acceptable.  I didn't scam any one or do anything immoral to get what I got. You just had to be motivated and dedicated enough to work all the angles and take advantage of all the opportunities.  It was by no means easy and yes, it took time and energy.

Currently, Rite-Aid offers no prescription transfer incentives, no survey coupon incentives, no $X off $XX coupons, no gift card SCR deals, +Up Rewards and Single Check Rebates that require you to spend too much OOP even after coupons to get them.
Add in that they have restricted their Coupon Policy twice in the last year and that the Manufacturers have clamped down on releasing high value coupons or even any coupons at all for certain products
AND have raised the cost of their products in this economy.

Every opportunity has tightened up so much(if it even still exists!), your results will NOT net you as much free stuff as before.  Not at Rite-Aid or any store that you can name.
That's just the world we currently live in.

Will it change?
You bet!
Retailing is ever changing....it could get better or it could get worse, and it will probably do both over the coming years.
Just keep your thumb on the pulse of retailing and be prepared to seize deals and opportunities when you find them.

I, for one, am anxious to see where shopping in 2012 leads us!

Sluggy

Drawing a Life Lesson from Spider-man

The Coupon Goddess has again brought up a Reader Issue for debate.  Go read about it HERE.
Basically it involves instituting Couponing Skills Courses for Food Stamp recipients.

If you've been a longtime reader of my blog, you'll remember that I partook in a Food Stamp Challenge back in June of this year.  I spent that month exploring the issues surrounding Food Stamps as well as living off of an average full monthly allotment of snap benefits(food stamps)in my daily life.
You can search back in the archives of June 2010 to read up on what I talked about then and see how we did with that challenge.
So this issue is not something I haven't considered long and hard before.  And over the intervening months I've continued to mull some of these same issues over in my own head.

Here is my very long response to this debate.....

Sluggy
"With great power comes great responsibility"--Peter Parker a.k.a. Spider-man

****
First off, I am older than dirt and have "been around" on this big blue ball many many years and seen a lot of human nature.
We are fascinating creatures, are we not?

Requiring 'courses' of some kind by social service agencies has been tried off and on over the years since the modern day food stamp program began a long time ago.  Anything from mandated lessons on nutrition to shopping skills to cooking skills have been held.  States are in charge of implementing, modifying & setting rules within a standard frame for their individual Food Stamp programs so nothing has been tried on a nationwide scale.

The result of all these courses overall? 
Unless attendance was required to get the food benefit, most people in the program did NOT go.  While I'm sure you have recipients with legit reasons why they couldn't attend, it is human nature to keep doing what you are doing and not step outside of your comfort zone and try new things.  Most people are not motivated to make the effort it takes, even though they would reap many benefits in the life they lead from partaking of something like these courses.  Some people would be against being told to attend from the word "go",  since grown up people don't take kindly to being treated like a child and being told what to do is seen as condescending by many.  Then the Food Stamp employees would be dealing with a whole lot of passive-aggressiveness on their part when dealing with these clients.

If efforts are made(and additional monies in the program's budget spent)on ideas that only a few take advantage of(like courses), those in charge end up discontinuing those services.  Obviously, the courses are NOT cost-effective from an accounting standpoint.  Also when budgets are cut if these kind of services are in place, they are the first thing to be cut(even if the clients utilize them),because the funds need to go for actual food benefits and spread out to cover the largest group of recipients it can.

It's sad really, that people as a whole don't take every advantage or help offered to them, and that we keep cycling through plans like this...start a course, have it met with indifference by the majority, discontinue that service and years later, after that service is forgotten have a new set of program directors try what is basically the same idea again.  Sad and frustrating.

That being said....I do feel that these sort of nutrition/cooking skills/shopping skills courses ARE a good thing.  And if it helps just one family break out of a cycle of poverty and/or diminished health, it was worth attempting.

I took part in a Food Stamp Challenge this past summer where I attempted to feed my family on the avg. monthly snap benefit amount those on full food stamp allotments receive.  With my couponing/cooking/budgeting skills I was able to complete it fairly handily without altering the diet I fed my family much.  If I had shopped/cooked like the average American, I doubt that I would have completed the task as handily.

As a part of this FS Challenge, I also researched the history of the program, the statistics, the shopping habits, the rules, and how to augment your scrip with other resources available to the general public and how to make frugal workarounds to stretch that money further.  I talked to people in the grocery store who used snap benefits to get some 'real' feedback to my 'phony' poverty.

In all this I found that the majority of snap benefit recipients have NO CLUE that you CAN USE COUPONS WITH FOOD STAMPS!
I was floored to find this out frankly.  The ones I talked to were equally surprised that they could combine the 2 forms of payment as well.

Now, I do see that using coupons if you are on food stamps is problematic, since if you are on food stamps, you are economically disadvantaged.
The majority of food stamp recipients don't have either extra money available or the resources to gather coupons.  If you don't have enough money to buy food for your family, how can you justify spending money on multiple newspapers for the inserts or paying for a coupon clipping service to get coupons?  Also, if money is tight, where do you get the cash for crazy expensive ink cartridges as well as paper to print out the coupons available online(if in fact, you have access to a computer WITH a printer)?

Here is what I would like to see happen.  It would NOT require any additional monies in a state's food stamp budget to be spent on non-food stamp benefits NOR would it require any added payroll funds.
1-Have every social services employee who deals with the public in the FS program make each recipient of the benefits aware that coupons CAN be used with Food Stamps in payemnet at the stores.  If handouts could be printed off at a small cost, then also give each recipient something in writing to take away when they come in to the agency.
Knowledge is power.  Those who are pro-active in their lives will take that power and use it, I hope. ;-)

2-Somehow get manufacturer's to supply their coupons(for food products only) to food stamp recipients for free.
I don't know who this could be accomplished, but by putting the coupons in the hands of those using snap benefits you take away one more stumbling block to stretching your food scrip dollar further.  I am sure that giving free coupons to the govt. agencies who handle the FS programs would be viewed as some how wrong(think companies using that 'in' supplying coupons directly to these consumers as a form of advertising and drumming up business and profits for those companies), perhaps some one can find a happy compromise that offends no one's sense of fair play.  An independent clearing house to receive the free coupon supplies, in charge of distributing said coupons to those in need.  I'm unclear on the actual 'how to' to get this accomplished.

3-While most govt. social service agencies are resistant to new ideas and people coming in off the street offering them help, try this at your local food bank or soup kitchen--a non-govt. entity.  If you coupon and have the bent or ability to teach others, go to said private entity and offer to hold a couponing class free of charge to anyone who wants to attend.  It may take some convincing but hopefully if you are persuasive and have a good argument for why it's a VERY good thing, and someone in charge will give you a chance to do something to help their clients outside of handing them a bag of food or a plate of hot food.
Or at the very least, approach these same independent entities about starting a Coupon Box at their location.  This would just be some system(a box in a corner or something more elaborate if wanted/needed)where someone could get free-to-them coupons to use.  Get a group together to donate coupons they won't or can't use to this effort.  File the coupons by category and make it available at the food bank or soup kitchen, etc. so people can take what they need.  It would just require getting the approval and setting this up initially and then once a month, someone would need to glean through and trash the out of date coupons, maintaining the system as it where.  Low maintenance and BIG potential for rewards!

Now I am off to DO something to help someone here using my coupon smarts.
What can YOU do in your world to make a positive impact?

Sluggy

The Last Rite-Aid Trips for the SCR Period and FINAL TOTALS!

*WARNING!*
Boring Rite-Aid trip post alert.....skip down to the bottom for the SCR Period Final Numbers for 9/26-10/23.

I had to get in a couple more trips.
After all....who can resist FREE TOILET PAPER!lol

1 x Scott 12 roll Toilet Paper on sale=$7.49
2 x Axe Shower Gel on sale BOGO 50%=$8.53
3 x Hormel Compleats on sale $1.99=$5.97
1 x Clearsil Cream 20% wellness disc.=$4.23
SubTotal...$26.22

Coupons Used
1 x $5 off $25 the one from that newsletter in Jan.=$5.00
1 x $2.50/1 Scott TP IPQ=$2.50
1 x BOGO Axe Shower Gel ManuQ=$4.55 **
1 x $1/3 Hormel Compleast IPQ=$1.00
1 x $2/1 any Clearasil product In-Ad Q=$2.00
1 x $2/1 any Clearasil product IPQ=$2.00
Coupon Total...$17.05

$26.22-$17.05=$9.17
Used $9 in +Up Rewards...$9.17-$9.00=$.17+$.06tax=$.23 OOP put on Rite-Aid gift card.

Received $7 in new +Up Rewards...3 x $1(Hormel), $2(Scott), 2 x $1(Axe)=$7.00

I 'lost' $2 in  the +Ups count this time but that's the price I pay for more TP.lol
And I keep forgetting to stack the $1/1 Hormel Compleats Q from the Flu Booklet w/my IPQ ManuQ....ugh.

**Ok, the Axe was Buy One Get One 1/2 off, so I should have gotten only $2.84 off with my BOGO Q.
But the register showed each Axe as being $4.55....I think that was the price with my 20% off wellness discount.  So the cashier took off $4.55 instead of $2.84 and I didn't catch it until I sat down to type this out now.  Rite-Aid owes me $3 in +Ups that I never got around to calling Corporate about from 3 weeks ago so I guess in the end it all evens out. ;-)

And that evening I stopped in another store and got this.....

1 x Scott TP on sale=$7.49
3 x Hormel Compleats on sale $1.99=$5.97
1 x Oscillococcinum  on sale=$4.99
1 x Simply Saline  on sale=$3.99
1 x Ace cold pack w/wellness 20% disc.=$1.03
2 x Pepsi bottles w/wellness 20% disc.$1.27=$2.54
SubTotal...$26.01

Coupons Used

1 x $5 off $25 the one from my wellness acct.=$5.00
1 x $2.50/1 Scott TP IPQ=$2.50
1 x $1/3 Hormel Compleats IPQ=$1.00
1 x $1/1 Hormel Compleats Flu Booklet Q=$1.00
1 x $3/1 Oscillo IPQ=$3.00
1 x $2/1 Oscillo AdPerks/VV IPQ=$2.00
1 x $1/1 Simply Saline ManuQ=$1.00
1 x $1.50/1 Ace cold Pack IPQ=$1.50-again they didn't adjust the Q down
1 x BOGO Pepsi bottles AdPerks/VV IPQ=$1.27
Coupon Total...$18.27

$26.01-$18.27=$7.74
Used $7 in +Up Rewards...$7.74-$7.00=$.74+$.02tax=$.76 OOP put on Rite-Aid gift card.

Received $5 in new +Up Rewards...3 x $1(Hormel), $2(Scott)=$5.00
Qualified for SCR #25($4.99) and #30($3.99)=$8.98

And while I "lost" $2 +Ups(used $7, got $5 back), I will received $8.98 in SCRs on BIL's account, so overall we are "up" $6.98 on this transaction.


THESE TRIPS Total Spent....$.99(put on free Rite-Aid gift card)
Value of Items....$80.34
SCR qualified for...$8.98
Gift Cards earned....$0.00
+Up Rewards earned...$12.00
+Up Rewards spent...$16.00


GRAND TOTALS--October Rebate Period  FINAL

Number of Transactions......16
Total Spent....$5.70 put on free Gift Cards/Certificates so ZERO OOP
Value of Items purchased....$725.56
SCR qualified for....$53.90
Other Cash....$1.94 cash refund
Additional Non-Cash Rewards....2 x $5.99NasoGel(Mfg. Rebates 1 for me/1 for BIL)=$11.98


I've spent nothing out of pocket(since the gift cards were free)and I'm getting back $65.88 in cash and have $725.56 in products.
Who can NOT love this kind of shopping! 8-))

+UPS Totals for Oct. SCR Period
+Up Rewards carryover from last trip....$24.50
+Up Rewards spent....$16.00
+Up Rewards earned....$1.00
+Up Rewards left....$20.50*
 
* I need to recount my +Up Rewards that are left, as I gave some to one of the kids to buy something and I can't find their receipt and don't recall how many I handed over to them.  I'll post the correct +Ups left total next Rite-Aid trip.

Sluggy

What? Not a Rite-Aid Post?! Diving back into CVSing....

So I get an email the other week inviting me to take a CVS survey.  For a few minutes of my time and $5 in ECBs, I'm there!lol

I've been out of the CVS game since last fall.  I decided to use this $5 ECBs and the portion left on my CVS Gift Card to jump back into CVSing.

1/9/10 Transaction

1 x SoyJoy box=$6.00
Used the $5ECB.
$6.00-$5.00=$1.00 OOP  Put on a CVS gift card
Received $6 ECBs

These boxes of Soy Joy are in the Bonus Pack Aisle with all the other specials that are available until 2/14.

I had some All $2/1 Qs that were expiring the 10th that I wanted to use and CVS had All for $3.99 a bottle that week.  I was going to use those Qs at Rite-Aid(of course!lol)because I had a raincheck from when Rite-Aid had the All for $3.99 also, but everytime I go to Rite-Aid they either don't have any All or only 1 bottle.  So it was back into the store to use those Qs and get a few more things as well.

1/9/10 Part II Transaction
3 x All Detergent on sale $3.99=$11.97
2 x Oust Spray $3.99=$5.98
2 x Rubbermaid Containers $1.99BOGO=$1.99
2 x Bioluxe 'Poo and Conditioner BOGO=$9.99
1 x Chocolate Advent Calendar on clearance=$1.25 *Not Pictured*
SubTotal....$33.18

Coupons Used
1 x $5 off $30 Purchase(the CVS/Medicare IPQ)=$5.00
3 x $2/1 All Detergent ManuQ=$6.00
1 x BOGO Oust Spray=$3.99
2 x $1/1 Rubbermaid Containers ManuQ=$2.00($.01 profit)
1 x $6 ECBs(soy joy)=$6.00

Coupon Total.....$22.99

$31.18-$22.99=$10.19+$.58tax=$10.77 OOP Put on CVS Gift Card
Received $6 ECBs(2x3 Oust).
So I used my $6 ECBs, got $6 more and used my $2 All Qs with nothing OOP.
And there is a Full Price Refund on the Bioluxe Conditioner, so I'll be getting $9.99 back on this purchase.

And for all you Compacters out there, yes, I totally did buy NEW PLASTIC containers here!
Ugh.
But they were FREE after Qs and we needed them.
Buying New Total for 2010.....2+$0OOP
Compacting.....0

This week the Sis-in-law wanted to go to CVS so off we went again this week.  I wanted to get some of the Bonus Pack Buys of the Nature's Bounty MyLife Vitamins.  The ones in the special aisle display are BOGO $9.99 for 2 Bottles.  I read somewhere online(frugalsuz.blogspot.com perhaps?)that Nature's Bounty has a website where you can get IPQs for their products by submitting codes off of bottles that you buy.  Since I have a TON of chewable Vitamin C plus other NB vitamins I bought at Rite-Aid(where else?lol)the past few months for basically free or $1 after coupons, I went online and fairly shortly I had enough points to redeem for some $5 off Nature's Bounty Qs...sweet!
So we were off to CVS.....

1/15/10 Transaction

2 x Your Life Vitamins BOGO=$9.99
1 x CVS Juice on sale=$2.50
1 x SoftSoap Hand Soap=$3.99
SubTotal....$16.48

Coupons Used
1 x $5 off $20 Purchase=$5.00 *****
2 x $5/1 Nature's Bounty=$10.00
Coupon Total....$15.00

$16.48-$15.00=$1.48 OOP  Put on CVS Gift Card
Received $3ECBs(WYB 2 Nature's Bounty)& $2ECBs(WYB Bonus SoftSoap)=$5ECBs

*****
I didn't realize until I got home and went over my receipt that I didn't spend enough to use that $5 off $20 Coupon!
EEK!
I was thinking each Vitamin purchase counted.....total on those was $19.98 BEFORE the BOGO so with the juice and soap was over $20.
But that cashier never even said BOO about the situation....if she had I would have turned bright red and bought more.  I reallly wasn't trying to pull a fast one here.  For lack of a better phrase, My Bad.lol

I'm up to $11ECBs at this point.

I was over by that CVS again this morning, so I went back in for more Vitamins....this time I bought enough to use the $5 off Q.lol

1/16/10 Transaction

1 x Soy Joy bonus Days box=$6.00
4 x YourLife NB Vitamins BOGO@$9.99=$19.98
SubTotal=$25.98

Coupons Used
1 x $5 off $20 CVS IPQ=$5.00
4 x $5/1 Nature's Bounty IPQ(from Rewards Program)=$20
Coupon Total....$25.00

$25.98-$25.00=$.98 OOP put on CVS Gift Card
Received $6 ECBS(3 for each 2 NB Vitamins), $6 ECBs(Soy Joy box)=$12 ECBs

Not having spent any ECBs, I am now up to $23 in ECBs and no OOP thanks to the Gift Card.

CVS Total for 2010....
OOP....$0.00($14.43 on GC)
Value of Items Bought....$164.32
ECBs Earned....$23.00
ECBs Spent....$0.00
Other Rebates on Purchases....$9.99


Sluggy