CVS: Deals for the week of June 1- June 7, 2008 (PLUS June ECB Deals!)/Share Your Scenarios

With the new June deals starting (see below for the full scoop!) and the free Chex Mix and diaper deal this week, it's a pretty good week at CVS. Nothing out of this world, but still pretty decent. Also, remember that this is the last week to use the $3/$15 Washington Post coupon before it expires.

Here are the best deals I see so far (let me know if you see any mistakes):

*****WEEKLY ECB DEALS*****

Buy 2 Dawn Dish Soaps (11 oz.) at $1 each, Get $1 ECB (Limit 4)
Use 2 $0.25/1 coupons from 06/01 P&G insert
$0.25 each after coupons and ECB

 Buy $20 worth of Pampers Jumbo Pack Diapers (on sale for $7.99) or Wipes (70-77 ct. on sale for $2.99), Get $5 ECBs
Use $2/2 coupon from 06/01 P&G insert

Buy 1 Gillette Phenom Fusion Razor at $9.99, Get $4 ECBs (Limit 1)
Use $4/1 coupon from 06/01 P&G insert
$1.99 after coupon and ECB

*****WEEKLY NON-ECB DEALS*****

Chex Mix is on sale for $1
Use $1/1 coupon here (you can print two per computer)
Free after coupon!

Also, if your store accepts expired coupons, you could pair the B1G1 CoverGirl coupon (from the May P&G insert) with the B1G1 sale for free make-up! You could also use the $1/1 Oral-B coupon (also from the May P&G insert) and get the $1.77 toothbrushes for $0.77 after coupon if you needed a filler.
B1G1 Cover Girl-if your store takes expired coupons

See all weekly deals and coupon match-ups for here.

*****JUNE ECB DEALS*****

Buy 1 Listerine Smart Rinse (250 ml) at $3.49, Get $3.49 ECBs (Limit 2)
Use $1/1 coupon here
Free plus overage after coupon and ECBs
(There are reports of some stores having tear pads with a full rebate on this product so look for those!)

Buy 1 Brut Deodorant (2.5 oz) at $2.69, Get $3 ECBs (Limit 5)
Use $1/1 coupon from 04/06 insert
Free plus overage after ECBs

Buy 1 Oral B CrossAction Manual Toothbrush (2 pk) at $6.99, Get $6.99 ECBs (Limit 2)
Free after ECBs

Buy 1 CVS Pharmacy Sheer or Plastic Bandages (40 ct) at $1.99, Get $1.99 ECBs (Limit 2)
Free after ECBs

Buy 1 Huggies Lotion or Wash (15 oz) at $3.49, Get $2 ECBs (Limit 5)
Use $1/1 coupons from 05/18 insert
$0.49 each after coupons

Buy 1 CVS Cotton Swabs (500 Count) at $3.19, Get $2 ECBs back (Limit 5)

See all monthly deals with coupon match-ups here.

*****MONEY-MAKING DEAL SCENARIOS FOR THIS WEEK*****

Money-Making Deal Idea #1
Buy 2 Oral B CrossAction Toothbrushes
Buy 2 Dawn dish soaps
Use $3/$15 CVS coupon
Use 2 $0.25/1 Dawn coupons
Spend $12.48 plus tax out of pocket
Get $14.48 ECBs back!

Money-Making Deal Idea #2
Buy 1 Listerine Smart Rinse
Buy 1 Gillette Fusion
Buy 2 Dawn dish soaps
Use $3/$15
Use $1/1 Listerine
Use $4/1 Gillette
Use 2 $0.25/1 Dawn
Spend $6.98 out of pocket
Get $8.49 back!

Money-Making Deal Idea #3
Buy 2 CVS Bandages
Buy 2 CVS cotton swabs
Buy 1 Brut deodorant
Buy 2 Chex Mix
Use $3/$15
Use $3/$10 CVS products coupon (these usually print at the bottom of your receipt or from the price/coupon scanner at your store)
Use 2 $1/1 Chex Mix
Use $1/1 Brut
Spend $6.05 out of pocket
Get $10.98 back!

Money-Making Deal Idea #4
Buy 3 Brut deodorants
Buy 2 Huggies lotion or wash
Use $3/$15
Use 3 $1/1 Brut coupons
Use 2 $1/1 Huggies coupons
Spend $7.05 out of pocket
Get $13 ECBs back!

******ESPECIALLY FOR BEGINNERS*****

New to CVS-ing? Don't try to make heads or tails of this post because it probably won't make a lot of sense to you. Instead, go here where I explain the CVS program in full detail. Want to join in the fun and incredible savings? Then go here where I share more about how to make it work for you. After that, go here where my friend FishMama maps out a simple plan for beginning CVS-ers to maximize on the ECB deals this month.

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Share Your Scenarios!

Have your shopping trip planned or did you come up with a great deal scenario/idea? Just post about it on your blog and leave your link below. Please include full details on coupons you are using, etc. so that those who are just beginning to get the hang of CVS can especially benefit from seeing things broken down for them like this. If you don't have a blog, feel free to share your scenarios in the comment section.

Note: So as not to confuse the newbies, please only post deal scenarios/deals which are applicable at CVS this week. Thanks so much!

Walgreens: Deals for the week of June 1-June 7, 2008 (er, make that "No Deals..."!)

After some pretty sweet deals at Walgreens the past month, this week the deals are just about non-existent. Or at least I sure didn't see much to jump up and down about.

Here's the ad, courtesy of Hot Coupon World. Let us know if you find anything worth mentioning.

And the monthly free after rebate deals aren't too exciting either. Bethany posted the scoop:

Multi-Betic Multi-Vitamins 60 pack, up to $9.99; use $2 coupon from the Diabetic Products site (must complete brief diabetes-related survey) for some profit.

Walgreens Gluco-Shot, 2 oz, up to $1.99.

Walgreens Calcium Creamies, 75 pack, up to $5.99.

Walgreens Water Filtration Replacement Cartridge, up to $6.99

Theragran, 130 pack, up to $4.99.

Ecotrin Low-Strength Tablets, 45 pack, up to $2; use $1 coupon from 5/11 newspaper insert.

Education.com giveaway winners

The winners of the 36-hour giveaway sponsored by Education.com are:

::Tina (mrsshideler@)

::April (bay_p2005@)

I just contacted you personally with more details.

And since giveaways seem like a hit around here, I'm planning to make this a regular feature around here so stay tuned for future chances to win great stuff! (By the way, if you are a company who would be interested sponsoring a giveaway, please email me.)

Super Savings Saturday: CVS and freebies

We have yet to go grocery shopping this week so I haven't much to report here. We've been well-stocked here so I was able to extend last week's groceries for a few extra days--I love it when that happens!

We're out of milk now, though, so I'm planning to make my weekly trip tomorrow. I'll post about tomorrow's shopping trip early next week and also share our menu for the week since so many of you have requested I continue to post our menus. Stay tuned!

We didn't do our major grocery trip of the week yet, however, we did make two trips to CVS on various errand outings and I also quickly stopped by Price Chopper for some $1.88 Blue Bunny ice cream (!).

You can see one of our CVS shopping trips here and just for fun you can also see some of the freebies we got in our mailbox this week here.

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How'd you do this week? Post about the deals and bargains you were able to snag this week on your blog (with pictures, if possible!) and then come back here and leave your link below.

Keeping it simple!

It's Frugal Friday over on my other blog and I'm talking about ways we save money by keeping it simple. Here's a snippet:

Here are just a few ways we keep things simple at our home and save time, energy, and money:

::We drink primarily water. Aside from my daily pot of tea and our occasional splurge on soda, coffee, or juice, we keep it simple by drinking water. Hey, it might be boring, but it's good for you!

::We stick to simple meals. Our meals are usually two to four simple items (and most recipes have six ingredients or less) and most of our dinners can be made in 30 minutes or  crockpot and bread machine, and am constantly on the lookout for new ways to streamline and be more efficient in the kitchen.

::We try to only have what we need and use.

A few examples:    

Clothes/Accessories - We each only have around 6-8 outfits and 2-3 pair of shoes per season. I only have two pair of earrings and wear pretty much the same make up and hair style for every occasion.

Go here to read the full post and tell us about some things you do to save money by keeping it simple. I'd love to have you leave a link to your frugal tip, too!

CVS: Trip #2

Our first CVS trip of this week (on Memorial Day) was a near-disaster and since I like to keep things positive here, I'll spare you the details of the difficult cashier. Needless to say, we have moved on to greener CVS pastures and will not be returning to that store. :)

(For all you newbies, let me reassure you that this has only happened to us twice in our history of hundreds of CVS transactions, so please know that it is a rare thing. And both times it has been the case of a cashier/manager completely misunderstanding the ECB program.)

We went over to a friend's house for lunch on Tuesday, so we did CVS trip #2 on our way home. It was a much better trip and it helped re-energize me regarding the wonderful CVS deals. (I was almost considering quitting there for all of two seconds after the trying ordeal we went through on Monday so a great CVS run was exactly the antidote needed!)

Here's what we got:

(Just overlook the fact that one of the waters is almost empty; I was thirsty after all that shopping! And the waters are surprisingly good!)

1 package of Playskool diapers - 10.99
1 3-pack of rolaids -$2.19
4 Sobe Life Waters  -$1 each
2 double-packs of Excedrin - $1.99 each

Used $3/15
1 $2/1 Playskool coupon
2 B1G1 Sobe coupons
2 $2/1 Excedrin coupons
Paid with the remainder in ECBs
Spent $0.95 out of pocket
Got $2 and $2 ECBs back

You can find more info on these deals and coupons here.

I'm making at least one more trip this week to finish out the May ECB deals and the Playskool deal and then it's on to June!

CVS: Check your inbox for coupons

CVS just released some more coupons so go check your inboxes!

Heidi got two coupons, one for $4/1 Viactiv Flavor Glides and one for $5/2 Ellin Lavar hair care products. Here are the deals she came up with for those who also got these coupons:

Buy 1 Viactiv Flavor Guide at $8.99
Use $4/1 off Viactiv Flavor Glides Calcium CVS coupon (expires 6/1/08)
Stack with $2/1 coupon from 5/11 Redplum insert.
Get $3 ECBs (May monthly deal)
Free after coupons and ECBs!

Buy 2 Ellin Lavar hair care products on sale 2/$10
Use $5/2 Ellin Lavar coupon (expires 6/1/08)
Get $4 ECBs (May monthly deal)
$0.50 each after coupons and ECBs!

See all CVS deals for this week here.   

Many people are also reporting lots of markdowns at their store on Essence of Beauty items, hair care products, and make up. Be sure to check for clearance tags!

Reader Tips: GroceryGuide.com, Publix, Target Gift Registry, Angel Food Ministries

GroceryGuide.com: Helpful Site for Matching Coupons and Sales - From Tim:

I found this website this morning that is perfect for helping with grocery trips especially when couponing and comparing and wondered if you had heard about it. GroceryGuide.com. It lets you choose multiple grocery stores to compare all the current deals running at all of them and then beside each search result it has a "Coupon" button that will pull up all coupons that have been issued for that item, which book they were printed in (Smartsource, Redplum, etc) and what date they were printed. And it only shows you coupons that have not expired yet! It also tells you when the sale on that item ends and you can add individual items to shopping lists and then print out those lists at the end.

Publix: Bloom; Bloom Coupons Accepted - From Jennifer:

I am in Greenville, SC where we have a grocery store by the name of Bloom; Bloom has been sending out a month's worth of $10 off of a $35 dollar grocery purchase. Publix accepts these coupons, and I take them there because Publix doubles manufacturer coupons and Bloom does not. I have made out like a bandit by combining the manufacturer coupons with Publix sales and using my coupon from Bloom! I think last week I got about $60 of groceries for $27.

Target: Free Gifts For Setting Up a Gift Registry - From Megan:

I'm engaged and my fiance and I signed up at Target online for our gift registry. Target sent us a cute tote bag and a great book of coupons--including a coupon for two free sodas and two free popcorns at their cafe, a free chocolate bar, even a free 6" wedding cake at SuperTarget!

Angel Food Ministries - From Beth:

I thought I’d share a tip that saves the moms in this area money.  Local churches are partnering with a ministry called Angel Food Ministries.  At first glance, it looks like a site to help the poor, but if you contact them, it’s not.  It’s for everyone and everyone is encouraged to take advantage.  In fact, the majority of the people who take advantage of the program are middle class families. 

Each month, they offer approximately $60-80 in groceries for $30.  The food is very good quality (restaurant-grade), though not always name brand.  In addition, you can purchase special offers, like last month they had a grill box and steak box.  I use this to stock my freezer full of meat.  You can go to the site to see next month’s menu.  In December, they always have a wonderful Christmas menu and a special fruit box that is delicious (and makes a good gift)! 

Just call your host site (find it on the website) and find out how you can sign up.  Boxes feed a family for a week or a single adult for a month.  You can buy as many boxes as you want, but you have to buy the main box to take advantage of special offers.  On pick up day, bring a clothes basket or something to put your food in.  At my host site, they put everything in my box and put it in my van, so I’m in and out in under 5 minutes with all three of my kids in tow.  It’s the fastest shopping trip ever!

Some churches encourage you to donate the money you save to help a family in need or to buy an extra box to help a family in need, but you don’t have to.  I donate items in the boxes I won’t use to my church’s program to help feed the hungry.

Site update and feed issues

The transfer from Blogger to Typepad is almost complete. Most links in posts should now be fixed and almost all of the features from the old blog have been added back in.

I decided to only transfer over the "meatier" posts and those deal posts which were still relevant. I have around 30-40 more posts yet to transfer over so if some of the categories seem rather lean right now, they'll be beefed up in the next few weeks.

It's been a rather tedious process and taken all of my spare time over the last week; I am ever so ready to be done so I can get back to normal blogging and real-life! But it's been a great learning experience, too, and I've enjoyed the new challenges it has presented.

I have figured most everything out in the transfer process but transferring my feed. I had over 3000 subscribers to my last feed and I'm really not anxious to lose them all. However, everything I've read and tried regarding the transfer of feeds doesn't appear to be working. In fact, I'm not even sure that the new Typepad feed is working correctly.

If you are subscribed to this blog via a feed reader and you do get this post in your reader, could you take a moment to comment and let me know what feed reader you are using and what feed you are subscribed to? (The old feed or the new feed?)

Also, if anyone has any great pointers on transferring/re-directing feed, I'm all ears. I tried transferring it through Blogger, through Feed Burner, and through Typepad. None of these seemed to do the trick, but I may have just overlooked something somewhere in my technical novicity (hmm, did I just make up a new word?).

And would you believe it? Just yesterday afternoon, when I had finished the final touches of straightening things out here on this new blog and was starting to feel more at-ease with Typepad, lo and behold, Blogger unlocked my old blog! There's no turning back now, though, and I'm really happy I made the change; Typepad is fast becoming my favorite blogging platform.

And so ends my bizarre blogging saga; thanks for sticking it out with me over the ups and downs of the last two weeks. You all deserve some sort of award for "Most Patient Blog Readers of the Century." Since I can't personally deliver it to each one of you, I'll just have to make sure and serve up a whole lotta great deals over the next fifty years to make up for it. :)

Regional Store Deals: Winn-Dixie, Fry's, SuperFresh

Winn-Dixie: Sargento Cheese for $1.50 - From Traci:

Winn-Dixie has Sargento cheese on sale 2 for $4. Go to Sargento.com and print a coupon for $1/2 to get them for $1.50/package.

Fry's (Owned by Kroger): Free Johnson's Buddies - From Heidi:

Last night I was in my Fry's (owned by Kroger) and had a catalina that was $2.50/3 J and J products. Since I had used up all my other coupons for Buddies soaps, I figured I would get 3 and just pay the 50 cents. When I checked out, the register printed out another catalina, but this time it was for $3/3 J and J products so I can go get 3 more for free! I'm not sure how long they will print out, but I will keep turning them around for free soap for as long as they print.

SuperFresh: Triple Coupons - From Kristen:

Starting today is another triple coupon week for Superfresh grocery stores (at least the ones near us in the DC metro area). Thought I'd pass it on!

In my mailbox: A whole load of freebies!

Ever since I started signing up for freebies, I just love getting the mail! Above is pictured what came in the mail on Tuesday:

Free Playtex bottle (get yours here)

Free American Baby magazine

Free book from PaperBackSwap (oh, how I need that book!) (Sign up here for this fun book swapping program. You pay only postage to swap and can also earn free books by referring others!)

Free Emergen-C samples (get yours here--click on "Share the Good")

Free On-The-Go Drink samples with a coupon (freebie no longer available)

Free Colgate toothpaste with a coupon (freebie no longer available)

And four free full-size bottles of Wish-Bone's new Bountifuls dressing, courtesy of Wish-Bone as a special sneak preview of this brand-new dressing--it's really good, by the way, and you'll definitely want to consider getting your own bottle with their free-after-rebate offer here.

Here are two new freebie offers:
Free NatureMade vitamins
Free Folgers Gourmet coffee samples (for those who have a business)

What freebies have you received recently?

36-Hour Giveaway from Education.com

The folks from Education.com were so impressed with your turn-out to their last giveaway that they asked if they could sponsor another cool giveaway. Two randomly-selected entrants will receive one of the following fun items--perfect for hours of fun this Summer:

Giveaway #1: Alex Toys' "Happily Ever Crafter" kit, a $40 value, recommended for ages 7+

Learn the essentials of crocheting, embroidering, and sewing in one awesome kit! Comes with everything you need to make 9 separate projects plus materials to use your skills on your own. Includes materials and instructions to make a stuffed dog, coin purse, felt brooch, embroidered bandana, wall hanging, sewing pouch, hair ribbon, bracelets and a scarf. Packed in a printed storage case with lid.

Giveaway #2: Cranium's "Super Fort Kit", a $40 value, recommended for ages 4-10

Cranium Super Fort is a fun activity toy and building system that supercharges children's imagination to create their own cool spaces and secret places. From submarines in imaginary seas, fantasy castles from faraway lands, or even space ships from new galaxies, anything a kid can imagine comes to life with Super Fort! Super Fort engages kids in fun and learning that's creative and physical as they build structures and create new ones from scratch. The Magnaball connectors and foam tubes make construction safe, fun, and easy for kids 4 and up. The system is safe, easy-to-use, fast to clean up, and allows kids to create their forts without rearranging the furniture!

To enter to win one of these items:

::Visit Education.com and spend a few moments looking around. (You might consider checking out their section on teaching children money management and saving skills here.)

::Come back here and leave a comment on this post telling something you liked about Education.com or a suggestion for an improvement or addition you'd love to see them add to their site. Please include your name and main email address with your comment (contact info will only be used to get in touch with the winners and is not visible to the public).

::This giveaway will only be open for entries from now through Friday at midnight. I'll randomly choose and post the winners on Saturday.

Walgreens: $10/$30 coupon (Friday ONLY)/Share Your Scenarios!

Thanks to everyone who emailed me about Walgreen's HOT $10/$30 coupon which is good for tomorrow (Friday) only. Go here to print your coupon.

Depending upon your store's rules, this coupon can potentially be used for an order that totals $30 before manufacturer's coupon. Using this coupon and manufacturer's coupons, you can get some very sweet deals!

If your store does not allow you to use this coupon before manufacturer's coupons (requiring you to have a total of $30 after manufacturer's coupons), then my advice is to use it on the free-after-rebate items in the monthly EasySaver booklet (see more details on the program here, if you're new to shopping at Walgreens). You'll have to pay more out-of-pocket upfront, but this way you can still use the $10/$30 coupon, only spend around $20 and get $30 back (or more if you use manufacturer's coupons on the rebate items, too!) as a rebate at the end of the month.

For those who have already purchased all of the May free-after-rebate items, the June rebate items begin May 30, 2008 so you can go ahead and get a great headstart on those. (I'll have full details on these on Saturday, but you can see a sneak preview here courtesy of Hot Coupon World!)

Also, May 30-31, 2008 the May/June EasySaver book coupons overlap (meaning you can use two EasySaver coupons in addition to one manufacturer's coupon per item) so there are some good deals to be had with those.

Note: If you are planning on using any of the June EasySaver coupons, I recommend that you go ahead and print them from the PDF booklet here in case your store doesn't have the booklets in yet. Better to be overly-prepared!

Here are the overlap deals:

Schick Quattro Titanium Razor or Trimmer - $11.99
Use $3/1 coupon from 05/18 insert
Use $3/1 May EasySaver coupon
Use $4/1 June EasySaver coupon
$0.99 after coupons

Edge Shave Gel - $3.99
Use $1/1 manufacturer's coupon
Use $1/1 May EasySaver coupon
Use $1/1 June EasySaver coupon
$0.99 after coupons

*Deal Idea* (if your store allows you to use the $10/$30 for $30 worth of merchandise before coupons)
Buy 2 razors
Buy 2 shaving gels
Add on a $0.25 item
Use $10/$30
Use coupons mentioned above
Approx. $0.20 plus tax after coupons!

Bethany just posted all the May/June overlap deals. Here are the rest:

Hawaiian Tropic products: B1G1 50%; use $2 May IVC and $2 June IVC. Some have also found $2 manufacturer's coupons at Kmart, further reducing OOP expenses. Some Hawaiian Tropic products are reportedly marked down by 75% in select stores. If that's the case at your store, this could be a moneymaker.

Snickers 6-pack: Use $1/2 May IVC and $1/2 June IVC.

L’Oreal Feria Hair Color: Use $2 May IVC, $3 June IVC, and $2/1 or $5/2 manufacturer's coupon from 3/16 and 4/27.

Marc Anthony Pro Root Touch-Up: Use $2 May IVC and $1 June IVC.

GenTeal Lubricating Eye Gel Twin Pack: Use $3 May IVC, $3 June IVC, and $3 manufacturer's coupon from 1/20 or 4/13 newspaper insert or $2 printable coupon.

OFF Personal or Outdoor Insect Repellent: Use $1 May IVC, $1 June IVC, and .55/1 or 1.50/2 manufacturer's coupon from 5/18 newspaper insert.

Hot Shot Ultra Ant Bait 4 Pack, Ant & Roach Killer 21 oz., or Wasp & Hornet Killer 18 oz: Use $1 May IVC, $1 June IVC, and BOGO manufacturer's coupon from 5/4 newspaper insert.

Raid Ant & Roach Spray, 2 pack: Use $1 May IVC, $1 June IVC, and $1.50 manufacturer's coupon from 5/11 newspaper insert.

Cutter Personal Or Outdoor Insect Repellent, 6 oz or larger: Use $1 May IVC and $1 June IVC.

Duracell Ultra AA or AAA 8 pack: Use $1 May IVC and $2 June IVC.

Energizer EA Change Hearing Aid Batteries, 8 pack: Use $2 May IVC, $2 June IVC, and $2 printable manufacturer's coupon.

If you need a filler for any of your scenarios, Excedrin is $1.99 this week. Use the $2/1 coupons here and get it free!

See more deals for Walgreens this week here.

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What deals and scenarios have you worked up? Post about them on your blog and then come back and share your link below so we can all glean ideas from them!

Mambo Sprouts: Free coupon booklet

Be sure to be on the lookout for the Mambo Sprouts coupon booklet at your local stores. If you aren't able to locate one, you can request your free Mambo Sprouts coupon booklet here.

And did you see the news that Mambo Sprouts is also coming out with organic and natural e-coupons? Great stuff!

CVS: Allure magazine offer

From Allure magazine:

Set the scene for a sensational summer with CVS/pharmacy! Add a little magic here, a lot of shimmer there, and make your summer sizzle with the season’s best beauty products. Plus, purchase any two or more of the featured products at CVS/pharmacy and you’ll receive a fabulous Allure cosmetic case filled with a selection of summer must-have samples. The first 1,000 to send in their receipt will receive an Allure cosmetic case filled with samples! More details here.

Featured products include: 24/7 minerals, Ban deodorant, CVS-brand suncare products, Revlon lipgloss, Tressemme, and more. See all products here.

Since this offer is only for the first 1000 participants and thus there is a chance you won't receive the Allure cosmetic case, I'd recommend you don't go out of your way to purchase these items specifically to complete this offer. However, if you have already purchased two of these items at CVS or are planning to purchase them, it is definitely worth the cost of a stamp to see if you are one of the first 1,000.

If you already bought the products for free or almost-free at CVS, you might as well send off for a free cosmetic case and samples!

Thanks, Nicole!

$2/1 Kashi Vive cereal coupon

Print your coupon for $2/1 Kashi Vive cereal here (you can print two). It expires 08/31/2008.

I'm guessing that this cereal sells for around $4/box, however, Wal-Mart currently has their Kashi cereals priced at $2 so it is possible that this cereal would be free there.

If you find any great deals on it using this coupon, let us know!

Thanks, Chrissy!

Wal-Mart: Deals for this week

Here are some of the great deals currently running at Wal-Mart. As always, remember that these prices and deals may vary somewhat at your local store.

o.b. Tampon (trial size) is $0.97
Use $1/1 coupons (04/13 SmartSource and elsewhere)
Free after coupons! (Thanks, Angel!)

Travel-sized (16-ct.) Kotex are priced at $1
Use the $1/1 coupon here or from the May issue of All You
Free after coupon! (Thanks, More Than Enough!)

K-Y Jelly (2 oz.) is $2.59
Use the $3/1 coupon from a recent insert
Free plus possible overage after coupon (Thanks, Anna!)

Johnson's Buddies are $0.94-$0.97 each
Buy 2 and use this $2/2 coupon here or buy 1 and use this $1/1 coupon here
Free after coupon!

Muir Glen Organic Tomatoes are priced at $1.22/can
Use this $1/1 coupon or this one
$0.22 after coupon

LiveActive cereal is $2.98
Use this $3/1 coupon (you can print two)
Free after coupon!

Honey Bunches of Oats cereals are $1.98/box
Print $2/1 coupons here, here, here, here
Free after coupon!

Kashi cereal is $2/box
Use this $2/1 coupon (you can print two)
Free after coupon!

Ken's Salad Dressing (small bottles) are priced at $1.14
Use the $1/1 coupons from the 05/11 newspaper insert
$0.14 after coupons (Thanks, Marion!)

New York Croutons are $0.98/bag
Use the $0.55/1 coupon from a recent insert (anyone know which one?)
$0.45/bag after coupons (Thanks, Heidi!)

Kashi crackers are $2.50/box
Use this $2/1 coupon
$0.50/box after coupon!

Juicy Juice Harvest Surprise (45oz) is priced at $1.50
Use this $1/1 coupon
$0.50 after coupon (Thanks, Abbie!)

Polly from Nevada emailed me with this deal:

I have been buying the Cascadian Farms Organic Purely Steam packages at Wal-Mart for $1.22. After using the $1/1 Cascadian Farm coupon ($1) they cost me $0.22! They make an excellent lunch and a yummy side dish.

When you sign up for this Muir Glen coupon, you'll also get a $1/1 any Cascadian Farms product coupon. You can select that coupon only (just click to select which area of the page to print) and print as many as you'd like! There are also $1/1 coupons here. Note: Not all stores have them at this price so be sure to take note of the price before buying. 

 Carrie sent in this deal:

Suave often has insert coupons for $1 off any size lotion. The 3.25 oz. size, which is bigger than a trial size, costs $0.97 at my local Wal-mart, thus making it free! It's a great way to stock up on lotion.

Did you find any other great deals at Wal-Mart? If so, let us know!

Free-after-rebate Wishbone Bountiful dressing and more!

Purchase a bottle of Wish-Bone Bountifuls salad dressing between May 30, 2008 and June 1, 2008 (three days only) and you can send in a for a full rebate with this form here.

More rebates and coupons:

Full rebate for a Colgate electric toothbrush with a dental visit

Full rebate for 6-pack of Ensure (Request a $3/1 coupon and sample here--Thanks, Wendy!)

SuperPretzel coupons (Thanks, Donna!)

Buy 1, Get 1 Free Wholly Guacamole coupon

$2/1 No-Nonsense Hosiery coupon (use this at Wal-Mart to get them for almost-free!)

$5/25 True Value Hardware purchase (Thanks, Meredith!)

Freebies for children

Half Price Books: Free Cici's Buffet or $3 gift card for reading - From Sheila:

Kids 10 and under can earn a free Cici's kids buffet (with purchase of an adult buffet) or a $3 Half Price Books shopping card by reading 15 minutes for 5 days. Go here for more details.

Georgia Readers: Free book each month for children 0-5 - From Margery:

If you live in certain counties in Georgia, and if you have children between the ages of birth and 5 years old, you can have a free hardback book mailed to your child every month 100% free. It's part of a literacy campaign by the Ferst Foundation for literacy. Readers can go to http://ferstfoundation.org/ to check their county's eligibility. I signed my 3-year-old up, and she has already received two books. 

 Free Circus Ticket - From Kimberly:

Ringling Brothers Circus has had a promotion for several years now where you can sign up your baby for a free ticket. This has no expiration date and can be used anytime, anywhere.  It takes a long time to get it in the mail, but I've done it for all 3 of my girls so far and never had a problem. We are saving our tickets for when the girls are a little older (they are only 4, 2.5, and 1 right now).

 

Worth Reading: 24 Hours of Saving and Playing the Drugstore Game

::Trent at The Simple Dollar posted an inspiring article on 24 simple ways they save money throughout a 24-hour day. Love it!

::Get Rich Slowly featured a guest post by Cathy from Chief Family Officer on saving hundreds by playing the drugstore game.* If you are new to CVS-ing or contemplating getting your feet wet, this would be a helpful and informative article for you to read.

*Note: I was rather sad there were so many less-than-positive comments on Cathy's post. While playing the Drugstore Game might not be for everyone in every situation, it is definitely saving many families hundreds of dollars each year. One reason I encourage you all to share details and pictures of your shopping trips is so those who might be rather skeptical about the benefits of using coupons or jumping in and trying CVS-ing can actually see the savings our families are reaping with a little bit of effort. Sometimes seeing is believing!

Target: Free L'Oreal hair color and Pantene deal

Thanks to Brandy for alerting me to this great deal at Target:

Clairol Perfect10 hair color is on sale at Target for $11.99. You get an instant $5 Target gift card for each box you buy.
Buy 2 and use a B1G1 coupon and $2/1 coupon (both were in recent coupon inserts)
Get both boxes free after the coupons and gift card!
($11.99-$2=$9.99-$10.00 (instant gift card) = +.01)

What I'm reading is that this deal is good through July 14, 2008. Time to stock up!

Also, on Hot Coupon World they are reporting this deal:

Buy 3 Pantene stylers at $3.79 each, get an instant $5 gift card
Buy 3, use 3 $2/1 coupons from the CVS booklet (these are manufacturer's coupons)
Spend $5.37, Get $5 gift card back
$0.12 each after coupons and gift card!
Some stores also have peelies on some of the bottles for Buy 2, Get 1 Free which would make this deal a money-maker!

See more deals at Target this week here.

Regional Grocery Store Deals: Meijer and ACME

Meijer: Four pounds of tilapia for $3.98 - From JessieLeigh:

Just wanted to let you know that Meijer (at least here in North Central Indiana) has 16 oz packages of frozen tilapia on sale buy two get two free. These are ordinarily $5.99 each, so four would cost $11.98. At Meijer's MealBox page here you can print as many coupons as you want for $2 off one pound of frozen tilapia.  Armed with four coupons, you should be able to walk out with 4 pounds of fish for less than four dollars. Not bad!

Meijer: Free dog snacks - From Jody:

There is a current catalina deal going on at Meijer:

Buy Purina Band Dog Snacks, any size, any variety between 5/30 & 6/21:

Buy 2 Get $1 Off Your Next Shopping Order (OYNSO)
Buy 3 Get $2.50 OYNSO
Buy 4 or more Get $4 OYNSO

If you buy 4 Purina Cheweez sticks (the small packs) at $0.99, you'll get $4 back! Free dog snacks!

Also, Purina Tiny T Bonz Snacks are $2.99 and Buzy Bones 2 pks are $3.29. If you buy 4 of either and use the recent $1.50/1 coupons on each of them (from the 03/16, 04/06, or 05/11 inserts), it will be $2 or a little more for 4 packs of doggie snacks!

 ACME: Free Texas Toast Croutons - From Be Thrifty Like Us

Until Thursday at ACME Markets, 5/29, Texas Toast Croutons are on sale for $1.00 a bag. In the previous week's coupon insert (sorry I don't know the exact one) there were .55 cent off on one bag coupons. ACME doubles all coupons up to $1.00, so you can get them for free after coupon.

Guest Post: Nine Coupon Myths Debunked

Guest Post by Jody Connelly

Myth #1: Coupons are only for unhealthful processed junk foods.
There are a lot of coupons for processed junk foods. However, there are just as many coupons for good healthful foods also. More often, I have even been seeing coupons for fresh fruit. There are also often coupons out for yogurt, bagged salads, and frozen veggies (which have less salt than the canned veggies). Keep in mind, just because you're using coupons and saving money, you still choose what you buy and what you eat.

Myth #2: You can’t save money if a store doesn't double coupons.

My two favorite stores to shop at are CVS and Walgreen’s--neither one of which double coupons. Most of the time, I find I save more there then I do at my grocery stores that do double coupons. Most drug stores have excellent store deals, sales, and rebate programs that most other stores don’t have. Don’t overlook shopping at a store just because they don’t double coupons.

There are also often higher dollar coupons out which, combined with sales, can net you excellent savings--even if your local stores do not double coupons. Start looking around at sales and matching your coupons to the sales and you just might be surprised!

Myth #3: Shopping at discount stores and dollar stores will save you more money than using coupons.
Family Dollar and Dollar General are often just as expensive as other stores. The disadvantage is they don’t have the store deals, rebates, and sales like other stores do. As far as true dollar stores where everything is $1, I've found that I rarely save money by shopping there since most of the items I buy with coupons and sales, I get for less than $1 in the first place. So for me, shopping at dollar stores are not a bargain.

Myth #4: Only poor people use coupons.

When did saving money become such a bad thing? Contrary to what some may think, according to statistics, people with lower income (under $25,000/year) are less likely to use coupons.  Middle class, middle-aged people with a college background are the most likely to use coupons.

Myth #5: You should only use coupons for products you normally buy.

After using coupons for so long now, I don’t even know what I "normally buy" anymore. By using coupons, I’ve gotten things so cheap or free that I otherwise would never have dreamed of buying or paying for--brands and products which would usually be quite out of our budget range.

In addition, I've learned to be more creative in planning my menus around what is on sale and being less brand-loyal so that we can save more money by buying the brand which is the best deal.

Myth #6: Generic products are always cheaper than name brand products.

Yes, it’s true that generic is a little cheaper than name brand. However, generic is not usually cheaper than name brand when it is on sale and you have a coupon. The key is to combine the store sales with coupons to get the best deals.

Myth #7: People who use coupons spend more than people who don’t use coupons.

If you are going to the store and buying anything you have a coupon for, especially if the product is not on sale, you will spend more. However, if you use coupons the right way by combining store sales and coupons together to get rock bottom deals, you will most definitely cut your grocery bill.

Myth #8: It’s not worth it to shop at multiple stores.

The 4 main stores I shop at are on the same block and 5 minutes from my house, so it really doesn’t take me much time to go from store to store. But even if your stores are not as close as mine, it can be worth it to shop at multiple stores. For instance, if you are able to get $100 worth of product you need for $20 and you only spent $6 extra in gas and an additional 20 minutes, then I would say that would certainly be worth it!

Myth #9: You shouldn't clip coupons for products you won’t use.

Don’t dismiss a coupon just because you haven’t used the product in the past--you might be surprised at the great deal which comes along for that very product! Besides, if you have a baby and your friend has a cat, wouldn’t it be nice to swap the coupons you didn’t need so you both get more of what you do need?

-Jody Connelly is a stay-at-home mom with 5 children between the ages of 14 - 3 years old. She's been couponing and saving money for over 4 years. She also likes to cook, read, sew, and garden. Visit her blog here.

Reader's Tips: SCRA, Waitable.com, and Skype

Skype: An inexpensive phone service alternative:

Instead of having a home phone we use Skype. Its free to download and then you buy credits in $10 increments , with that credit you can either pay as you go or you can buy a subscription. 3 months is $5.60, a year is $24.00. You can talk unlimited time to US and Canada through your computer. You can either buy a headset with mic plug for $15 dollars at Wal-Mart or for $70 you can buy a cordless Skype phone so its exactly like having a home phone. A year's worth of unlimited calling is less than what it would cost me for 1 month of my local carriers service. -Jenny

Military readers: Lower your interest rate with SCRA:

For any military readers you may have, the SCRA may apply. SCRA stands for the Servicemember's Civil Relief Act and requires companies to lower interest for credit card and vehicle payment debt to no more than 6% while a Reserve or National Guard member is deployed. However, it doesn't hurt to ask specific companies about their policy even for an active-duty servicemember who is not Reserve or National Guard. My husband is regular Army and deployed and he simply called and asked. We were required to send a copy of orders and, in some instances, an LES (like a pay stub) and most of the companies we have debt with granted this.

Unfortunately, we have quite a bit of debt (working on that), so this savings of interest (from about 4-18%) adds up over the course of a 15 month deployment. It will allow our "snowball" to go farther! -Catherine

Waitable.com: Helping you wait to get the best buy:

I am a 26 year old from Baton Rouge, LA, and I've developed a completely free website, Waitable.com, that helps people patiently wait for things they would like, but cannot quite afford at the moment. You can search for and add just about any item with a UPC on it to your Waitable list, tell it the price that you would like to pay for the item, and when it drops to or below that price, you're sent a link to buy it. -Richard

Target: Deals for this week

Joint Juice Single Beverages - $1.09
Use this $0.50/1 Target coupon
Stack with the $1/1 coupon from the 4/27 insert
Free plus possible overage! (Thanks, Mercedes!)

Schick Razors (trial sized) - $0.97
Use the $2/1 coupon from the 5/11 SmartSource insert
Free plus possible overage! (Thanks, Angie!)

Small packages of Archer Farms coffee - $1
Use the $1/1 coupon here
Free after coupon (Thanks, Bethany!)
Not all stores carry these, but I have often found them in our stores. They are little gift packets and I usually find them near the whole bean dispensers. 

Band-Aids - (SpongeBob, Miss Kitty, and a few others only) - $1
Use $1/1 from 05/18 inserts
Free after coupon (Thanks, Kristin!)

Clean and Clear (trial sized) - $0.97
Use $2/1 coupon here
Free plus possible overage after coupon (Thanks, Kristin!)

Johnson's Baby Shampoo (trial sized) - $0.89
Use $1/1 coupon here
Free after coupon (Thanks, Kristin!)

Johnson's Buddies Soap - $0.99
Use $1/1 coupon here
Free after coupon

Bourdeaux's Butt Paste (travel size - 3 one-use packs) - $0.99
Use $1/1 printable here
Free after coupon

All Small and Mighty (travel size) - $1.00
Use $1/1 coupon or printable here
Free after coupon

Degree Deodorant (travel size) - $0.99
Use $1/1 coupon
Free after coupon

Tylenol (trial sized) - $1
Use $1/1 coupon here
Free after coupon (Thanks, Kristin!)

Shout wipes (travel size) - $0.97
Use $1/1 coupon here
Free after coupon (Thanks, Kristin!)

Dove Deodorant (travel size) - $0.99
Use $0.75/1 coupon
$0.24 after coupon

  Morningstar Farms products - prices start at $2.64-$2.69
Use this $2/2 Target coupon
Stack with two $0.75/1 coupon from the 05/04 insert (Thanks, Mercedes!)

Remember there is a $1.50/1 Luvs coupon available here. However, Luvs at Wal-Mart are cheaper. Most Wal-Mart stores will honor this Target coupon.

Scotch Fur Fighter Hair Remover Kit (anyone know how much this costs?)
Use $4/1 Target coupon here
Stack with $4/1 coupon here (Thanks, Heather!)

What other great deals did you find at Target this week? Let us know!