$66 for $3 OOP at Rite Aid

It's been a really rough week. I did end up buying a coffee & bagel at Dunkin' on Friday night... it was my dinner, and I needed the caffeine for the drive. But other than that and the pizza for lunch the other day, I think we're doing OK, considering.

Oh, and Tom ran to Shaw's to buy some stuff to make his famous comfort food favorite, macaroni & cheese, last night. I warned him I wasn't at all in the mood to cook and even though I suggested Chinese take-out, he cooked anyway. He's such a good guy.

After church today, I'm going to drown my sorrows at Rite Aid, where I'm hoping they'll end up paying ME to shop there. It happens! There are some great Rite Aid deals this week. In case you're curious, here's my plan:

Garnier $5 +up reward when you spend $15 on Fructis, Nutrisse, Herbashine, or Nutritioniste

Herbashine haircolor $5.99

-$3 printable

-$2 video values coupon

Herbashine haircolor $5.99

-$3 printable

- $3 coupon in Sunday paper

Fructis Anti-Dandruff Shampoo $3.99

- $1 printable

- $2 video values coupon

- $1 coupon in Sunday paper

OOP price: .99, earn $5 +up reward= moneymaker!

Nivea Bodywash $1 +up reward when you buy 1

sale price $3.99

-$3 off 1 Nivea Men's bodywash printable

OOP price: .99, earn $1 +up reward = free!

Osteo Bi-Flex $2 +up reward when you buy 2

sale price: b1g1 free

-$3 video values coupon

-$3 printable

-$4 coupon from this week's Sunday paper

OOP price: varies, earn $2 + up reward (and I'm going to roll all my other +up rewards to this)

ETA: I did it! I ended up sending about $5 out of pocket and walked away with a $2 +up reward and $69 worth of stuff, all stuff we'll use. So a total price of $3, $66 saved.

Want a free pack of Extra Dessert Delights Gum? Go to their Facebook page!

It's been a rough day. We got take-out pizza for lunch. Our first meal "out" in 35 days. Oh well.

Where we used to live, there was only a CVS. I could drive about 20 minutes to find a Walgreens, but I certainly didn't have a Rite Aid nearby. A year or two ago I heard of people playing "the CVS game" or "the Wags game" and using store cards, weekly sales, store coupons, and manufacturers coupons to get freebies. I was impressed by the savings I saw but I didn't try it myself.

Since we've moved, and have a Rite Aid right down the street, I've been paying way more attention to these kinds of deals. Yesterday I got a great deal on an 18 pack of Tide Stain Release:

$5.88 (sale price) -$2 manufacturer's coupon - $1 +up reward= $2.88 out of pocket

There are lots of sites out there that will do the legwork for you and tell you how to get the best deal at Rite Aid (or lots of other stores) every week by combining coupons and sales. I like For The Mommas and her deal lists for Rite Aid, CVS, and Walgreens. I'll warn you, though: just because it's cheap or free doesn't mean it's worth your time! Sure, I can use a clearance sale plus a coupon to get some Shakira perfume for only .50... but why would I?

Just a friendly tip for you tonight, since my dinner didn't go over well and my kids refused to eat it because "it looks gross" and it DID look gross! My poor, poor children.

It's shopping day!

I combed through the freezer and made a list that I posted on the fridge door. It made it a lot easier to plan meals based on the items I have on hand. At 2 stores I spent $91 and saved $25 with coupons.

And then... then I decided to pick up Toy Story 3, which came out today. I had an $8 off coupon for a specific version of the movie (BluRay & DVD combo) and I had to go to FOUR STORES until I found one that 1) had the version in stock and 2) would accept such a high coupon. I ended up getting it at Target for a total of $16.99, which was cheaper than it would have been at any of the other 3 stores, so it all worked out in the end-- other than the gas I used!

When I realized Tom wouldn't be home for dinner tonight, I changed plans and the girls and I are just having frozen pizza. We'll save North Country Stew for another night, and the recipe definitely looks good so I'm excited. I've also planned to make some pizza dough in the bread machine for calzones later in the week. I haven't used the bread machine since we moved from our house into the apartment last year, so I'm looking forward to getting it back out and getting fresh bread back on the table.

it's Menu Planning Monday!

Normally I pick & choose which e-mealz we'll do for the week, but this time I'm going to "shop from my freezer" and make recipes that rely on meats we've already got on hand. I'm thinking we'll be able to shop fairly cheaply this week, thanks to my awesome parents who brought a bunch of groceries with them on their visit this weekend. Between that and the well-stocked freezer, I'm crossing my fingers that the grocery bill will shrink this week.

Monday: chicken pot pie (defrosting right now)

Tuesday: North Country Stew, garlic bread sticks

Wednesday: Creamy Herb Pork Chops, mashed potatoes, creamed corn

Thursday: Slow Cooker Burritos, yellow rice, salad

Friday: Taco Calzones, salad

Saturday: I Ain't Chicken Chicken, roasted potatoes, some veggies

Sunday: Salisbury Steaks, sugar snap peas

We need a milk run today, but I'm doing the big shopping tomorrow... and gorging on Halloween candy in the meantime!