My DD came home for Christmas and my husband and I took her shopping at Outlet. She found a jacket she was looking for. According to her, it was exactly what she was looking for.

We also bought her a couple of pairs of pants, a skirt, and a nice coat.

This outlet offer free membership in their website that members can receive extra discount with coupons, but I didn't print out these coupons because I didn't know which store she wanted to go. I stopped by the information center and asked them about the coupons, then they told me to go to the website with out smart phone and show the store cleark coupon code.

We did with my husband's iphone, and it worked and we received extra 15% discount at a couple of stores.

It never hurts to ask.

We re-did our curtains and it was over $400 for all the rods, balances, and panels. When we were paying for items, I told her I had some coupons but forgot to bring them. She told me she will adjust the price as long as I have receipts.

I went home and looked for coupons, but I could only find two. I needed more than two because I bought total of 12 items and coupons are good for single items. (it's 20% off coupon for single item.)

So, I posted a message in Facebook, asking my friends if they have any they can give me. Well, I got some responses and scored 10 total!!

I went back to the store and asked for price adjustment, and got about $80 back.

Yes, it is so worth to ask for help. The power of networking.....

Walgreen's
I had to get rid of some catalina coupons that was expiring on Sunday. I bought 2 bags of Nuts cluster that are free after RR. Used $1/1 coupons, so this was $2 money maker. I also bought 2 newspapers, 2 gums, and a bag of chocolate. Out of pocket was less than $2.

Rite Aid
Great week for stocking up baby wash and baby lotion. I bought ten bottles of baby wash/lotion/powder that I will use them for my co-worker's baby shower. The total price of baby goods was $30, and I used $15 worth of coupons and getting $15 in rebate. Thus, free. I had $25 Rite Aid gift card I got from previous promotion, and paid out of pocket portion with the GC. No cash impact which is nice.

Safeway
They have cheap grapes again this week!! I love them! Also, Yoplait yogurts are 50 cents each if you buy 10 or more. I found $1 off on 8 cups coupon in Pillsbury website. That make them 40 cents each. Sweet!

This week has been a great week at Walgreens and Target.

I got several free Carefree, Thera Flu, and Colgate toothbrushes. Thera Flu is my favorite cold medicine and I know I will use some this winter. I love it when I can get cold med for free.

I'm also getting cheap Special K products at Target. They're sale for little over $2 and I get $5 gift card when I buy 4 of them. On top of that, there are coupons in coupons.com. I've been paying less than $1 for 4 products (combination of cereal, crackers, and cereal bars).

My friend threw a party last night. I brought my homemade potstickers as requested and they were gone in 10 minutes. I should have made more, but I brought about 40 of them. I need to double my batch next year.

I went to Rite Aid for free pads. Stay Free products are BOGO and I had 10 BOGO q's. Since I went to the end of sale cycle, I only could find a dozen of them. But it's OK. Got a dozen packages of pads and paid .33 each (sales tax). This purchase also counts towards rebate.

I also bought new Purex laundry detergent. It's a sheet and works as both detergent and softner. They were BOGO at Walgreens and $2 q's were out. I paid $2.5 per package that has 20 sheets in it. It comes to 12.5 cents per load. I was curious to see how well this product works. I did about 5 loads and so far so good.

I went to Target website to see their new Target coupons and found Kraft mayo coupon. $1/1! Yay!!

I've been wanting to buy some cheap mayo and was eyeing on 18 oz mayo that are $1.99. Since manu q. I had expire today, I was going to get some at the price of $.99. After target coupons, they are free!!

Needless to say, I got some free mayo today. I was pretty happy.

I checked my 401K balance and I am very excited. It is back to 6 figures!! Return % is still low but I really don't care. I have 15 to 20 years till retirement. I will just ride out this bump.

This week has been great for some deals. So far, I bough 15 boxes of Special K cereal and planning to by 5 more. I paid $1.38 each for first two trips, and 38 cents each for the third trip. Big thanks to fellow couponer on HCW Target forum that new printable showed up on coupons com and Kellogg website. I printed some more coupons and cut out coupons from cereal box, and I will pay 38 cents per box for my next trip as well. $17.60 for 20 boxes of cereal (88 cents each) isn't too bad.

If there's a week worth to drive around deal hunting, this is one of these weeks.

Bayer glucose meters are on sale at Walgreen's and there's manufacture coupons that covers entire cost. When you buy one, you get $5 catalina back!! I paid $1.31 for sales tax, and received $5 back. $3.69 profit!!

Nivea body wash is free after Register Reward item and I printed a bunch of $1/1 internet coupons. I make few cents after buying it.

There are some other free after register reward products I'm not even paying attention to. My goal now is to use up my glucose monitor coupons. (I bought 10 of them on eBay paying $3.99.)

Target is another good place to shop. My DD eats Special K cereal and they are $2.39 per box, and you get $5 gift card when you buy 5 of them. That makes $1.39 per box which is pretty darn good for Special K cereal. I couldn't find any decent deal for this product for last two months, so we were completely out!! It's time to stock up again.

Kraft dressing was $1.56 after price cut and there's manufacture coupons $1.5/1 for them. 9 cents for a bottle of dressing. Great deal!

Walgreens have another free stuff this week.

Last week, I stocked up Garnier hair styling products that were all free. I have enought shampoo and conditioner that will last for few years, but I need some hair styling products because DD goes through them like crazy. I forgot how teenagers cannot have a bad hair day LOL

This week, it is Listerine, Reach floss and toothbrush. Sale price is 3 for $9, and they will give out $6 catalina coupon. There's $3 off when you buy Listerine, Reach toothbrush and floss coupon in today's insert. So,they will be all free.

Free is good : )

Things I did today:
- Finished reading a chapter in Accounting book (I have an exam on Monday)
- Got pedicure (I was reading my A/C book while I was getting pedicure)
- Cleaned the house
- Did laundry
- Went to gym

I also went to Rite Aid. I don't know why but Rite Aid sent me $10 coupon good for any purchase. All of their FAR products were out, so I bought some pantyhose that were BOGO. I bought 4 pairs, and 2 boxes of footies, and paid $2.65 for all of them after coupon.

Then, went to Walgreens that is across the street from Rite Aid. I haven't bought Revlong FAR item yet, and today is the last day of Feb rebate. Paid with my GC, so not cash spent for this one.

I will be going to Walgreens first thing tomorrow morning to get a blink tears eye drops. They are free after catalina coupon. Colgate toothpastes are also free after catalina, like I need more toothpaste LOL

This was a great week and I stockpiled many things.

14 scrabbing bubbles - almost free
4 boxes of Kashi creal - 25 cent per box
4 Glade scent warmer - free
4 Gillet razer - $.99 each
24 Dove chcolate bar - free
9 Crest mouth wash - free
6 Sun silk hair products - about 60 cents each
3 Glade fabric oder eliminator - 49 cents each
4 Tylenol Sleep aid - 99 cents each
3 cough syrup - free
6 Oust - free

It was a lot of fun!!

Another Walgreen trip.

3 Robittusin cough syrup
1 Crest Mouth Wash
2 Dove Chocolate Bars

Used $10 catalina I got from buying Johnson & Johnson products, and some coupons for Dove.

Paid $4.74 (including $1.28 sales tax)

Then, got $10 catalina from Robittusin and $4.5 catalina from Crest mouth wash.

Also, Longs Drug had some Garnier skin care products on their clearance rack, and I found $2 off coupons in their store coupons book. On top of that, Garnier is offering buy $15 and get $10 gift card rebate this month. So, I bought moisturizing lotion, cream, and cleanser. I paid $13.84 including sales tax after using $5 worth of coupons, and I will get $10 gift card back. (Rebate looks at price before coupons, so my purchase qualifies their rebate requirement.)

There are a couple of free items at Safeway this week - L'Oreal Vive shampoo & conditioner and 2 litter bottle Sprite.

I paid for the shampoo at in-house Starbucks when I was getting my coffee. And the cashier asked me where I got BOGO coupons. I gave her a couple of coupons because I am well stocked with them. I was buying them to use overage to cover my bread. She told me she works so hard and get paid so little, and said "These decent kind (L'Oreal) are expensive." It is so true. Their regular price is $4.99 a bottle. If she makes $10 an hour, one hour of hard work will be for a couple of bottle of shampoo and conditioner. That sucks. She was so happy and gave me high five, and that made me happy, too. It is nice to know some people actually appreciate coupons.

I haven't bought any Sprite so far, and sale cycle ends today. So, if I want free Sprite, today is the last day as the coupons expire on 8/31. They are Buy 3 get 3 free, and I have a lot of BOGO coupons. Store pays for 3, and coupons pay for 3, thus, free for me.

As for household finance, August has been very expensive with school related expenses. Fees, fees, everywhere.... On top of that, everything came more than usual. Gas & electricity bill was over budget, water was over budget, and we had to pay for our car insurance. Gee..... I guess we will have a nice and quiet staycation on Labor day weekend.

Even though I was really tired last night after my class, I stopped by Safeway to grab some cheap stuff.

I handed my cashier 12 coupons. She was nice, but did not know much about ringing up coupons, and messed all up. The line behind me was getting longer and it was obvious this guy behind me was really frustrated. I told him "Sorry...." Then, he just said "It's not your fault." What a nice guy!

Anyway, I ended up going to customer service counter, but she corrected everything and I got 22 Trident gums, 3 Oreos and a jar of peanuts for $20.75 and received $20 catalina. So, final price was 75 cents.

I didn't use my previous catalina like I was planning to because I did not add anymore confusion to this transaction, so I have $40 worth of catalina in my wallet. They don't expire till mid-August, so I am fine with it. I will need to buy milk, vegetables, meat, etc. that I will not have any coupons for.

I stopped by Rite Aid this morning on the way to work, and picked up a box of Electrasol and Crest toothpaste. I paid $3.65 after a coupon including tax and will get $4.99 back from their rebate. Not too bad.

I received Glade rebate $3.99 and Rite Aid Rebate $39.61. Cashing in tomorrow and it will go straight to my gas tank

Walgreen has $5 off for $20 purchase coupon in their website that is good for tomorrow.

I needed some contact lens solution, so I will get it tomorrow. I'm thinking about getting some cooking oil to do Con Agra rebate in their May rebate as well, depending on how much they are.

As gas and food prices are going up, I noticed media is paying more attention to usage of coupons. I was one of those people who reads an article, and think "That's nice, but I have no idea how these people are doing it."

I remember watching TV long time ago, before I learned how to use coupons. TV news was showing the lady who goes to a grocery store and paid $2 for a cartful of stuff. At that time, I was a coupon beginner, and had no idea how she did it. I thought, I use coupons, but I can never get my total down to $2. How does she do it?? Well, now I know. She was targeting certain loss leader items, taking advantage of double or triple (which we don't have around here), and using multiple coupons.

So, I'm sure there are people out there, like I was, interested in getting into coupons, but don't know how.

It's amazing looking back, how I used to shop. I didn't know what I was missing out until I learned how to use coupons and rebates. I used to think the Dollar store was a good deal. Boy, what was I thinking???

This week was a great deal week.

I was busy doing P&G deal at Walgreen's first, then, I realized Rite Aid is also running a great deal for Cover Girl which is P&G product. Cover Girl was BOGO at Rite Aid, and I had some BOGO foundation and blush coupons as well as a bunch of $1 off coupons.

At Rite Aid, I bought
2 foundation regular price $11.29 each
4 face powder regular price $8.19 each
8 blush regular price $5.69 each
8 eye shadow regular price $3.39 each
2 four-color eye shadow regular price $5.59 each
Total regular price $139.16
After BOGO sale and coupons, I paid $10.07 (including $5.42 sales tax) and will be getting $20 back from Rite Aid rebate.

Reviewing my transactions, I realized I could knock off $4 more but it would have been caused a negative value transaction. So, I should be happy with what I got.

This was a nice weekend.

Saturday: Last lecture of this semester. Our instructor cancelled next week's lecture, so all we have is a final exam on 17th. I'm so excited this semester is almost done.

After the class, I helped my group mate making his homepage for our web assignment. He injured his right wrist so it is extremely difficult for him to type. Since we will be graded as a group, I wanted to make sure his portion is complete

In the everning, I went over to my friend's house and played poker with friends till 11 pm. I lost $20, but it's ok. It was nice to catch up with my friends, and I had a good time.

Sunday: I was going to wake up at 6 and go to yoga class, but could not wake up. (Well, playing poker till 11 pm didn't help.) I finally woke up at around 8:15 (DD woke me up and told me to go to yoga), and went to hot yoga class. I'm still in trial period ($10 for 10 days) so I didn't have to pay today. I sweat so much, and felt pretty good.

I came home, took a shower, and headed to Strings (Italian restaurant) to see my friend. She is a single mom (I've known her since she was single) and have a lovely 4 yr old son. It's been more than a year since last time we met. We caught up a little, but couldn't stay too long because her son was getting bored and didn't sit still. We promised each other to meet more often than once a year.

After lunch, I went to Walgreens. This week is SUPER great deal at Walgreens. I bought 6 Mr. Clean magic eraser and 3 Charmin wipes, paid $22.49 and received $20 coupon good for next purchase.

For next purchase, I bought Edge shaving gel, melatonin (for DH), 4 cans of cream of mushroom soup, and Venus razor. After using $20 coupon, and other coupons, I paid $1.76 and received $6 coupon good for next purchase.

I will be going to Walgreens every day this week!

During last two days, I bought these at Office Depot.

1 Glue stick
2 500 ct index card
5 various index cards
4 Scotch tape
20 sheets of trading card holder
3 Zipper envelope
1 Case of water (24 ct)
4 post it notes
5 pens

I paid $4.79 and this amount includes tax and CRV for water.

Wonderful promotion by Office Depot!!

I hope you all had a nice Easter. We were really low key. Yesterday, I did a couple of deal hunting, Office Depot. and Rite Aid, then, came home and clipped coupons & organize them for a couple of hours. I finally found trading card holders at Office Depot. When I started couponing, I learned many people use binder method for their coupon organization and they use trading card holders. When I went to buy them before, they were out and I have been using bigger pocket type (picture holders) that holds less number of coupons.

I was really happy to find trading card holders this time. They were $2.49 each, so I grabbed two packages and added a scotch tape that were on clearance for 25 cents to make total more than $5. After $5 coupon, I paid 25 cents : ) Free coupon organizer for me.

By the way, I went to Lens Crafters to order my new glasses on Saturday. I have a pair but they are almost 10 years old and I can hardly see anything. It was waaay over due to get a new pair. Why did I go on Saturday? Because the expiration date for 50% off lenses coupon was Saturday. I know, I know. My life goes around coupons. Anyway, I checked other deals and coupons, but 50% off lenses seems to be the best deal. I knew there are BOGO coupons, too, but I don't need two pairs of glasses. I normally wear contact lenses and glasses are for night time use.

Anyway, at the end of the day, it saved me $200. Original price $569.95 - $200 = $369.95. Still, a good chunk of money. I called my benefit company on Thursday and made sure that I can buy my glasses with my FSA card. So, the money came out from my FSA fund.

$5 off/$5 purcahse coupon is out again from Office Depot. They had this promo a while ago, and I got some stuff for almost free.

This coupon is good for today and tomorrow, so I went to two Office Depot. to get things we use.

First store:
1 large glue stick
3 index cards
Paid 60 cents.

Second store:
2 baseball card holder (for my coupon organization)
1 scotch tape
Paid 25 cents.

I love their promotion!!

I shopped at Walgreens A LOT this month. So far, my spending at Walgreens is almost $100. I bought some items we needed, and some will go to my stockpile. I am reviewing my list and many of these were needed items, such as DH's deodorant and hair mousse. He is very conservative about products he uses, and only uses the kind I cannot get for free : ( My DD take a bottle of water to school every day, so I bought 2 cases of Aquafina. She also needed poster board and index cards for her school work.

My out of pocket was $92.38 but it includes sales tax and CRV $19.52. So, $72.86 is the amount spent towards products and $15 of it is Starbucks gift card. I treat myself a latte every Friday morning, so I'm using this GC for it.

Anyway, here's the stuff I bought from Walgreens this month.

Price before coupons and rebates $354.2
Final oop $92.38 (includes $19.52 sales tax.)

1 $15 Starbucks gift card
1 Contact lens solution
1 Deodorant
2 Aquafina water (24 bottles)
4 Boxes of Kleenex
1 Listerine mouth wash
1 Colgate toothpaste
1 Body butter
1 Gainer lotion
1 Garnier hair spray
10 package of Olay bar soap
2 packages of Zest soap
2 hair mousse
3 Herbal essence shampoo
3 herbal essence conditioner
6 trial size Herbal essence conditioner
2 Sunsilk Hair lotion
24 trial size Panteen shampoo & conditioner
3 Poster board
1 Index card
6 bags of M&M (14 oz)
20 Trident gum
2 Orbit gum
11 Hunt's tomato sauce
7 Thai kitchen Pat Thai noodle
2 Windex
3 Energizer battery
2 Durano
1 Ajax
2 Glad wrap
1 Vitamin D
1 box of greeting card set
2 Wrapping paper
2 Hallmark tissue
4 Gift bag
1 120 ct. cotton
3 Bubble mailer envelopes
3 Glade flameless candle
2 Lighter

According to Yahoo Finance I read yesterday, we are officially in recession. Dah....

http://finance.yahoo.com/banking-budgeting/article/104627/Most-Economists-Say-Recession-Has-Arrived-as-Outlook-Darkens;_ylt=AuRUZbxvw8Ly01pTe_AjbSRO7sMF

I was watching news this morning, and they were talking about the price increase of milk, bread, and eggs. I guess we are ahead of media as we already discussed about the egg price increase. They were saying the price of eggs doubled in a short period of time which I personally observed. I think people should visit SavingAdvice if they want a scoop about personal finance LOL

By the way, I still have $44 worth of Walgreens catalina I need to use. I spent $48 on things I can roll, i.e. FAR items. Boy, I didn't think spending money can be so difficult LOL Since I bought most of FAR items for this month, I will spend the rest for something I can hardly get coupons for, such as nice wrapping paper. I know Aquafina water will be on sale next week, so I am planning to get three cases or so. There won't be much going on next week at Walgreens for me, but it will be a good week for Rite Aid FAR deal. I will be hitting RA for sure.

I went to have my crown (for my tooth) done on Tuesday. After insurance and deductible, my portion was $559.50. Ouch!!

However, as I wrote before, I paid it with my FSA debit card. So, I don't feel much pain in my bank account. Money was already funded through FSA contribution. I love my FSA debit card.

I stopped by Walgreens and bought some P&G products. I heard trial size is working for Register Reward deal, so I gave it a try. And Voila!! It worked like a charm. I bought 6 trial size shampoo & conditioner, paid $8.34 ($1.39 x 6) and received $12 coupon that is good for next shopping trip. I am going to use the coupon to buy March FAR items.

And, I couldn't resist.... I bought two bags of M&M candies. I know, I know. It's not good for my wallet or teeth. But, it was $1 for a 12.6 oz bag!! (2 for $3 after Walgreens store coupon, then, add 2/$1 manufacture coupon makes them $1 each.) I'm sure you will understand ; )

I had a great time shopping at Safeway today.

They're running a promo called Savings Rally and you will get $20 coupon that is good towards next purchase if you buy 25 participating items.

The best deal without coupon maybe Pasta/Rice Roni that are $1 each. Buy 25 of them ($25) and you will get $20 back, makes them 20 cents each. I had six $0.50/2 coupons, so I bought 12 of them.

I also bought 2 bags of potato chips, 2 bags of Chex Mix, 1 box of pop corn, 2 package of Tava drink, 2 bottles of Clorox bleach, 4 boxes of Betty Crocker fruits snack. After coupons, the total was approx. $24 and I had $10 off coupon I got from Sara Lee deal last week. My out of pocket for this shopping was $14 and received $20 off coupon for next shopping trip.

Safeway promotion often doesn't work as advertised, so I was really happy the deal went through as I planned!

I went shoppint at Rite Aid and Walgreens, and bought:

Rite Aid
7 Soy Joy $1.39 x 7 = $9.73
Less coupon $1.39 x 7 = $9.73 Free
L'Oreal Hair Color $8.99
Less coupon $2 Rite Aid q. $2 man. q.
Less rebate $4.99 Free
Shampoo $2.99
Less coupon $1
Less rebate $2.99 $1 profit
Laundry Soap $5.99 for two BOGO
Less rebate $2
Tax $1.39
Final oop $4.38

Walgreens
Softsoap body wash $4.49 FAR
Lip Stick $5.99 FAR
Energy drink $4.49 FAR
Clear care $5.99 FAR
Shampoo $3.99 FAR and less $1 coupon - means profit
3 Energizer battery $1.99 each after Walgreens & Man. coupons $1.99 x 3 = $5.97
Chap stick $2 RR $2 free
Tax $2.40
Less Walgreens coupon $5/$20
Final oop $2.37

I had enough GC balance to pay for all the FAR items, so I didn't have to use my cash

My back pain is almost gone. At least I can move around. Thank God!

I am leaving for Hawaii tomorrow morning, so I really wanted to get rid of my backache. It made me realize being healthy is so important to do anything! I was going to get a pedicure on Saturday, but could not go because I couldn't move an inch. I felt I wasted a whole day that really sucked.

I managed to get several copies of newspaper yesterday, though. It was such a great coupon day.

We are low on Nyquil and I was looking for a deal. 6 oz. Nyquil is $4 this week at Walgreens and they're having "Buy $20 and get $10 back" deal. There was $1.50 coupon yesterday. So, I am planning to buy 5 Nyquil.

$4 x 5 = $20
Less $1.5 x 5 = $7.5
Less $10
Final price $2.50 for five 6 oz. Nyquil.

By the way, all of my grades are posted. I got an A for Cost Accounting, Operations Management, and Tax. But, stupid A- for my Philosophy. I wrote a really baaaad paper for the final. I mean it was so bad that I received a D!! I have never ever got a D for my paper before. That shows Philosophy is not my thing. I hardly studied for the class so I shouldn't complain for A-.

Now, I am preparing to get my tuition reimbursement. I am getting $1,561.60 back for my tuition and books for last semester.

I got a raise. It was around 3%, I think.... I barely remember because I really didn't care. OK, let's say my raise was $100. 25% will be taken away by tax so I only see $75 of it. Making $100 more is actually making $75 more. Sucks.

I coupon because couponing stretch $$. If I reduce my grocery bill by $100 using coupons, that's pure profits to me. In order to make $100, I actually have to earn about $130 considering tax effect. So, saving $100 by using coupon (or other saving methods) is actually same as making $130.

Of course, I am not complaining about my raise. It is nice. I turned around and increased my FSA contribution for next year, so I don't have to pay tax on my increased portion of my salary, and I can recoup money I used for some rebate items.

Grocery shopping day today. Some highlights.

1st store:
Lipton onion soup mix was 99 cents per box, and used .75/2 coupon. I still have some sour cream I bought from Target that were 2 cents each after coupons. Makes cheap onion dip! I bought some other things, mainly cheap canned goods, paid $10.57 for 11 items.

2nd store:
I had a rain check for Post cereal, $1.50 per box, and used $1/2 coupon makes them $1 per box. Got 6 boxes.
Cornish game hen (twin pack) is 99 cents this week, and I picked up the one priced $3.19. Used $2 off coupon, and the final price was $1.19 for two game hen. For some reason, I got a catalina for free Lysol wipes last time I was at the store, so I got it for free. Their store brand salad is BOGO and the price is $3.49. Used two $1 coupon and the final price is $1.49 for two bags of salad. I also bought 2 gallons of milk, a dozen eggs, etc.

All and all, my final spending for two stores was about $30.

I had a rain check from Walgreen for Purell hand sanitizer for 50 cents, qty. 5. I had three coupons, two $1.50 off and one $1 off. So, it's a money maker.

50 cents x 5 = $2.50
Coupons $4
Profit $1.5

When I went to the store, all Purell had $1.00 peelie coupons on every one of them!! This is the moment "I should've asked more quantity on my rain check......"

At the end, I could only used on peelie because the cash machine beeped, but I'm not complaining. I made $2.50 by buying them. I also bought a make up to not make the total negative. The make up is the free after rebate item this month, so I got all these for free.

I will go to Rite Aid today to get some batteries. I need D size battery for my Roomba's lighthouse. (It prevents Roomba to go to the area you don't want it to go.) They have $2 off in-ad coupon for Duracell batteries, and they have $8 rebate on $20 purchase. $20 also go towards cash back rewards Rite Aid is running this month. I have rain check for Taster's choice coffee. We are running low on coffee, and the price was $4.99 last week which I have the rain check for. I have $1 off coupon, so the final price is going to be $3.99.

I love rain checks.