Lowe's Build and Grow

We just clued into something that has been going on for awhile at Lowe's. It's their Build and Grow kids building project activities. They are free workshops that are every other Saturday. You go online to register your kids and you get to go put a kit together that makes something fun out of wood (with screws and nails, of course) for the kids to play with or display.

Yesterday we went for the first time and the kids make a ball and cup toy. The kits were out on the table and included everything they needed to put it together. The information at the website showed that it was from 10-11am...so I figured that the projects would take about that long. It was actually much faster--or my kids are just geniuses :) But for an investment of 20 minutes, they all came away with a fun game and the excitement of having put it together themselves.

So for a great supplemental activity to do with your kids this summer--this is a must have on the list. And the real deal of the whole event--it's free. So go to http://www.lowesbuildandgrow.com/ for more information and upcoming schedules.

Walgreens is Supreme....

I've been couponing for years, but I've never really taken advantage of the drug store programs that are available until recently. Several of the stores have had image over hauls and introduced programs that often get overlooked unless you are serious about saving some cash. So I've had to take my own advice and research the store policies for Walgreens and Rite-Aid because they have some amazing sale pricing if used by a savvy shopper--like myself. Knowing store policy is everything when it comes to whether we pay for it or get it for free! I have a new favorite in my savings game--Walgreens. They have a "Register Rewards" program that is similar to the Catalina coupon program in grocery chains, but differs in a few ways with how to maximize your savings.

Each week there are items in the ad that state when they are purchased a register reward is generated. For example, Schick Proglide razors are normally $10.99+. They are on sale for $9.99 and the ads says that when you buy one, a $5 register reward will print at the conclusion of the transaction. Taking the savings into account, the product can be advertised at $4.99. This gets a little tricky because you don't pay $4.99 on the first transaction--you pay $9.99, minus whatever coupon you have for it. In this case, I had a $4 off coupon for it. So the sales price comes up at $9.99, then the manufacturer's coupon reduces $4 off, down to $5.99. I conclude the transaction and pay $5.99+tax. Then a $5 register reward prints out that I can use on anything in the next transactions. By placing that coupon with the product at check-out, and deducting the value of the register reward, the real cost of the razor becomes 99cents. That's a pretty good deal for a very expensive razor.

Where it differs from the Catalina program is if you use it on the same product that you just purchased--another razor, it will not generate another register reward. But if your buy something else that generates a reward as well, pay for it with the register reward from the last transaction (the razor in this situation)--a new reward is generated. It will probably take a few tries to get the hang of the program, but once you do--great savings will be rolling in your way, especially on items like shampoo, soap, razors, household cleaners, and body care products.

The registers at Walgreens view the register rewards as "coupons"--even though technically they are not and can be combined with manufacturer's coupons. But the since the register sees the register reward as "coupon" and you are not allowed to exceed the number of coupons to items purchased ratio, you must use a "filler" item to even out the number of items purchased to "coupons". This means--grab a 25 cent piece of candy or pack of gum to bring up your number of items purchased. It seems kind of silly to start throwing extras into your cost-saving transactions, but you have to play by the store's rules and you want to use the manufacturer's coupons AND the register reward/store savings program.

Week after week, there are different items that are featured in the drug store ads that are fabulous deals. Don't be greedy and ruin a good thing for everyone else by mass purchasing an item to the frustration of the store. Purchasing little bits at a time over a period of time will add up quickly and turn out to be quite a stash in your family's inventory. When you combine the freebies with coupons, the cost-savings is extended to everything that you buy and you still go home with register rewards to use on the next weeks' deals. It has been a lot of fun to add another dimension and variety to the home and storage inventory.

Barnes and Noble Deals....

Many of you know that I have a thing for books. I love them. I don't like to borrow, check out, or trade them. I'm all about ownership. I love children's books to grown-up books. I just found a great deal from Barnes and Noble that is only good through July 6, 2010--so expediency is the key to this great one. They are having a summer warehouse sale and they have books as low as $1.78 --a lot. If you spend $25 or more, you get free shipping. And here's a great additional savings: if you put this code in the box under discount...you save 20% off your highest item--not total, but item. So I just bought 11 books and after tax, discount, and free shipping, the total was only $32. Love it!! Coupon: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/cdsii/cdsPageTransfer.asp?r=1&uid=379000463&key=affiliate%2Dcoupon&IF=N&cm_mmc=Krazy%20Coupon%20Lady-_-k203393-_-j31849333k203393-_-Save%20an%20extra%2020%%20on%20one%20eligible%20item!%20See%20site%20for%20details

Triple Score!!

So here's a great deal at Albertsons' for the week: General Mills Promo of Buy $20 in assorted products, save $5 automatically. It's also "Dairy Month" at Albertsons' and for the designated products, you get $5 OYNO print-outs with you buy 5 (essentially saving you $1 on each item before you add manufacturer coupons). And there is a Catalina OYNO print-out generated when you buy Betty Crocker fruit snacks, roll-ups or Gushers. For three boxes, you get a $1.50 OYNO; 4 boxes you get $2.50; and 5 boxes gets you $3.50 back. They are $2 a box before you add the coupons. Betty Crocker and Yoplait are General Mills products. This is a triple deal because each combination of purchases generates more savings!! So, here's a buying scenario that would have deep pay-offs in the end. For the hypothetical $20 purchase: Buy 4 boxes of any of the Betty Crocker fruit snack options. (Order coupons from ebay, or any of the coupon websites for the fruit snacks...or print them for free from www.smartsource.com and www.coupons.com --but there are printing limits if you plan on stocking up with multiple transactions...); and any of the 5 Yoplait products that are included in the dairy promo, most of which have $1 off 1 coupons available. You pay $9.50 at the register but get $7.50 back in Catalina print-outs. That makes each item 22 cents piece. Not bad. With the right assortment of coupons--this is a stock-up worthy sale!!


I'm not in need of cereal for a very long time...but I watch the coupons that come out just in case it's stock-up worthy. So make sure that you look for the coupons that are for 55cents to 75 cents off a box. Even with the $5 off $20 purchase amounts, the cereal is still a little too pricey for my blood. I prefer 25-50 cents a box...if you know what I mean. This deal still beats the local competiter's 13 hour cereal sale of $1.69 a box, though!

How to Double the Savings...

Coupons are an interesting thing. It's the only time that you are able to pay for something without having to "earn" the money to do so. Make sense? It's like Monopoly money that the stores will actually accept and deduct REAL money from your total!! How people don't realize this, I'll never know. But in the coupon world, you generally are never able to use 2 coupons on one item. There is a couple of exceptions to this universal rule. One is where the store is offering to double the value of the coupon. For example, Albertsons' does this quite a bit where they will double up to 3 coupons up to $1 each. So if you have a $1 off product couple and a "store" coupon that doubles your coupon--you get $2 off the product. It's an exciting proposition to get that kind of savings, especially when the product you are buying is $2 or under, because that means the product is FREE.

The other situation of "doubling" a coupon savings onto one product is through the combined use of "store" coupons with manufacturer coupons. Many stores offer their sale prices through the use of a coupon. Target and Fred Meyer immediately come to mind. Those coupons they advertise with are not redeemable by the manufacturer, but are for "in-store" use and savings. Just because the product has a store coupon associated with it, does NOT preclude the usability our a manufacturer's coupon. So often a great savings on the product is possible when you use both together. An example would be when Fred Meyer puts "Aquafresh Toothpaste 99cents-limit 2" on an in-store coupon. As a savvy shopper, you are aware of that there are manufacturer's coupons available for 75 cents off one product. The store coupon sets the limits and terms of the purchase. So in this case, the store is limiting the purchase amount to 2 per transaction. So, your purchase total would look like this: 2 tubes=$1.98 (with in-store coupon). When the cashier is done ringing you up, you hand over the manufacturer's coupons. 2 coupons at 75 cents=$1.50. The register will automatically deduct the $1.50 from the $1.98 total, leaving you with 48 cents +whatever taxes your state implies. So with both coupons used on the toothpaste, you are able to realize an actual cost of 24 cents a tube. (Side note: the stores only limit the number of transactions that you are doing to the number of available coupons at the door or the times you are able to print from your home computer. There is no rule that says you are not able to repeat this transaction. Just keep it reasonable and as simple as possible and things will be fine).

This type of great deal is also available at many of the local non-food stores, like Target, Rite Aid and Walgreens. Target has coupons that are available on-line at http://www.target.com/. If you scroll down and click on "coupons" it will take you to their in-store coupons that you are able to print from your home computer. You are generally able to print 2 coupons for each item from each computer. If you have more than one computer in your home, you have scored double deals already, by being able to do more than one transaction if you choose.

Disclaimer: You must understand this very basic rule when printing your own coupons. You CANNOT, EVER, photocopy them and try and use this multiple times. That constitutes fraud and jeopardizes the use of these kind of coupons at all. The computer will generate a specific bar code and identification number for each print. The registers are basically computers with a key pad. They will detect a coupon that has already been used and alert the cashier. If it does not-- the store auditors will catch the misuse and log it. To error in your favor as a consumer is NEVER a good thing because the ramifications will effect all users. So please know that if you are only able to print 2 coupons per computer...that will limit the quantities you are able to purchase with a store coupon and manufacturer coupon combined. There are generally NO limits on the amount of manufacturer coupons you are able to use. So it always pays to know your store programs and policies before you put yourself in an awkward situation.

At the top of this page, I put a picture of 2 coupons that I printed from my computer. They are for the same products, but one is a store coupon and the other a manufacturer's coupon. Both coupons require the purchase of 2 John Frieda hair products. Both take $3 off the total. This store coupon came from Target, thus only usable at Target. They have the products for $4.49 a piece. Two of those would cost $8.98. So hypothetically speaking, you give the cashier both coupons and your remaining balance is $2.98. That's a tremendous savings because ONE product would have cost $4.49. In my search for the manufacturer's coupon for the in-store coupon double option, I found a manufacturer's coupon for $2.50 off ONE John Frieda product. I would only be allowed to print 2 from my computer, and I would be able to use two of those coupons in conjunction with the in-store $3 off coupon. The quantities outlined on the coupon cannot exceed the purchase quantities. So on this transaction, the total is $8.98 minus the $3 in-store coupon and two $2.50 off one manufacturer's coupons for an exceptional buy at 98 cents!! That's the better way to go. Your quantities are limited and you'll only be able to buy a few at a time, but if you did this weekly, bi-monthly...you'd be surprised at how fast your reserves will build up and how it will become very difficult for you to buy anything at full price again.

Fred Meyer Deals

Today is the last day of sale that's actually pretty tremendous at Fred Meyer. It started a couple of days ago and ends today--but the day is still young. It's a coupon for $5 off non-food purchases of $25 or $10 off purchases of $50 or more. This is the weekend of birthday parties at our house and I needed several gifts. So I headed to the Toy department to make my selections with the in-ad coupon in hand. I struck gold. There was $3 off coupons for board games hanging in the aisles. The store coupon specifically says that it may be used in conjunction with other coupons. Yeah. That means this is going to be a great deal! I found several games that had percentage off tags. One game is Pictureka! It's an addictive family game that's normally $24.99 and A LOT of fun to play. The label said they were 50% off ($12.49) and then a $3 off coupon could be used as well, making them $9.49. So for transactions of $25-50, I can use the big coupon for another 20% discount off. Mental calculators start computing the possibilities of these kind of deals. I note that 2 games only comes up to $25. I could have left it at that and bought the 2 games for $20, minus the 2 $3 off coupons, and left for around $16. But I had a few other things in mind, so I decided to go for the big spend of $50 and save the $10.


So I bought 2 Pictureka games, 2 sleeping bags for an upcoming camping trip, and 6 packs of gum. Our total after tax and with the gum being Buy one Get one Free (bribery tools for the kids)was $40.59. Yee Haw!! That probably sounds like a lot to you, but that was pretty amazing considering the 2 games would have cost $50 before tax. But I got the sleeping bags and gum and spent a lot less than I could have. That's the kind of deals we can use to supplement our activities without breaking the bank. I would have spent $35-40 on 3 birthday gifts alone. This transaction without discounts would never have happened without coupons otherwise--because it would have been $90 before tax. Mental alert: NO WAY!! At least not for me.... I got everyone pretty pricey gifts and helped out our own family with no cost difference in my plans. Gotta love it!

Double Coupons Coming...

In the upcoming Sunday paper, there is going to be the Albertsons' double coupon sheets. Normally this wouldn't be worthy of a posting by itself...but if you think in multiple food dimensions, like I do--you put two and two together and come up with FREE a lot. So I was thinking about the dairy coupons that I have coming for yogurt. I was going to go get all my yogurt this weekend...but I'm going to wait till Monday (FOR SURE!!) because I can double those $1 coupons on the Dannon to make the whole transaction -$3. Now, the store won't be giving you any money back, but that doesn't preclude the fact that you can buy a pound of hamburger for FREE with your FREE dairy products, or add a gallon of milk, cereal, staples, etc. I LOVE these kind of deals. It's a no-brainer about what to stock up on because everything is stock-up worthy when it doesn't cost anything. I just have to make sure that there is room in the garage fridge for all that yogurt. Disclaimer: I'm thinking that we are going to be sending the tubes of yogurt to every activity that my kids need a snack for. Oh well. Normally I wouldn't be able to afford to send that kind of treat in large quantities. But when you get everything for free...you can be the cool mom with the goods that everyone wants for snack helper.