Free Olay Bath Bar at Dollar Tree

This is a perfect example of a good coupon rule: Don't pay attention to the picture!

This coupon will be in tomorrows Sunday Paper: 3/31 The P&G insert has a coupon to save $1.00 off ONE Olay Bath Bar, Body Wash, or In-Shower Body Lotion. The bath bars sell for $1.00 at Dollar Tree, making them FREE! I stocked up on these last month and I plan to get some more on Monday!

How to Save Money at the Grocery Store

I found this great article about how to save money shopping at the grocery store. Since I started couponing, I've been going over my receipts and watching everything get scanned and mistakes are made 30% of the time. One time, I was double charged for pre-natal vitamins at Rite Aid which added an extra $12.00 to my bill. I would have never noticed it before I started pinching pennies.
A lot of times, my coupons aren't doubled and if I notice it during check out, the cashier can fix it immediately, or if I notice it while going over my receipt before leaving the store, it just takes a quick trip to customer service to get a refund and I've never been given a problem. It saves money!

Another great tip in this article is that you can maximize your savings by going to different stores to get the best deals. I only have two major grocery stores to choose from in PA. Giant is expensive and Weis is a little less expensive, but I visit both stores every week to take advantage of their sales and it saves me approx $20.00 a week.

A tip not listed in this article.. look for a young cashier. Generally, they don't care about coupons and won't give you grief over fine print. Of course, always make sure you are using your coupons properly.

Here's the article:

20 Money-Saving Tips for the Grocery Store

by KATIEG on FEBRUARY 22, 2013

With issues from the fiscal cliff still fresh in our minds, it is hard to forget that milk was projected to increase to as much as $6 to $8 per gallon. Luckily we did not see this change, but it is important to remember that the cost of food is constantly increasing. In order to save as much as possible at the grocery store, follow these top 20 money-saving tips.

• Sign up for customer loyalty programs. Even if you only go to a particular store once per month, it will save you money every time you go.
• Plan meals ahead to structure your shopping.
• Clip coupons from websites, newspapers, magazines, in-store displays, and circulars.
• Stop paying the middle man and shop for in-season produce at your local farmer’s market.
• Make a detailed grocery list and stick to it. (I find it works best if I divide my list into categories such as breakfast, lunch, and dinner and then organize what I plan to cook under each heading.)
• Shop alone.
• Never shop hungry, tired, or angry. Emotions always play into the types of purchases you make.
• The best deals are up high, down low, and on the ends; avoid the main aisles and middle shelves.
• When possible, chose the store brand for better savings. This is not to say that you should give up your favorite brands altogether. Buy store brand when you are purchasing basic ingredients such as flour, eggs, etc.
• Compare the cost per unit or use, not just the list price.
• Buy only the minimum amount you need. Avoid deals that encourage you to purchase extra items you do not need.
• Don’t buy non-grocery items at the grocery store. Pick up toiletries, medicines and hygiene products at a discount store or pharmacy.
• Look for manager’s specials in the meat department.
• Keep an eye on the scanner so you can catch errors as they are being made.
• Pass on pre-made and frozen foods; make meals ahead of time and freeze them yourself.
• Be willing to shop at more than one store per week to maximize your savings by scoring the best deals at each store.
• Shop early in the day when stores are less crowded to save time. An added benefit is that you will get the freshest foods.
• Shop with a calculator and a budget in mind. You can use your phone or a quick mental calculation to be sure you are sticking to your budget. This way there are no surprises when you reach check out.
• Get a rain check if a sale item is sold out.
• Make coupons go further by using them for items that are already deeply discounted.

http://www.consumercredit.com/talkingcents/2013/02/22/20-money-saving-tips-for-the-grocery-store/

Resources & Links

These websites have been a tremendous help to me:

www.couponing101.com
Explains couponing basics.

http://hip2save.com/
A lot of video tutorials with tips on how to save at specific stores and how to organize your coupons. She also has a "Freebies" section where you can sign up for Free Samples by manufactuers, the free samples usually contain 1 or 2 awesome coupons for the product.

http://thekrazycouponlady.com/
Lots of "Match Ups" - When I'm feeling lazy I just go here and check out what's free this week at certain stores.

http://coupondivas.com/weis-coupons.html
Specific to Lancaster, PA area grocery shoppers - Weekly Coupon Match Ups and Sales for Weis Grocery Store.

http://forthemommas.com/category/store-deals/giant-food-store
Specific to Lancaster, PA area grocery shoppers - Weekly Coupon Match Ups and Sales for Giant Grocery Store.

Here's a list of websites where you can print coupons online:

www.coupons.com

www.couponnetwork.com

www.smartsource.com

www.redplum.com

www.target.com

Note: I prefer to use Chrome as my Internet Browser but for some reason, I can't get coupons to print from Target.com unless I use Internet Explorer.

COUPON Swappers, Where are you?

I would love to find someone that is willing to swap coupons.
I print coupons online and I also get at least 2 Sunday Newspapers (usually 4 or 5)
Here's my coupon Wish List AND a list of coupons I don't have a use for:


I am in need of ALL Baby related coupons, especially diapers!

Laundry Detergent & Fabric Softner (Any Brand)

Paper Towels & Toilet Paper (Any Brand)

Make Up (Any Brand)

Food (Anything)

Lotion and Moisturizers (Any Brand)

Cat Food: Purina Cat Chow and Arm & Hammer Cat Litter - only these specific brands.

Razors (Any Brand)

Vitamins (Prenatal, Fish Oil, Calcium, One a Day)

Mouthwash (Any Brand)

Toothbrushes (Any Brand)

Neosporin

Bandaids (Any Brand)

WHAT I DON'T NEED:

Coupons for:

Deodorant

Shampoo & Conditioner

Hair Color Products

Hair Styling Products

Candles

Febreeze and other room deodorizers

Dental Floss

Toothpaste

Shower Gel

Shaving Cream

Bar Soap

Dog Food & Treats

Cat Food and Litter (unless it's for the brands specified above - my kitties are picky)

Carmex and other lipbalms

Current Stockpiles

My current stockpiles: Toiletries, Laundry, and Baby!
Please keep in mind that most of this stuff was FREE or under $1.00 (except for the diapers, lol!)

Haul: $0.14

STORE: RITE AID

Total BEFORE coupons and UP Rewards: $22.63
I only paid: $0.14

I used $13.00 in UP Rewards which was automatically subtracted when they scanned my Rite Aid Wellness card, then I used a BOGO Free coupon for the Pantene and a $2.00 off coupon for the Pantene that wasn't free (This is called Piggy backing, some stores don't allow it. Some do.) I had a $1.00 off coupon for each Garnier and I had a $1.00 off coupon for the Caltrate vitamins which were on sale. That's $9.00 off in coupons plus I earned another $6.00 for my next purchase because I earned $2.00 in UP Rewards for each Garnier and $2.00 for the Caltrate vitamins. I spent $0.14 cents and I earned $6.00 in the process, isn't that fantastic?!

Haul: $29.35

STORES: Walmart, Target, and Walgreens


Total BEFORE coupons: $76.70
I only paid: $29.35

I made this purchase on February 24th, I don't remember all the details. I do know that the Neutrogena soap was FREE, the Quaker Oat Chewy Bars were FREE, the toothpaste was FREE, the Lifewaters were .50 cents, and everything else was under 1.00, even the baby wipes ended up being .97 cents.

Haul: $3.15

STORE: RITE AID

Total BEFORE coupons and UP Rewards: $29.56
I only paid: $3.15

I made this purchase back on March 7th and I don't remember the details. This is when I realized I was earning UP Rewards for prescriptions because I thought I only had a few dollars of UP Rewards and was expecting to pay about $10.00 after coupons. HUGE shock when my total was only $3.15.

Haul: $1.91

STORES: Target, Walgreens, and Dollar Tree
Total BEFORE coupons: $32.63
I only paid: $1.91

TARGET: Target accepts 1 manufactuer coupon and 1 target coupon per item. I used two coupons for $3.00 off Bounce when you buy 3. (that's basically $1.00 each box.) Then I used an identical Target coupon making it $2.00 off each box and they were on sale for $1.97 a box. TOTAL PRICE: FREE!

DOLLAR TREE: The Olay Soap coupon was $2.00 when you buy 2. These soaps are expensive at Walmart and Target but Dollar Tree happens to carry them for 1.00. So I used 4 coupons to get them all for FREE!

WALGREENS: The Purex was on sale for 2.99. I had $1.00 off coupons and I had a $3.00 your entire purchase coupon, which would have made my total .98 cents, BUT I found out at the register, since I was using 3 total coupons I needed 3 total items, so I grabbed a .69 cent candy bar at the register. TOTAL PRICE: $1.91.

Haul: $3.40

STORE: Rite Aid

Total BEFORE coupons and UP Rewards: $74.53

I only paid: $3.40

I used .75 off coupons for the 7UP

BOGO (Buy 1 Get 1) Free Coupons for the Speed Stick Deodorant

Rite Aid Coupons AND Manufactuer Coupons to save $3.00 off each Mitchum Deodorant

$2.00 Off Coupons for the Gain Laundry Detergent

BOGO Free for the Suave Moroccan Infusion Shampoo & Conditioner

And $2.00 coupons for the Scrubbing Bubbles.

I used a total of $32.00 in UP Rewards and $39.13 in coupons for a total savings of: $71.13.

Rite Aid

Some people prefer shopping at Walgreens or CVS - but I love Rite Aid and here's why: Rite Aid UP Rewards. Every week, Rite Aid places certain items on sale and when your purchase them, you receive an UP Reward anywhere from $1.00 to $25.00. You can use this FREE money starting the next day, but be careful, these rewards DO expire. The UP Rewards are saved to your savings card and you can view your balance on RiteAid.com

Here's the most amazing thing:
Right now, Rite Aid is running a promotion for Express Scripts customers. For every prescription you fill at Rite Aid, you receive $10.00 in UP Rewards. Regardless of how much your prescription copay is, you get $10.00. Most of my prescriptions are $5.00 (See what I'm getting at?) This offer was supposed to expire on March 31st, but they recently extended it to May 6th. I have about 6 prescriptions and my husband has two. That's $80.00 of free money that we earn a month, and when we spend that free money on sale items that also earn UP Rewards, and then I use COUPONS to maximize the savings.. it's a constant free money cash flow!!!

If you are an Express Scripts customer, fill your prescriptions at Rite Aid for some amazing deals. This promotion has been going on since last year, I'm not sure how long because I only started couponing and paying attention to this stuff in February, but it keeps getting extended.

DON'T FORGET TO ALWAYS SCAN YOUR RITE AID WELLNESS CARD AT THE PRESCRIPTION COUNTER AND WHENEVER YOU CHECK OUT.

Rite Aid Website: www.riteaid.com
Rite Aid Coupon Policy: https://www.riteaid.com/customer-support/coupon-acceptance-policy

Introduction

My new favorite thing to do is coupon. It's an addiction. I love saving money. My husband makes pretty good money and I never used to look at prices when I was out shopping. Then we took a course at church - Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University. We came up with a budget and I couldn't believe how much we were spending on groceries AND eating out all the time. Now I look at the price of EVERYTHING and since I started couponing in February of this year, I have saved approx $1,500.