Walgreens $5 Scenario - Week of 2/21/10

For the new Walgreens shopper, rolling Register Rewards can seem confusing and intimidating, but if you take the plunge and become a Walgreens shopper, you can bring home a ton of merchandise for very little money.

This week, stop after the third transaction and take home $4.00 in Register Rewards to use next week. For couponer fun, go on to the fourth transaction - nothing better than a bag of goodies for free.

Take a look at this week's deals for where to find the coupons.

Transaction #1
purchase (1) Excedrin Menstrual Complete Express Gels, 20 ct. $2.50
use (1) Excedrin coupon -$2.00
= $0.50 + tax out of pocket and receive $2.00 Novartis Register Reward

Transaction #2
purchase (1) Goody Ouchless Elastics, 27 pack, $2.99
use Novartis Register Reward -$2.00
= $0.99 + tax our of pocket and receive $2.00 Newell Register Reward

Transaction #3
purchase (1) Gillette Fusion MVP Razor $8.99
purchase (1) seed packets $0.99 (filler need to use Register Reward)
use (1) Gillette coupon -$4.00
use in-ad coupon for seeds -$0.79
use Newell Register Reward -$2.00
= $3.19 + tax out of pocket and receive $4.00 P&G Register Reward

Transaction #4
purchase (3) Hunt's Tomato Sauce, 8 oz., $2.97
purchase (1) Mentos Gum $0.99
purchase (1) Softsoap $2.99
purchase (2) Ghirardelli Chocolate Bars $3.00
purchase (1) Excedrin Menstrual Complete Express Gels, 20 ct. $2.50
purchase (1) Royal Pudding $0.69
use (1) Hunts' coupon -$1.00
use (1) Mentos' coupon -$0.55
use (1) Softsoap coupon -0.35
use (1) Excedrin coupon -$2.00
use in-ad coupon for Hunt's -$1.80
use in-ad coupon for Softsoap -$2.00
use in-ad coupon for Royal pudding -$0.44
use February Coupon book coupon for Ghirardelli -$1.00
use P&G Register Reward -$4.00
= $0.00 out of pocket and receive $2.00 Novartis Register Reward

Items Purchased
2 boxes of pain relief
1 package of hair elastics
1 razor
1 packets of seeds
1 package of gum
1 bottle of hand soap
1 box of pudding
2 chocolate bars

Total retail price before sales: $43.47
Total Out of Pocket: $4.68 + tax for 89% savings
And $2 Register Reward to use next week.

CVS Deals - Week of 2/21/10

Prices good February 21 - 27 , 2010

On Friday, readers were reporting getting a $5 off $15 coupon from the coupon machine. Make sure you scan your Extra Care Card at the coupon machine each time you shop. You never know what kind of goodies you'll get.

St Louis Locations - Now Open!
South City - Gravois and Hampton
South County - Lindbergh and Lemay Ferry
Olivette - Olive just west of I-170
West County - Manchester & Kiefer

Thanks to Cindy at Living Rich with Coupons for this week's match-ups.


:: Free this Week ::

EARinse Ear Cleansing Spray - $7.99
Get a $7.99 ECB (limit 1 offer)
Final cost: FREE after ECB


:: Cheap this Week ::

Colgate Fresh Max or 2-in-1 Kids - $2.99
Get $2.00 ECB (limit 1 offer)
.75 - 2/21/10 SS
Final cost: .24 each after coupon & ECB

Bumble Bee Chunk Light Tuna, 5 oz. can - .49 (limit 10)
$1 off 5 - HERE
Final price: .29 each when you buy 5

Speed Stick Deodorant - $2.99
Get a $2.00 ECB (limit 2 offers)
.50 - 1/31/10 SS
Final cost: .49 each after coupon & ECB

Simply Asia Noodle Soup Bowl - .99
.50 - 2/7/10 RP
Final price: .49 each

Softsoap Liquid Hand Soap - .88
.35 - HERE
Final price: .53 each

Renuzit Adjustable - .88
B2G1 - 1/10/10 RP
Final pirce: .59 each when you buy 3

General Mills Cereal - $1.99 (limit 8)
$1 off Honey Nut Cheerios - HERE
$1 off Trix, Cocoa Puffs, Cinnamon Toast Crunch or Lucky Charms - HERE
Final price: .99 each

B1G1 Revlon ColorSilk - prices starting at $3.99 (limit 6)
$1 0ff 2 - 1/17/10 SS (Hurry! expires Sunday, 1/21)
Final price: $1.50 each when you buy 2

Check out more deals HERE. Thanks, Cindy!

Walgreens Deals - Week of 2/21/10

Sale prices good February 21 - 27, 2010

Remember, you can roll Register Rewards. Take a look at Using Register Rewards.

I highlight only the best deals. Take a look at Walgreens' full ad here -as of Sunday. Or a scan of the ad at I Heart Wags

:: Free this Week ::

This is a rumored Register Reward deal. Until someone tries the deal on Sunday, who knows if it works?

Edit: I picked up this Excedrin Menstrual on Sunday morning; it is ringing up at $2.50 and triggering a $2 Register Reward.

Excedrin Menstrual Complete Express Gels, 20 ct. - $2.50
$2 - HERE (no longer available)
Receive $2 Register Reward (Novartis)
Final cost: $1.50 Money-Maker after coupon & Register Reward

Edit: The $2 coupon is no longer available, but you can find a $1 coupon HERE. This coupon still makes the deal a money-maker!

:: Cheap this Week ::

Hunt's Tomato Sauce, 8 oz. - .39 with in-ad coupon
$1 off 3 - HERE (play game to earn coupon)
Final price: .06 each when you buy 3

Hershey's Pieces Candy - 2/$5 (buy 4)
$1 - 1/31/10 SS (use 4)
Receive $5 Register Reward when you buy $10 (Hershey)
Final cost: .25 each when you buy 4 after coupons & Register Reward

Mentos Gum - .99
.55 - 2/21/10 SS
Final price: .44 each

Theraflu, 6 packets or 8.3 oz. - 2/$10
$2 - HERE or HERE (use 2)
Receive $5 Register Reward when you buy 2 (Novartis)
Final price: .50 each when you buy 2 after coupons & Register Reward

Excedrin Pain Relief, 20 or 24 ct. - $2.50
$2 - HERE
Final price: .50 each

Softsaop Liquid Hand Soap - .99 with in-ad coupon
.35 - HERE
Final price: .64 each

Goody Ouchless Elastics, 27 pack - $2.99
Receive $2 Register Reward (Goody Products a Newell Rubbermaid Company)
Final price: .99 each

Gillette Fusion MVP Razor - $8.99
$4 - 2/7/10 P&G
Receive $4 Register Reward (P&G)
Final cost: .99 each after coupon & Register Reward

Ghirardelli Chocolate Bar - 2/$3
$1 off 2 coupon in Walgreens February Coupon Book (find by ads at store)
Final price: $1 each when you buy 2

Stouffer's Macaroni & Cheese - 2/$3
Receive $1 Register Reward when you buy 2 (Nestle)
Final cost: $1 each when you buy 2

Purex - $2.99
B1G1 - 2/21/10 RP
Final price: $1.50 each when you buy 2 (makes it about .05 per load!)
Thanks, Maureen!

Q-tips Cotton Swabs, 300 or 375 pack - $1.99
.30 - 1/31/10 RP
Final price: $1.69 each


:: Filler Ideas ::

Seed Packet - .20 each with in-ad coupon
Royal Instant Pudding - .25 with in-ad coupon
Russell Stover Candy - .39 with in-ad coupon
Hershey's Candy - .49 with in-ad coupon
Theater Box Candy, Swedish Fish, Sour Patch Kid, Ferrara Pan - .49
Butterball Chicken Broth - .50 with in-ad coupon

Coupon Preview 2/21/10

Sunday's St Louis Post-Dispatch has Three coupon inserts - SmartSource, Redplum and P&G

Some of my favorite coupons this week:

• B1G1 Purex Laundry Detergent
• $3 off Gillette Clinical Deodorant
• $2 off Pampers Cruisers
• $1 off Wheaties
• $1 off Celestial Seasonings Tea
• $1 off Silk Soymilk
• $1 off Uncle Ben's Whole Grain Brown Rice
• $1 off Crest Premium Toothpaste
• $1 off Charmin (Target Coupon)
• $1 off Duracell Batteries (Target Coupon)
• $1 off 2 No Yolks Noodles
• .75 off Chex Cereal
• .50 off 2 S&W Beans
• .55 off Sara Lee Soft & Smooth Bread, Buns or Mini Bagels
• .40 off Viva

Remember: You want multiple coupons to use when a product is at a rock bottom price. When it's a good coupon insert week, I purchase 4 or 5 papers and sometimes acquire more. At first, I thought it was crazy to spend money to save money. But I've always saved much more than my $1 investment.

DEAL$, Dollar Tree and Sam's Club sell the Sunday Post-Dispatch for $1. The early edition is published on Saturday and it includes all the coupon inserts. And they usually still have Sunday papers left on Monday. Find the Deal$ , Dollar Tree or Sam's Club closest to you.

Saved 82% This Week

Every week, I shop at 4 or 5 different stores. I don't think I spend significantly more time shopping than I did before my frugal ways, but I know I spend significantly less money.

Before I knew you didn't have to spend money on toothpaste, I would put a few items that we needed on a list, and maybe a few ideas for dinner. I spent a lot of time at the store wandering around without a plan. I also spent a lot of time running back at to the store at 5 p.m.to pick up a few additional items to make dinner with.

Now, I go in with a list, hit only the parts of the store I need to, check out the places where I might find coupons or rebates, don't make impulse buys, and I'm out of there. I can easily stop at two stores in the time I used to spend in one. And, no more 5 p.m. trips.

CVS

I was hoping for a $5 off $15 coupon from the coupon machine that so many readers have reported getting, but no such luck for me. I won't complain about what I spent; I started with $11.98 in ECBs and ended with $15. CVS is so fun to shop at.

Before sales & coupons: $53.86
Total spent: $5.17
Total saved: $48.69 for 90%

Shop 'n Save

I had a great week at Shop 'n Save even though I spent more money than I needed to. Between the $10 off $50 Thursday, the $5 coupon from the Entertainment Book, and Catalina coupons from last week, I had $29 off my total before I started shopping. I had a few items on my list and wanted to pick up some other things that I needed. Somehow, I went $4 over $50. I'm usually good at keeping my total right at $50 to maximize my savings. Oh well, it is not like I didn't need what I bought.

Before sales & coupons: $87.63
Total spent: $10.26
Total saved: $77.37 for 88%

Schnucks

This is actually last week's sale items. I didn't get to Schnucks until the weekend. And I learned something new. The oyster crackers rang up wrong, so when I went to Customer Service to get a refund for the overcharge, they gave me one package for free. If something rings up incorrectly, the first item is free and they will adjust the price for any additional items.

Before sales & coupons: $36.45
Total spent: $7.62
Total saved: $28.83 for 79%

Dierbergs

I didn't save a great amount at Dierbergs, but if I can get Dierbergs meat at half price, I'm happy.

Before sales & coupons: $33.44
Total spent: $15.21
Total saved: $18.23 for 55%

Aldi

Comparable Schnucks price; $19.96
Total spent: $9.26
Total saved: $10.70 for 54%

My Splurge

$5.28 for sourdough bread from Deirbergs and buns from Schnucks. I really should learn to make bread.

Weekly Totals
Before sales & coupons: $231.24
Total spent: $47.52 - $6 in rebates I receive this week = $41.52
Total saved: $189.82 for 82%

Year to Date Totals
Spent: $291.32 ($42 weekly average)
Saved: $995.42 ($142 weekly average

For those who don't read my blog on a regular basis, my splurge funds are the difference between what I've actually spent and my $50 budget. They are for those items I never find on sale or that I don't have coupons for.

Calendar of FREE and CHEAP in St Louis

If you know of any free or cheap activities, email me or leave a comment and I will include them on Calendar of FREE.




Ongoing:

• Long John Silver's Free Crispy Breaded Fish coupon
• McAlister's Deli - Kid's Eat Free, Monday -Thursday 4pm to close
• St Louis Zoo - Children's Zoo, Conservation Carousel Free 9-10 a.m

February:

• Friday 19th - The Magic House: Free family night
• Friday 19th - St Louis Working Women's Show: 1/2 price tickets at McDonalds
• Saturday 20th - Shop 'n Save: Free 2 liter bottle of Diet Dr Pepper
• Saturday 20th - Auntie Anne's: Free pretzel
• Saturday 20th -Wehrenberg Theatres: Free family movie
• Monday 22nd - Dickey's BBQ Pit: $1 Pulled Pork Sandwiches
• Tuesday 23rd - Jack in the Box: Free Grilled Sandwich with large drink purchase
• Tuesday 23rd - IHOP: Free short stack of pancakes



• Saturday 27th - Lowes Build & Grow Clinic: Build a Lowebot
• Saturday 27th - Wehrenberg Theatres: Free family movie

For more free activities around St Louis check out St Louis Cents.

FREE Family Night at The Magic House - Friday 2/19/10

Some of the best things in life are free! The Magic House holds Target Free Family Nights every third Friday of the month from 5:30 pm to 9:00 pm. These special nights enable a family (no more than two adults and four of their own children) to enjoy the more than 100 hands-on exhibits in the museum. Reservations are not required.

More info about The Magic House