Saturday, March 12, 2011

Lots of shopping. Some headaches in the deals department though

I love to save money and it frustrates me to no end when things don't go as planned. I had so many stops to make this morning. I am so thankful for a husband who takes our son to do fun things so I can get in and get out quick. They went to Lowes to build a mini basketball goal and then to visit grandparents!

I started my morning at Target. I used two Up and Up oral health care coupons to get 2 free dental floss. I used a 50 cent off cotton coupon to get a bag of 100 cotton balls for 72 cents since mine were used by a cute toddler to play with. I also used another 50 cent off cotton coupon to get 500 cotton swabs for $1.99. While I was there I decided to check out the sandals for Scotty. I got the cutest pair for him last year there. I found him some and they only had one pair in his size so I was scared to wait so I went ahead and bought them. Wonder why all the girls sandals were on sale this week but none of the boys. :( I hope they are on sale next week so I can go back for the difference. They are casual ones for playing.

Then on to Meijer. I thought I had coupons for a couple of boxes of cheap hair color but I found out two expired yesterday and Meijer won't take them a day late like Kroger often will. So I only got one box. I wanted to get some of the cheap benefiber tubes but found they were all sold out so I could not use those coupons. :( So frustrating when things are not restocked. I got 4 bags of Goldfish for 85 cents a bag. That's a good deal. I was going to get some more juice boxes with coupons today but when I got to the register I realized they were leaking so I just scraped that idea. I hope to make it back this week before the Mealbox coupon expires on Friday. I got 4 poundz of strawberries for $1 a pound. :) We will eat some and freeze the rest. They are on sale again next week so I will probably get some more.

Then I went to Dollar tree in search of coloring books. My son just loves to scribble right now so they fill up fast so I didn't want to pay to much. I did find one with Handy Manny and Mickey Mouse. I also found a big tablet coloring book with dinosaurs and stickers so that will make him very happy. The only bad thing about going to the dollar store is you find things you didn't really need but are cheap and fun. So I got a few things for Scotty's Easter basket. I picked up a cars wash cloth in the form of a magic towel, a blow up dinosaur, and a bug catching kit. I think he will love them all.

After that I went to Walmart in search of Benefiber but still no luck and tried for some shoes for Scotty but no luck they were already sold out of his size sandals. It's the beginning of March and they are all gone. Now that is crazy. :( So I left without buying anything.

From there I went to RiteAid where my frustration rose the longer I was there. Now RiteAid has some amazing deals don't get me wrong but they tend to be sold out of a lot of stuff that they have good deals on. Today they should have been restocked but were still completely out of the Colgate toothpaste I had planned to buy. I had $6 in Up rewards that were going to expire so I had to figure out how to use them. I was still looking for Benefiber but they don't sell the small cheap boxes there. They did however have some of the containers on clearance for 1/2 off making them $6 a piece. I had a $7 off 2 coupon so that would make them $5 for both. Still needed to spend $1 so I kept looking I found the little mini peanut butter cups on sale with a $1 Up reward making them $2 a piece. I had a $2 off 2 coupon so that would make them $1 a piece and solved the $1 I needed to spend. I also had been sent a free coupon for a 4 pack of Cottonelle toilet paper. What I have found is nobody carries 4 packs of it. So finally I found one at Riteaid. I spent 2 cents plus tax on it because they were charging 2 cents more than the top price the coupon would pay for it. Drug stores are high when you are not doing sales/deals. So to the register I went only to have the older gentlemen scrutinize every single coupon I had. I was using everyone legitimately but it was annoying and then he took it upon himself to tell me without scanning the coupon that I could not use my $7 off coupon. He informed me their policy was no printables over $5. So we took them back off and I then had a $2 coupon I needed to use. Finally they realize the manager is still there and the question everyone asks this guy is does it scan. Well he has no clue because he took it upon himself to say I couldn't use it he didn't bother to try. Finally they realize it says a coupon of more than $5 per item so I am good because it is for 2 items. The only good thing about that was that I got to roll my $1 from the candy back into the purchase so I don't have any that need to be spent now. I spent just over $3 total at the store.

Then to Home Depot because I scored a coupon for free 9V Lithium batteries and I  realized this is what I needed all along. They are supposed to last for 10 years in my smoke detectors. I hate batteries going off in the middle of the night and the 9V have gotten so expensive. The last time I bought them they were $2 a piece at Sam's club and I was like you have to be kidding me. So I figure at $5 a battery for about 9 more years of use I am saving a ton of money!! $2 a detector x 5 a year equals $100 or $5 x 5 for 10 years. Not to mention I got 2 free but bought 6. So less than $20 out of pocket. I WIN all the way around!

Next stop was Walgreen's for free Pedia Care meds. Can't beat that. Normal price is $6.99 and I got two free. :) I did get Scotty a ball for his Easter basket while I was there to absorb the extra cents from the coupons. I thought they were bogo free but it turned out to be Buy 2 get 1 free so I ended up with just one. Oh well.

After that I really wanted the sandals for Scotty and knew waiting would likely not help me. So I ran to the other Walmart closer to my house. I was able to get some in his size for $11. These are the same great cushioned ones we got him last year and they are great. They are nice for church and dressy stuff and if they get beat up they were cheap. :) 



This afternoon for free entertainment we took Scotty to see Firetrucks. Then my husband and I both really needed new shoes. My poor tennis shoes were trashed and really don't fit since having a baby. I have had them about 4 years I think. My husband needed new casual shoes because he doesn't wear tennis shoes. So I had a coupon for Rack Room Shoes so we headed to the mall. Shoes cost so much but cheap tennis shoes make me crazy so I  decided we were going to bite the bullet and go get good ones. I had a 20% off if you spent $60 and they had their BOGO 1/2 off deal going on. So we got $140 worth of shoes for just $85. I won't complain. We are both happy and won't have to buy more shoes for a while. Now if I could only say the same for Scotty. :(

I have some more money saving tips coming soon so stay tuned!

Happy Saving

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