Catching up on Shopping Trips & Birthday Party Ideas

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hn Ok, so I really try to post as much as I can, but some slip by, and here are the trips to catch up—

Fry’s  – March 17, 2011

The notable items are:

18 Ronzoni pastas – on sale for $0.49, FREE with $1.00/1 or $1.00/2 coupon

A1 sauce – on sale for $2.49, $1.49 after coupon

Philly Cream cheese (baking) – on sale for $1.99 and use a $1.50 coupon = $0.49

Chicken – $2.82 (3 lbs of drumsticks) and use a $1.50 off when you buy Philly cream cheese (baking) = $1.32

Spam – on sale $2.19, FREE after Albertson’s FREE coupon (instant winner from their Monopoly game)

Suave shampoo – on sale for $0.75, use $0.75 MFR coupon = FREE!

Pedigree dog food – $0.49 each, use B2G1 Free MFR coupon = $0.98 for 3!

I spent $21.62 on 37 items, saved $17.00 in MFR coupons, $51.67 in VIP card, for a total of $68.67 or 75%

Target – March 15, 2011

I was lucky enough to find a pair of women’s denim pants on clearance for $4.98! With the mobile coupon for $5.00 off any women’s denim, they were FREE!

Walgreens – February 28, 2011

Pullups – $8.99, use $1.00 Q

2 Nivea lip @ $2.99 = $5.98 – $2.00 / 2 MFR Q = $3.98

Colgate total – $2.99 – $1.00 MFR Q = $1.99

Baby magic bath wash – $3.00 (earn $3 RR, making it FREE!)

Walgreens hydrogen peroxide – 3/ $1.00

Aquaphor lip balm – $4.99 (get $4.99 RR, making it FREE!)

Febreeze iluminary kit – $3.79 on clearance (I wish I had my $4.00 off coupon! It would have been FREE!)

Crayola poster board – $0.89

Nestle dark chocolate bar – $0.70

T0tal – $28.33, I had $13.09 in store credit, bringing it to $18.12 after tax

I saved $24.75 and purchased 12 items!

I also earned $14.00 in RR, which I used in the next transaction:

Inkjet refill (so I can print more coupons!!!) $12.99

4 lollipops @ $0.50 each = $2.00 (used as fillers so I could use all the RR)

I paid $0.99 before tax and $2.17 after!I saved $14.00 (the RRs)

I spent $18.12 + $2.17 = $20.92 for both transactions and 17 items.

Target – February 15, 2011

Some notables that I can recall from the receipt:

Pulls ups (box of 52) on clearance for $21.24, used  $1.50 MFR and $2.50 Target Qs, making them $17.24 for the box!

Rimmel Mascara – $4.99, used $2.00 MFR and $2.00 Target = $0.99!

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I’m also trying to plan a double birthday party for my 2 year old and 1 year old  for under $200.00 – I’ll keep a tally and let you know how it went!

They’re complete little princesses, and they love Tinkerbell and the 3 of the 5 main princesses -Belle, Cinderella, Aurora.

I was able to pick up some generic princess plates, party favors and an AWESOME Disney princess decor kit by Hallmark at Target.

I am also planning to bake the cake myself, make the pinata from paper mache’ and use coupons to buy the food I want to serve.

For a two year old girl, I figured they’d love to play dress up, so I hit the local thrift stores and second hand stores, and found some AWESOME items. My one year old loves the attention and simple toys I have already, so that makes it easy.

Click HERE for the Birthday party deals, tally and pictures. I will be continuously updating it until April 10th, the day after the party, so I can include any last minute expenses.

What thrifty ideas do you have for young children’s parties?

~Chickadee

$1.00 off 1 Marcal Coupons – Lessons in Couponing

I ordered $1.00 off 1 Marcal toilet paper, any size, coupons. 20 in fact. I didn’t realize the fine print says “One per person”. I asked their customer service if they would accept more than one coupon so I didn’t have to come back 20 times. They said they would take 3 at a time. Well, that’s at least 1/3 of the trips!

So, here’s the deal:

Buy one 4 pack of Marcal toilet paper for $1.25, use the $1.00 MFR coupon, and pay $0.25 right? WRONG.

You must buy 4 to get them at the $1.25 price, and since they only allowed me to use 3 coupons, I paid $1.25 for one, and $0.25 for the other 3. This comes to $2.00 instead of the $1.00 I was expecting to spend. Not to mention, the FINE print for this important detail was SO small, that I had to squint to read it! (I have 20/20 vision). All in all, I was happy to pay the $1.25 instead of $1.89 for this recycled product, and $2.00 overall.

If I had missed the “must buy 4″ I would’ve spent $1.89 – $1.00 Q = $0.89 or $2.67 for 3 packs!

As I’m writing this, I’m wondering if they weren’t referring to the other part of the coupon that states “or one FREE single roll”. It might just be worth checking out. I’ll keep you posted!

Looks like a few trips to Albertson’s is in my future. Everything else I looked at was over priced except for the Looney Toones baby wipes, 80ct for $1.00. They are lightly scented, but soo soft!

~Chickadee

P.S. Somehow this post didn’t ‘publish’ but I thought that it had some good couponing mistakes, so I wanted to share it anyways

Tangled Movie – Cheap at CVS and other retailers!

My little Princess LOVES anything Princess and Disney. So, being a member of the Disney Movie Club, I decided to pre-order it. Well, I forgot the GREAT deals that the stores do! Darn it…

So, if you’re near a CVS, make sure to get it there for $3.99!

Tangled DVD $19.99, Get $3 ECBS
-$3/1 Tangled DVD (ALL YOU Magazine Apr. ’11)
-$5 Cost Cutters Mail in Rebate
-$5 Success Rice Mail in Rebate
=$3.99 after rebates, coupons, and ECBS!

Now, if you want the 4 disc combo pack, use this $5.00 off coupon + rebates!

A Limited Time Tangled Offer – Special Offers and Sweepstakes – Disney Movie Rewards. $5.00 off Coupon

-$5 Cost Cutters Mail in Rebate
-$5 Success Rice Mail in Rebate

These normally run $24.99 – $34.99, so you can pick it up for around $19.99 or less!

~Chickadee

Thanks Saving Cents with Sense for the DVD scenario!

FREE Umbrella Stroller and more at CVS! I SAVED $78.81, spent $32.78

I just HAD to go to CVS on Sunday. I wanted to see what coupons printed and I wanted the baby stroller for FREE.

I bought:

Transaction #1 —————————-

20 Cadbury cream eggs, 2/$1 – (10) $0.50/2 MFR Q = $5.00, get $3 ECBS wyb $10

2 bags of SweetTarts jelly beans, 2/$4.98 – (2) $0.55 MFR Q = $3.88, get $3 ECBS wyb $10

2 bags of Nestle chocolate eggs, 2/$5.00 – (2) $0.55 MFR Q = $3.90

2 Cadbury caramel eggs, 2/$1  =$1.00

4 large lollipops, 2/$1 = $1.00

2 Naked juices 2/$5 = $5.00

4 12pk of Pepsi products 4/$12 – (2) $1/2 = $10.00, get $3.00 ECBS

$30.78 total (all food, no tax), earned $9.00 ECBs, saved $30.82, which is 50%!

Transaction #2 ———————————-

1 box of Huggies diapers (70 ct), $20 – $3.50 MFR Q

2 boxes of Huggies wipes, $2/5 sale (didn’t know there was a $0.75/1 MFR Q on Target.com! Bummer! That would be $1.50 off)

1 Umbrella stroller, $14.95 – FREE when you buy $25 in baby stuff

1 dog toy, clearance $0.74

Total $2.06 after tax ($0.26 before),  ECBs, and coupons! I saved $47.99, which is 99%!!!! And I still have a $2.00 ECB left! so that means I only paid $30.84 for EVERYTHING after tax!

I was so pleasantly surprised that I had earned a $5 ECB from the Beauty Club!!!! I also had $9.98 in ECBs from previous weeks and with the $5.00 from the beauty club and the $9.00 I just earned, I had $23.98 in ECBs to spend!

~Chickadee

Physician’s Formula Makeup Deal – $5.00 coupon!

Last night I went to CVS to get their baby products deal and some other goodies. I scanned my card and wa-la! There was the $3.00 off CVS coupon for Physician’s Formula makeup that I’d been reading about. Last week CVS had a ECB deal if you bought $10 worth, you received $7 ECBs. I just didn’t have the time to go last week and was bummed because I REALLY like Physician’s Formula products. They’re all natural and chemical free.

So, today, I finally ran across a blog that stated you could get a free sample in 4-6 weeks by filling out a form. You need to enter the secret word MINERAL. Well, once I was done filling it out, they were out of samples, but not out of coupons! They gave me a $5.00 off any product coupon, and if I pair it with my CVS coupon, it makes a product $8.00 off! I could get a blush or hopefully that cute heart enhancer they just came out with for around $5.00! That beats waiting 4-6 weeks! The $5.00 off coupon doesn’t expire until 6/15 so I could hang onto it for a while.

Happy Makeup Monday!

~Chickadee

P.S. Don’t forget to print your Target coupons! I just found some great ones for makeup. They are Target store coupons, so you can pair them with manufacturer’s for a better deal!

Related Articles

• CVS Deals Ad Preview 3/6/11 (forthemommas.com)
• CVS: Possible Money Maker on Physicians Formula (livingrichwithcoupons.com)

Circle K Coupons = FREE Cadbury Eggs and My CVS Trip last week

I stopped to get a couple of popsicles on the way home at Circle K, and found a Cadbury egg display with coupons!!! Save $0.50 on two, and when this is doubled to $1.00 at Fry’s, I could be looking at FREE candy! I grabbed 12 of them, and may go back for more. They don’t expire until 4/30, so if I save them for the after Easter clearance, and they’re $0.25 on clearance (guessing that they’ll be 50% off) then that’s 4 FREE per coupon with the overage! Which would be 48! This is one coupon I’m NOT forgetting about!

I also found some $o.50 off a pint of Ben & Jerry’s coupons, there were only 3 left… This might make some cheap icecream at Fry’s too!

On to my CVS trip – Sorry it’s late, I went last Sunday, but wanted to share!

I got:

John Freida hair spray

John Freida Root Awakening

Colgate Total Toothpaste

Colgate wisp 8 ct on clearance

Reach toothbrushes 2 pk on clearance

Oral B toothbrush on clearance

Eos lip balm

Cadbury egg

Jelly beans

All for $10.70 after 9.1% tax, and I got back $10.00 in ECBS!!!! It’s like I paid $0.70 including tax.

One of my best trips yet.

 

~Chickadee

 

Our Rescued Puppy

February 16, 2011

WE ARE SOOOO EXCITED to pick up our puppy!

We went to our local ‘pound’ on Valentine’s day and spent almost an hour trying to choose a new pet. We considered both puppies and dogs – we didn’t want to rule out a sweet, older, dog in case it would be great with kids (and perhaps already potty trained!) The center was having a ‘sale’ on all of their animals. The adoption fee is usually $100 plus licensing, but today it was $50. It includes the spay/ neutering, all the shots (except rabies, because most puppies are too young), microchip, parvo test, and they do the licensing on site for $15 additional (again, only after they have their rabies shots).

I can’t pass up a sale, and thought it was time to pick out a new companion for our daughters since Mae is still calling for Coco, and looking all over the house for him. She even pulls down the blinds, looks out the window, and says, ‘CO…CO….” If we go outside, she takes one of his old toys and squeaks it while calling his name. It absolutely breaks my heart every time.

Even though we miss Coco terribly, we can hope that he’s with an older lady, as her companion and friend, helping her through each day.

After walking around the ‘found’ dogs area, and knowing that Coco wasn’t there, we headed back out to the adoptable dogs. Then my hubby saw him – a pit bull mix (we think he’s also a little lab and shar-pei too) with brindle coloring. (No, we haven’t figured out a name yet)

He was fantastic with the girls! So loving, playful and smart! Here’s a video of him

Can’t wait until he comes home!

February 23, 2011

As I update this post, I am sad to say that our puppy passed away on Saturday, the 19th. He started out okay when he came home Wednesday, and thought he was just groggy from the surgery. We fed him and gave him food just like they told us to, and he couldn’t keep it down. The next day was the same, and now he wouldn’t eat or drink anything. He moped around and wouldn’t play. The papers they gave us said that this could be a normal reaction to the neutering, and not to worry unless it continued. Then, Friday, with no change, I desperately called the shelter and pleaded for help. They said to force feed him small amounts of food and water, to see if he could keep them down. We did, and he kept it down for about 3 hours. They were closed when he couldn’t keep any food down, so I left a message.

The next morning, I woke up to find him laying in our closet in a pile of clothes. I asked my husband if he’d checked on him, and he said ‘about an hour ago’. I told him he didn’t look good and he wasn’t moving. I began to cry and hysterically called the shelter and every vet listed on the paperwork and NO ONE would see him until TUESDAY! I was so upset, but knew he needed us. We both went to his side, and as our girls slept, tried to comfort him as he went to doggy Heaven. He passed away after my youngest daughter, Zyana (8 mos old) woke up and crawled into the closet to see what was going on. He lifted his head and looked at her and that was it. It was like he wanted to see her one last time.

My husband told me the night before he passed away, he climbed up on the side of our bed, laid his head on his paws, and slept like that part of the night. He just wanted to lay near his girls one last time.

Rest in peace little puppy. We are so glad that we had you in our lives for the time we did. We will miss you and always remember you. Thank you for brightening our lives, and we’re so glad that we were here for you when you needed someone to love you.

~Chickadee

****The shelter said the neuter surgery lowered his immune system and he didn’t have a fighting chance against the Parvo

Ranting and Ravings – Lessons of a Couponer in Training

It’s been a tough week. I NEVER thought that my COUPONS would be teaching me a lesson!

I’ve read on blogs about organizing your coupons by expiration date so you don’t forget to use them. Well, I should have listened. I didn’t, and the 20, yes 20, Wholly Guacamole $0.50/1 coupons I ordered expired 4 days ago!

I am SO bummed, since I have a rain check from Fry’s for $1.00 each! When they double the $0.50 coupon, they would’ve been FREE! I used to go to Fry’s all the time, but now that we live 2 miles further from it, I don’t get to go as often, and I can say that I truly miss my Fry’s store. I know it’s not an excuse, but I am REALLY mad at myself for not keeping up with my coupons and deals lately!

We live by Albertson’s and Target now. Albertson’s is sooo expensive most of the time, and I REALLY get in ‘trouble’ when I go into Target (I LOVE shopping at TARGET, and often break my rule – “don’t buy it if you don’t have a coupon for it, and it’s not 75% off original price”. I know lots of people won’t buy an item they won’t use or need, but think of the food pantries and food banks or even someone you know that could use it! Couponing is for DONATING and HELPING others too

Ok, reality check. I DID get one fantastic thing in the mail today!!!! It’s my P&G Everyday Savers book! You had to be one of the thousands to sign up for it, and I actually received it! I can’t believe it! It has over $110 in savings, and so many great coupons. It is literally an inch thick!

These are DEFINITELY going on my list of coupons to use before the end of the month. Some of the coupons don’t expire until June!

The ones I’m purging from my coupon book are going to the troops overseas, who can use them for 6 months after they expire! So someone is going to be really happy with these Wholly guacamole / salsa coupons, not to mention all the other great ones I didn’t use!

For more information on how you can donate your unused coupons (just another GREAT way to recycle AND help our troops!) go to the Krazy Coupon Lady’s website here.

~Chickadee

The Best Prayer I’ve Read in a long time

I received this chain letter prayer and thought I’d share it. I often find myself screaming at other drivers, when in fact, they (1) – can’t hear you and are probably glad they can’t, and (2) – it may be that single mom rushing home as described in this email.

 

Heavenly Father, Help us remember that the jerk who cut us off in traffic last night is a single mother who worked nine hours that  day and is rushing home to cook dinner, help with homework, do the laundry and spend a few precious moments with her children.

Help us to remember that the pierced, tattooed, disinterested young man who can’t make change correctly is a worried 19-year-old college student, balancing his apprehension over final exams with his fear of not getting his student loans for next semester.

Remind us, Lord, that the scary looking bum, begging for money in the same spot every day (“who really ought to get a job”) is a slave to addictions that we can only imagine in our worst nightmares.

Help us to remember that the old couple walking annoyingly slow through the store aisles and blocking our shopping progress are savoring this moment, knowing that based on the biopsy report she got back last week, this will be the last year that they go shopping together.

Heavenly Father, remind us each day That of all the gifts you  give us Lord, the greatest gift is love. It is not enough to share that love with those we hold dear. Open our hearts not to just those who are close to  us, but to all humanity.

Let us be slow to judge and quick to forgive, show patience, empathy and love.

Working for God on earth doesn’t pay much……but His retirement plan is out of this world.

-Author unknown

~*;*~ Chickadee

Sears Quick Shopping Trip! CLEARANCE and spent $5.54 OOP! – UPDATE

UPDATE – Feb 13, 2011

Alright, below is my original shopping trip at Sears. I had to take back the jeans I got for my honey, since they were too small. I found another pair for $9.99 – Mecca, originally $48.o0. I also found a sterling silver ring for $9.99, originally $19.99 (I don’t wear my nice rings to work, so I wear a nice silver and cubic zirconium instead) and a pair of undies on clearance for $2.99.

Tonight was Sear’s Friends and Family sale – I found out that if you shop AFTER 6pm, the 15-20% discount AUTOMATICALLY applies! IF you shop before 6pm, you need the coupon. GOOD TO KNOW! Since I couldn’t find mine. Chances are it became drawing paper. Hehe.

So after it all, I had about $17.00 in store credit, and after tax I paid just $3.56! So for both shopping trips, I only paid $5.54 in cash for everything!

~ Chickadee

Ok, so I’m not a Sears cheerleader usually. But, WOW. Their Clearance sale rocks! AND on Sunday, you can save another 20% with their friends and family sale! I LOVE what I found and wouldn’t even think about putting it back and trying to find it again on Sunday for that extra little discount. Here’s what I got for $1.96 OOP (After tax, $5 coupon and $50.33 in gift cards)

Little Wonders shoes- $12.99 reg, $4.99 clearance, after tax and gift cards = $1.96, Saved $8.00

Everything else I list was covered by the gift card we received when we bought our TV, so FREE

Dollie and Me dress set (Tinkerbell) – $40.00 reg, $7.99 clearance, Saved $32.01

Sweet hoodie – $7.98 reg, clearance $3.99, Saved $3.99

Onesie – $6.98 reg, $2.99 clearance, Saved $3.99

Southpole men’s jeans – $55.00 reg, $17.99 clearance, Saved $37.01

Southpole with shirt with hat – $36.00 reg, $9.99 clearance, Saved $26.10

Southpole black shirt with MP3 player speakers – $22.00 reg, $4.99 clearance, Saved $17.01

I saved a total of $128.02! Spent $52.93 before tax and gift cards, for a 59% savings! After tax and gift cards, a 98% savings!

~Chickadee