Anyway, that means I had $180 profit just on those, plus a handful of assorted other MMs. So…. last night, my husband took me out for a birthday dinner (not frugal in the least but delicious) and allowed himself to be talked into swinging by Walgreens afterward.  The draw?  I promised to let him help me pick out what to spend that $180 of free money on. :)  I didn’t even have a couponing shopping list ready. (I am perhaps a little burned out on shopping after last week!)

It’s actually kind of hard to spend that kind of money. I mean, you could buy anything, but what would be the most useful way to spend it?  We bought six cases of Sprite Zero for M, a pair of sunglasses, a Barbie car and a Mickey Mouse game for E, some allergy meds, some hair accessories.. just a wide assortment of random stuff.  It was just over $100 of stuff and I walked out of there paying about $6 out of pocket. (Sales tax.) It was fun!  Except at the very end, when it was incredibly embarrassing. I checked out with a beauty advisor that is used to the way I shop.  I pointed out one of the ad coupons, she scanned it, and then waited patiently for the next coupon and I didn’t have any.  haha.

If I can get myself motivated, I am planning on using some of the rest of the RRs on photo printing. I need to update our albums, plus a few other little albums that I need to get done. I might also pick up some bottled water and charcoal.  What would YOU buy with an excessive amount of absolutely free* coupon overage?  And, would it bother you to pay twice what something is worth in that situation, or would you figure that it was free anyway so it didn’t matter?  There were a few things I refused to pay drugstore prices for, hehe. When it’s five dollars or even twenty,  I would just keep rolling it without thinking about it as real profit, but I knew I didn’t stand a chance of doing that with so many of them (especially since I received a bunch of other RRs from the regular freebies.)

*Free, except for coupon costs, which were accounted for MONTHS ago. Maybe fifty cents each?

In other news, my first yard sale of the season–which has been sadly delayed for two weeks in a row so let’s hope that third time is a charm–is Saturday.  Can’t wait to see how we do!

Upon arrival at the post office, we see a sign saying that effective in November 2009, they would require all passport applicants to have an appointment. Of course there were no appointments available yesterday.  However, the guy let me sign the app yesterday so neither Evie nor I had to come back in today.  That was sweet.

Anyway, one additional reason I like to have lunch with M is that there’s a CVS in that town and I kind of like it better than my local store.  So… yes, those two preceding paragraphs were really just there to lead up to me saying that I went to CVS yesterday.  I can make anything  a long story.

Total Paid: $19.65  (0, 4.47, 15.18)
Total ECB Used: $19.99 (5, .50, 3, .50, 3, 3.99, 4)
Total OOP: $39.64
Total ECB Received: $43.96 (5, 5, 8.99, 8.99, .99, .99, 10, 2, 2)
Total Cost: $4.32 profit

Not bad for a day’s work!  Would have been better except they wouldn’t take two of my Pedialyte coupons and I didn’t feel like arguing.

I only bought the toilet paper because I got a $1 CVS paper product coupon from the automagical scanner, and therefore got it for $0.15.  I figured it was worth that much.

I also stopped in at Walgreens to pick up some (passport) photos, but I deemed it too boring to obtain photographic evidence of.  Bottled water + dried pineapple + photos.  :)  Expiring RR and the only thing I wanted was not in stock.

Anyway.  On Friday, I went up to see my parents for the day, and while I was there, I went to Rite Aid.  It was kind of awesome.  I had two $20 Gift of Savings certificates and was worrying over  when I would use them–I have not had much OOP cost at Rite Aid lately.  One of them expired at the end of this month, too.  This is all to say that I had been planning on doing a Pampers deal to qualify for the first $50 requirement for the P&G Single Check Rebate.  My original plan was to buy them two at a time, add enough fillers each time to get to $20, and then use a $5/$20.  However, once I was in the store, I couldn’t find fillers and then I realized that it would be an excellent time to use those gift of savings, so I went ahead and did it in two transactions instead of three.  I “lost” five dollars that way, but I was able to use two $20 GOS certificates, and I didn’t really account for either one of them when I purchased stuff to qualify for them.  So, I did two identical transactions:

3 Pampers, 8.99
1 Angel Soft toilet paper, four-pack, .99 (needed to bring my total up in order to use the certificate)
1 bag of M&Ms, 0.50 (miscalculated* and threw these in at the end to get up to $20)

The $20 certificate went through, and the cashier said my total was $.83. I handed it to her, but then she looked at the screen again and said, “Oh, I’m sorry,” and handed it back to me.  My total was NEGATIVE $.83.  She handed me cash back from the register!  It was awesome, especially since I then did the exact same transaction again.  I received a total of $1.66 to purchase six packages of diapers and eight rolls of toilet paper.. plus I’ll get back $2 in rebates and a $15 gift card. Then, I’ll use these two receipts to qualify for the P&G $100 Coupon book rebate. (Mail in $50 worth of receipts and get a coupon booklet over for $100 value. Last year it was $120, but beggars can’t be choosers, right?  Also, I didn’t get one last year and it was so frustrating to see these super deals using coupons I didn’t have!)

(Meanwhile, my dad checked out for me at the next register. He bought a nine-roll package of Charmin and a Bayer Contour. He paid $1.11. It was a pretty good day.)

I called it a rite of passage because I’ve seen lots of couponers talk about getting the random cashier to give cash back, but it’s never happened to me.

*Apparently the $5/$20 coupon, AND the $20 coupon, take off tax.  This makes a big difference when it comes to calculating exact totals!

Walgreens

(not pictured: two more Aquafina waters that had already been carried into the sunroom to be put away. Too heavy to lug them back just for the sake of a photo!)

Total OOP: $24.32 (2.74, 3.46, 3.96, 1.20, 1.20, 3.00, 7.74, 1.02)
Total RR Used: $43 (10, 5, 1, 1, 1, 4, 4, 2, 2, 10, 3)
Total Spent: $67.32
Total RR Received: $119 (5, 5, 3, 3, 2, 3, 2, 5, 5, 3, 10, 5, 5, 3, 1, 1, 5, 5, 6, 1, 2, 2, 1, 5, 5, 6, 3, 5, 5, 6, 1)
Total Cost: $51.68 profit

This was the result of shopping at several stores, so no need to fear that I am roaming the countryside, demolishing the stock at all of your neighborhood Walgreens.  I even left sugar testing kits in stock at every single store!  ;)  Right now, if you buy one of each in a transaction, you get two $5 RRs and one extra $3 RR. Since I used coupons to make them all free–that makes it a pretty hot deal.  For some reason, I don’t even have to pay tax on them anymore. If you purchase another qualifying item, you get a $6 instead of a $3.  The last two stores I was in had the Bayer crystals above on clearance for $2.19. I didn’t have any coupons with me but it was still profitable to buy them.  If I had just bought those monitors and Bayer crystals, I would have had $80 of profit. :)

The other thing to mention about this picture is that you should never believe everything you read on the internet.  I am occasionally guilty of just compiling my shopping lists and not noticing if something corresponds with reality.  I had read somewhere that the Sensodyne was $3.49. After a $1 coupon and $2 ad coupon, that would make it $.49.  I rarely see this on a good sale, and people have asked me for it at my yard sales, so I figured I’d get it.  Turns out that they were $4.99, not $3.49, making those toothpastes $1.99 each.  Terrible!  I will live with the loss, though, especially considering that the day was very profitable anyway. I was planning on selling them for $2 each anyway, so at least I’ll get my money back, assuming they sell (and I think they will.)  I could return them but I don’t want to be obnoxious.

CVS

I also hit a CVS on impulse.  It was the nicest CVS I have ever been into!  Large and spacious and with actual merchandise on the shelves!  ;)   I have one tiny CVS in town and one in the next that I hit occasionally, and other than that I have only walked into maybe one or two others, so I don’t exactly have a lot of experience to draw from, but they’re all tiny little stores. By the way, if you’re in a nice store, complimenting it to the cashiers makes them much friendlier.  I never say it if it isn’t true, but I make a point of telling them if it is. 

Anyway!

Total Spent:$1.75 (1.75, 0)
Total ECB used: $23.49 (2.49, 4, 5, 12)
Total ECB received: $32 (2, 6, 12, 12)
Total Cost: $8.51 profit

My husband just groaned and said, "More Soy Joy?? Ugh!"  hehe  The Oust is a fantastic deal right now.  $3.99 each and you get $3 back per bottle–plus a B1G1 coupon came out in last week’s paper. 

It was a good day.

Spent: $45.96 (33.72, 11.24, 1.00)
RR used: $8 (5, 3)
Total OOP: $53.96
RR Received: $47 (10, 4, 1, 2, 3, 5, 5, 4, 2, 1, 3, 2, 4, 1)
Total Cost: $6.96

Have you ever been in a Walgreens? Picture all of that stuff heaped up in one of their tiny little buggies with a two-year-old in the front seat, plus two bulky jackets and my purse. I looked very comical. It was almost embarrassing.

I was very happy that they had four Aquafina in stock. This week, they’re on sale for $3.99 after the in-ad coupon. They’re $5.99 regular price. There’s a $10 when you buy $20 Pepsi product RR going on this month. So-$5.99*4=$15.96-$10 RR=$5.96 for four. $1.49 each! I am ashamed on an environmental and financial level to admit that we drink bottled water most of the time, and Aquafina is my favorite.

I still can’t believe that it’s possible to shop like this, and this isn’t even one of my better trips.

Total OOP: 15.71, 18.86, 16.71, 21.98, -2.56)
RR Used: 0
Total Spent: $70.70
RR Received: (3, 3, 10, 10, 10, 10, 4, 4, 4)
Nabisco Rebate Earned: $10
PSC: $.30
Caregivers Marketplace: $1.50 (.75, .75)
Total Cost:  $.90

I actually bought ten Ritz and two Kleenex.  The Kleenex just didn’t make it into the picture and the extra Ritz I gave to my beauty advisor.  This is a good example of using lots of different promotions/rebates to bring your total cost down.  I did this in four transactions, all with $5/$25 coupons.  I could have gotten it down a little more if I’d paid more attention to my second transaction… had to add the toilet paper in at the last minute.  Anyway, it was a pretty decent day.

What do you do with all this stuff? Does anyone know anyone who might possibly want some Ritz crackers? ;)  One box is completely spoken for, since I’ll need a full box to make my signature broccoli casserole for both Thanksgiving and Christmas. Truth be told, I prefer Townhouse crackers to Ritz, but.. I prefer getting things for free or profit more than I prefer a slightly different variety of cracker, so there you go.  They have a sell by date in February, which is unfortunate, but that’s what you sometimes get for buying food at drugstores.   The diapers and makeup I’ll sell, the toilet paper and candy and tomato sauce and Kleenex we’ll probably use ourselves.

Total OOP: $25.60 (3.50, 3.08, 17.16, 1.86)
Total RR Used: $126 (7, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 3, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 4, 4, 4, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1)
Total Spent: $151.60
Total RR Received: $44 (2, 2, 6, 4, 4, 2, 6, 4, 6, 2, 6)
Gift Card Purchased: $76.00
Caregivers Marketplace: $4.50 (.75, .75, .75, .75)
Prescription Savings Club: $0.45
Total Cost: $26.65

…which is a lot worse than expected, really, and if I’d done the math before writing this all out, I wouldn’t bother posting it. ;)  I paid nearly seven dollars in tax alone, thanks to the geniuses who decided that you should pay tax on pre-coupon amounts in this state.  Ahhh well.  I will make that back, plus some, just by selling the diapers, and there’s a healthy profit in the rest of it.  I just wish I could have found a few more of my overage items.

5 Fusion MVP razors
4 tubes of Crest
6 bottles of peroxide
1 Oral B toothbrush
4 bags of Halls Refresh
6 boxes of character Band-Aids (two each of Dora, Spongebob and Barbie)
2 packages of Trident gum

Total Spent: $13.63 (1.75, 1.13, 1.45, 3.15, 6.15)
Total RR Used: $20 (7, 3, 2, 3, 2, 3)
Total OOP: $33.63
RR Received: $40 (2, 1, 6, 2, 1, 6, 1, 6, 1, 6, 1, 6, 1)
Gift Card Received: $3
Prescription Savings Club: $0.18
Total Cost: $9.55 profit

I think it was worth my time. :)

Just a note about the $3 gift card.  I thought that the toothbrushes were a monthly RR deal.  They didn’t print and now I see that most deal sites don’t have it listed now…though I remember seeing it somewhere.  My beauty advisor also thought it was supposed to be a monthly. I wasn’t going to sweat it, and asked to return the item after purchasing it…but when the manager came, he just gave me the gift card instead of returning it.  That’s pretty much the benefit of establishing friendly relations with your store.

Total OOP: $17.21 (4.80, 1.83, 1.36, 1.50, 1.89, 1.83, 2.33, 1.67)
Total RR used: $53.00 (3,3,5,3, 3, 3, 3, 5, 3, 3, 3, 3, 5, 5, 3)
Total Spent: $70.21
Total RR received: $65.00 (3×8, 3×6, 2×7, 4, 5)
Total Cost: $5.21

The Mitchum deodorant ad coupon did not come off, so I’ll return it.  I handed her the ad coupon to begin with. It beeped and she said that it had already been taken off.  That’s been happening lately with a couple of certain ad coupons so I didn’t question her, but I specifically asked then if it rang up as $1.99 on the receipt, so she fed it forward, checked and said that it had.  Guess what? Not so much.  (I should add that my favorite beauty advisor was on vacation so I had to check out up front.)  The Irish Spring I bought for my parents (which my mom paid me back for today) so in the end, this will be a profit of $3.39, but minus those three items.  Honestly, I was expecting more but I did have to buy a bunch of fillers to use up some Register Rewards. I need a good filler week soon.

This was one of the stranger purchases that I have made in a while.

Total OOP: $24.51 (.59, 6.79, 6.79, 5.04, 5.30)
Total RR used: $70 (4, 4, 4, 5, 5, 5, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 4, 4, 4, 4, 2, 2, 2)
Total Spent: $94.51
Total RR received: $36 (3, 5, 2, 2, 3, 5, 5, 2, 2, 2, 5)
Total Gift card reloaded: $65.00
Total Cost: $6.49 PROFIT

They were out of stock on the razors and toothbrushes that are free after RR this week, or I would have done even better.  The peroxide was a little embarrassing to buy in bulk (who needs that much peroxide??)  but it was .33 after the ad coupon (the 15% discount made it .26) so it was a really good filler.  I have said before that I just consider the fillers a cost of doing business, so if I sell them for no more than what I paid for them, I’m content.  In this case, though, I’m going to try to get $.50 each out of them, which will nearly double my investment.

The thing to remember about the Walgreens Friends and Family days is that not only are things cheaper, but you really want to buy things that produce Register Rewards then if you can.  The items ring up at the discounted price, but you still get the full RR value. For example, the toothpaste is $5 on sale, and you get a $5 RR for buying it.  With the discount, they were ringing up $4.24.  Plus, I had $1 coupons, so I "made" $1.75 for every one I bought.  That $6.49 profit is what’s left after the rest of my overage paid for $5.27 worth of peroxide and tax ($2.86) on everything–that’s some pretty significant savings.