Great freebie for the holidays

Walgreens is offering a FREE 8x10 collage photo through 10/23.

Just go to the Walgreens site, register a free account if you don't have one already, and upload your photos.
Create your collage and choose in-store pickup.  When you check out, use coupon code 8X10TREAT to bring your total to my favorite number: $0.00!  When you choose store pickup there's no shipping charged so you'll only have to worry about any applicable sales tax.

Pair this with a cute picture frame - you can always find these on clearance as the holidays approach! - and you've got the perfect gift for Mom, Grandma, or anyone else who loves photo memories.

And you can't beat the price!

So my mom called me, yelling....

My mom called me this evening.  I answered the phone all "helllooooooo!" because we frequently answer in stupid voices when one calls the other.  It's just a thing.  And instead of a goofy voice back, I got "OH MY GAWWWD!"

"What, mom, what???"

"I went to Rite Aid tonight, and I got a card and took my coups (coupons) and tried to do like you do!  I don't know if I did it right, but I got all this stuff and it was only $14.  And I got five of those up dollar things back."

So Mom's been listening to me go on about this whole coupon thang for months now.  I tell her when there's a particularly good deal to be had; "Hey, cut out that Crest coupon in your Sunday paper, it'll be free at Giant Eagle next week."  She's still remained mostly a casual couponer, though.

But I think the drugstore bug bit her hard tonight.  I don't recall the last time I saw her this excited - maybe for the birth of my youngest nephew, but she wasn't screaming then so maybe not.

She got her hands on a couple buy one, get one free coupons for Axe body wash yesterday.  My oldest nephew loves the stuff, so she was going to use the coupon to get him some for Christmas.  She mentioned it to me earlier today and I said "Hey, I think there's some sort of sale on Axe stuff at Rite Aid this week, maybe you could get them there." 

I didn't have the sales circular at hand, so I was going off memory.  Well, she drives right past a Rite Aid on her way home from work, so she stopped in to see what the prices were.  While she was there, she saw a display of Planter's NUTrition marked down to $3.99 from $6.99; she keeps those in her desk at work to snack on, so she decided to get a couple canisters and go ahead and get the body wash since she was making a purchase anyway.

She found the body wash and was a little bummed to see that the sale I'd recalled was apparently buy one get one 50% off of the Axe deodorant and body spray.  The wash wasn't marked, but she was still pretty pleased with the BOGO coupon and the Planter's sale so she loaded up her basket and threw in a bottle of conditioner and a couple bottles of soda so she'd be sure to have a total of $25 to use one of the $5 coupons.

And that brings us to the phone call.  She was trying to make sense of the receipt and just couldn't understand how her total wound up being $14 and change.  The body washes were $5.69ea, the nuts were $3.99ea, and she had conditioner and soda on top of it.  Even with the BOGO coupons, she thought her total should have been about $20.

The anatomy of a drugstore deal: make money buying Alka Seltzer

My dear friend Michael is a well-prepared guy.  I mean that in the sense that he is literally prepared to survive the breakdown of society via economic collapse, civil war, and/or zombie apocalypse.  Alien invasion too, but that's not as likely as the other three.  He, his wife, and their friends & family will come through Mad Max just fine because Michael doesn't screw around.  I want to be like Michael when I grow up.

So, when Michael asked me earlier today to give him a heads-up if I find great deals on shelf-stable goods that he could pass on to his apocalypse-avoidant homies, I figured I'd do him and all of you a service by breaking down a good deal on over the counter medication.  Since this is a national sale at a national chain, most anyone will be able to replicate it with a little footwork ahead of time.  Cold & flu season is fast approaching; stock up now while they'll pay you to do it.

Let's begin.

Locate your nearest Rite Aid Pharmacy.  Some time before Sunday, stop in there and sign up for their Wellness+ card.  It's completely free; this is the store loyalty card that gives you discount prices and enables you to earn their +UP store dollars on eligible purchases.  You fill out a short form in the store, they give you a card, and you're on your way.

You will also want to gather your coupons.  First and foremost, determine if the Red Plum sales insert is mailed to you (usually on a Tuesday or Wednesday, arriving with your local grocery sales circular) or if it comes with the Sunday paper.  To find out, go to this Red Plum link, enter your address, and it'll tell you.
If you get this insert in the mail, start asking your neighbors, coworkers, friends and family to save their coupons for you right now.  You'll need six inserts.
If your local newspaper carries Red Plum in their Sunday paper - lucky you!!  Make plans now to purchase six newspapers on Sunday - or ask friends/family/etc if you can have the coupons from their paper.  There are piles of other useful coupons, so if you wind up buying six papers you'll still come out ahead.

However you do it, you want to make sure to have SIX coupons from that circular for $3 off "any Alka-Seltzer Plus Fast Powder Packs product."

Next, you'll want to print out a couple of these $5 off a $25 purchase coupons for Rite Aid.  You'll only need one for this deal, but they come in handy so keep a couple extra on hand.
LATE EDIT: apparently the linked coupon is acting up. If you can't get the PDF to load, please email me and I may be able to help: angrycheapskate (at) gmail (dot) com.

Starting on Sunday, 10/24, this item will be on sale at Rite Aid.

Grocery week wrapup: $128 worth of groceries for $29.43

As mentioned, it was a fairly slow week at the grocery store.  There were a few great deals to be had, but nothing like the last two trips.  Next week doesn't look much better.  Fortunately we have plenty of cereal to see us through.

First transaction
Eight 40oz bottles Heinz Ketchup - $2ea on sale, I had 8 coupons for $.75/1 which doubled.  Total: $4.
We received a $5 OYNO Catalina back.

Second transaction
Four boxes Corn Flakes Simply Cinnamon: $.49ea
Four boxes Cinnabon cereal: $.49ea
Two boxes Raisin Bran: $1.99ea
Two boxes Corn Flakes: $1.99ea, had a coupon for $1 off any bag of flour when you buy two
5lb bag flour: $.99
Two cartons V8 soup: $1ea
Two bottles V8 Fusion w/tea: $1ea
Two Ortega soft taco kits: $1.50ea
Ten cans Swanson low sodium chicken broth: $.40ea
Two cans Bush's beans: $.57ea (selection wasn't great, so we only got two)
Three Toaster Strudels: $1.17ea
Two 4C shredded cheese: $2ea
Two 4C breadcrumbs: FREE
Two pounds butter: $2ea (we're about out, desperately need a good sale on these)
One 20oz Pepsi Max: FREE

Hello UPS man!!

WHOA!!!  New favorite company!! 

Last month I made a post suggesting that new (and seasoned!) couponers might like to consider contacting companies whose products they enjoy, as many companies will reward your brand loyalty with further coupons.  This is a great way to score coupons for a free item, coupons with very long expiration dates, coupons for items that don't get coupons often, or higher-value coupons than one sees in a Sunday paper.

A recent example for me is for Angel Soft toilet paper.  I don't much care what brand we use as long as it's not scratchy or rough, but Andy only wants Angel Soft.  He's very brand-loyal when it comes to his butt.  They don't put out many coupons in the paper for this brand, so I dropped Angel Soft a line letting them know that it's the only brand we use.  They responded by sending me a nice thank-you letter in the mail and attaching some $.55/1 coupons.  These coupons are good for any size pack as opposed to the coupons they make available on their website for $.50/1 for six roll or larger packs.
Why is this important?  Well, Angel Soft goes on sale somewhat regularly at $1 for a 4-roll pack (and, actually, is on sale for that price next week).  With the $.55/1 coupons for ANY pack doubling, that means free toilet paper!  The savings on a 6-roll pack is great, but you just can't beat free.

And you just can't beat free surprises, either.
I was sitting at the computer this afternoon when I was startled by a loud "thunk" and a knock on the front door.  I got up and went to see what was going on, and as I passed by the living room window I saw the UPS truck parked out front.  I wasn't expecting anything, but when I opened the door there was a box on the doorstep addressed to me.  A present??  I like presents!  And this was fairly heavy present at that!

I tore open the box and tried to make sense of what was inside.

Three pounds of licorice???

And then I remembered I had emailed Red Vines a few weeks ago hoping to land a coupon or two.  They did a little better than that, though!  They UPS'd me three one pound bags of delicious red licorice and a thank-you note for my compliment to them - WHOA!!  Talk about landing a customer for life!

I'm really wishing I wasn't still full from lunch. 

Playin' the Drugstore Game

The major drugstore chains all have programs where if you buy certain items, you get "reward dollars" back that can be spent in the store on your next visit.  These are very much like the Catalinas/OYNOs at the grocery store, and, as I've recently started to figure out - THIS is how those crazy coupon ladies get $30 worth of merchandise for a quarter.  We'll examine how it works momentarily.

The three big drugstores we've got access to in my 'hood are Walgreens, CVS, and Rite Aid.
Of the three, Walgreens' reward program is the most restrictive; Rite Aid's is by far the best.  CVS seems to be somewhere in the middle.

Let's take a look at a razor deal.  A Schick Hydro 5 razor is priced at $8.99 on sale, and if you buy one you receive $5 back in reward dollars.  Better yet, there's a $4/1 coupon.  $8.99 - $4 coupon = $4.99, and you get a $5 store credit in reward dollars back, making the razor a $.01 moneymaker.

• At Walgreens you can buy the razor, use the coupon, get the $5 back, but you cannot use that $5 to purchase another razor.  The reward dollars won't print if you do so.  In  addition, you can only get one deal per transaction.  If you wanted to buy 5 razors, you would have to do 5 separate transactions to get the $5 back on each one, and in the end you'd have paid about $25 and you'll have five $5 Walgreens Register Rewards (their name for reward dollars, shortened to RRs) that you can use on other stuff in the store. 
• At CVS you can purchase multiple razors in one transaction and use the $5 in Extra Care Bucks (their reward dollars, shortened to ECBs) on more razors.  The downside is that most of the really good deals have a limit of one per card for the sale period.  With the Schick razor, you buy your razor for $4.99 with coupon, get $5 back in ECBs, and you could use that $5 to buy another razor - you just won't get another $5 ECB for it.  So you'd be able to get two razors for $4.99, which isn't a bad deal, but it ain't free quite yet.
• At Rite Aid, there are very few restrictions.  Unless there's a restriction printed in the sales circular, and there aren't many times where it is, you could buy a razor, get your $5 +UP (Rite Aid's reward dollars, pronounced plus-ups or ups) and use it to get another razor for free.  You could then use the $5 +UP from the 2nd razor and use it to get another for free.  Or you could buy two razors with two coupons for $9.98, get $10 in +UPs, buy two more at no cost to you using coupons & the +UPs from the last transaction and get $10 more +UPs, THEN buy 2 more at no cost and get $10 more +UPs back.  And on and on it goes.

That all said, I decided to start learning the drugstore game at Rite Aid.  As is usually the case with me, I had to get all crazy and jump into CVS as well due to a couple good deals they have, so I guess I'm learning both stores now.  Let's see how I did.

Friday - CVS
Pepsi 2 liters were on sale for $1ea.  If you purchased 15, you got $5 ECBs back, making them $.67ea.  I had two $1/2 coupons as well.  I am a Diet Pepsi FIEND.  It's almost embarrassing how much of that stuff I drink; suffice to say, the 15 bottles will be consumed.
15 Diet Pepsi = $15 - $2 in coupons = $13.
Receive $5 ECBs back.


They also had gallons of milk for $2.19.  Andy drinks as much milk as I do Diet Pepsi, so we got two gallons of milk as well (normally $2.50-3.00 at the grocery store.

$17.38 with $5 ECBs remaining = $12.38 for 15 sodas and 2 gallons of milk.

This is why we stockpile, kids

I was talking this whole couponing thing over with my friend Misty (HI MISTY!!!!).  She wants to get in on these savings and she made a comment about needing to change her mindset on how she and her family shop.  They do what most folks do; they clip Sunday's coupons for items they'll use the next week, for the stuff they've got on their shopping list for the next trip to the grocery. 

When it comes to these 70%, 80% or more savings, though, you need to do the exact opposite.

You make your list around your coupons, you don't clip coupons based on your list.

Our circular came in the mail today, and six months ago I would have looked through it and added some $2 pasta sauce, 2 packages of frozen veggies on sale for $1, and a box or two of $3 cereal to my existing list of meat, milk, etc.  I wouldn't have had any coupons because I didn't buy a Sunday newspaper and the coupon circular that comes in the mail didn't have anything for cereal, veggies, or pasta sauce (actually, the entire circular pretty much sucks ass).  But hey, they were on sale so I was saving money!

Today I looked at the sales circular for all of 5 minutes before tossing it aside.
It's craptastic.  Abso-freakin-lutely craptastic.
And, you know what?  That's perfectly fine. 

Why is it fine?

Because I got 16 packages of frozen veg last week for $.31ea on top of the 10 I'd gotten two weeks before for $.50ea.
Because I got 10 large jars of pasta sauce for $.70ea a few weeks ago.
Because I got 15 boxes of pasta at a profit last week.
I have canned tomatoes, canned veggies, cheese, lunchmeat, coffee, cookies, feminine products, toothpaste, deodorant, and all manner of everyday use items that I got for free or nearly free tucked away for shitty sales weeks just like this one. 
I'm not obligated to pay $3 for a box of cereal this week because the boxes I got for half that or less are in the pantry.  If we were out of coffee I wouldn't have much choice but to pay $11 for a single canister.

And as an extension of shopping based on your coupons rather than the other way around - you eat based on what you've already purchased for pennies on the dollar rather than shop based on what you want to eat.
I mean, sure, if you've got a craving for some ice cream, go buy the ice cream even if it's full price.  But once you get that new mindset, once you get to the point where you've got the beginnings of a stockpile of nonperishables, your meals should be planned around what you've got on hand.
With so much free pasta, I'll lean towards preparing more pasta dishes.  I've got tomatoes, pasta sauce, piles of frozen veggies, beef, chicken, cheese....I could turn that into about 10 different meals.  Instead of looking at the craptastic grocery sales this week and trying to come up with dinner, I pick and choose the few good deals and use those to supplement the food I've already got.  Next week's sales will hopefully provide more opportunities to stock up on other stuff.

So what am I buying this week?
There's the usual: milk, meat, produce, soda.
Ketchup.  We only have about a bottle and a half right now.  One store (which doesn't double coupons) has Heinz for a buck, and the other store (which does) has it for $1.29.  I may have a handful of $.75/1 coupons en route, so if those get here in time I'll take the profit on the $1.29 ketchup.  If not, I plan to pick up a couple bottles for a buck each at my non-usual store to stash aside until another sale comes up.
Ziploc bags.  $1.20 per box after sale & coupon, which is still fairly high, but again....we're almost out.  I'll buy a couple and hope for cheaper to stock up.
Bush's beans.  They're on sale and I have a stack of coupons to take the bigger cans down to $.57 and $.67ea.  That's low enough to buy 8-10 cans.
A few canned veggies for $.50ea.  We have a fairly decent amount of these, but I'll grab 5 or 10 for that price.

That's about it.  No pushing around two carts, no 58 transactions, no car packed to the rafters with bags this week.
And we have enough food stocked on our shelves to not have to worry about it.