Friday Deals and Steals... Because It's Been A While

It's been a while both since I've posted my deals, and really since I did it regularly. I did it last week, on Monday after our trip to the beach, but not every week before that. I'm hoping to get back into it, because check this out: all of the above stuff is worth $96.50 PLUS TAX, and yet I came out AHEAD $2.73!!!

If you'd like the breakdown on how I did that, read on. If not, sayonara, baby!

I used Hip 2 Save to put together 100% of these deals this week, so if you're not reading Collin's blog, get thee over there pronto!

And now, in order of stores, and transactions (just one or two per store this time, phew!):

Rite-Aid

One transaction. I came in with $5 in Wellness Plus coupons from a previous week. That's important. Sign up fro that card, do those deals, save the receipts with those coupons on the bottom, and USE THEM before they expire!!! My order, above, was worth $23.83 + tax. I paid $5.07 OOP (out of pocket) and got back another $3.50 in Wellness Plus (or +UP, same thing) rewards. NET: $1.57!

Keep in mind, too, that you will not always get to do the deals at the store, that you've set up at home. Why? Well, for one thing, especially depending on what day of the week you get there compared to when the store sale starts, you might run into out-of-stock items. That's common, especially at smaller branches. For another, the prices and deals are often regional. So what you might find on H2S or DSM as being on sale for $3.99 might actually be $4.29 at your store, for instance. Which may still be fine - IF you need that item and never get it for free. But why would I pay even 30¢ for toothpaste one week, when the week before, I got five free tubes (example)? See what I'm saying? So here we go:

• Scotch Pop-Up Handband Tape Dispenser: $3.29 minus $2.49 SCR (Single Check Rebate, Rite-Aid's "deals" program), minus $1 MQ (manufacturer's coupon) = 20¢ MM!! (moneymaker)
• Scotch Donut Tape Dispenser: $2.49 minus $2 SCR - 50¢ MQ = 1¢ MM!!
• Sensodyne travel-size toothpaste: $1.59 minus $1.50 SQ (store coupon, in ad) = 9¢
• L.A. Looks hair gel: Reg. $3.69, on sale for $1.99, minus 99¢ SCR, minus $1 MQ = FREE
• (Could have gotten 2 bottles of Nature's Bounty Potassium Gluconate 100ct, reg $4.99 each, and 2 bottles of Sundown Essential Magnesium 250 mg, reg $4.99 each, for FREE, BUT the cashier would only take one of the SQs I had for each. I didn't really need those and would given them away, so I had her take them off. YOU might have better luck at your store, though)
• Herbal Essences Conditioner + Herbal Essences Mousse: Reg. $4.49 EACH, on sale for 2/$5, minus BOGO free MQ = $2.50 for both, PLUS I received a $2 +UP coupon for next time, so NET = 50¢ for both
• Crest Toothpaste: Reg. $2.49 minus 75¢ MQ = $1.74, PLUS I received a $1.50 +UP coupon for next time so NET = 24¢
• I paid 47¢ in tax.

CVS

Two tranactions. I came in with $8.98 in CVS ECBs (Extra Care Bucks - their rewards program) from before, which, by the way, expired on 7/23! I had lost them, and then I found them after they expired. Nine bucks! I was SO upset. I called the manager and told him what happened, and he said, "It's okay, you can still use them. Just give them my name at the register." How awesome is that?! I LOVE CVS! Rite-Aid and Walgreens would NEVER do that (and I've tried)!  Also, if you're new to CVS, make sure you get their CVS extra care card and then SCAN IT at the red machine at the front of the store every time you go in! It will spit out some coupons, sometimes for free or nearly-free items, and sometimes more ECBs that you didn't know you were due. Always do that - twice or even three times right in a row. I got more the 2nd time tonight and used them!

#1

• 2 Dove Milk Chocolate Almond bars: Reg. 89¢ each, on sale 2/$1, minus 50¢ SC that I got from scanning my card when I walked in = 50¢ for two
• Gillette Fusion Power Glide Razor: Reg. $10.99, on sale for $9.99, minus $4 MQ, minus $5 ECB earned for future transaction = 99¢
• 2 Caliber (store-brand) memo notebooks: Reg. $1.19 each, on sale BOGO 50% off, minus $1 SQ that I got from scanning my card when I walked in = 78¢ for two
• PLUS I used $7 ECB from last time (expired) PLUS a 50¢ ECB that I got from scanning my card when I walked in
• Subtotal: -23¢, tax: 46¢, OOP: 23¢!!

#2

• Thermacare Neck Wraps 3ct AND Thermacare Lumbar/Hip 2ct: Reg. $6.99 EACH, on sale 2/$12.98, minus (2) $3 MQs, minus $5 ECBs earned for next visit = 99¢ each (and totally worth it; we love these)
• 2 CVS Menthol Cough Drops 10 ct (found at register, used for "filler" items because my subtotal was less than the coupons I was handing over, = not allowed): 50¢ EACH
• I used the $5 ECB from #1, another $1 ECB that I can't remember now where that came from?? sorry, $1.98 ECB that had been expired when I came in, so:
• Subtotal: 0, tax and total = 30¢! and I walked out with $5 in ECB for next week.

Walgreens aka Wags

I had NO RRs (Register Rewards, Wags'  rewards program) coming into this and yet I STILL came out ahead! I did find $4.50 in RR that I had earned from a month ago or maybe even June, but I knew from experience that they wouldn't take them even an hour after they expired, so I recycled it. :(

#1

• Alive! Men's Energy Multivitamins, 50 ct: Reg. $12.49, on sale for $10, minus $1 MQ + 50¢ tax = $9.50 BUT the register spit back out $10 in RRs for #2 (split your transactions up this way to optimize your deals but DON'T decide at home how you're going to do that, because you're just wasting your time. Invariably, they'll be out of something crucial or a price will be different than you expected)

#2

• Crayola Supertips Washable Markers 20ct: Reg. ?? $5 something maybe, on sale for $3, minus $3 MIR (mail-in rebate; the form spits out at the register; I have already put mine out in the mail. DO THAT IMMEDIATELY so you don't forget!!)
• Visine Regular 0.5 oz: $4.99 minus $1 MQ minus $2 in-ad SQ minus $2 August Q Booklet SQ = 1¢ MM!
• Crayola Crayons 24pk: Reg ?? (I usually write down the prices in my notebook as I shop, but I often forget like this time), on sale for $1, and it gave me a $1 RR for next time = FREE
• Bayer AM Aspirin: $5.29 on sale, minus $2 MQ, minus $3 August SQ (find these at the front of the store in the same stand as their ads, new every month) = 29¢
• Complete Multi Contact Lens Solution 12 oz: $7.99 on sale, and it gave me an $8 RR for next time, so 1¢ MM!
• Subtotal: $2.27, tax: 40¢, OOP $2.67, but I walked out with $9 in RRs for next time, the $3 MIR, and somehow I got a $2 Visine MQ, so I'm going to go into another Wags tomorrow and make a buck off that same deal! :D

Okay, feel free to ask questions in the comments, but for details on where I got all those coupons, make sure you read Hip 2 Save - on her right sidebar, click on the store names for deal specifics!

Fin.