It Ain't Like The Good Ol' Days

We all know that Couponing just isn't what it used to be, at least in my area (the land of no doubles)!  Deals are harder to find and coupons are worth less and less.  I used to get 4 Sunday newspapers every week for the coupons.  Now I don't even bother with one subscription because it just isn't worth it any more.  These days, I focus on deals with printable coupons.  If a great deal/sale comes along and I need to stock up, I can always buy coupons online.

I did the following deal today at CVS:
$3.89 Honey Bunches of Oats Cereal (on sale BOGO)
$0.00 HBO Cereal
$0.47 Candy on clearance
$0.47 Candy on clearance
$4.83 Subtotal
-1/1 HBO IP from Facebook
-1/1 HBO IP from Facebook
$2.83 total
$1.00 ECB earned (from previous quarter spending)

$3.69 Milk
-1.00 ECB
$2.69 total
$1.00 ECB earned (from milk purchase)

That means my cereal was $0.95 per box and my milk was $1.69 a gallon!  Just goes to show, great deals can still be found.

The Toilet Paper Principle

Ever wonder how to compare packages of toilet paper and decide which is the best deal? With single rolls, double rolls, and mega rolls it can be confusing! Here's an easy tip to decide if the price is low enough to stock up:

1. Look for the Total Square Feet of toilet paper in the package. This is usually found in small print on the front of the package. In this example, each package contains 205.2 sq ft.
2. Move the decimal point two places to the left. In this example, it's 2.052
3. Now if the price (hopefully after a coupon!) is less than or equal to $2.05 then it's a price low enough to stock up. In this example, the price is $1.68 and that's worth stocking up on!

At Wal-Mart I was able to use overage from other purchases with coupons to make this deal even sweeter:

$13.40 Scott Naturals tp (5 at $2.68)

$14.72 Advil 10ct Pocket Packs (8 at $1.84)

$4.85 Dial bodywash trial size (5 at $0.97)

=$32.97

-5.00 Scott MQ $1/1 4pk from 5/22 SS

-16.00 Advil MQ $4/2 from 5/22 SS

-10.00 Dial MQ $2/1 from 6/12 RP

=$1.97 (+ tax)

CVS Deals

There are some great deals at CVS this week! Purex detergent is $0.98 per bottle after coupon, Stride gum is free after ECB, and TG Lee milk is $1.69 per gallon after coupon and ECB!

Transaction 1
$0.99 Stride gum
=$0.99 (+tax) paid
$0.99 ECB Earned
$1.00 ECB Earned for 4th scan of Green Bag Tag

Transaction 2
$3.69 TG Lee milk, gallon
-1.00 TG Lee IP coupon
-0.99 ECB from previous transaction
-1.00 ECB from previous transaction
=$0.70 paid (no tax on milk)
$1.00 ECB Earned

Transaction 3
$1.98 Purex detergent
$1.98 Purex detergent
=$3.96
-1.00 Purex MQ from 5/1 RP
-1.00 Purex MQ from 5/1 RP
-1.00 ECB from previous transaction
=$0.96 (+tax) paid

Rinse & Repeat!

TG Lee Milk Coupon: http://www.tgleedairy.com/coupons.html#/coupons

Overage at Publix!

This week there are several deals at Publix that create overage!

$3.49 Phazyme
$3.49 Phazyme
$6.98
-5.00 Publix Q $5/2 from Green Advantage Flier
-2.00 Phazyme IP (registration required)
-2.00 Phazyme IP
-$2.02 Overage!

$3.19 Sominex
$3.19 Sominex
$6.38
-5.00 Publix Q $5/2 from Green Advantage Flier
-2.00 Sominex IP (registration required)
-2.00 Sominex IP
-$2.62 Overage!

$3.79 Sundown Folic Acid
$3.79 Sundown Folic Acid
$7.58
-3.00 Publix Q $3/1 from Green Advantage Flier
-3.00 Publix Q $3/1 from Green Advantage Flier
-1.00 Sundown MQ $1/1 from 4/17 RP
-1.00 Sundown MQ $1/1 from 4/17 RP
-$0.42 Overage!

$5.49 Bic razors (BOGO this week)
$5.49 Bic razors
$10.98
-3.00 Bic MQ $3/1 from 4/10 SS
-3.00 Bic MQ $3/1 from 4/10 SS
-3.00 Bic MQ $3/1 from 4/10 SS
-3.00 Bic MQ $3/1 from 4/10 SS
-$1.02 Overage!

That's $6.02 saved on my other groceries!

Happy Easter!

This bunny wants to show you the value of collecting something other than eggs this Easter! My basket is full of Rain Checks and here's what I did with them earlier this week:

Raincheck: Get $1 ECB when you buy Oral-B toothbrush at $2.99

$2.99 Oral-B Advantage toothbrush
$2.99 Oral-B Advantage toothbrush
$5.98
-2.99 BOGO Oral-B Advantage MQ from 3/13 RP
-2.00 Oral-B Advantage MQ from 4/03 PG
$0.99 (+ tax) paid
ECBs back: $2.00

Rinse & Repeat with another of the same raincheck.

Raincheck: Get $4 ECBs wyb Crest Vivid 3D toothpaste at $3.99

$3.99 Crest Vivid 3D toothpaste
-1.00 Crest MQ from PG rebate booklet
-2.00 ECB from previous transaction
$0.99 (+ tax) paid
ECBs back: $4.00

Then I used the ECBs earned from Rain Check deals to pay for current deals:

$2.00 CVS paper plates
$5.28 M&M Easter Eggs (6 at $0.88)
$7.28
-1.00 Mars MQ $1/2 from 4/10 RP
-1.00 Mars MQ $1/2 from 4/10 RP
-1.00 Mars MQ $1/2 from 4/10 RP
-4.00 ECB from previous transaction
$0.28 (+ tax) paid

I still have $2 ECBs left for next week!

Wal-Mart Deals

There's a Similac coupon that makes $1.16 overage at WM!

$3.84 Similac
$9.92 Olay bar soap 2pk (4 at $2.48)
$1.94 Secret travel/trial (2 at $0.97)
$15.70
-5.00 Similac $5/1 from 4/03 SS
-8.00 Olay $2/1 from 4/03 PG
-2.00 Secret $1/1 from PG $110 booklet
$0.70 (+ tax)

Target Deals

Kandoo wipes are $1.42 at Target (down from $1.65 in December)! I used $1/1 MQs from the 4/03 PG insert. I was also lucky enough to get overage on the trial size Degree. Overage is always YMMV at Target :o)

$8.52 Kandoo 42ct. (6 at $1.42)
$3.96 Degree travel (4 at $0.99)
$12.48
-6.00 $1/1 Kandoo MQ 4/03 PG
-4.00 $1/1 Degree MQ 3/27 RP
-0.05 discount for bringing my own bag
$2.43 (+ tax)