I’m relatively new to the whole Walgreens thing, but I am super excited about going there today. There is a coupon out for $10 off any purchase of $40 or more after coupons, valid today and tomorrow only. While that doesn’t seem like that great of a deal, the new September Easy Saver Free After Rebate items are now available, and you can use BOTH the Easy Saver coupons from August and September today and Friday. In other words, get a whole bunch of stuff for less than free!
Here is my personal shopping plan for today:
2 Gallons of Milk
On Sale for $3.39 Each
L’Oreal RevitaLift Anti-Wrinkle Concentrate
Retails for $16.49, but I’m going to assume it’s on sale for $12.37 since that’s what others are reporting, Use $1 Manufacturer’s Coupon (there’s also a $3 coupon floating around that I can’t seem to find), Receive $12.37 Rebate for September (or possibly $16.49 rebate if the discount shows up on a separate line)
Final Price = Overage of $1 (or More) After Rebate
Revlon Nail Color
$4.79, Use $2 Manufacturer’s Coupon, Receive $4.79 Rebate for September
Final Price = Overage of $2 After Rebate
Chemistry Shampoo, Conditioner or Treatment
Approx. $7.99, Use $3 Coupon from August Easy Saver Book, Receive $7.99 Rebate for September
Final Price = Overage of $3 After Rebate
Nivea for Men Body Wash
$4.99, Use $1 Manufacturer’s Coupon, Receive $4.99 Rebate for September
Final Price = Overage of $1 After Rebate
Mitchum Smart Solid Deodorant
On Sale for $2.99, Use $2 Walgreens Catalina Coupon (or $1 Manufacturer’s Coupon), Receive $1 Register Rewards
Final Price = Free After Register Reward
Reach Prevent Crystal Clean Toothbrush
On Sale for $1, Use $1 Manufacturer’s Coupon
Final Price = Free
Walgreens Acid Controller Complete 25 Ct.
$7.99, Use $2 Coupon from Walgreens Pharmacy Booklet, Receive $7.99 Rebate for September
Final Price = Overage of $2 After Rebate
4 Glade PlugIns Scented Oil Warmers
On Sale $4.79 BOGO, Use 2 BOGO Coupons to Get Them All Free (or, use 2 $4 off coupons if they won’t accept that or you don’t have 2 BOGO coupons), Receive $4 Rebate for September
Final Price = Overage of $4 After Rebate
LypSyly Honey Bunny w/ SPF 15 or Original Lypmoisture .1 oz. Stick
$1.99, Receive $1.99 Rebate for September
Final Price = Free After Rebate
Crest Pro Health Toothpaste
$3.79 (use $0.75 coupon if you still have it - I don’t), Receive $3.79 Rebate for September
Final Price = Free (or $0.75 overage)
Your total after coupons and before taxes will be $42.68. Use the $10 off $40 coupon to get your total down to $32.68 plus tax. You’ll receive (at least) $47.91 in rebates (plus an extra $4.79 if you have it put on a gift card) and $1 in register rewards.
Congratulations! Walgreens just paid you over $16 to buy all this stuff!
When planning your scenario, visit Money Saving Mom for ideas and make sure that your total number of items exceeds your total number of coupons by at least one. Also, be sure to have a couple backups in case some of your items are out of stock.
I’ve discovered a new source of snowflaking funds, and it’s called ChaCha. I just signed up a few days ago, so I don’t have a lot of experience yet, but here’s basically how it works:
ChaCha is a free service where people text questions to 242242 (spells ChaCha), and a ChaCha guide looks up the answer online and sends it back. ChaCha guides are paid between 10-20 cents for each question answered, which averages out to be about $3-$8 per hour. To become a ChaCha guide, you have to have high-speed Internet access and take a few short online quizzes to make sure you can type, spell and find the correct answers to questions. You can work as much or as little as you want, whenever.
While the pay isn’t too great, it seems like a creative way to snowflake money toward your debt snowball or other goals, on your own schedule. I plan on doing it during my free time or when I’m bored.
If you want to apply to be a guide, click here, and let me know if you have any questions. While I would have posted about this anyway, if you’d like to help me make a few extra snowflakes, enter my email address as your referrer (financegetspersonal @ gmail . com - remove the spaces).
Also, if any of you have experience as a ChaCha guide, let us know how it’s going for you!
p.s. I should also mention that you may sometimes have to answer questions about non-family-friendly topics, so if you’re sensitive to that type of thing, this might not be your idea of a good time. But I’ve found it to be somewhat amusing so far
16-Ct. Kotex Lightdays Liners
$1.49, Use $1 Off Coupon, Receive $1.49 ECBs
Final Price = Money Maker of $1.00
Zipfizz Energy Mix
$5.99, Receive $5.99 ECBs
Final Price = Free After ECBs (Limit 1)
2 Rimmel Mascaras
On Sale Buy One Get One Free, Use 2 $1 Off Coupons (I read somewhere that the All You magazine had BOGO coupons, but people are reporting back that they’re just for eyeshadow)
Final Price = Varies
2 40-Ct. OB Tampons
2 for $9, Use 2 $1.50 Off Coupons, Receive $5 ECBs
Final Price = $0.50 Each After ECBs
16-Ct. Playtex Sport Tampons
On Sale for $4.99, Use $1 Off Coupon, Receive $3.00 ECBs
Final Price = $0.99 After ECBs
2 Almay Eyes Makeup
On Sale Buy One Get One Free, Use 2 $1 Off Coupons, Prices Starting at $2.99
Final Price = Starting at $0.50 Each (Limit 6)
2 Revlon Cosmetic Products
On Sale Buy One Get One Free, Use 2 $1 Off Coupons, Prices Starting at $3.49
Final Price = Starting at $0.75 Each Update: With today’s $2 off coupon, this is a money maker!
2 Clairol Loving Care Haircolors
$3.99, Use Buy One Get One Free Coupon
Final Price = $2.00 Each
Walgreens
2 Glade Plugins Scented Oil Warmers
On Sale Buy One at $4.79 Get One Free, Use 1 or 2 $4 Off Coupons (not sure if cashier can do 2 with overage)
Final Price = $0.79 for 2, or a Money Maker
2 Rimmel Mascaras
On Sale Buy One Get One Free, Use 2 $1 Off Coupons (I read somewhere that the All You magazine had BOGO coupons, but people are reporting back that they’re just for eyeshadow)
Final Price = Varies
Reach Prevent Crystal Clean Toothbrush
On Sale 2/$2, Use $1 Off Coupons
Final Price = Free
Reynolds Wrap Aluminum Foil
On Sale for $0.89 with Circular Coupon, Use $1 Off Coupon
Final Price = Free Plus Possible Overage
Mitchum Smart Solid
$2.99, Use $2 Walgreens Catalina Coupon, Receive $1 Register Rewards
Final Price = Free After Register Rewards
Puffs Tissues
$0.89 Each with Circular Coupon, Use $0.25 Off Coupon
Final Price = $0.64 Each (Limit 3)
Gallon Milk
On Sale for $3.39
Final Price = $3.39 (Limit 2)
Since I’ve been spending so much time working bargain-shopping lately, I thought I’d spread the wealth and share the best deals that I’ve taken advantage of in the past two weeks.
$10 Off $10 Purchase at The Body Shop (In-Store Only)
The Body Shop has 1.7 oz. body butters for $10, which you can get for free with this coupon! Or, for a great gift, you can get a small $12 gift set for $2. Expires Sept. 15. Update: I was able to get two of the $12 gift sets on clearance for $3 each and another gift set marked down to $4. Score! Note: If the link is not working for you, try copying and pasting this url: http://a.slickdeals.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=113195&d=1218919841
$14.99 Oil Change and Tire Rotation at Firestone
I’m taking advantage of this tomorrow! Get the coupon here. Expires August 31.
$10 Off $10 Purchase at Blockbuster.com with Free Shipping on Pre-Viewed DVDs
If you don’t already have a Blockbuster.com account, create one (you can have an account without signing up for their monthly plans), and shop here for DVDs. Enter code augappreciation at checkout to take $10 off your order of $10 or more. Shipping on pre-owned DVDs is free. I got The Simpsons Movie and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest to give my stepson for Christmas for a total of $1.98 shipped! Expires August 31.
Amazon Clearance Shoes Now An Extra 20% Off and Eligible for Free Super Saver Shipping on Orders of $25 (or Free Shipping with Free Amazon Prime Trial)
Check out the shoes for women, men, girls and boys. Extra 20% off appears when you proceed to checkout. To easily cancel your Amazon Prime free trial after signing up (if you choose to), just click on “Your Account,” and then click on “Do Not Upgrade Automatically” (or something like that - it’s next to the green text), and then click on “Turn Automatic Upgrade Off.” Here are some of my picks for women: AK Anne Klein Nara Slingback: $24.90 After Additional 20% Discount Nine West Monterrey: $24.90 After Additional 20% Discount
If you haven’t been to Walgreens this week, this month, or ever - here’s your chance!
Click here for a $5 off $20 Walgreens coupon, valid in-store only on Friday and Saturday. While there are the typical exclusions (beer, smokes, gift cards), there are a ton of free after rebate items your coupon can be put to good use for:
Walgreens Soft White Light Bulbs 4 Pack or 3 Way Single Bulb - $1.99 (limit 1)
bioINFUSION Organics Shampoo,Conditioner, or Olive Oil Hair Care, 6 to 15.4 oz. - $5.99 (limit 2)
jane. Be Pure Mineral Crushed or Sheer Powder .06 oz., Mineral Powder Brush or Mineral Liquid Foundation, 1 oz. - $4.99 (limit 1)
Pert Plus 2 in 1 Shampoo Plus Conditioner, 13.5 oz. - $4.29 (limit 1)
Living Solutions Vacuum Bags - Various Sizes - $5.99 (limit 1), $9.99 (limit 1)
Just pick up the Walgreens Easy Saver Catalog at the store (or download it here), purchase the items you want, save your receipt, and apply for a rebate online. You can choose to receive your rebate in the form of a Walgreens gift card and get a 10% bonus loaded onto the card. Then, use your gift card for next month’s free items, and you’ll never pay out of pocket again!
I completely forgot to take a picture this week, but here’s what I scored:
CVS:
5 Crest Toothpastes
$1.99 Each, Used 5 $0.75 Off Coupons, Received $5 in ECBs
Final Price = $0.25 Each After ECBs (or free if you still have $1 coupons - and it’s actually limit 6!)
3 Boxes Puffs Facial Tissue
$0.88 Each, Used 3 $0.25 Off Coupons
Final Price = $0.63 Each
1 Schick Quattro Titanium Razor
$7.99, Received $5 ECB
Final Price = $2.99 After ECBs (I bought this in order to use my $10 in ECBs, continue to roll ECBs, use the $2/$10 coupon and because they were out of the Revlon Lash Fantasy Mascara - $1.99 after ECBs/coupon)
3 Bags Hershey’s Candy (Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and Hershey’s Kisses)
On Sale 2/$3 (Limit One), and the Third was $2, Used $1 Easy Saver Coupon (Took Off $1.50)
Final Price = Free After Rebate (I needed $5 more toward the $5 rebate on $10 worth of Hershey’s)
Triamedic Cough Strips
On Clearance for $3.29, Used $2 Off Coupon
Final Price = $1.29 (and eligible for Flexible Health Savings Account reimbursement)
Things have been soooooo slow at work lately. There are days when I don’t have ANYTHING to do except entertain myself at my desk.
The Internet is my main source of entertainment, and unfortunately, CNN, MSN, TMZ and my favorite blogs don’t always update every five minutes (horrors!).
That leaves me way too much time for shopping online.
I’ve found a lot of great bargains from deal sites like dealnews.com and slickdeals.net, but with my upcoming anniversary and outstanding speeding ticket, I seriously need to lay off the bargain shopping. I try to do other things like plan my weekly grocery trips, create a family calendar, schedule veternarian appointments, etc., but I am running out of ideas of things to do while I’m at work with nothing to work on.
At least you can look forward to more frequent blog posts!
A month ago, I bought tickets to a concert that I was fairly sure was going to sell out. My pre-sale code allowed me to order four tickets, so I did - even though I only needed two.
A few weeks later, the concert sold out, and I sold my extra tickets on StubHub for a profit of $50 after commission, which essentially cut the price of our two tickets in half.
Then, I purchased tickets to a big football game that I also thought was going to sell out, and sure enough…it did. I purchased five tickets instead of the three we needed, and am hoping the sale of the extra tickets will help pay for ours.
Scalping is legal in my area, so I know I am within the law, but is it ethical?
My opinion is that if I put in the work to obtain the tickets, and someone else is willing to pay more than face value for them, isn’t that just the way a free market works? It’s not like I’m hacking into Ticketmaster to buy a thousand Hannah Montana tickets or something.
To the athlete who won it, a gold medal is priceless. But what about to you and me?
How much is all that gold worth?
As it turns out, less than you might think.
According to CNBC, the gold medal is actually made of silver with about six grams of gold plating. For the Beijing Olympics, the medal also incorporates a ring of jade, which signifies honor and virtue in Chinese culture.
As of today, the gold is worth $158.50 and the silver is worth $60, for a total value of approximately $218.50 (plus the value of the jade).
But…I’m sure Michael Phelps and Nastia Liukin could still make a killing selling them on eBay.
I think my whole life needs an organizational overhaul.
Besides the fact that my house is a disaster (other than the rooms visible to last night’s dinner guests), I am running around with a constant to-do list, with hardly enough time to eat dinner.
Here’s what I have to look forward to tonight:
Call my stepson right before I leave work (since I left my cell phone at home) and tell him to find something to eat for dinner, brush his teeth, get dressed for football practice and get his school supplies and football equipment by the door and ready to go when I get home
Get home around 6:15 or 6:30, change out of my work clothes and finish filling out all the school enrollment forms we need to bring to Meet the Teacher Night
Go to Meet the Teacher Night, which ends at 7:00, and turn in forms/drop off school supplies
Drive across town and drop stepson off at football practice, which starts at 7:00
Go find something to eat for myself at a nearby fast food place and get gas, even though I’m supposed to be sitting there watching practice the whole time
Go back to football practice and sit there until 9:00 or whenever the coach decides they’re done (often after 9:00)
Drive back home and put stepson to bed, get eBay order ready to ship, get Amazon.com order ready to ship, get the coupons for tomorrow’s grocery runs, get the check to take to the bank tomorrow, get the Walgreens receipt to figure out if I messed up my rebate so I can buy/return something tomorrow night as necessary
Watch the gymnastics portion of the Olympics and go to bed
EVERY DAY is like this, and I’m starting to go crazy!
My husband is working 12-hour days and weekends for some important project, and I’ve been left to pick up the pieces. My sister asked us a month ago to go to the state fair with her for her birthday on Saturday, and now my husband has to work and says my stepson can’t miss football practice on Saturday. I am FUMING!
I’m about to institute a family calendar for the refrigerator since none of us ever have any idea what’s going on.
What do you do when you’re this busy/stressed? Is it just a function of having two people who both work full-time? Working so late and far away from home? Argh!
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