Target Freebies....Round One

I just love back to school time...there are always good freebies and cheapies to be had.  This year Target has sweetened the deal with all of the printables that are perfectly matching with their sales.  Here is some of what I picked up at Target today:

Unfortunately, my trip to Target this go around ended up costing me about $90.00.  I needed a slew of diapers as I have ran out of my stockpile and have not come along on a good sale...so back to the Target diapers I go...

I did manage to pick up some more free Zantac and the two $0.50 pillows to stuff my custom made shams that should be on their way over the boarder from Canada.  I cannot wait to see them in the master bedroom along with their curtain counterparts. The bedroom is coming along well, now I just need an awesome comfy chair for my little reading nook and some motivation to start on the bathroom.

Here is what my little goodies above cost me:

• 12-10 packs of Bic pens $6.00.  Used 6 $1/2 manufacturer printables = FREE
• 4 Travel Size packs of Wet Wipes $3.98.  Used 4 .50/1 Target printables = $1.98
• 1 box Snackwell's Caramel Corn snack packs $2.79.  Used $1/1 Target printable and $1/1 manufacturer q from mailer = $0.79
• 5 rolls Scotch Tape $2.50.  Used 5 .50/1 Target printables = FREE

I spent around $4.00 with tax for all those goodies.  Now I have pens to get me through another year and some more free tape (not that I needed anymore...but free tape seems to be my kryptonite.  I just cannot resist it and it is the one item I will excessively stock up on despite knowing that I couldn't possibly need anymore...and now they have them in pink dispensers!  What's a girl to do?!?!?!)  

The Snackwell's and travel size Wet Wipes are both for our upcoming vacay.  And let's face it, I am a neat freak with two boys...I am constantly cleaning up some sort of mess, so I rarely turn down Wet Wipes.  I have them stowed everywhere!

I have some more tape q's burning a hole in my organizer, so back to Target I go with a stop at my favorite Hallmark to pick up the free ornament I won from a drawing at the 2011 ornament debut.  I am a Hallmark and Keepsake Ornament junkie...I think I might need a second tree this year to fit them all on...

Toilet Paper Extravaganza

The pickings have been slow at Jewel and Dominick's lately, but Meijer has been satisfying my coupon cravings.  Here is what I picked up on Friday the 15th for a total of $56.13 OOP.

I had to do two transactions to utilize all of my q's and the people behind me in the self-checkout were none to pleased.  In all fairness, I did give fair warning....it's not my fault if they don't take them seriously.

Transaction #1

• 8-6 packs Angel Soft Double Rolls $18.96.  Used 8 .50/1 q's = $14.96...that's only $0.31/roll!!!
• 1-2 pack Viva Paper Towels $ 2.03. Used .50/1 = $1.53
• Bunch of bananas $1.30
• Dozen extra large eggs $1.74
• 1 quart whole milk $1.74
• 2 Chi-Chi's tortillas $3.78.  Used 2 .50/1 q's = $2.78
• 1 Hormel Naturals Lunchmeat $2.98.  Used mPerks q buy 2 Chi-Chi's tortillas, get 1 Hormel Lunchmeat free = FREE
• 3 boxes Kellogg's Frosted Mini Wheats w/ Fruit In The Middle $8.82.  Used 3 $1/1 vocalpoint q's = $5.32
• 1 box Keebler Granola Bars $2.99.  Used printable .75/1 = $2.24
• 3 packages Fruit of the Loom socks $11.97.  Instant $10 savings when you purchase any combination of Keebler or Kellogg's items over $10.00 = $1.97
• 1/2 Dozen peaches $1.90
• 3 lbs butter $7.50
• 3 Loaves Wheat Bread $3.00
• 1 International Delight Creamer $1.50.  Used Vocalpoint q for free creamer = FREE

I also had an mPerks q for $2/$2.00 purchase.  My total for this transaction was $46.88.  I saved a total of 56.19 in store q's, manufacturer q's and store promotions.  I picked up all the butter, eggs and milk to whip up some cupcakes for a family bridal shower.  They turned out superb:)

Transaction #2:

• 4 boxes Keebler Granola Bars $11.96.  Used 4 printables .75/1 = $ 8.96
• 3 packages Fruit of the Loom socks $11.97.  Instant $10 savings when you purchase any combination of Keebler or Kellogg's items over $10.00 = $1.97

I had another mPerks q for $2/$2.00 purchase that brought the total down to $9.25.  I saved a total of 18.60 in store q's, manufacturer q's and store promotions.

I had a total savings of $74.79...almost 60%...YAY...especially because I was able to stock up on socks and picked up a couple of boxes of my new favorite cereal (the mixed berry ones are AWESOME) and I stocked up on Angel Soft toilet paper...another one of my brand loyalties.  

Stay tuned for an office freebies extravaganza over at the Target...I just cannot seem to turn down free tape! 

Vacation Junk Food Stock-Up

This week is pretty slow in the deal department.  Not much out there that is catching my eye.  But I am an addict in need of a fix after all and I can always get a fix at the Target where there is always something I can add to my stockpile.  Target is at the top of my list of favorite stores....ok, it is my favorite store.  You can pretty much find anything there, there is always clearance...and the best part...you can stack manufacturer q's with the plethora of Target q's that are here, there and EVERYWHERE.  You can print them, clip them and await their arrival in the mail.  Target is my Cheers...where they really do know my name.

Here is what I picked up today for $28.05 OOP:

I hit the $1.00 Spot first and picked up some little treat bags for the boys for vacation.  They had some really cute Cat In The Hat bags and some SpongeBob and Phineas and Ferb coloring books.  A good start for a goody bag that will hopefully keep them occupied in the car for a little while.  I also picked up some sand molds for the beach for a grand total of $8.00.

Onto the rest of my goodies:

• 4-2packs Sharpie Markers $4.00.  Used 4 Target printables for $1/1 Sharpie purchase = FREE
• 1 green pepper $0.89
• 1 container sour cream $1.09
• 1 quart Buttermilk $1.79
• 3 bags Ore-Ida Sweet Potato Fries $5.38 after the B2G1 promo at Target.  Used a q from a Facebook mailer for a free bag = $2.69 
• 3 large boxes Pop-Tarts $7.50.  Used a printable $2/3 and a Target printable for $1/3 = $4.50
• 2 Newton Thins $6.58.  Used 2 Target printables for $1/1 and 2 q's $1/1 = $2.58
• 1-3 pack Up & up baby wipes $4.69.  Used Target printable $1/$3 Up & Up purchase = $3.69
• 3-9ct. boxes Bagel Bites $7.77.  Used 3 Target printables for $1/1 and 3 manufacturer printables $1/1 = $1.77

Certainly not the cheapest Target run in my history, but I was pretty happy with my take of goodies.  I saved a total of $23.53 in q's, store q's and store promos. 

Hopefully the deals pick up with Thursday's ads...this slow pace is starting to take its toll on me and my coupon organizer is bursting with printable dollars ready to be used.  Fingers crossed:)

Bribes (Snack) Stock-Up

I just love when Catalina deals come along and allow me to stock up on items I would normally never buy for very little OOP.  The lure of new goodies makes for excellent leverage in the bribe department.  If I had gotten to the store and done the deal before they ended on Wednesday, I would have picked all of this up for the same price plus 5 free gallons of milk.  It's true what they say, You snooze, you lose. 

Anyways, here is what I picked up over two days at my favorite Jewel for a grand total of only $13.32 after all my cats and q's plus I had $7.00 left over in cats to buy some butter and buttermilk for another round of cupcakes and some fried chicken from the deli for dinner since my stove was temporarily out of service...that's a long story that ended up with two 911 calls to the fire department, a Carbon Monoxide meter, a cleaning and tuning of the stove and a new carbon monoxide/fire alarm.

Here was my first trip to the Jewel...I had to do three transactions:

Transaction #1:

• 4 boxes Nature Valley Granola Thins $10.00.  Used 4 .75/1 = $7.18.  Got back $7.00 in cats.

Transaction #2:

• 4 boxes Nature Valley Granola Thins $10.00.  Used 1 .75/1 and 3 .50/1 plus the $7.00 in cats from the previous order = $0.93.  Got back $7.00 in cats.

Transaction #3

• 4 boxes Fiber One 90 Calorie Brownies $10.00.  Used 4 .75/1 printables and $7.00 in cats from the previous order = FREE.  Got back $7.00 in cats.
• 2 bags Jay's potato chips $4.00.  Used $1/2 = $3.25

I had to go back to the Jewel to pick up the butter, buttermilk and chicken for dinner, so I did the deal two more times:

Transaction #1:

• 4 boxes Nature Valley Granola Thins $10.00.  Used 4 .60/1 printables plus the $7.00 in cats from the previous day's order = $0.78.  Got back $7.00 in cats.

Transaction #2:

• 4 boxes Fiber One 90 Calorie Brownies $10.00.  Used 4 .50/1 printables and $7.00 in cats from the previous order = $1.18.  Got back $7.00 in cats.

Transaction #3:

• 2 lbs unsalted butter = $7.38
• 1 pint buttermilk = $1.39
• 8 piece fried chicken = $5.99

Used $7.00 in cats from the previous order and $1.00 cat left behind at the register that the cashier gave to me and allowed me to use (super nice of her as they can just as easily throw them away) for a total of $7.36 OOP.

Overall, I spent $10.07 on 20 boxes of granola thins and fiber one brownies...that is only an average of $0.50/box.  My overall including the chips and other misc items was $20.68.  With all my q's and card savings, I saved a grand total of $73.55.

Here is what my cupcakes for the 4th of July turned out like:

Have a happy and safe 4th of July!

Prelude to a Holiday

First a little word of advice to my other couponers out there...you can take it or leave it, I am just sharing what I have found works for me.  I always, always, always print an internet coupon for a product I like or use when it is available.  Put them in your organizer and hang onto them until a sale presents itself.  Most are good for at least 30 days from the day they're printed.  Almost all internet coupons have a predetermined print limit and/or availability time frame and once they're reached you are S.O.L.  Some couponers will tell you not to waste your ink and only print what you need when you need it.  I have tried that method, but repeatedly kicked myself for not printing q's I thought I could use when a killer sale rolled around and I was left holding an empty organizer and craving a fix.  Like I said, take it or leave it...but I never like to leave a friend behind:)

Things have picked up a little this week with the impending holiday.  On Monday, I gathered up my coupons, my kiddos and some bribes to help the day go smoothly and set off for a 5 hour tour.  I spent a grand total OOP of $60.86.  I saved a total of 69.04 in coupons and I also got back $5.00 in Movie Cash for Cars 2 for a grand total of $74.04 in savings.  Here is what I took home:

Our first stop was Wags with an OOP of $7.91.

• 2 cans Chicken of the Sea tuna $1.10.  Used 2 .50/1 printables = $0.10
• 4 Scotch Tape Packaging Tape $6.00.  Used 4 $1/1 printables = $2.00
• 1 box Honey Maid grahams, 1 6-pack Hershey Chocolate bars and 1 package Kraft Jet-Puffed Marshmallows $6.00.  The marshmallows were free with the purchase of the grahams and chocolate and I also had a $1/purchase of all three = $5.00

Next stop was Meijer.  I had to do 4 separate transactions to use all of my q's.  I spent a total of $43.56 OOP and picked up my $5.00 in movie cash.

Transaction #1:

• 1 can Cutter bug repellent $4.19.  Used mPerks q $1.50/1 and 1 printable $2/1 = $0.69
• 4 Glad Saran Wrap $ 11.16.  Used 2 store q's $1/2 and 2 $1/2 = $7.16.  I got back a $3.00 OYNO cat for a total OOP of $4.16 or $1.04/roll.
• 1 24ct Kraft Deli Deluxe Cheese slices $5.39.  Used mPerks q $1/1 and a printable $1/1 = $3.39.  This is not a stellar price, but we needed cheese so I had to make the best of what I had.
• 4 Juicy Juice 8-pack juice boxes $10.00.  Used store q $2/4 and 4 printables .55/1 = $5.80.  I got back $5.00 in movie cash for Cars 2.

Transaction #2:

• 1 can Cutter bug repellent $4.19.  Used mPerks q $1.50/1 and 1 printable $2/1 = $0.69
• 1 24ct Kraft Deli Deluxe Cheese slices $5.39.  Used mPerks q $1/1 and a printable $1/1 = $3.39
• 4 KC Masterpiece BBQ sauce $6.00.  Used 2 store q's $1/2 and 4 $1/1 q's = FREE
• 2 Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing $5.00.  Used store q $1/2 and 2 $1/1 q's = $2.00.  Got back a $3.00 OYNO cat for buying the ranch and bbq sauce for a $1.00 MONEYMAKER

Transaction #3 (Used 1 of the $3.00 OYNO cats I got in a previous transaction):

• Bunch of bananas $1.69
• 1 kid's hooded beach towel $4.99 on clearance
• Bag of apricots $1.39
• 2 Heluva Good Sour Cream dips $1.98.  Used 2 .75/1 q's = $0.48
• 1 Kraft Homestyle Mac N' Cheese $1.67.  Used $1/1 q = $0.67
• 6 8-pk Lance Peant Butter Sandwich Crackers $8.64.  Used 3 $1/2 q's = $5.64
• 8 Yoplait Yogurt $4.00.  Used .60/8 printable = $3.40

Transaction #4 (Used 1 of the $3.00 OYNO cats I got in a previous transaction):

• 1 kid's hooded beach towel $4.99 on clearance

Next stop was Doms (after a brief pit stop at the free pony ride in Meijer and a quick lunch at Wendy's).  They had a decent deal going on the coke this week at B2G3...but since they jack up the price on the two you buy to $5.99 each it's only worth it if you have any of the free 12-pack q's from coke that you can get when you redeem your coke rewards points.  If you are a coke drinker and are still throwing away those Coke rewards points....STOP!  You are throwing away $$$.  Open an account and start banking the points for free 12 packs.

• 5 12-packs Coca-Cola $11.98.  Used 1 free 12-pack q ($4.99 max value) = $6.99
• 1 8-pack Coca-Cola slim cans $3.50.  Used B3G1 free q = FREE
• 1 bag Goldfish crackers $2.39.  Used J4U q for a free bag = FREE

Our final stop for the day was Woodman's to pick up some free coffee drinks and some sponges.

• 13 Seattle's Best Mocha Lattes $12.87.  Used 13 G1 free q's = FREE
• 1 package sponges $1.69

I didn't have time to hit the Jewel that day because I squeezed in a couple of other stops at the Target and Homegoods to pick up some random things for the bedroom remodel and a back pack for our little jaunt downtown the next day.  

On Tuesday, I headed down to the city with the boys, my nieces and my cousin for a trip to Ed Debevic's and Millennium Park.  It was a great day...almost perfect!  I am so grateful we took the time to make a fun day before they move away:(   Here are a few pics from our little jaunt.

Things weren't looking so good at first.

But after some lunch, we packed up and headed down Randolph to Millennium Park and the Bean.

Last stop was the Crown Fountain to cool off...they had a blast!

I had to hit the Jewel today for my last little deals (one of which was out of stock...can't win em' all I guess)  I did manage to pick up these:

Jewel was running one of their "Buy 10, Save $5.00 instantly" sales.  So I took home 20 bottles of Lipton tea for only $5.75.  They were $0.50/bottle after the $5.00 savings and I used 10 B1G1 q's I had printed off Facebook the week before making these only $0.25/bottle.  Always, always, always print the q's if it is something you would buy if the deal was right...or you may end up kicking yourself later.

It's been slow going

Not much has been happening on the coupon front these past couple of weeks which is fine because I have totally been preoccupied with the Master Bedroom redo.  I have picked up some awesome finds and cannot wait to see it all come together! Here is a sneak peak of a few:

I know my coupon lull is the calm before the storm of July 4th sales.  I am taking the time to rally the troops in preparation for the big sales.  I have cleaned out the coupon organizer and kept up-to-date on all my printables...now I sit and wait.   Holidays are always a good time to stock up on paper goods, soda and hot dogs...we'll see what else is up for grabs next week.

I have gotten some little fixes here and there.  I picked up two sets of sheets for the boys at Target on Tuesday for $13.98 a set for fulls....not too bad.  They were on clearance for $18.98 and I had two Target printables for $5/1 Home bedding.  They were originally $37/set so I was happy with my $23 savings on each or $46 total...WOOHOO!  ALWAYS print a coupon if you have the slightest inkling you can use it.  They often disappear even though their expiration dates may be far off and you will end up kicking yourself later for not printing it when you could.

On an end note...my paper man has been on his best behavior and my Beacon-Wielding Thief has taken a little siesta....but I am awaiting his return, he surely won't stay away forever.  I think my hubs is missing The Beacon, he asked me if I wanted to get a subscription when we got a post card in the mail offering up the Friday and Sunday edition for only a $1/week for 26 weeks.  In return, they will give you a $10 Home Depot gift card so in the end it only costs $16.  My thoughts on this, Why would I pay for a paper I already get for free?  I'm just saying....

A Trip Down Randall Road....

I had a bunch of errands to run in preparation for the upcoming Father's Day celebrations.  I had already accomplished most of my shopping at the Meijer on the Friday before...but there is always a coupon in my organizer dying to be used so I made a few ore stops in between my party preps.

I stopped back at the Meijer, Doms and Jewel.  Here is what I picked up for a total OOP of $25.88.

First stop, Meijer:

• 3 1lb packages of butter $7.50
• 3 Dannon Danimals yogurt $5.67.  Used 3 $1/1 q's and the $2 OYNO I picked up the other day from a previous Dannon purchase = $0.67

Total at Meijer with tax was $8.41.  I needed all the butter to whip up some Mint Julep cupcakes for my hubs, brother-in-law and father-in-law on Father's Day. They were a big hit and looked good too:)

Back to the shopping...next stop, Dom's:

• 2 boxes cat litter $13.98 with in store q.  Used 2 $3.50/1 e-q's I had loaded on my Fresh Values card = $6.98.
• 7 Lunchables Cracker Combos $8.75.  Used 7 $1/1 q's = $1.25
• 1 Febreze Flameless Luminary $0.99.  Used J4U promotion I had loaded on my card the week before for this awesome price.
• 1 Febreze Flameless Luminary refill $4.69.  Used B1 Febreze Flameless Luminary and G1 refill free = FREE
• 1 Frebreze Noticeables starter kit $0.99.  Used J4U promotion I had loaded on my card the week before for this awesome price.
• 1.88 lbs seedless red grapes $1.86

Total OOP at Dom's was $13.51.  

Last stop was the Jewel for some  more hummus....Jax was just craving it...LOL

• 2 Tribe Hummus $3.99.  Used 2 $1/1 q's = $1.99
• .94 lbs Tomatoes on the Vine = $2.81

Total OOP $3.56.  I saved a total of $41.98...finally a savings of over 50%....it has been rough for me lately....but I keep truckin' on...LOL