DD took a driving test this morning, and passed! She is an official California driver now. No more driving her around. It feels strange....

KRAFT promo is still going on at Safeway, and it got better. Now, they're giving out a $4 catalina for cream cheese purchase.

I bought 6 tubs of cream cheese (8 oz)
$2 x 6 = $12
Less $4 from the Promo
and got $4 catalina.
Final price 67 cents per tub.

Time to make some cream cheese wonton!

How to make cream cheese wonton
You need: Square wrap, cream cheese, water, and some vegetable oil.

Scoop small cube of cream cheese and place it in the middle of a square wrap. Wet edge of wrap (water works as glue) and fold it in half. Deep fry till golden brown. Serve with Jalapeño jelly while they're still warm.

Today is the last day for this week's sale cycle.

I stopped by Longs Drug and got 4 more Vive Pro shampoo and conditiners. I also found a nice backpack with rollers for $6. This is exactly the kind I was looking for but didn't want to pay much for it. It was maked down 75% off, and of course I bought it. Finally, I have a decent backpack I can carry my textbooks.

Also stopped by Walgreens and bought 4 bags of candies for $1 each. (Snickers, Reese's, Milky way, and Kit Kat) I checked how much candies I have for Halloween, and looks like I accumulated enough.

I still may go and get a couple of more bags. $1 a bag won't hurt my wallet. And they don't expire any time soon.

They also had Thai Kitchen Pad Thai for $1. Used .50 coupon and bought them 50 cents each. They make nice quick lunch, and yummy.

I found four more Vive Pro coupons when I was looking for other coupons, but not really moticated to get more even they're free.....

Safeway is running a KRAFT promo.

I bought:
Kraft American slice cheese $3 - 75 cpn
Cream cheese 8 oz - $2
Wheat thin $2 x 2 - .55 cpn
Total $9 - $1.3 cpn = $7.7
Less Kraft promo $4
Final price $3.7

I'm going back to get some more cream cheese. I will be using a lot of cream cheese as holiday season approaches, and $1 for 8 oz is a good price for me.

I checked the price at Super Walmart and their price was more than $1 for the same product.

Cream cheese $2 x 4 = $8
Less $4 from promo = $4
$1 each

L'Oreal Vive pro shampoo & conditioner are buy one get one free this week at Longs Drug. I had a couple of coupons for them, so I went to get those. It is not like I need more shampoo.... I have enough to last next two or three years. But, holiday season is coming and I can use these to make a nice basket for "Adopt a family" program at work. (We adopt some underprivileged families, and donate goods necessary for their daily lives.)

I got two shampoos and two conditioners for free.

As usual, the cashier didn't know what to do with the coupon. He didn't even scan the coupon because he saw a store discount transaction. I explained to him the discount on the receipt is from store discount, and the coupon is for manufacture discount. I guess it was too difficult for him to understand. So, I called the manager, and she said "We will take it (the coupon) if it scans." The cashier scanned the coupon, and it beeped. So, I told him to enter the value of product. He did, and the coupon scanned just fine. Gee....

I have three more coupons for them, so six more free shampoos & conditioners.

I went to Bel Air a couple of times to get some canned veggies. They are running "Buy 12 Del Monte and get a case of water free" promo. There are cans that have label with .45/2 cpn printed.

On my first trip, I found four cans that had a label with coupon printed.
Paid $7.20 (60 cents x 12) and received a catalina for a case of free water ($3.97 value) Thus, $3.23 is my final price for 12 cans of veggies, about 27 cents per can.

Then, I made a second trip with four coupons I cut out from label.
Paid $5.4 ($7.2 - $1.8 (4 x 45 cents coupons)) and received a catalina for a free case of water. This time, my out of pocket is $1.43 ($5.4 - $3.97), 12 cents per can.

Unfortunately, second store did not have many cans with labels with coupons. Well, they had some, but they were green beans and we don't eat them. So, I didn't get those.

I will probably stop by another store on my way home today to see if they have some.

Fiscal year end is over, and numbers are final. I can breath a little now.

I went to pay my tuition yesterday, and paid off the rest of installments. $693.

I came home, checked mail, and found a mailer from Safeway that had $10 off from $50 purchase coupon. I was going to go grocery shopping anyway. Whenever I get this type of store coupons, I buy things I cannot find coupons, such as vegetables and meat, etc. So, I bought chicken, ground beef, baby back ribs, some veggies, milk, and OJ.

For dinner, I cooked tilapia that I bought and prepared at the dinner prep place. I will not sign up this month because I could not find anything attracted me in this month's menu.

I also baked a loaf of cinnamon bread using muffin mix, some cookies, and pre-cooked spare ribs for today's dinner. I have a class tonight, so I had to prepare something last night. Otherwise, my DH will just order pizza or something.

Yesterday was also store flyer day. Not much in Save Mart nor Safeway. But, Raley's had some good deals. They are giving out a free case of water (24 bottles) with 12 Del Monte product purchase, and canned veggies (60 cents each) are included in their participating products. My daughter's school runs a can drive every year and I have to donate some canned food anyway. I was totally out of canned veggies, too. Time to stock these babies up!

I made a quick trip to Walgreens near my office during lunch time.

I bought:
Zicam (Cold medicine) $6 - $4 (rebate) - $0.5 (coupon)
Tylenol Cold (Daytime) $5 - $1 cpn.
Tylenol Cold (Nighttime) $5 - $1 cpn.
Tylenol Extra Strength 100 tablets + 25% bonus : ) ($7.5 - $1 cpn) x 2
Pantene hair spray $4.99 - $4.99 rebate = Free
Rimmel make up $8.99 - $8.99 rebate = Free
Aquafresh toothbrush $3.99 - $3.99 rebate = Free
Tax $3.80
Since I bought $25 worth of participating products (Tylenol), I got $10 catalina, and I will get the rebate that is 10% more since I will request it to be reimbursed to my gift card.

So, after coupons & rebates, my final price is $14.50 including sales tax.

The wonderful "Buy 20 get $20 off" deal at Safeway ended yesterday. I stocked up some Capri Sun, and I was done with the deal. With Kellogg, Quaker, and Safeway deal, I'm stocked up on cereals, oatmeal, granola bars, fruits snacks, Capri Suns, Progresso soup, and cake/muffin mixes. We will be fine in the breakfast and snack dept. for next several months.

Now, I'm keeping my eyes on cold medicines for upcoming winter. Walgreen's was giving out an immunity booster by Thera Flu last week and I wish I made an efforts to get more. I only got one just see what it's like, and it really worked well. I like Thera Flu in general, and I actually "pay" for them.

We got our cost accounting test back, and I got 91% which isn't too bad. Only 4 people got more than 90% for the test, so I'm happy with my score. Now, I'm working on my tax project which isn't going too smoothly. I always used Tax software when I filed my tax, and ours isn't that complicated like the case in project. I need to ask my classmates how they're doing. I have one paper to write by Friday, and need to watch my philosophy class video.

As for work, we are wrapping up for the fiscal year end. Next week is going to be pretty crazy closing all the numbers. We missed the sales target, but we are fine with the profits. So, I'm not too worried. I'm just watching movements of my business assets nervously.....

I stopped by Target to get more free tuna. I don't have enough nerve to get 10 free tuna at visit LOL So, I'm doing like two or three at a time. I needed some contact lens solution anyway, so I was going to combine my free tuna with the solution purchase, so I pay something at the cashier when I check out. I really don't like to stand out by not paying anything at the cashier and walk away from the store.

Anyhow, I went to the eye care isle. OK, Renu was $6.99. Opti Free was also in that price range, but I have $1 off cpn. so I'm thinking, hmmmm, maybe I should go back to my car and get a coupon for it. Then, I found Target brand contact lens solution for $2.74!! It was the clearance price, but this is great price for the solution. I love Target : )

On top of the cheap contact lens solution, I got a couple more free 7 oz. tuna pouch.

You may think I'm doing so much drive around and wasting gas. Well, fortunately (or unfortunately), I live in the area saturated with stores. It happened AFTER we bought our house. After we moved

When I came home, I found a mail form Kellogg. Yeah!! I got my $10 back!! It really made my day.

I got some free Excedrin from Rite Aid. Keeping them in my office drawer.....

Excedrin 50 ct. (various kinds) 2 for $10
Less $2 cpn x 2 = $4
Less Rite Aid rebate $5
Less Excedrin rebate $2.99

$1.99 profit to cover tax and postage for the rebate

I took a day off from work yesterday. My workload is slow during the middle of the month, and will get really crazy towards month-end. So, I took a break.

Also, I had the first exam for cost accounting last night. So, I wanted to study a little. It was nice to be able to spend a couple of hours reading the book and review some things for the test.

Anyhow, I found a lady who is trading her Quaker rebate form. I sent her a message and traded with coupons she wanted. This is going to be a money maker since I paid $3.5 for the products and will get $5 back. I love the deals like this.

I also bought some hair color. OK, I confess. I always went to salon to get my hair colored. Yes, it's expensive! But I was afraid I screw it up and my hair will look terrible. Well, I don't care anymore. I'm at the age I really don't care what other people think how I look. So, I went ahead and colored hair myself, and it turned out to look pretty darn good! I'm so happy because I spent little $$ buying hair color.

I bought 6 boxes of Garnier hair color at Longs.
$4.99 per box x 6 = $29.94
Less three BOGO cpn -$14.97
Less "Buy $25 and get $10" Longs rebate -$10
Final price $4.97 for 6 boxes of hair color, 82.8 cents per box. I'm set for next six months, I guess.

I forgot about it. Fall is a great season. Everyone seems to catching up after deal drought summer.

Free tuna: Starkist tunas are $1.50 at target. With $1 manufacture and 50 cents Target cpn, free tuna.

Safeway deal: Buy 20 get $20 off deal is still going on till next week. So far, I stocked up on muffin mix, Progresso soup, granola bars, etc. I heard individual Snapple may be participating item. If it's true, they are free, too.

Garnier: Longs Drug is running Garnier rebate, buy $25 get $10 gift card. It's time to match up cpns, and their prices. I know there's BOGO cpns for hair color. It may come handy.

It's 10:30 in the morning, and I already did two deals.

First Safeway:
16 cans of Progresso soup
4 boxes BC Fruit rolle up snacks
Final price $5.30

Second Safeway:
1 Eating right frozen dinner
2 Warm delight mini bowl
1 Dreyer's 1.75 Qt. ice cream
Final price $1.80

I love when all the deals come out the way it's supposed to be!!

I went to Save Mart last night, and bought 5 boxes of Quaker oatmeals.

$2 per box x 5 = $10
Less 70 cents coupon x 5 = $3.5
Less $3 in ad coupon
Final price $3.50

I received muffin mix coupons from coupon clipping service yesterday Just in time. The sale ends today for BC muffin mix. I used my last box on Sunday, and need more of these.

So, here I go to Safeway near my office. Not so good news was their price was 19 cents more than the store near my house.

Well, I thought about it for a second, and decided to pay 19 cents more per box for 18 boxes, which come out to $3.42 more, since Safeway gave me a nice $10 additional discount last time.

I bought 18 boxes of muffin mix and 2 boxes of Go tarts! Final price $14.42.

I know I can get cake mix for free, but I did the similar deal last year and got a lot of cake mix and muffin mix.

I used all of muffin mix while I still have about 10 boxes of cake mix left.

Lesson: Get more muffin mix even I have to pay for them because I will use them for sure.

I complained about the oblivious cahier the other day. Well, sometimes it works for our benefit.

I went to Safeway yesterday. The coupons I ordered for muffin mix haven't arrived yet, so I was holding to do any deals. But yesterday was the last day for Kraft catalina deal, so I gathered up coupons I have and headed to Safeway. This time, it's the different Safeway from the one I was talking about the other day. People are nicer here.

To make sure the deal works correctly, (as I said before, Safeway deals often are a headache to deal with) I got exactly 20 items and went to check out. At the end, total was $27.38. I though "there's no way these items cost $27.38!" So, I went straight to the customer service counter and told the lady $20 didn't come off. The girl looked at my receipt and the ad I pointed out, but has no idea about the deal.

She asked me what I bought, and she noticed one item I bought was a cake frosting. She told me "it's not in the picture here." I told her "There are more participating items that are not in the picture, and you can go to safeway.com and look at the list." The customer service lady stopped looking at my receipt and simply gave me $20 back, no hassle. Thank you!

After I went back to my car, I was thinking, I know this is a good deal, but I didn't have very many high value coupons, and now the price seems to be too low. $7.38 for 20 items....hmmmm.

I came home and examined my receipt. Well, the way they deduct discount is like step by step. The register scans 5 qualifying items, and takes $5 off, another 5 items, another $5 off, then takes off $10 after the rest of 10 qualifying items are scanned. So, I actually had $10 off already which I didn't realize because I didn't examine the receipt carefully before I went to the customer service. My thinking was "$27.38? No way! Gosh, the safeway computer is making a mistake again!"

So, thanks for the oblivious customer service lady. I got $10 extra discount.

Here's the items I bought:
6 boxes of Capri Sun
2 boxes of BC cake mix
2 BC frosting
2 BC muffin mix
2 boxes of popcorn
2 boxes of Kellogg fruit snack
2 Old el paso Salsa
2 Old el paso Enchilada dinner kit

The real price for all these items was supposed to be $17.38, but I got these for $7.38 due to the error. I think Enchilada dinner kit caused this problem. The store had the tag for this product, but I don't think this is the participating item, only taco dinner kits are. I wonder how store people tag their products????

Anyway, since I bought 5 participating items for Kraft catalina deal, I got $3 catalina. So, the real final price is $4.38.

I'm hoping to receive muffin mix coupons today, so I can stock up some muffin mix.

I've been stocking up cheap cereals these days. Next week is time to stock up some cheap oatmeal.

70 cents Quaker oatmeal coupons will be coming up this Sunday. I'm planning to buy 5 of them at Save Mart.

$2 x 5 = $10
Less .70 coupon x 5 = $3.5
Less $3 in ad coupon

Final price $3.5 for five, make them 70 cents per box. If I remember right, there are 10 pouches in the box, so 7 cents per breakfast.

I stopped by Safeway to get my coffee this morning. Then, I decided to pick up some cheap cereal, too.

In their ad, Post cereals were 4 for $6. Well, I should know better. The deal at Safeway, especially this one particular store, is a hassle. I bought 4 boxes, and rang up as $10. The register was supposed to take $4 off at the end of the transaction!! I know this cashier in the early morning shift who has "I just work here" attitude. So, it's a waste of time to talk to her. I asked her about the deal anyway, but of course her answer was "I don't know anything about it." HELLOOOO!! Check your store flyer!!

So, I have to stop by the customer service this evening on my way home. Crap!

I want to tell Safeway management. You have very nice promotions, but your execution SUCKS!! Many products are not tagged correctly, not registered in the computer, talking to a cashier is a hassle, and sometimes customer service is a joke. I wonder if they are serious about staying in business.

By the way, assuming this deal works as it supposed to, the deal is like this.

4 boxes of Post cereals.

Sale price $2.5 per box x 4 = $10
Promotion discount -$4 (You need to buy 4 in one shopping order.)
Coupons $1/2 x 2 = -$2
Then, they will give you $3 catalina, a coupon you can use for next shopping.

Final price, $1 for 4 boxes of cereal. 25 cents per box.

UPDATE
I stopped by the store after work, and got my $4 back!! Yeah!

Safeway is having buy 20 items and get $20 off promotion. I need to come up with an idea to get things really cheap....or even free.

So far, I'm thinking about getting some mixes and Capri Suns. Cake mixes are really cheap, or free after coupons, but I still have some from last year's sales. Hmmmm..... should I get those since they're free anyway?

I will buy some muffin mix for sure, though. 50 cents per box for muffin mix is a good price.

Shopped at Save Mart, and bought:

1 Beef jerky $4.5
1 Quaker oatmeal $2
4 Quaker cereal bars $2 x 4 = $8
5 Pillsbury brownie mix $1 x 5 = $5

Less:
$2 Beef jerky coupon
$3 Quaker coupon from the store ad, buy 5 participating products and get $3 off
$2: $1 x 2 Quaker Sweet & Salty products coupon
$1: $1/2 x 1 Quaker cereal bar coupon
$2: $0.4 x 5 Pillsbury brownie mix coupon

Final price paid $9.50

My receipt says "Coupons savings $10, Saving on sale items $19.09, You saved a total of $29.09, that is a savings of 75%."

Went to Rite Aid, and bought:

5 bags of Reese (11.25 oz) $2 x 5 = $10 (Getting ready for Halloween)
1 Revlon make up $12.99

Less:
$5 Rebate for Reese
$10 Rebate for Revlon
$2 coupon for Revlon

Final price after rebate $5.99

I got my grocery store ads last night, and looks like a gooood week to shop!! Safeway has buy 20 items and get $20 off thing going on. Time to explore Safeway for price check! I'm planning to stock up some muffin mixes and capri suns.

Save Mart also have a couple of things I was waiting for. Pillsbury brownies are $10/10, using 40 cents coupon and they will be 60 cents each. I used my last box last month and kept waiting for $10/10 sale. Also, beef jerky is $4.50. I can get those for $2.50 each after $2 off coupon.

Bel Air sent me an e-mail with free bread coupon with $10 purchase. I will get a free bread next time I buy milk and fruits there.

Today's my month-end closing day. I'm in charge of numbers for the dept. with about 10M annual sales.

When I took over this dept., I had no idea what's going on and every day was surprises, in a bad way. The business has been stable last few months, and I finally can see what's going on towards our fiscal year-end which is next month.

I left the office about 5:30 p.m., and stopped by the store to do one deal. I didn't have to, but I just wanted to do for fun.

I bought five Samy products (2 shampoos, 2 conditioners, 1 hair spray) for $2.99 each. I needed a filler to make the total more than $15, but they were out of $1 Aquafresh toothpaste. So, I bought a Rubbermaid container for $1.49. (50% off of regular price.)

Samy $2.99 x 5 = $14.95
Rubbermaid $1.49
total $16.44

Less $2 off coupon for Samy x 5 = $10
$5 off on your next trip coupon

$1.44 for 2 shampoos, 2 conditioners, 1 hair spray and a Rubbermaid ware.

Today's Sunday. It's coupon day and new weekly ads day for drug stores. I love Sundays : )

I went through all three Drug Stores' ads for this week as usual. It seems like a good week!

Walgreens has much better rebate items than last month. Pantene Pro-V hair care, Remmel foundation, Aquafresh toothbrush, Clear care contact solution, and Zantac. Well, I won't use Zantac for sure, but it's a good deal for people who use it. I'm happy about the contact solution. I need some soon.

Tomato sauces are finally on sale. 4 for $1, and I have 40 cents off coupon. Make them 15 cents a can.

By the way, if you use Zantac, you can get three for free. It's offered as a free after rebate item at Walgreen, Longs Drug, and Rite Aid. Too bad, I don't need it. (I should be glad, though...)

Longs Drug has Efferdent as a free after rebate item. I need it for my DD's retainer. They also have Nestle fun size candies for 2 for $5. I have a couple of $1 off coupons for Nestle candies. Time to start stocking up candies for Halloween.

Rite Aid is just OK. Maybe I will buy some notebooks, because Mead 1 subject notebooks are "6 for 96 cents."

I'm doing the Kelloggs rebate no. 2.

I bought:

2 Frosted flakes that had the "Buy 2 get 1 free" peelie coupon on the box. $2.50 x 2 = $5
2 Toasted honey crunch $2.38 x 2 = $4.76 - $1/2 coupon = $3.76
Kellogs Speical K cereal $3.98 x 2 Free from coupons
4 Yogos fruits snack $7 - $2 (using two $1 off coupons) = $5

Total paid $13.76
Less rebate $10

Final price $3.76

Kellogg published another $10 rebate form last Sunday. I almost ignored it because I already sent my rebate in for the previous one.

Well, this one has the different period and PO number. This means another rebate!!

I know there's Buy 2 get 1 free peelies on Kellogg's boxes these days, and I still have a couple of $1/2 coupons. So, it will make the deal sweeter. More cheap cereals!

I was organizing coupons last Saturday and found $10 off from $10 purchase mailer coupon from JC Penny that expires 8/18 (Last Saturday.) I was glad I organized my coupons that day.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, I live five minutes from the mall. I went to JC Penny, thinking about getting a free T-shirt or something.

Well, I found a pair of silver strappy sandals.
The original price was $45, and it was 50% off, down to $23.01. Then, there’s an additional discount of $11. The sign said “You pay $10.99!” Well, I paid 99 cents plus tax, after using the coupon. Paid $1.06. Even my cashier said “Wow! It’s a great deal!”

I did the Uniliver deal at Longs last week.

ALL laundry detergent Price $6.99 BOGO
Bought six bottles.
$6.99 x 3 = $20.97
Coupons $1 x 3 (I only had three coupons for ALL Mighty kind)
Coupons $0.5 x 2
$20.97 - $4 (coupons) -$10 (rebate) = $6.97

I could knock off $1 more because I found one more ALL mighty coupon AFTER I went shopping.... Oh well.

$1.16 per bottle. Not great, but o.k.

I went to Rite Aid and picked up few free stuff.

Garnier fructis Shampoo $2.99
A couple of GE light bulbs $2.00
Duck tape $1.50

All free after rebate.

I can get a GUM toothbrush for 25 cents, but debating if I should actually PAY for a toothbrush. I still have a dozen of those I got for free.

Walgreen's rebate really sucks this month. So, I'm just focusing on their RR (Register Reward) deals which I got a dozen Kellogg cereal. They're doing Revlon this week, but I got a ton of those at ULTA before I went to Japan. I paid like $5 for more than $60 worth of products at ULTA. I gave these make up to my friends as a souvenir from U.S.

Longs has the Uniliver rebate I should think about doing. I'm getting low on laundry soap, so maybe should get some ALL.

Went to another Walgreen's and got some Frosted Flakes this time. I wanted to buy Frosted Flakes yesterday, but the Walgreen's I went only had one box, so I got Smart Start instead. I had never tried the Smart Start kind, but figured it's a good chance to try them since they're free.

I used up my $10 rebate limit, so I only got 4 boxes of Frosted Flakes, and paid $3 for them. (75 cents each.) Not free, but it's ok. My daughter needs them for her breakfast anyway.

I finally found a deal I want to do this week. Kellogg has a rebate going on for $10 for 10 products. And Walgreen's has a pretty good price for them.

Buy
4 cereals $10 - $2 coupons - $5 catalina = $3
4 crackers (or cereal bars) $10 - $2 coupons - $5 catalina = $3
2 Pop Tarts $4 - $1 coupon - $1 catalina = $2

Final price will be $8 and get $10 rebate for them. $2 profit!!