I went to Walgreen's this morning to get some Southbeach diet snack bars. They're sale for $5.99 and they give you $6 register rewards.

I thought they were gone by the time I get there, but surprisingly, they have a ton of stock. I think people didn't even know they were free after RR because this store does not put out the sign for them.

Anyhow, I got 5 boxes and used some of RR to get VIVA papertowl and Lysol wipes.

I also stopped by CVS and got 3 greeting cards. You can get $3 extra bucks when you buy 3 greeting cards including .99 cents cards. So, free greeting cards if you buy three .99 cards.

Walgreen's is having a sale for Pepsi products. And there's a Pepsi rebate to double dip.

I bought 4 bags of potato chips, three 12 pack Pepsi, and one 2 litter Mountain Dew. Paid $20.25, got $10 catalina back. Then, I'm sending my $7.50 rebate in. Final price $2.75. Getting ready for Super Bowl Day.

Here's a link for the rebate. There are four types of rebate, and I used the one says $7.50.

http://www.coorslight.com/superbowl44/coupon/LGC03105609_101058_LR.pdf

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!

I shopped A LOT today, taking advantage of 90% off sale.

I went to two CVS and bought some great summer stuff. I bought several inflatable pool toys. Regular price of one toy was $54!! I bought 2 of them.

My plan is using them for my DD's silent auction item. She's in charge of student body and asks me to give her something for fundraising dinner every year and it has to be close to $100 in value. (or she needs to solicit local business to donate their merchandise.)

I also bought some other summer toys for emergency gift (means unexpected event I need to come up with a gift) for kids. They are $2 to $3 each after 90% off.

At second CVS, I found some folding chairs and bought four of them at less than $3 each. I will sell them to my co-worker at cost. What happened was that I was telling my co-worker this morning about scoring some folding chairs yesterday. She said she was looking for folding chairs and went to Wal-Mart, and found them at $20 each. She didn't buy them because it was more than she wanted to pay. She can have four nice folding chairs for $12.

I bought some other stuff, like lunch tote 32 cents, BBQ brush 30 cents, portable fan $3, cooler $3, etc.

I used $4 off/$20 purchase coupon, and it worked out nicely. I spent grand total of little over $40!! That's splurge for me, but that means I got more than $400 worth of products. Some of them will be Christmas gifts for my friends. (Such as cute lunch tote that I bought 5 and paid 32 cents each.) They're so cute!!

I heard some CVS marked summer items down to 90% off.

I stopped by one when I took DD to lunch. They only had 75% off tags. I walked out the store not buying anything.

Then, I went to another CVS. BINGO!! They had 90% off sales going on. Shelves were pretty much empty, but I scored a couple of 9 ft umbrellas ($7 each) and three folding chairs ($2 each).

I will keep checking other CVS in town. I heard some stores don't bother running 90% off sale, but it's worth to check it out.

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).

I went to Staples and got a free backpack. It is a promotion going on this week and it's good towards ANY backpack.

I bought a $40 backpack that was originally $52. (!!) I also bought few more FAR items.

It's a great deal for people with school age children. If you don't have a need for it, you can always donate ; )

I am a big believer in education. So, I jumped on when I saw a campaign ad for "Operation Backpack". (OperationBackpackSac.org) This is to donate a new backpack with school supplies to school age children. Stores are having back to school sale and I love shopping. Perfect win-win for me!!

I went Longs/CVS and got free school supplies. Then, I went to Target and got cheap color pencils, markers, etc. (They're like 50 cents each!!) I also bought a backpack at Target for $9.99 that came with a lunch pail. Yay!!

The backpack was pretty full after I put all the school supplies. I hope a boy (I made an assumption from the color or back pack and school supplies I bought - mostly blue and green) who receives this backpack will be happy.

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.

There are deals everywhere and I can barely keep up!!

Kraft foods whiped out so many good coupons. I was busy printing them away last week. I got a dozen of free bbq sauce, 2 packs of free strawberries, 4 cheap movie tickets, and there's more to hunt.

I will have my last final exam (I mean this is my last one for B.S degree) and will be free from school. So, let the deal hunting begin!! LOL

Cool whip will be 49 cents per tub starting tomorrow at Save Mart. The deal I was looking for. Yay!

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

Today's lunch was on the stores.

I got a Togo's sandwich using buy GC ($25 or more) and get a free sandwich coupon.
Then, went to Safeway (these stores are next to each other) and got a free London Fog tea latte. Free with a store coupon.

Got to love free lunch!

Safeway's ad this week has a free Starbucks tall tea coupon. I stopped by this morning, and got my tall tea latte. Very yummy. I grabbed more ads in case they ran out.

Upside of bad economy is that there are bargains everywhere.

Our DD finally gave us her wishlist and I went to American Eagle. They're having buy one get one 50% off deal, and I had 40% off coupon from DD being a member of the store. I bought a coat, three sweaters, and a cami. The original price would have been over $300 (like I would ever pay the regular price...), and I paid $98 for my entire purchase including tax.

Got to love Walgreens.

They have Buy $25 get $5 off coupon till Saturday.

Arm & Hammer laundry detergent is sales with their in-ad coupon. The beauty is, $5 coupon is generated BEFORE coupons!

So, I bought 4 of 32 loads laundry soap, $7.49 each, used in-ad coupon to knock $22 off, then used two $1/1 coupons.

Final price, $6.58 including tax and got $5 off coupon back.

I'm planning to go back for some more as free (or almost free) laundry soap is hard to come by around here.

It's been a while I did a serious deal as I was super busy with work & school. But I found an easy money making deal at Walgreens, and here I went.

-Reach tooth brush 4 X $3 2 BOGO coupon, got 2 $6 catalina coupons after 2 seperate transactions.
-Reach floss 2 x $3 used $1/1 coupon, got $6 catalina back
-Rimmel mascara & eye shadow $6.99 for mascara and the eye shadow was free as it was BOGO sale, used 2 $1/1 coupons
- Vicks Nyquel 2 x $5.99, used 2 $1.5/1 coupons, got $4 catalina coupon
- Puff tissue, used buy 2 Vicks get a free Puff tissue coupon
One of my transaction was more than $25 before coupons, and I got $5 off catalina

So, after coupons, I spent about $24 and got $27 catalinas. Free products & nice $3 profit to cover sales tax.

These catalina will be handy next week for Zicam deal. Buy 3 Zicam ($3.99 each) and get $5 is going on next week, and I have $2/1 coupons. So, it will be $3.99x3-$2x3-$5=97 cents for 3 Zicam.

What will I do with all these cold medicines? There's always places to donate

I was not going to bother, but DD woke up at 5 am and was getting ready to go. (She's 17, and she goes shopping by herself.) Noise she was making woke me up.

My last minute decision. I will go to Target and get a pink Dyson.

I was thinking about getting a dyson for two years, and my friend told me Target has one on Black Friday for $349 and giving $100 gift card back. So, final price $249.

OK, I'm convinced.

So, here I went, 6 in the morning to Target. Good thing I live 3 minutes away from the store.

When I went to the vacuum section, there was no pink Dyson in the shelf. So, I was like.... CRAP!! All this for nothing? Then, I overheard a girl talking to her friend "He is getting the last two Dyson from back." OK, I'd better stay here and wait.

As I peeked the warehouse area, the guy came out with a cart load of the product. Woohoo!! (Apparently, they had a lot more than two LOL) There were two other people grabbed the vacuum, too. I was glad I went there early.

I also opened the Target account and got extra $24 off, so the final price was $225.

I'm very happy! Of course, I vacuumed the entire house after I came home.

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.)

This is a good week at Walgreens. I went and bought Crest mouth wash, 4 scrubbing bubbles flushable bathroom wipes, 3 cans of scrubbing bubbles bathroom cleaner, 2 cans of Oust, Glade fabric cleaner, 2 Dove chocolate bar, and 2 ring binder. I paid $13.32 including tax and got $10 catalina back, so actual out of pocket is $3.32 including sales tax of $2.27. With all these bathroom cleaners, my bathroom better be clean LOL

I ordered 20 Dove chocolate q's, so I can stock up on free chocolate! I'm also planning to get some more free mouth wash.

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.

Safeway if finally running another promo, buy 25 and get $20 catalina. So, if you buy exactly 25 items, it's 80 cents off from each items. It can be a good deal when combining with sale and coupons.

Bad thing about the Safeway deal is, it can be very confusing and frustrating. The list of participating products is 30 pages long, but they put hardly any tags on shelves that makes it really had for us to identify what are qualified items.

I did my homework and went to Safeway yesterday. I bought six bags of Fresh Express salad kit. They are $4.29 a bag, but buy one get one free this week, and they have $1 off coupons. That makes them 35 cents each. ($4.29 - $2 - $1.6 = 69 cents for 2 bags.) Trident gum was also participating items and they are $1.25 each and there's BOGO coupons for them. So, they can be a money maker. I only bought 10 Trident to make sure I have enough number of participating products yesterday.

Today is the last day of sale cycle, and I am planning to buy
22 Trident $1.25 x 22 = 27.5
3 Oreo $2.5 x 3 = $7.5
1 Planers peanuts $3
Total $38

Less
11 x 1.25 = $13.75
$3 off Planters product with purchase of 3 Nabisco products
$20 catalina from last trip

Final out of pocket $1.25 and get another $20 catalina.

I had some time to go out and score a couple of deals. I have 5 of $5/5 Target coupon and haven't had a chance to use them. So, this is my first deal using the coupon. The cashier was smart enough to know how to operate the cash register when coupons beeped.

Target
Dog treats 1 $2.19 x 2 = $4.38
Dog treats 2 $2.64
Revlon Eye shadow $5.44 x 2 = $10.88
Revlon Eyeliner $6.59
Stay free 18 ct $2.84 x 4 = $11.36
Johnson Baby lotion $2.09
Total $37.94

Coupon used
Dog treats 1 $1/2
Dog treats 2 $1/1
Revlon coupon $2/1 x 3
Target Revlon coupon $3/1 x 3
Stay Free BOGO coupon $2.84 x 2
Johnson Baby lotion $1/1
Target coupon $5/5
Coupon total $28.68
Final price paid $9.26

Walgreens

My DD uses Sunsilk products and she loves them. Walgreen has buy 4 and get $5 back deal this week, and Sunsilk coupons had an expiration date on 7/13. So, I ran to Walgreens and bought those.

Sunsilk hair product $2.99 x 4 = $11.94
Less coupons $1.5 x 4 = $6
Price paid $5.96
Received $5 coupon good for next purchase
Actual out of pocket $.96

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.

I bought breakfast at Del Taco this morning. They're part of AMEX's movie promotion and today is the last day of promotion. I knew about this promotion for more than a month, but totally slacking off and doing the last minute eating.

The promotion is for 4 complimentary museum or movie tickets, and I need to send three AMEX purchase receipts. I only have two receipts, so I need one more. I will get their yummy strawberry shake after work. Spending about $10 and receiving 4 movie tickets isn't too bad.

Today is the end of weekly sales cycle, and I was going to stop by grocery store and buy some dressing. One store sells Ken's dressing for $2.5 and I had some $2 off coupons. When I was browsing another store's weekly circular, that store has them $4 for 2. Free dressing! I was happy that I found it because I'm using the last bottle of dressing and needed to find some deals.

I bought 10 bottles and walked out the store without paying a dime. I guess I could buy something, but couldn't think of anything.... I already have tonight's dinner planned out.