Kraft First Taste

I recently signed up for Kraft First Taste.  It is a website that allows you to preview upcoming products, and print high value coupons for new ones. I am expecting a FREE Kraft Fresh Take coupon in the mail, and last week I printed $1.50/1 Philadelphia cooking creme, $2.00/1 Jell-o refrigerated pudding cups (Smores or Strawberry Sundae flavor), $1.50/1 Philadelphia Indulgence, and $1.50/2 Teddy Grahams Soft Paws cookies.  These are pretty high value coupons (the cooking creme was only .97 at Walmart after coupon) and it's free to sign up.  

Sign up for Kraft First Taste HERE!

Deals I've found this week

Hey there!  I just wanted to post a few quick deals I found in this week's inserts (3/18)

Of course, there is the Stayfree maxi pad deal at Rite Aid.  They are 2/$6, there is a $2/2 coupon (SS 3/18) bringing them down to 2/$4, and then there is a $2 +Up Reward on two.  So the final price for these is $1 each! There is a limit of 2 +Up Rewards per household, so you can get a total of 4 packages if you have 2 coupons.

Rite Aid also has Carefree panty liners advertised as $1, and there is a $1/1 coupon in the 3/18 SS.  This makes them free.  However, our Walmart has them regularly priced at .94, so you can make 6 cents per package you buy if they allow you overage.  I bought a couple the other day and they didn't mark the coupon down, so I got the overage. 

There was a wealth of Suave products coupons in the RP 3/18 Insert this week.  I used the Buy 2, Get 1 Free Body wash on the +Up Reward deal at Rite Aid (Buy $10, get $3 +Up Reward back, limit 2).  However, I was checking prices of other Suave products at Walmart and found the small deodorants (not trial size, just the 1.4 oz I think) are only .97 and there is a $1/2 coupon.  So I paid only .47 for each one I bought.  I know this is only about a 50% discount, but I'll take deodorant for less than 50 cents!  Especially since this is one of the items that my ever-growing stockpile was lacking... until today!

One other good deal I found was on Bic razors.  I price checked them at Rite Aid, since they are Buy One, Get One 50% off, but it honestly was cheaper regular price at Walmart! The Bic Silky Touch 10 pack is only $2.97.  They also have the yellow Bic men's razors (single blade, I think) for the same price, and I think it's a 12 pack.  Using the $2/1 Bic Razor (trials excluded) coupon from RP 3/18, you can get 10 or 12 razors for under $1.  I've stocked up on Schick Hydro and refills for the hubby, but I don't find many girly razors, and now that it's shorts weather (for now), I can't exactly hide hairy sasquatch legs under jeans (like I've ever done that............ well, maybe once or twice).  So, I was excited to find this deal.  I'm sure another sale will run and I'll be kicking myself for using up all my coupons now, but honestly, I thought it was a good price so I loaded up!

If I find anymore regular price deals, I will be sure to post them, and please feel free to share if you've found any of your own!

My Rite Aid Trip 2/26

Today, I hit up Rite Aid bright and early.  I was excited to get some stuff since I already had $16 in +Up Rewards left from last week.

Here is my trip:

Transaction #1

2 Schick Hydro Shave Gel - 2/$4
1 Petites Nail Polish - $.49 (clearanced 75% off)
1 CQ Nail Polish - $.99 (clearanced 75% off)

Subtotal: $5.48

Used 2 - $.75/1 Schick Hydro Gel
         1 - $1.50/2 Schick/Edge/Skintimate Video Values

Paid (with tax) $2.76

Got back $2 +Up (Buy 2 CQ, Petites, get $2 +UP)
                $20 Winter Rewards +Up (The shave gel put me over my $100 requirement for this reward)

Transaction #2

2 Schick Hydro Power Select Razors - $19.98
2 Schick Hydro 4 ct Refills - $19.98
4 Right Guard Body Wash - $11.96
4 Finesse Styling Products - $12.00

4 Pantene Shampoo/Conditioner - $14.00

Subtotal: $77.92

Used 2 $4/1 Schick Hydro Power Select
         2 $2/1 Schick Hydro Refills
         2 $3/2 Pantene
         2 $3/2 Right Guard
         4 $.75/1 Finesse (peelies found on products in store)
         $38 +Up Rewards

Paid (with tax): $14.92

Got back $4 +Up Rewards for Right Guard ($1/1)
                $4 +UP Rewards for Pantene ($2/2)
                $6 +Up Rewards for Finesse ($3/2)
                $16 +Up Rewards for Schick Hydro ($4/1)
               

Transaction 3

1 Blink Tears Gel - $7.99

1 Bangor Daily News - $2.00

Subtotal $9.99

Used $1/1 Blink Tears Printable (said redeemable at Walmart but was a manufacturer's coupon)
         $8 +Up Rewards

Paid (after tax): $1.39

I could have done way better than I did OOP if I had split up my transactions more to roll the +Ups. I've heard from some people that if you don't wait long enough between transactions, the totals might not update fast enough and rolling Ups (like the Buy and Save or the P&G ones they run every now and then) wont' print because the computer hasn't caught up to your total yet.  Also, our store didn't have sale flags up yet so I wasn't sure if the products I had were definitely included and I didn't want to worry about Ups not printing and screwing up my next order.  I actually paid for the Hydro Gel as soon as I got to the store to see if my $20 Winter Rewards would print then or if I would have to wait for the next transaction. 

But, considering I walked into the store with $16 in +Ups, spent $19.07 total, left with $22 in +Ups, and have a $7.99 Single Check Rebate for the Blink Tears coming my way, I did pretty well! It is a GOOD week at Rite Aid!

Kikkoman Catalina at Hannaford

I was browsing the Hannaford coupons today and found a catalina deal for Kikkoman marinades.  WYB 2, you get $1.50 back OYNO. I was super excited to find that Smartsource.com has a coupon for $1/1 Kikkoman product.  My store has the teriyaki variety for $1.99.  Buy 2 for $3.98, use 2 of the $1/1, and pay $1.98.  Get $1.50 back OYNO, and it's like paying 48 cents for two!

More Hannaford Coupons: Updated!!!

There are more Hannaford Coupons available to print for the $1 off meat, $2 off deli, and $3/$40 purchase.  These coupons expire on 2/11/12 so print as many as you can and use them up before Saturday.  I'm doubt they will be reposting these again since they expire the day before the Superbowl and they are part of a Game Time promotion. You can find the coupons here.

I used these coupons to pick up 1/2 lb of deli meats (usually the ones that ran around $4 - $7/lb) and stocked up quite a bit in my freezer.  I also used these to buy the deli items like potato salad, sesame chicken, and egg rolls (3 for $.37!).  I will definitely be going back this week to use as many of these as I can.  Remember though, there are only one allowed per purchase, however they can be combined with manufacturer's or meat markdown coupons!

Wellness Card Coupons

Rite Aid has started a new program that allows you to load coupons onto your Wellness card by using their website Load2Card.  You just load the coupons you want to use onto your card (they have a select list) and it will take them right off your total at the checkout when they scan your card.  I'm not sure if these can be combined with manufacturer's coupons or Rite Aid coupons, because I can't find anything on the card coupon section of their website.  I'll try one scenario tomorrow and post an update about how it worked.  There is a Chex Mix coupon that can go along with the $1.49 bags that are part of the $15/$5 +Up deal.  There's also a Robitussin coupon ($3/2) to pair up with the $25.00/$10 +Up deal (advil, thermacare, robitussin, colgate, dimetapp).

Just thought I'd get this posted for anyone planning a trip to Rite Aid during this week's sale!

Shaw's Ad Preview is Up!

If I ever have to move to Bangor, I will be the one to scan these and post them, but since it's a long drive to get a copy early in the week, I'll stick to posting the WUC (weusecoupons) link.

Here is the coming sale and match-ups for 1/27 - 2/2.  I saw a few things I am sort of excited about, like Asparagus being on sale for 1.99/lb! We love asparagus, and at 3.99 for a small bunch at our local Hannaford, it is hard to put this on the table at our house.  Luckily, it's something the kids don't really care for so I make it on weekends when they are with their dad.  I would love to get some of this and figure out how to flash freeze it so I have it on hand for a while.

Of course, asparagus is a non-coupon item, so let's get back to the good stuff...  There is an "On Your Next Order" deal with Tide, Charmin, and Bounty.  They are specific items, but you get $5 back on your next order.  They are good prices for a good sized package (other than the Tide, in my opinion), so it may be worth grabbing these if you are in need of them anyway.  There were also coupons available in the January P&G so you may be able to grab some even cheaper.





I also saw that Ken's 9 oz dressings are $1 this week.  When they had the BOGO deal last week, I picked up some marinades and dressings in the larger size, but these small bottles were not on sale, so I am fortunate to have a BUNCH of coupons for these leftover.  The coupons are from 1/8/12 inserts and are $1/2, making them 50 cents per bottle.  This is a good stock up price, especially if you use dressings for marinades or cooking like I do.  I will definitely be grabbing several of these when I make my trip.


For more information and match-ups, check out the link I posted.  There are constantly more people posting their finds, so read the forum to get more info about the sale and what other people have been buying.  We Use Coupons is my major info source because so many people post their finds and sale successes so it helps when you're ready to make your trip to Shaw's.  They also have other stores listed (like Rite Aid, Target, Walmart, and other national chains) so you don't just have to look at the Shaw's sale once you are there.  Browse around and find some deals of your own!

I'm BAAAAAACK!

Yes, it has been MONTHS, but now that I'm settled in at our new home and the holidays are officially over, I am back and ready to go! I'm so excited at the number of people who are interested in learning the tricks of the trade.  I am most definitely going to try infinitely harder to keep this blog going to inform everyone what's out there for deals in our area.

I am excited to get started because today my mom found the new Hannaford.com printable coupons on their website!  There are 3 coupons for a total of $6 off.  One is for $1 off of any meat department purchase of $1 or more.  Another is $2 off of any deli purchase of $2 or more.  And finally, a $3 off of a $40 purchase.  There are the usual no alcohol, giftcards, etc. restrictions on this one so just pay attention to the fine print and you'll be fine!  This is an amazing sheet of coupons to print (and you can print multiples!!!) because you can use the meat coupon in combination with meat markdown coupons, and the deli coupons have no size restriction so if you get 1/2 lb of meat or cheese, it really cuts down the price! It can also be used on the deli foods like pasta and potato salads! They are generally around $4/lb so a half lb would be free!  The only thing to remember about using multiples of these coupons is that it is limit one per transaction (and our store doesn't like you to split transactions to get more use of coupons).  But if you can make multiple trips in (or do on a regular basis like I do anyway), you can grab a quick pkg of meat or deli item everytime you go in and only pay a little for something that's normally quite expensive!

These coupons expire on 1/28 so grab them while you can, and print away! I used quite a few of these this week, and I have a friend who used them to stock up on sandwich meat (which she put in the freezer so it won't go bad before they can use it). So take advantage of these, and combine them with the sales in this week's flier to get maximum savings!

It's been a while...

So, I had to take a break for a few days because we had a busy weekend of costumes and the Halloween party we went to.  First off, I'm excited that I spent a total of $5.00 on my costume, and by recycling some older items for hubby's, I spent $3.00 on his!  By using my own makeup and two tubes of red and brown makeup from Target ($1.80 for both), We came in under $10.00, and we won a prize for scariest costumes! I will post some pictures later on in the week.  We have another party this weekend and I want to make sure the costumes stay a surprise until then!

This week, there's not much on sale at Rite Aid.  There is a $2 printable coupon here for Zicam cold remedy, which is on sale for $7.99, with a $7.00 +Up Reward.  This is a $1 money maker!

There are also some +Up Rewards on certain food items.  When you buy $12, you get $3 +Up. Some of these items are priced much higher than Walmart, so you would have to work out a scenario with whatever coupons you have to make this work best for you.  I used most of the coupons I had on these items at Shaw's, so I'm not hurrying out to grab much this week.  Something might pop out at me later on, but I'm not super excited about this deal. 

A few other deals are Arm and Hammer Toothpaste, and Orajel kids' toothpaste.  There are printable coupons, along with +Up Rewards, which vary your savings (depending on the coupon value).  There is also a Scott toilet paper and paper towels deal.  They are $7.99 (12 ct TP, 8 ct towels), with a $3 +Up Reward.  There was a $1 coupon for each of these items in the paper this weekend, so they end up being $3.99.  I also noticed the pain reliever/vitamins +Up advertised that has a lot of coupon matchups from this weekend's inserts.  Aleve, Midol, Alka Seltzer, Bayer, and Centrum, to name a few, and they are Buy One Get One 50% off.  You get a $10 +Up Reward when you buy $30.  I quickly scanned the shelves and the average price on these was between $5.50 and $8.  So depending on what you wanted to stock up on, you might be able to walk away with some REALLY cheap medicines.

My favorite deal this week is the Xtra Laundry Detergent.  They are normally $3.79 for 48 loads.  I don't usually buy this brand, but since I'm going to start making my own detergent this week anyway, I figured I won't be picky anymore!  The Xtra is on sale for 3/$6.  When you buy 3, you get $2 +Up Rewards. So they are essentially 3/$4, or about $1.33 each.  I have paid $20 for a jug of Tide this year, and it had 96 loads.  The same number of loads of Xtra were $2.66. I bought 6 jugs (there is a limit of 2 +Ups on this ).  So the bottom shelf of my newly built stockpile shelving is half full of detergent (including some Gain I picked up in last week's sale.)

Hopefully someone finds a better deal than I did this week.  I haven't had the energy to really dig deep into the flier to find any hidden gems.  If I get around to that tonight, I will try to post any new findings tomorrow!

Cutting the Coupon Clutter

So, you've started out on your couponing adventure.  You've been working the sales, buying your newspapers, getting all kinds of good deals... now, what do you do with all of those other coupons you haven't used yet? You can't leave them scattered on the kitchen table (I mean, you COULD just eat right on top of them, but who wants to risk a spill and ruin those good coupons? Or.... not.) 

There are two main methods for organizing.  First, I would like to share with you my personal preference, for the time being.  

The Filing System

I spent an hour or so yesterday gathering up all of the coupon insert strays that had been placed on shelves, in my desk, on top of the microwave, on the piano... ya, it's been coupon chaos around here.  I needed to feel like I am in control of my house again, and after furiously finding deals for everyone for the last few weeks, my home has been seriously suffering.  So, everything got put back where it belongs, but there was no place for the coupons.  So, while cleaning out my hall closet to make room for new shelves, I found a small pink crate that I had purchased specifically for my coupon storage a long time ago, and figured I would finally get around to making use of it! 

My crate holds hanging files, and I tabbed each file, but didn't write on the actual labels.  Instead, I used a dry erase marker to write the flier dates on the outside of the plastic tab.  This way, I can erase them and reuse them when all of the coupons in those inserts have expired and I no longer need them.  Now, I have a simple organization for all of my coupons, so when I search on the coupon database (here), and it tells me that there is a coupon in a specific insert that came out on a specific date, I can go right to that file, pull it out, and find the flier the coupon is located in.  This is going to make my life easier because now, as soon as I get my inserts, they will be sorted into like inserts, then filed into these folders. 

This crate was about $5 at Walmart during a back to school sale a couple of years back, and the hanging files I think were about $10, but I bought a large box of them, and they may have smaller boxes at bigger stores with more stock.  It's an investment for sure, but will make your life much easier!

The Binder

Another method of organizing, which I have used in the past but have a hard time keeping up on, is a coupon binder.  A lot of people like to use this method because it allows you to keep all of your coupons with you when you shop, so you never miss an opportunity to get a great deal.  Many stores have clearance sections that you can find amazing things for already cheap prices, and a coupon can often make these items free or pretty close to it. 

A binder is a relatively easy concept.  Just clip ALL of your coupons (whether you think you would use them or not), and organize them into a simple 3 ring binder.  I used baseball card holders, and tucked all of my like coupons into each slot. The clear plastic sheets have about 9 pockets per side (3x3) and allow you to see what coupons are in each slot.  If you organize your coupons into categories, you can easily flip to that category to find out if you have a coupon for an item that is on sale or clearance, and could walk out of the store with an unexpected freebie.  I found this was slightly high maintenance, but I definitely did find some amazing deals using my binder, and may consider going back to this method again, once I get better at this again.

Another bonus to having a coupon binder is that you can be well prepared for any coupon trip.  All coupons are stored right in the same place.  Many binders have storage in the front for things like pens and a calculator, which are vital tools when shopping and figuring on the fly.  You can also keep a notebook with your shopping lists hooked right into the binder so there are no surprises when you get to the store (I have misplaced my shopping lists many times and it can cause a major meltdown!) You can also keep extra envelopes tucked inside so when you find a good deal, the coupons you will use can be taken out and held in  a safe place until you get to the checkout.

Whichever method you choose will definitely make life a lot easier for you.  I know that chopped up bits of paper all over your house can be discouraging and lead to frustration.  I don't want anyone giving up because they just can't take the clutter! Keep everything organized and it will make it so much easier for you to plan your trips and reap the rewards!