Enough of that talk, here’s how my trip went today:

• Nature’s Own Whole Wheat bread (No high fructose corn syrup) at $2.79
• Two bags of Kettle chips, reg. $3.59, on sale for $2.50 each – two $1 MCs (?) = 2/$3
• 2.84 lbs bananas at 41 cents/lb = $1.16
• Two Naturally Preferred organic half gallons of milk, reg. $3.59, on sale for $2.50 each
• Country Choice Organic Sandwich Cremes at $3.79 – $1 MC (Mambo Sprouts coupon book) = $2.79
• 24 ct. Advil Liquigels at $3.99 – Free MC (here – now for $2) = Free
• Two Santa Cruz organic juices, reg. $4.59, on sale BOGO – 75 cents MC (here) = 2/$3.84
• Two cans of Kroger brand pumpkin at 99 cents each
• Two Hass avocadoes, reg. 69 cents each, on sale for 50 cents each
• Colgate (with free toothbrush – great for my handout bags!), reg. $2.99, on sale for $1.88 – 75 cents MC (10/3 SS) = $1.13
• Two strips of yeast, reg. $1.59, on sale for $1.50 each – two 40 cents MCs x2 (10/3 SS) = 2/$1.40
• Cottonelle wipes $2.79 – free MC (here – may be a $1 MC now) = Free
• Kashi cereal bars, reg. $4.99, on sale for $2.99 – $1 MC (from sample) = $1.99

Total after sales and MCs = $26.07, a savings of $26.50 or 51%!

Because I have a copy of Walgreens coupon policy, I knew that she was wrong about the coupons. So I went prepared this week. My deals were laid out and organized. I had eight items and eight coupons. (You can’t have more coupons than items.) And I had the policy in hand, just in case the cashier said they couldn’t adjust the coupon. While the cashier was a bit confused about how to do the transaction, she was very nice and called over the manager, who graciously rang up each coupon/item, in accordance with their policy. Here’s what my transaction looked like:

• Three Puffs 100 count boxes, reg. $1.49. Them I used the coupon in the Walgreens circular, making each box 89 cents, minus the 25 cents MC (9/26 PG) = About 81 cents per box.
• Two Nivea body washes (one men’s, one women’s), on sale for $2.50 each – $3 MC (women’s – 10/17 RP) – $3 MC (men’s – 10/17 RP) = Free (No overage – Walgreens policy says they adjust the coupon’s price, making the item free without overage …whatever works!)
• Two 4 oz. Glade candles, on sale 2/$6 – $2/2 coupon from Walgreens coupon booklet (found at the front of the store) – BOGO MC (9/26 SS …so $3 value) = 2/$1
• Small package of fudge covered Oreos, found near the register, 89 cents – $1 MC (No longer available) = Free (Again, the manager simply adjusted the coupon.)

My total was close to $4, so I used my $3 in Register Rewards from a couple weeks ago, making my new total only 45 cents, a 98% savings!

• Brach’s candy corn 99 cents. I only bought this because at the magic coupon machine inside CVS, where you scan your card and coupons print, I received a coupon for 99 cents off Brach’s candy. FREE!
• Two Purex 3-in-1′s reg. $7.99 each, but on sale for BOGO. -$3 MC (10/10 RP) and $1 MC (came with sample). Generally, you can have 1 MC per item. Some cashiers will not let you use two when there is a BOGO sale, and since there’s no written CVS coupon policy, you can’t really argue. But lucky me, she took them both. I then used $3.50 ECB, making the total 49 cents/2.

Total with tax: 53 cents! Amount saved: $16.48!

• Crest $1.99 – 75 cents MC (No idea where I got this… possibly P&G coupon book that came in the mail) = $1.24. Plus I received $1 RR (Register Rewards)!
• Four Nivea lip balms on sale for $1 – Two $1 MC’s (11/3 RP, October All You) and One $2/2 MC’s (11/3 RP) = FREE!
• EOS lip balm $3. Plus I received $3 RR!

I used $3.50 RR from last week in this transaction, making my total 74 cents, plus $4 RR for next time! Dare I say better than free? With sales, coupons, and RR, I saved $19.80!!

Here are some of the deals I just scored at Kroger…

• Kroger shredded cheddar reg. $2.75, on sale for $1.67. We love cheese around my house.
• Bounty Basic paper towels single roll at $1.09 – 25 cents MC (9/26 PG) x3 = 34 cents …This is how I stock up on all my paper towels. Just wait for a coupon that can be doubled or tripled and doesn’t have a size or amount of paper towels on the coupon. Bounty hardly ever has a minimum on there.
• Two half gallons of Naturally Preferred organic milk reg. $3.59 each, on sale for $2.50 each. Cheaper than Whole Foods this week! Whole Foods normally has the cheapest organic milk… see my cost comparison.
• Four Voskos Greek yogurts reg. $1.69 each, on sale BOGO – two $1 MCs (Mambo Sprouts coupon book and Facebook – just like them!)= 4/$1.38 or 35 cents each. I tried to use three coupons because that’s what I had, but they wouldn’t let me. That would have enabled me to get all four for only 38 cents! Let me know if you have any luck.
• Two Oikos Organic Greek yogurts reg $1.99 each, on sale for $1.25 each – $1/2 CAT = 2/$1.50 or 75 cents each.

Total = $9.92

Any great deals that you have scored this week??

WALGREENS

Transaction #1:

• Emergen-C 10-pack booster $3.49 – $3.50 RR *FREEBIE, sort-of!

Transaction #2:

• Emergen-C 10-pack booster $3.49 – $3.50 RR (I did two transactions in order to get two $3.50 RR’s. In one transaction, you can only get one for the product bought.) *FREEBIE, sort-of!

Transaction #3:

• Three Puffs 100-counts reg. $1.49 each, but 99 cents with Walgreens coupon -25 cents/3 MC (9/26 PG) (I usually save this for some place that will triple, but since Puffs were a good price here, I used it.)
• Two caramel Hershey Kisses $2.49 each – $1/2 MC (9/26 SS)

Plus, I was able to use one of my RR’s from a previous transaction on this last one.

Total spent: $10.44, plus I now have $3.50 RR for next week!

CVS

• Three fun-size Snickers reg. $3.99 each, on sale for $2.50 each – $1/3 MC (9/26 RP)
• Two Dawn with Olay Hand Renewals reg. $1.69 each, on sale for 96 cents – $1 MC (Home Made Simple coupon book) and 50 cents MC (9/26 PG) *FREEBIE – One was free.

Total spent: $7.49, plus I received $3.50 ECB for spending over $10!

FYI…

ECB = Extra Care Bucks, money good for CVS

RR = Register Rewards, money good for Walgreens

Refer to this post for more coupon lingo.

If you use these rewards systems and shop at these two stores regularly, you can get some great deals! The trick is remembering to use these RR’s and ECB’s on your next trip and before they expire!

Right now Kroger has liquid Dial soaps on sale for $1 each. (This is unadvertised I think, unless I missed it.) Use the 35 cents MC (8/15 RP), which Kroger will triple, to get this product free AND a nickel back! I bought two!

Here’s another great deal I found: Private Selection Organic’s half gallons of milk at priced at $2.50 each. I typically buy full gallons of organic milk at $5.49 each from Whole Foods because unless there’s a sale, their price is the lowest. (See my milk cost comparison.) But with this deal, I was able to score two half gallons for only $5!

My quick trip consisted of…

• Sparkling water at $1.25
• Reusable Tom Thumb bag at $1.49 – Freebie Tom Thumb bag coupon = FREE
• Gold Pineapple, org. $4.99 but on sale for $2.99 – TT coupon making it $1 = $1
• O Organics salad, org. $3.99 but on sale for $3 – TT coupon making it $1 = $1

Total: $3.35! Thanks, Tom Thumb, for remodeling!!

The coupons they talk about are at the front of the store.

So I got all of this for $6.48!

Check with your local Central Market for their bundle deal. They’re usually pretty great!

Yesterday I took a trip to Kroger, and here is what I bought…

• Four Yoplait Greek yogurts, on sale for $1 each – one 30 cents MC (3/28 SS) x3 = 4/$3.10 …I thought I had more MCs originally, which is why I got four. Turns out they were for the wrong size – check those sizes! Either way, I thought $1 each was decent for Greek yogurt. But let’s just say I won’t be buying this again… not so Greek-like. It tastes more like their whipped yogurt. Not great.
• Bananas at 46 cents/lb = 57 cents.
• Nature’s Own bread, on sale at $1.79. BUT today if you go to Tom Thumb, you can get it for $1.19 with the coupon from their circular, which you can usually find at the front of the store. Today only.
• Purex natural elements detergent, on sale for $2.50 – 35 cents MC (4/18 RP) x3 = $1.45 …If you can find a detergent with a rebate, you can it free, plus make a little money… the value of your coupon. The rebate will be attached to the bottle. My Kroger did not have these though. Either way, $1.45 for natural detergent is wonderful!
• Two Dial liquid hand soaps, on sale for $1 each – two 35 cents MCs (3/7 RP) x3 = 2 for FREE! Plus get 10 cents back, depending on your cashier. Mine wouldn’t, but free is great! *I chose holiday ones for the color, as it matches what I have, but they have non-holiday ones on sale too!
• Soft soap liquid hand soap, on sale for $1 – 50 cents MC x2 = FREE. CouponMom’s database doesn’t recognize this coupon, so let me know if you know where it came from.

Plus I received some great CAT (Catalina) coupons back… two for Oikos, one for Windex, and one for cat food.