Walgreens......I HEART Them!!

With the exception of Sunday, I've been in a Walgreens' store everyday for the last 8 days! Human behavior masters say that it takes 30 days of repetitious behavior to form a habit. I don't know about that! I think habits can be developed in fewer repetitions then 30! Try...6 or 7 times, for me.

In the past, I've been pretty dedicated to Rite Aid with their Up Reward program. I love rolling the savings into the next week and seeing how much money I can save by layering the coupons on top of my Up Rewards as well. I've come home with some mega deals. For example, Stayfree Maxi pads were last week's hottest commodity . I got six 48ct packages for less than $1.50 for all of them. Yep! That's 288 pads for less than 1/2 a cent. Ok. They'll keep, for all of you wondering--or they will go to the local women's shelter for a FULL PRICE tax deduction. Ahh..........I LOVE the law of reciprocity! It pays to be generous. Anywhoo--I digress.

So I've been fairly monogamous with Rite Aid because the Walgreen's advertising gimmickry made it seem some limited and harder to work a great deal. And I was running into so many things that I wanted at Rite Aid that have become limited to so many per household and store card. I mean--Really! How many Rite Aid cards can a girl have? I've limited myself to 4. Ok. Maybe 5. But I'm OUT of phone numbers I can use! I'm having a difficult time keeping track of which card was the one used with the "limited" items. So I started looking at the competition for an easier game. What I noticed in the Walgreen's ad was that there were no exclusive limits...but rather, a limit of "per transaction". That's a whole 'nother way of thinking--and shopping! I know I can do multiple transactions...I'm a patient woman when it comes to not paying full price--and if I layer the Register Rewards in my knowledgeable way--with a fantastic coupon...I can save a truckload of money and still go home with a truckload of goods.

So I gave it a whirl last week with some of the back to school items and toothpaste. [I'm in accumulation-mode for items that we need for building hygiene kits]. What started out as just a few items turned kind of crazy by Saturday. Revlon had their nail polish on sale for $3.99, producing a $3 Register Reward per transaction. I added the $2 store coupon and the $1 manufacturer's coupon...and I ended up getting more in Register Rewards then I paid for the lone bottle. My OCD kicked in, and I ended up with 30 bottles of nail polish and $90 in Register Rewards. [The endorphins are going cerebral and zingy just thinking about it :] So how could I not buy them. Many thanks to the patient checkers. I've yet to have a bad experience with a single employee! That's really something to be said, as well. (By the way, Ashley's getting a heck of a Spa birthday party...and her friends are getting 3-4 bottles of polish each...because I'm cool like that!)

So I started using the Register Rewards first thing Monday morning on the items that also generated more of them. I bought an ungodly amount of Keebler cookies (remember, Register Rewards+coupons=free and a new $5 Register Reward), some really expensive Colgate Sensitive Toothpaste for 50cents (normally $5.49), which also generated another $4 Register Reward, Dial Body Wash (no coupon) but generated $3 Register Reward, Keri Body Lotion for zilch (generated a $5 Register Reward), and so on. I know that every week is NOT like this one. But I bought over 20 tubes of deodorant, 30 tubes of toothpaste, 20 bottles of lotion, 30 packages of cookies, tons of toilet paper, countless oddball school supplies, scotch tape, plastic cutlery, dental floss, Dove soap, and more!

On this Saturday, I'm loading up on the Revlon sale--again. It's 40% off--with a $3 Register Reward for each $10 purchase. I'm going to use the $2 store coupon plus $1/1 manufacturer's coupons in conjunction with a previous Register Reward. I anticipate that each transaction of $10 will quickly come down to no more then $1-2 per transaction, tops...and I'll get a $3 Register Reward each time. Ten transactions should do me and get me off to a great start for the following week's ads. The Register Rewards that I have right now don't expire till September 6th. So I may hold on to a lot of them to use for the ad after next, instead of the upcoming one. And if all else fails to spark my interest to stock up on--I won't let them go to waste. It might be time to replenish the birthday wrap and cards or stock up on Halloween candy early. Ooh. No worries. I'll spend it and it will be for a some great cause or another ;)

BaBy PrOmOs at Albertsons'

Albertsons' is having a Baby Promotion sale starting tomorrow--$10 off $30 purchases of any of the listed products from the ad. Nice...since Pampers and Huggies are both included in this deal. If you get a hold of the $3/1 coupons for cases and packages, you can combine the savings on this sale to add up big if you layer the coupons on qualifying products! No babies here--but I can smell a diaper deal a mile away still!! Go to http://www.albertsons.com/ to check out the products included in the promo.

There's also an Instant Spotlight Savings deal going on. You get $5 off your purchase of selected items (back page of the ad) when you buy any combination of 10 items. Coupons are available on most of the products featured. I love the Ortega green chilies and there as a coupon for $1 off 2 Ortega products. Make sure to do your research before you create a mini stockpile of your favorite items. I've found that some stores, like Winco or Wal-Mart, will carry the these pantry essentials for a lower base price everyday than what some of the larger grocery chains have the item go on sale for. If that's the case--as in the green chilies--always place your coupon on the lowest priced item for the greatest savings. For example--the chilies are going to be on sale at Albertsons' for $1.29 if purchased within a set of 10 featured items. The coupon would reduce the price to 79 cents per can when purchased in sets of two. It's a "fair" price, but I don't know if that's the "best" price. If the regular price for the chilies are 99cents a can at Wal-Mart--placing the coupon that would add up to the "best" savings at 49cents a can. **Trick of the trade--know what is a great price before you use your valuable coupons.

I couldn't find any Dole coupons for canned fruit on ebay--so 79cents a can for mandarin oranges and pineapple seem only a fair deal...but the oranges are normally $2+ a can when not on sale. It's a temptation to buy a few, but I don't stock up on these kind of items unless I can see a 80% or greater price difference.

Safeway has some of my favorite pantry items on sale this week--Barilla pasta (10/$10), Ragu spaghetti sauce (4/$5), and Betty Crocker potatoes/Kraft Macaroni and Cheese (4/$5). I just have THREE words about what to do with those prices...USE A COUPON!! There's no guarantee that there will be a coupon available for items when they go on sale, but always check online to see if this is going to be a "stock up" sale. Coupons make all the difference. Fifty cents per item adds up to a lot before you know it.

Good luck on your hunt and your stocking up!!

PS...it took me awhile, and since yesterday was the last day on the coupon for the free milk from the last Kelloggs' cereal sale...I got the last 8 gallons of free milk. I got 30 coupons for free milk from that amazing sale. I had to stagger the purchases so that it didn't all expire at once and also--couldn't fit that many milks in the extra fridge. So thank you to those of you that took a few off my hands. I felt like the "Milk Fairy" delivering milk to several families last week. I know...it was so random and unexpected. Ever had anyone offer you free milk? Weird, huh? But it really helped me out--so THANKS!