A Coupon Crazy Week

I don't often go out and coupon at multiple stores during one week, but there were just so many great deals everywhere this week I had to give it a try, especially when bringing my favorite money-saving apps into the mix. Here is what I've bought (so far...) 

At Walgreens: 

• Bought 6 Snickers Bites (at two different stores) $3.99 regular price
• On Sale for 2/$6
• Used $1 off 2 Walgreens Coupon booklet
• Used three $3 off 2 Snickers Bites (coupons.com)
• Paid $1.00 each, or $6.50 total
• These are so gloriously delicious that I'm not even the least bit ashamed of buying so many, or of hunting them down across 3 stores. This deal saved me over $18!

At CVS: 

• Bought 2 Nexxus Shampoo, $10.99 regular price. Spend $20 get $10 Extra Bucks.
• Used $3 off $15 Hair Care CVS coupon
• Used 20% Off Purchase CVS email coupon
• Paid $14.50, got $10.00 Extra Bucks
• Bought 2 Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Buy 2 get $2.00 Extra Bucks.
• Sale price 2 for $5.00
• Used two $0.50 off 1 (coupons.com)
• Paid $4.00, got $2.00 Extra Bucks
• Bought 1 Skintimate Shave Gel, $3.79 regular price. Buy one, get $2.00 Extra Bucks.
• Used $1.00 off 1 printable coupon
• Used 20% Off Purchase CVS email coupon
• Paid $2.04, got $2.00 Extra Bucks
• Bought 1 Paper Towel Roll, $0.79 sale price
• Used $0.79 off CVS coupon
• Free
• Total at CVS was somewhere around $20, but I used $7.00 in Extra Bucks from last week, so my Out of Pocket was around $14. Then I received $14.00 in Extra Bucks, which in my mind is as good as free. 

At Walmart:

• Bought 4 P3 Power Protein Packs, $1.00 each
• Used two $1.00 off 1 printables
• Used two $0.75 off 1 printables
• Paid $0.50 for all
• Bought a bunch of bananas, 0.48 cents/lb (around 3lbs.)
• Paid about $1.30
• Submitted for $0.50 rebate with Checkout 51
• Bought one VO5 Shampoo and one VO5 Conditioner
• $1.98 each regular price
• Used two $1.00 off 1 printable
• Paid $1.96, submitted for $0.75 each rebate at iBotta, plus received $0.50 bonus credit for submitting both in one receipt. Got $2.00 credit total, which makes these free! 
• Bought one box of Fiber One Fruit Snack, $2.00 regular price
• Used $0.50/1 coupons.com printable
• Submitted for $0.75 iBotta rebate
• Submitted for $0.75 Checkout 51 rebate
• Free after rebates!
• I love these adult version of Lunchables, they're great for a mid-afternoon snack! Plus the child in me loves bringing Fruit Snacks to work. Total at Walmart was around $7.00 for $13.00 worth of product, plus I got $4.00 in rebates. 

At Target:

• Bought 6 cans of Iams cat food, $0.59 regular price
• Used 5% Off Cartwheel
• Used two $2.00 off 3 Iams wet cat food (coupons.com)
• Free, plus $0.64 overage
• Bought 1 gal. Market Pantry white milk, $3.19 regular price
• Used 5% Off Cartwheel
• Submitted for $0.50 iBotta rebate plus $0.50 bonus
• Submitted for $0.50 Checkout 51 rebate
• $1.53 after rebates
• Bought Post Honey Bunches of Oats Morning Engergy, $2.55 price cut
• Used $1.00 off Target printable
• Used $1.00 off manufacturer coupon
• Paid $0.55 
• Gained a new favorite cereal
• 7th Generation Dishwasher Gel, $3.49 sale price
• Used $1.00 off Target printable 
• Used $1.00 off manufacturer coupon
• Used 10% off Cartwheel
• Submitted for $1.00 credit at iBotta
• Submitted for $1.10 credit at Jingit
• $0.96 Money Maker after rebates! 
• One Up and Up Multi-Surface Wipes, $1.92 sale price
• Used $1.00 off Target Mobile Coupon
• Submitted for $1.00 credit at Jingit
• $0.08 Money Maker after rebate!
• One Colgate Optic White Toothpaste, $2.99 regular price
• Used $1.50 printable
• Used $1.00 off Target Mobile Coupon
• Paid $0.50 

Wheew! What a week! I almost gave up on typing all that out. My total in rebates was $7.85 using various apps (iBotta, Checkout 51, and Jingit). It's challenging to really find a total for money saved vs. money spent because of the Extra Bucks and rebates, but I'm confident this was a week well spent screening couponing websites, punching numbers in my calculator, and draining my iphone's battery more than once. It's all worth it! Now I'm off to find some more cat food coupons (I donate these) and make some sugar cookies stuffed with Snickers Bites! 

CVS Couponing In 2013

Today I received this email from CVS: 

I only did "extreme couponing" for about two months and I saved over $350! I should take this up again. 

Tithing Miracles

Each blessing comes through obedience to a certain law, and although I have no doubt in this, there is one particular blessing which has been tried and tested time and time again throughout my life more than any other. It has been easy to see the results because they have always been so immediate, and there is absolutely no way they could have happened without divine intervention. I am talking about the law of tithing. Give the Lord 10% of your earnings, and he will return so many blessings that there will be no room to receive them.
I have chosen to record the many divine wonders in the following list. My only regret is not having done so sooner.

1. November 22, 2013. Philip was unexpectedly laid off 3 days ago and has been searching for a new job ever since. We expected him to keep this job at least for another month and then go right into a different one, so it caught us extremely off guard. Since we are in some debt, all of his high earnings have gone to pay it off what we could, so we hardly added anything to our savings. As of today we are still wondering how we will get through the most expensive months of the year and hoarding as much money as possible. Today, I came back from my lunch break to find a note on my desk from my boss. He has managed this company for over 5 years and never given any sort of bonuses to his employees. This year, however, I found a handwritten Thank-You note and $250 cash. I just want to go over and hug him... but apart from being inappropriate it would be the most awkward moment of my life. There is no doubt in my mind that this was an answer to our prayers. 

Useful Apps To Save Money

Over the past few months I've compiled a nifty little collection of apps that help me save money or receive rewards that would otherwise have gone unnoticed and unclaimed. I've become so practiced at this that I refuse to leave a store paying retail price for something, and I thought I'd share a little of my wisdom with other iphone users out there (I don't know if these are available in the android market). (P.S. I've never put so many pictures in one post before, so bear with me if they don't have the best layout to them)

#1. CineMode. This little button can be found in the lower left-hand corner of the CineMark app, and it is advertised before every movie that plays in Cinemark theatres. It is basically a reward for not touching your phone during the movie. As soon as it is advertised on the screen, you open it up, turn CineMode on, put your phone on silent, and don't answer calls or texts during the movie. Actually, just don't touch your phone, put it out of temptation's reach (I use my husband's pocket). After the movie is over, turn CineMode off and you'll receive a coupon code for snacks and stuff at your next visit. The first time it's used it gives the best coupons where you don't have to purchase anything to get a free item. It's usually popcorn or a fountain drink, but once my hubby got a free poster for the upcoming Star Trek movie. Big Hint: as soon as it comes up on your screen, take a screenshot of it and leave it in your camera roll. These tend to disappear as soon as you exit the app if you didn't sign in to a Cinemark account. 

 #2. GasBuddy. I drive a little Toyota Matrix (V4, 1.8L) for which I only spend about $25 a week on gas, and even then I HATE paying a few extra cents per gallon. With the help of GasBuddy, I quickly figured out that the price per gallon at stations around my work/office is always about 10 cents cheaper than in town. It hardly makes a difference with my car due to the small amount of gas I put in, but with my hubby's huge Dodge Ram that fills up with $140, it's a big deal. He usually drives the 3 extra miles down the highway on Fridays, meets me for lunch, and then fills up at the gas station near my office. This also comes in useful when we travel to bigger cities and need to re-fuel for our drive back home.

 #3. Target Mobile. Target has become one of my favorite stores since I went coupon crazy. The reason is that it has a section for Mobile Coupons which can then be combined with Manufacturer Coupons + Cartwheel offers (see #4 below) and sales to get some amazing deals on stuff. I usually use these for groceries and laundry detergent and due to careful planning, have never left the store without saving at least 40% on my total purchase.

             

#4. Target Cartwheel. This is a new app that was just introduced this year (mid 2013). You have to create an account, but afterwards it allows you to choose products to add to your list to save money on. For example, if I were buying groceries, I'd go to the groceries section and select the items I was going to get, add them to my cartwheel list, and then hand my phone to the cashier at checkout for her to scan the barcode and apply the discounts. The majority of the items offer a 5% discount, but Target always has special offers going on. For example now, during the summer and times of beach bonfires, they have marshmallows at 20% off. These little percentages can add up little by little, and also be stacked with Manufacturer Coupons + Target Coupons for bigger savings. (Stacked = you're able to use them at the same time)

#5. Yowza!! I came across this app while reading an article about "apps every college student should have" and decided to try it out. I don't use it very often now, but during the 7 months of wedding planning I went through, I visited Hobby Lobby almost weekly and never paid full price for an item. This app holds a list of stores that offer mobile coupons. It reads your location and tells you the address and how far away you are from the store and the offers it has. Since Hobby Lobby has different things on sale every week, I always used my "40% off one item" coupon for a big item which was not on sale that week. Beware that some store cashiers will have no idea these things exist. Ironically, during the very last of what had to be at least 20 weekly shopping trips to Hobby Lobby, the cashier told me the store did not take mobile coupons and it had to be done online. I'd never had a problem using these before so I stood my ground and argued that I had used it many times prior to this visit. She finally gave in and, because she didn't read the coupon correctly, gave me 40% off my entire purchase.

 

#6. Shopkick. I haven't actually earned enough points to get a gift card yet, but it does not hurt to have this app sitting in a corner of my iphone for when I need it. You basically earn "Kicks" every time you enter one of the stores listed in the app, and once you earn enough Kicks you get a gift card to your choice of store listed. Beware, this is an extremely loud app that does not respect the "silence button" on your phone, so don't turn it on if you're in a no-phones-allowed place. It also tends to go off when you're driving by one of the stores which offers Kicks and prompts you to walk into the store and claim them. I have learned to ignore it every time I drive on the highway because I pass by the mall, Target, and Best Buy on a regular basis. It also gives you one Kick each day you open the app, which can slowly add up to a gift card over time.

#7. Plink. Last but not least on my list is Plink. You'll either love it or hate it, depending on how much you care about personal information. It asks you for your login information that you'd use to check your bank account online (username and password) and then links that debit or credit card with your Plink account. Any time you make a qualifying purchase at a store or restaurant with that specific card, points are added to your account. Once the points add up you get to choose your choice of gift card to certain stores listed under Plink. I happened to sign up during a promotional period where I got 1,000 points for a purchase at McDonalds. I bought a medium fountain drink ($1.00) with my Discover card and received 1,000 points about a week later, which are the equivalent to a $10 gift card to either Amazon, iTunes, Barnes and Noble, Walmart and other well-known retailers. I just haven't decided where I want those $10 to go to, so the points are sitting in my account unredeemed. I don't have anything against linking this to my Discover card, since it's a credit card and has nothing to do with my bank account, but some people might be a little more doubtful and hesitant about things like that.

And so there you have my first ever post to my "Coupon Crazy" category. Hope you find these apps useful in saving money. My thought process behind this is "I always have my iphone in my hand, so why not save a little money or get rewarded for things I'd have to do anyway? It's just a few taps away and it doesn't hurt to try." Feel free to ask me any questions!