Calling all You NorthEast/Central PA Bloggers.....Yes, I Mean YOU!

I went on an online hunt last week.
A hunt to find other Blogs written by folks who live in my neck of the woods.
My neck if the woods meaning northeastern or central Pennsylvania.
But I guess I am not very good at being Troy Dunn......ok so that was a pretty obscure reference to the star of that WE TV show THE LOCATOR...but still....

My search came up empty except for a couple of political ranting blogs around here that aren't updated more than once or twice a year.   I suppose I need to make more of an effort.

I just would like to link up with other bloggers of all kinds in this region.  Maybe exchange links or put up a page to promote all our blogs out there in the WorldWideW.  I'm not looking to become your BFF(but if that happens, whattheheck!) or to stalk you(Please!!... I have enough drama already in my life without that!).  I just want to connect with fellow Pennsylvania bloggers in our region.

Heck, if there is interest enough we might even end up holding a conference or some other kind of gathering!

Not quite this over-the-top....

Not quite this bizarre and wrong on so many levels.......

Not quite this strange.....

Not quite this lame......

But more like this....

.....Without the hats and corset of course....unless you really want to wear one.

Anyway, if you have a blog and you would like to connect with other bloggers in the northeastern and central PA regions(meaning anywhere from State College east to Stroudsburg and from Allentown north to the PA/NY line or Susquehanna County to any place within this framework)please email me at the address on my contact page.  Please include the URL or a link to your blog homepage too....if you are reading this I can assume you already know where my blog is located. ;-)

Let's hear from all you PA bloggers!

Sluggy

$5 or Under CVS Scenario this Week...Starting with No Extra Care Bucks

IF I shopped at CVS....(which I don't at the moment)..... and I was starting with Zero ECBs, here is what I would buy in separate transactions and in what order.

#1
2 x Edge Shave Gel-on sale for $2.79 and gives $1.80 ECBs(limit 1)=$5.58
Use 1 Edge BOGO IPQ(HERE)
$5.58-$2.79=$2.79 and received $1.80 in ECBs.

#2
3 x Right Guard Deodorant on sale for $2.49 and gives $2.00 ECBs(limit 3)=$7.47
Use 1 Right Guard $3/2 IPQ(HERE) & 1 Right Guard $1.50/1 IPQ(HERE)
 $7.47-$4.50=$ and use the $1.80ECB...$4.47-$1.80=$1.17 and received $6 in ECBs.

#3
1 x Revlon Lipstick on sale for $6.99 and gives $5.00 ECBs(limit of 6)
1 x Revlon Nail Polish at regular price $5.49
Use 1 Revlon Buy Nail Polish/Get Lipstick FREE ManuQ(9/12SS)
$12.48-$6.99=$5.49, add a .51¢ filler and use the $6ECB(or have them adjust it down to $5.49)....$5.49 to $6.00-$6.00=$.00 and receive $5 in ECBs to roll next time.

Total Out of Pocket....$3.96 for 2 Shaving Gel, 3 Deodorants, 1 Nail Enamel and 1 Lipstick.
"Realized" OOP is Negative $1.04 after the $5 in ECBS is figured in.

If you have ECBs to start with, a second $X off Edge coupon &/or a second $X off Revlon coupon, you can do even better than this but it's still a good scenario for a first time rookie. ;-)


Ok....I am off now to do stuff in the garden, buy some canning lids, put away a ton of stockpile stuff, make a load of meatballs and process tomatoes.

Sluggy

Rite-Aid Addict.....I Can Stop Anytime....Yah, Right!

So before heading out to roll the Weis Cat Deal 2 more times on Saturday we stopped in at Rite-Aid so I could pull off one more heist, er.....I mean transaction.

This was a mini haul, using my $4 off $20 Purchase AdPerks/VV IPQ.....

3 x Trident Gum on sale $1=$3.00
2 x Maybelline Mascara on sale 40% off($3.11)=$6.22
1 x Maybelline LipSensation Gloss on sale 40% off=$3.71
1 x Crest 3-DWhite Toothpaste on sale=$2.99
1 x Playtex Tampons on sale=$4.00
SubTotal.....with the tax(tampons)it was $20.16

Coupons Used
1 x $4 off $20 AdPerks/VV IPQ=$4.00
1 x $1/2 Trident Gum IPQ=$1.00
1 x $.50/1 Trident Gum IPQ=$.50
2 x $1/1 Maybelline Mascara IPQ=$2.00
1 x $2/1 Maybelline LipSensation item IPQ=$2.00
1 x $1/$10 any Beauty/Cosmetic Purchase wellness Q=$1.00**
1 x $2/1 any Maybelline Item AdPerks/VV IPQ=$2.00
1 x $1/1 Crest 3-D item ManuQ=$1.00
1 x $2/1 Playtex tampons IPQ=$2.00
Coupon Total....$15.50

$19.92(after tax was taken off)-$15.50=$4.42

Value of Items bought.....$29.72
+Ups Used...$2, $2=$4.00

$4.42-$4.00=$.42 OOP put on free Rite-Aid gift card
I earned....$1(buying 3 Trident), 2x$1(Mascara), $3(Playtex)=$6.00+Ups

Started with $27 in +Ups and ended the day with $29 in +Ups.

**Though my Beauty/Cosmetic purchases totaled .07¢ less than $10, with the tax that was figured in on those items, the Cosmetics totaled over $10, so I could use that coupon.  The tax was taken off of the transaction after all coupons were deducted.

THIS TRIPS
Total Spent....$.42 (put on free Rite-Aid gift card)
Value of Items....$29.72
SCR qualified for...$2.00(Crest 3-D Paste)=$2.00
+Up Rewards earned...$6.00

MONTHLY TOTALS-September Rebate Period

Number of Transactions......8
Total Spent....$17.01 put on free Gift Cards/Certificates so ZERO OOP
Value of Items purchased....$299.54
SCR qualified for....$3 in cash and $10 in Gift Cards
Other Cash....$0
Additional Non-Cash Rewards....a Glam Bag
+Up Rewards spent....$58.50
+Up Rewards earned....$87.50

Total 'Spent'...$17.01 on gift cards
Total Cash I'm getting Back=$3
Total Gift Cards I'm getting=$10+Glam Bag
+Up Rewards left to spend=$29.00

This was a very good week for +Ups rolling multiple Rewards.  Personally, I got 2 Axe, 8 Johnson & Johnson, 3 Listerine/Reach, 2 Maybelline Mascara, 2 Trident, 3 Oral-B/Crest, 2 Playtex and 1 each on the Edy's Ice Cream and Veet/Clearasil deals.  The only item I bought that didn't get an +Up that generated one this week was the 2nd Reach Toothbrush, so the limit on the Reach/Listerine was obviously 3.

So don't always believe when the sales flyer says limit 1 because, for now, it isn't always correct. ;-)


Sluggy 

Weis 9/12-9/18 GM/Purina Catalina Totals

I got a couple more trips in to Weis Markets on Saturday to finish taking advantage of the General Mills Catalina double dip Deal I talked about HERE.  I also threw in a 'roll of the Cats' on the Purina Pet Food Cat Deal as well.
I don't have the time/energy to gather it all together at this point and take a pic, so just use my 1st trip picture as a representative and multiple it x 4 AND add in 3 x 22lb. bags of Dog Chow....

Here are my totals for the Deals....

My Initial Out of Pocket is...$64.48(including the dog food and the tax)
Catalinas I have left....$13 in regular OYNO Cats & $24 in Meat OYNO Cats
Items I bought.....24 "Helpers"(beef and chicken), 24 Pillsbury bread products, 24 Old El Paso products=72 items and 66lbs. of dog food(kibble).
"Realized" Out of Pocket(after Catalinas)is....$27.48 for all, or $18.80 Out of Pocket for human food items and $8.68 for 66lbs. of pet food.
That breaks down to.....26¢ per item for people food & .13¢ per lb. for the pet food

Now this Deal was great for me whereas it might not have been as great for some one else.  Getting lots of products for cheap is wonderful only if you are going to use it all before it expires AND you have room to store it.
*We do alot of Tex-Mex cooking here and I was almost out of beans and shells from my last stock-up in February(another GM/OEP double dipping Cat Deal at Weis).  Stocking up on those products made sense for me.
*Between Marching Band fundraisers(where I am required to bake) and the Holidays ahead, all that Pillsbury stuff will save me time in the kitchen.  Plus having already made cookie dough is great for the teens to make up their own cookies(seeing as they won't make the dough from scratch and would nag me to make it). And at .26¢ per roll of cookie dough, that's some pretty inexpensive cookies!
*All that Hamburger/Chicken Helper.....what can I say?  Not the healthiest of choices but pair it with lean meat and fresh veggies and it's ok.  In my defense, at least I don't have a boxed Kraft Mac & Cheese addiction.lol 
I'll probably give a portion of these to relatives who have limited cooking skills or food bank them...yes, I just used 'food bank' as a verb.  The rest I like to have on hand for those rare occasions when Hubs is pressed into cooking duties since it's something he can comfortably make successfully.....and that's all I'm going to say about that. ;-)
*66 lbs. of dog kibble was needed as we are down to our last large bag.  Now that we are down to 2 dogs, these 3 bags should last us through the end of the year, if not a touch longer.

For our area, this Catalina Deal was a really good one.
I'm glad I had money in the food budget to take advantage of it.

Here's hoping a good Cat Deal comes your way very soon as well! 8-)

Sluggy

Partying at Rite-Aid on Friday

So I did 3 transactions at Rite-Aid on Friday....2 different stores.
At the end of each one I had a bit more +Ups in my pocket than when I started=I got paid to buy this stuff!
How could I say no?lol
I began with $26 in +Ups.

#1
2 x Veet on sale BOGO50%=$9.73
2 x Clearasil on sale BOGO50%=$8.23
1 x Playtex tampons on sale=$4.00
1 x Crest Toothpaste on sale=$2.49
1 x qt. milk=$1.99
SubTotal....$26.44

Coupons Used
1 x $5 off $25 AdPerk/VV IPQ=$5.00
2 x $3/1 Veet IPQ=$6.00
2 x $2/1 Clearasil IPQ=$4.00
1 x $2/1 Playtex IPQ=$2.00
1 x $1/1 Crest Toothpaste ManQ=$1.00
Coupon Total....$18.00

$26.44-$18.00=$8.44

Value of Items bought.....$35.03
+Ups used....4x$2(J&J)=$8.00

$8.44-$8.00=$.44 OOP put on free Rite-Aid gift card
I qualified for SCR #55=$1.00, SCR #564=a Glam Bag, the toothpaste put me over $25 for the SCR #556=$10 Rite-Aid Gift Card.
I earned....$1.50(Crest), $3(Playtex), $5($15 in Veet/Clearasil)=$9.50+Ups

#2
6 x Axe Body Wash on sale $4.33=$25.98
SubTotal....$25.98

Coupons Used
1 x $5 off $25 Pdf file from newsletter I signed up for in Jan. IPQ=$5.00
3 x BOGO Axe ManQ=$12.99
Coupon Total....$17.99

$25.98-$17.99=$7.99

Value of Items bought....$34.14
+Ups used....3x$2(Listerine/Reach), $1.50(Crest)=$7.50

$7.99-$7.50=$.49 OOP put on free Rite-Aid gift card
I earned....2x$3(for buying 3 Axe in one transaction)=$6+Ups

#3
1 x Johnson's on sale but 20% wellness discount was $3.83=$3.83
2 x Johnson's on sale $3.99=$7.98
2 x Oral-B Toothbrush on sale $2.49=$4.98
3 x Trident Gum on sale $1.00=$3.00
2 x Edy's Ice Cream on sale $3.50=$7.00
SubTotal....$26.79

Coupons Used
1 x $5 off $25 AdPerk/VV IPQ=$5.00
1 x $1/1 Johnson's PeelieQ=$1.00
1 x $2/2 Johnson's IPQ=$2.00
1 x $1/$10 any skin care Wellness IPQ=$1.00
1 x BOGO Oral-B Toothbrush ManuQ=$2.49
1 x $1/1 Oral-B Toothbrush ManuQ=$1.00
1 x $1/1 any Oral-B Toothbrush RA booklet Q=$1.00
1 x $1/2 Trident Gum IPQ=$1.00
1 x $.50/1 Trident Gum IPQ=$.50
Coupon Total....$14.99

$26.79-$14.99=$11.80

Value of Items bought....$41.20
+Ups used....$10(Buy $30J&J)=$10.00

$11.80-$10.00=$1.80 OOP put on free Rite-Aid gift card
I earned....3x$2(Johnson's), 2x$1.50(Oral-B), $1(buying 3 Trident), $1(buying 2 Edy's)=$11.00+Ups

Started with $26 in +Ups and ended the day with $27 in +Ups.

THESE TRIPS
Total Spent....$2.73 (put on free Rite-Aid gift card)
Value of Items....$110.37
SCR qualified for...$1.00, $10 Gift Card & Glam Bag
+Up Rewards earned...$26.50

MONTHLY TOTALS-September Rebate Period

Number of Transactions......7
Total Spent....$16.59 put on free Gift Cards/Certificates so ZERO OOP
Value of Items purchased....$269.82
SCR qualified for....$1 in cash and $10 in Gift Cards
Other Cash....$0
Additional Non-Cash Rewards....a Glam Bag
+Up Rewards spent....$54.50
+Up Rewards earned....$81.50

Total 'Spent'...$16.59 on gift cards
Total Cash I'm getting Back=$1
Total Gift Cards I'm getting=$10
+Up Rewards left to spend=$27.00

Sluggy