The Lost (Rite-Aid) Weekend

I spent alot of time at Rite-Aid this past weekend.
First I had lots of goodies still to bring home from last week's sales ad so I did 3 transactions on Saturday evening.
And I was right back up there Sunday afternoon doing 3 more transactions for the new sales week.  I had lots of coupons that were expiring on Sunday(Oct. 31st)so if I was going to do some deals, it had to be on Sunday.

*If you don't care about the "particulars", skip down to the Grand Totals at the bottom.

First Saturday's deals....I won't go into excrutiating details on these since the sales week is over for this stuff.

 With sales, Qs and +Up Rewards, this lot cost me $.23+$.04 tax, so $.27 OOP put on a free Rite-Aid gift card.  I used $8 +Ups and received $10 +Ups back(Chili, NYC, Halls).

Then I did this.....

Select Gillette men's items gave a $10 +Up Reward when you purchased $30 or more(before coupons).
With my 20% wellness discount the Gels were $3.83 and the Pro Series Washes were $6.39, making my pre-coupon total $30.66.
I had $20 in Qs and used a $10+Up from the Halloween candy I bought earlier in the week, which brought my total to $.66 to put on my RA gift card.
I received another $10 +Up.

I finished off the evening with this transaction.....

More Chili, more NYC Cosmetics, another Lady Speed Stick Deo, 4 more Lipton 1 Liter Teas(I had $.35 tearpad Qs-expiring Sunday-from a different Rite-Aid...no tearpads in this store).
Having 2 Flu Booklets, I was about to use 2 Peroxide Qs and 2 Dial Hand Soap Qs.  Each of these two items was on BOGO sale, so after Qs the Dial Hand Soaps were $1.29 for 2(2x$1/1 Qs off retail of $3.29)and the Peroxides were $.49 for both(2x$.50/1 Qs off retail of $1.49).
Total before Qs was $23.31.  After using a $4 off $20 and assorted coupons on each item, the total was $11.71 with tax.  I used $11 in +Up Rewards and put $.71 on my RA gift card.
I received $12 in +Ups back(Chili, NYC).
This transaction should have been $1 less but I picked up a $2.99 NYC lip gloss instead of a $1.99 one by mistake when I bought the 4 lip cosmetics I chose.

All in all, Saturday's transactions cost me $1.64 on my gift card and I used $30 +Up Rewards.  I received $32 in +Up Rewards.
So I gained $2 Ups in the course of these transactions.



As if that wasn't enough to make your eyes cross, here is Sunday's haul....

3 Tide 18 ct. Stain Booster thingies, on sale for $5.88.  I used the $3/1 Q that was expiring Sunday(10/31) and they each gave a $1 +Up, making them $1.88 ea. after Qs and +Ups.
2 Febreeze Warmers on sale for $2.49.  I used the $3/1 Q that was expiring Sunday and they each gave a $1 +Up, making them -$1.51 after Qs and +Ups.
1 St. Ives Scrub on sale for $3.99.  I used a $1/1 Q and will receive a $3 SCRebate on this item, making it -$.01 after Qs and SCR.
My total was over $25 so I could use a $5 off $25 Q and I used $5 in +Ups, making my grand total $.78 with tax(put on my gift card).  I received $5 in Ups back(3 x $1Tide and 2 x $1Febreeze).

2 Kendall AMD bandages on sale for $3.50.  I used 2 $2.50/1 Qs from the Allyou website, which made it $2 for both.  These will qualify for a $3 SCRebate so it's eventually a $1 moneymaker.
2 Folger's coffee on sale for $2.99.  I used 2 $1/1 MaunQs, which made the price $3.98 for both.  These gave me 2 x $1 +Ups back, so I ended up paying $1.98 for both( or .99¢each).
The Oral-B Toothbrush was a $12.49 clearance find behind the other Oral B electric Toothbrushes on the rack.  I used a $10/1 Oral-B Vitality Toothbrush Q from the 9/26 P&G insert(expired 10/31)and paired it with a Wellness IPQ for $1 off $10 of any Oral Card purchase, making the toothbrush cost $1.49 in the end.
My total before Qs was over $25 so I could use a $5 off $25 Q.
After all coupons and using $2 in +Ups, my OOP was $.57 with tax, which I put on my gift card.
I received $2 +Ups back, one for each Folger's coffee purchase.

And I finished up my trip with this transaction....

2 more Kendall AMD bandages, yadda, yadda....after SCR it's a $1 moneymaker.
1 bag of Dog Chow on sale for $4.99.  I used a $2/1 IPQ.  I got a $1 +Up so after that, the puppies can continue to eat for $1.99.
2 Febreeze Air Fresheners on sale for $2.49.  I used 2 $1/1 Qs and they produced a $1 +Ups each.  After +Ups these were $.49 each.
4 more Lipton Tea 1 liters with Wellness disc and $.35 Q cost $.44 each.
The Crest Toothpaste was on sale for $2.27.  I used a $1/1 ManuQ(10/10 P&G insert)and stacked it with a $1/1 Crest Pro-Health Paste Flu Booklet Q which dropped the price to $.27 after coupons.
The Trident gum did NOT ring up BOGO as the ad stated so instead of a $6.97 after Qs total and using $6 in +Ups, the total was $7.86 after Qs and I had to use $7 in +Ups and I obtained a $.89 cash refund for the difference in price for the gum.
I received $3 in +Ups back($1 Dog Food, $2 Febreeze)and the bandages qualify BIL's account for a $3 SCRebate.

With the Kendall bandages purchase I should have gotten a $5 +Ups for the Diabetes Deal(Between 9/26-12/25/10 purchase $30 in select items, receive a $5 +Up Rewards).
Between the Bayer AM I purchased on Friday and the Kendall today, I was well over the $30 mark, yet no +Ups printed.  I suppose I'll be on the phone with Corporate sometime today.....bleh.

Totals for Sunday.....
Spent $2.21 on gift card.
Received $.89 cash refund.
Spent $14 in +Up Rewards.
Received $10 in +Up Rewards back.
Qualified for $9.00 in SCRs.

I'm down $4 +Ups but up $9 cash in SCRs so we'll call it $5 in overage for these 3 transactions.

THESE 6 TRIPS
Total Spent....$3.85(put on free Rite-Aid gift card)
Value of Items....$245.02
SCR qualified for...$9.00
Gift Cards earned....$0.00
+Up Rewards earned...$10.00
+Up Rewards spent...$14.00
+Up Rewards left to spend....$37.00


GRAND TOTALS--November Rebate Period

Number of Transactions......11
Total Spent....$6.59 put on free Gift Cards/Certificates so ZERO OOP
Value of Items purchased....$503.33
SCR qualified for....$12.00
Other Cash....$0.00
Additional Non-Cash Rewards....$0.00

+UPS Totals for Nov. SCR period
+Up Rewards carryover from 10/24....$24.00
+Up Rewards spent....$28.00
+Up Rewards earned....$41.00
+Up Rewards left....$37.00

Sluggy

Boo!

There!
Did I scare ya?

Darkness made our decorations look a little bit better.
#2 son dressed up and went out with his buddy but the buddy had to go home fairly early so #2 continued on with the 'candy looting' mission.
What a brave soul!
That's what sugar motivation will do for ya!lol

We were hit hard by the zombie children and often and were down to our last spare bag of chocolate when curfew time rolled around.
That was a squeaker!

#2 son refused to let me take his photo in his get-up....what a party pooper! (He went as Garth from Wayne's World btw...his buddy had been Wayne.)
For being a spoil sport, I told him I was posting this photo of him at Halloween when he was 4....

He's the one in PINK.....
Yes, he went as Kimberly the Pink Power Ranger for FOUR YEARS!
And it was his own choice.
He was in love with the Pink Ranger....

Does this make me a "Scary Mommy"? lol

Hope your night was special!

Sluggy

Happy Halloween....Are You Ready?

Except for the string of pumpkin shaped lights framing the front porch, this is all we could muster up to greet the Trick-or-Treaters this evening.
My dying potted mums(gee, the purpled ones never even bloomed fully before the cold got them)and 2 'fake' light-up jack o'lanterns.

We are pathetic....

No one got the 'umph' this year to get a real live pumpkin and carve it.  The teens are at the age where they hardly care about this kind of thing anymore....the Daughter has to work and the #2 son just wants the "Halloween Loot"....perferably Twix bars.

But our lack of Halloweenie spirit won't deter all the little and not-so little hobgoblins in our neighborhood from darkening our door as soon as the sun dips below the horizon this year. 
You see, we have a "rep"....as in reputation around here.  We are on the list of "best houses to hit" for Trick-or-Treating.
That's because we give out BIG CANDY!
No little bite-sized pieces of candy or even worse, that generic stuff in the plain wrappers.
We give out full sized candy bars and full packs of gum.  And this year, we also have, for the lucky few, KING SIZED candy bars, thanks to Rite-Aid's candy deals.
We get hit early and hit up often for "loot" and often have to turn out the light because we run out before the parade of kids is done for the night.
I would go broke if I had to pay full retail price for all that candy!
Sigh....What I do to be popular for one night a year....lol

And when I got home from my trip to the farm on Thursday with eight pie pumpkins Hubs started stroking his chin and sizing them up as carving material.  I looked him in his beady eyes and told him these are not decorating gourds, so no one lays a piece of cutlery on these babies unless the end result is to make pie, so back off Michelangelo! 


Here's hoping that only the nice ghouls and goblins surround you this year.
Happy Halloween!

Sluggy

More Rite-Aid This Week

So no surprise I made a couple more trips to Rite-Aid this week, right?lol

There are also 3 12-packs of Mountain Dew that are not pictured here.

I won't bore you with the nit-picky details on this one since it turned out to be a colossal mess!
The employees were super busy and one started my order and another finished it.
Then things rang up crazy amounts and add on that the meter got price checked and then NOT rung up....so I didn't pay for it and had crazy overage and couldn't make heads or tails of my receipt when I got home....and then I had to schlep everything back to the store and get it all fixed and actually PAY for the meter and pray that whomever was on that night didn't think I stole the meter, or even think I was a nutjob when I tried to explain it all.  I was even tempted to just put the meter back on the shelf and not try to explain all this because I didn't want the cashier to get into trouble for just making a mistake, but the meters are right under the pharmacy window so there was no way I could have taken it out of a bag and put it back on the shelf without someone noticing.

Oy vey...what a mess!
Let's just say I spent $.50 OOP on the rest of the stuff and put it on my gift card in the end, shall we?

3 things here I want to mention....
1. The Colgate Sensitive, though it is the correct size to qualify for the BOGO sale this week and nothing in the ad disqualifies it from being part of that sale, does NOT ring up BOGO.  I didn't feel like fighting about it at the store level(goodness knows I don't NEED more toothpaste personally!lol), nor did I feel like calling Corporate on this, so I just returned it(something I hardly ever EVER do!).  Well, since I was there to explain my ...ahem, stolen meter and pay for it, adding in a return on the same receipt(that the meter should have been on)just complicated the devil out of this bizarre transaction. lolol
2. The Hormel Chili is indeed giving an unexpected/not advertised $1 +Up Reward.  Add in that the AdPerks/VV Chili coupon is NOT serialized(meaning you can print and use as many as the store will let you at one time-1 coupon per can)and your can of chili on sale this week will cost you $.75 and give you back a $1 +Ups.
3. The Maxell CD pack(which I had to scramble to add to my order because I "thought" I had misjudged my couponage and turned out to be the meter not getting rung up)were a good deal for me with my 20% off discount.  However.....next week this item, reg. retail in my store of $21.99, is on sale chainwide for $12.99, so a much better deal than the 20% wellness discount cost.  And if you have a Flu Booklet, there is a $3 coupon in there for this item, PLUS there is a $3 Single Check Rebate for November on this item.  So your $21.99 price CD pack will cost you a mere $6.99 when all is said and done.
Sweet!

So let's move on to Transaction #2 from the following day when I went back after the truck from the warehouse brought restocks.....

Let me explain that I have been in search of the Alka-Seltzer Fast Powder Packs all week.  They are on sale this week for $5, there is a $3/1 coupon from this past Sunday's coupon inserts, each one gives a $2 +Up, plus if you purchase $30 in select Bayer products this week, the register also spits out a $10 +Up.  So theorectically, if you purchase 6 of the elusive Alka-Setlzers, use 6 $3/1 coupons and a $5 off $25 purchase coupon, you'll pay $7 OOP and receive $22 in +Up Rewards.
The key factor here is IF you can find 6 packages of this item.
Needless to say, no Rite-Aid had enough of this product to satisfy demand this week and all the shelves around here have been bare of this product since roughly 9:05am on last Sunday morning after the sale started.

And our store did NOT get any restock of this item.
UGH!
So I procured a raincheck for 7 boxes...that's how many I would need to do this deal with my 20% wellness discount.
And let me tell you.....trying to explain to the cashier how she needed to write this raincheck out made me NEED this product immediately!
What a mess.....
She sort of got it, and wrote it for a sales price of $3 per package since that's the price AFTER the +Ups it won't be giving after this week.  But then I tried to explain that since I would be buying 7 and my total would be over $30(before coupons and the +Ups she was discounting from the price), I should also get $10 off the total purchase.
Her eyes glazed over and she couldn't wrap her brain around how to add that into the price I was to be charged, so she wrote, "Spend $30 Get $10 Up.  Figure out at time of purchase." and signed it.
Ah, perfect!  Pass the headache onto whoever rings these puppies up in the future.....
It probably is all for naught though, since the chances of finding 7 of these items on the shelf in the next month before the raincheck expires is highly improbable.

So I went ahead and did a Bayer Deal using what was on the shelf.  I wanted to try these Bayer AM things anyway, since they are aspirin and caffeine, which is basically what "migraine" labeled formulations contain and migraine promoted products are pricey.  With my wellness discount, coupons and the +Up Deal, it was better than free.

4 x Bayer AM ($7.29 reg. retail)w/wellness discount $5.83=$23.32
1 x Bayer 50 ct.(also part of the deal)w/wellness discount=$4.55
1 x Alka-Seltzer Cold on sale=$4.99
SubTotal...$32.86

Coupons Used
1 x $5 off $25=$5.00
5 x $3/1 select Bayer product In-Store Ad=$15.00
2 x $2/1 Bayer AM ManuQ=$4.00
2 x $1.50/1 Bayer AM IPQ=$3.00
1 x $1/1 Bayer product ManuQ=$1.00
1 x $1/1 Alka-Seltzer product IPQ=$1.00
1 x $1/1 Alka-Seltzer product AdPerks/VV IPQ=$1.00
1 x $1/1 Alka-Seltzer product Peelie on package=$1.00
Coupon Total....$31.00

$32.86-$31.00=$1.86
I used a $1 +Up, so $1.86-$1.00=$.86 Out of Pocket put on a Rite-Aid gift card.
And I received a $10 +Up Rewards.

Spent 1 +Ups, got 10 back, making me 9 "Up" for this transaction.

*A word about stacking a ManuQ, a StoreQ and a PeelieQ on one item.
Technically Peelie coupons ARE Manufacturer's coupons and you can't use 2 manufacturerer's coupons on a single item.
However, at Rite-Aid you can stack a peelie on the product with your own Manu. coupon.
Now I don't know if this is a chainwide policy or not.
But it is done in this region at all the Rite-Aid stores I have bought anything at.  The first time it happened, the cashier was the one who noticed the peelie and went to scan it for me.  I reminded her that I had already used a ManuQ on the product and she said that they were told to let customers use any peelies on the products they were buying at the point of purchase, regardless if they had other coupons OR if the peelie coupon was past it's expiration date.  This policy has been confirmed to me by employees at two additional stores I shop at since that happened.
I am curious to know if any of my readers who shop Rite-Aid have encountered this policy for themselves?  Please leave a comment if you have.

Anyway, back to the numbers....I won't add in the toothpaste that I returned or the meter debacle to the value of items.

THESE TRIPS Total Spent....$1.36(put on free Rite-Aid gift card)
Value of Items....$78.49+$41.34=$119.83
SCR qualified for...$3.00
Gift Cards earned....$0.00
+Up Rewards earned...$15.00
+Up Rewards spent...$1.00
+Up Rewards left to spend....$39.00


GRAND TOTALS--November Rebate Period

Number of Transactions......5
Total Spent....$2.74 put on free Gift Cards/Certificates so ZERO OOP
Value of Items purchased....$258.31
SCR qualified for....$3.00
Other Cash....$0.00
Additional Non-Cash Rewards....$0.00

+UPS Totals for Nov. SCR period
+Up Rewards carryover from 10/24....$24.00
+Up Rewards spent....$14.00
+Up Rewards earned....$32.00
+Up Rewards left....$39.00

Sluggy

Simplifying the Holidays....Define YOUR Celebration

So what do I mean exactly when I talk about simplifying the Holidays?

What I mean is to make a deliberate plan of action this Holiday Season on how to fill your time, keeping in mind that there are only 24 hours in a day and realize that you can't do everything that is available to do, and you can't spend beyond your means.
By cutting out some activities this Holiday time, you will have more time for enjoying the ones you choose to keep and everyone around you will feel calmer for the slower pace you proceed at.

The specifics of Simplifying your Holiday Season will mean something different to every person because after all, everyone has their own likes and dislikes, family situations and amount of cash to spend available to them.  I can't tell you HOW or WHAT to include or not to include in your Holidays....that is your job to decide.  I can bring up some topics to explore and get you thinking about what you do now for the Holidays and/or consider changes you may want to make in your life.

But before you can enjoy your Holiday Season, you need to make a plan, a master list of how you plan on celebrating this year.  Even though you have a plan, remember that you still need to be flexible and open to changes if "life happens".

Yah, I know it's still Oct. but sit down and really think about what you want your Holiday Season to be like before the Yuletide craziness starts.

Ask yourself....What do you like about this time of year?
If you could celebrate exactly how you wanted and not how everyone else thought you should celebrate, what would you do/participate in this year?

Is it the shopping and hunting for just the right gift that you love?
Or do you think about the shopping & gifting part is just way too much hassle and money spent for no good reason?

Do you like to decorate.....the tree, the rooms, the lights outside and everything else you can think of to drape garland over?
Or do you prefer a few well placed festive touches in your home or nothing special at all?

Are you all about throwing or attending parties?
Or do you prefer to visit one on one with close friends or like to hold up on the couch watching old movies alone with your dog, sipping on a mug of egg nog?

Are you the Holiday baking Queen and your kitchen emits scrumptious smells as you create food with love?
Or do you keep your favorite bakery or caterer on speed dial for your eating pleasure?

Face it--if you tried to do Everything at the Holidays, you would kill yourself from the work and the stress.
You would not enjoy anything because you would not be present in the here and now.  You would be going through the motions alright, but your mind would be thinking ahead to the next thing you needed to cross off your list...your very long list!

People set themselves up for failure by trying to do it all at the Holidays.  There are only so many hours in the day you can devote to the added strain involved in craving out time for celebrating.
The laundry, the cooking dinner, the cleaning, the regular errands of life, the homework supervision still needs to get done.  Now you have to add all those Holiday things on top of your life?
*Sigh*
When you try to do too much, nothing will live up to your expectations.
It's better for you and your family if you pick and chose specific activities and rituals to participate in this year instead of rushing head first into Holiday overload!
It will help restore a bit of sanity to your life by scaling back the scope of your plans.

So find a few quiet minutes in your day in the coming week and realistically figure out what shape your Holiday Season will take.
Choose the rituals you feel speak the Holiday's language for you....

Send cards?
Give gifts?
Bake treats or special meals?
Parties?
Church/Synagogue services and fellowship?
Christmas Tree...Deck the Halls?
Volunteer or Charity Donations?
Holiday Trips?
Special Activities with the young people in your life?
Caroling?
Winter Sports?

Don't forget to consult your spouse or significant other too!  Hash out a list for the Holiday Season that is realistic and that you both can live with.

I suggest once you have a list, to go back and number the items on it so you set up a Priority system.
That way you have a clear idea of which items are more important than others and if time runs short and you find you can't do everything on that list, you know which items are the most important to accomplish in the time you have available.

Next time I'll share my Holiday To-Do List with you.
Feel free to share your List or any Questions/Ideas for me in the Comments section.

Sluggy