All Good Things Must Come to an End

I am in mourning......deal seekers, super-couponers and extreme couponers - it's a sad, sad day. 

According to the Super-Couponing Blog, Jewel stores have made some BIG changes to the way Catalina promos are running at their stores.  For those of you that have had the wonderful experience of shopping at Jewel you will know what I am talking about when I tell you that there are no longer going to be ANY price spreads on the threshold amounts for meeting the required purchase for Catalina promos.  Yes, I feel your pain. 

You can read the original post here at the Super-Couponing site.  Here it is in a nutshell:

"Corporate has confirmed that the big Catalina update (in which the deals were totally down on Monday) also fixed the price "spread" in Catalina deals that many of us have enjoyed for quite some time. (And honestly... who didn't think that "someday," this would be fixed?)

Rest assured that we'll still continue to see great deals - the current $30/$10 diapers deal runs on regular prices and is still fabulous. But for anyone who had trouble with the ice cream deal after Monday of this week - this is why. Thanks to Tracey for confirming with corporate."

This is also being slowly confirmed over at CW by trial and error.  It appears that some stores have already downloaded the new software and this is already working.  If the store has not downloaded the new software, the Catalina's are still printing on the price spread between preferred and shelf price. 

R.I.P. Jewel

Mother's Day Gift Idea

I just want to remind you that the Silver Jewelry Club offers FREE jewelry!  These are really nice quality items, you can see my personal review here.  These items make great gifts, especially for all the Mom's in your life.  Mom's always like jewels!!  :) 

If you see something that you like, why not drop a hint to your husband or kids?  My husband always needs ideas for gifts.  Go here to browse around!  The link is always on the right sidebar, toward the bottom.  Keep it in mind for gift ideas throughout the year. 

Walgreens 4/24 thru 4/30

Happy Easter!  It's a rare occasion that I shop on a Sunday, but since I was out and about for church this morning and I had some RR's that were expiring I decided to stop for a couple quick transactions.  It's a slow week again at Wags, not a whole lot to get excited about.  There is one good MM that you will be interested in, especially if you are a Splenda user. 

Splenda is on sale for $2.99 each this week.  My store had the granulated in a box and the boxes of 100 count packets.  These are FREE when you use the $3 off coupon from the 4/17 SS.  FREE is always good, but you can turn this into a MM if you have multiple coupons.  If you purchase 3 Splenda products in one transaction, your Splenda will be FREE and you will get a $4 RR in return.  If you purchase 2 Splenda products in one transaction, out pops a $3 RR.  A good MM either way!  :)

The Luster toothpaste is on sale for $4.99 each with a $4 RR in return.  Use the $1.50 coupon from the 4/3 SS to get this FREE with .51 overage after RR.  Just be careful not to use the $4 RR from the same toothpaste deal two weeks ago (like I did) in your transaction or your RR won't print.  :(

Select Stayfree products are on sale for $2.99 each with a $3 RR in return.  Use the $1 off coupon from the 3/27 RP to turn this into a $1 MM. 

Lastly, Nexcare bandages are on sale for $2.99 each and they all have a peelie rebate on them to "Try Me Free".  These were not on the regular shelf at my store, they were on an overhead shelf above where all the bandages are.  You can max this out at 3 rebates per receipt if you purchase one of each kind they have.  There is waterproof, active and soft 'n flex to choose from.  Use as many .55 off coupons that you have from the 4/3 SS to turn this into a MM also.  Just remember to separate out into different transactions if you are sending in for more than one, and only get one of each kind in your transactions. 

That's all I've got for this week!

It's Back! Sample Showcase

Just about a year ago I posted about a new program that the USPS was sponsoring with boxes of sample products and coupons that you could sign up for.  You can see my original post here.

If you are a regular reader you will remember that relatively quickly I received the box that I signed up for.  You can see what was included in that box here. 

Well, it's back again!  Go here to sign up to see if you qualify for a box.  I just logged in today to find out that I qualified again.  If it's anything like last time, in about 20 days I should be receiving my loot.  I will be sure to post all that is included. 

Last year, my blog was featured on the Start Sampling website for my review of the samples.  Check out my post and link to that feature here.

Good Luck, I hope you qualify too!

TLC Extreme Couponing

I will have to admit, I have only watched TLC's Extreme Couponing once last season (not even a full episode) and once last night.  I generally don't watch much television, so I have only caught this show when I happen to be flipping channels at the time it's on.  Even then, I watch it only for mindless entertainment.  I consider this show pretty much a waste of time.  The only thing it's good for is the shock factor.  What it's not good for is legitimate couponers like myself and my frugal friends.  I just cringe when I see these women on this show and what they will do for their 15 minutes of fame. 

I truly wonder what these women are thinking when they dump 100+ bottles of Excedrin into their cart.  I am all for a MM deal, and shopping deals to help feed your family, I do it all the time, BUT there's a line that most of us would not cross over.  Isn't 5000 coupon inserts a week just a little bit over that line?!?  I thought that the 3 papers that I have delivered and the few extra inserts that I get from family and friends to total 8-10 (on a good week) was pushing the envelope!  Yes, I have "bought" things that my family doesn't use or need just to gain the overage, but I do it with the intention of using that overage for things that we DO need and use and I do not do it in excess.  I don't clear shelves, unless there's not much on the shelf when I get there.  I am ALWAYS very conscious of leaving stock for others. 

The other thing that I have been thinking about with this show and these shoppers is the time commitment this takes.  Some of these women said they spend 45-60 hours a week just on deal seeking and couponing.  Yes, they are saving their families huge amounts of money, but at what "expense"?   I would never trade quality time with my family for the extreme couponing that these women do.  Somethings you just can't put a price on. 

Another thing that makes this really bad for legitimate couponers is that manufacturers are only going to take this mis-use of coupons so long and things are going to start to change.  There's a lot of buzz on many of the money saving blogs about fraudulent coupon usage by these extreme coupon shoppers on the show.  The manufacturers are not going to sit on their hands and just let this happen. 

For those of my friends that are not couponers, please don't get the wrong impression of couponers from this show.  I can guarantee that NO ONE that I know shops like this.  I am guessing here, but I think that this show does not properly represent the other 99.99% of coupon shoppers appropriately. 

If you haven't had a chance to see the show, you can catch a few snippets here.

I am interested in hearing what your opinion is about this show.  Comment or send me private message, I'd love to see how my frugal friends feel about it!

Woodman's 4/20

I was on a coupon collecting expedition yesterday at Woodman's, they always have the best coupons out!  There's still WT's in the liquor department too!

I found a couple good deals that I wanted to share.  Nothing worth running over there, but if you are going you may want to bring along these coupons. 

The 4/10 SS insert has a .50 off ANY Creamette pasta coupon.  Woodman's has these nice 16 oz. boxes of specialty pastas for .75 each.  With the coupon you get these for .25!  They had Acini Di Pepe, stars, cut spaghetti, etc.  These are great for soups or little kids.

I also noticed that the Marzetti dressing is again on sale for .99 a bottle (check the salad dressing aisle, not the refrigerated produce aisle).  In the 4/3 SS insert there is a $1.00 off coupon.  These will be FREE with the possibility of .01 in overage for each one that you have. 

Marcal products are cheap at Woodman's with the $1.00 or FREE item coupon from the 4/17 RP insert.  I always grab the napkins since we seem to use a lot of them.  They are priced at $1.99 for 250 napkins.  Makes them .99! Good deal in my book. 

Walgreens 4/17 thru 4/23

There's not a whole lot of fantastic deals at Wags this week.  Here's what I shopped for:

Goody hair accessories are priced at $3.00 each with a $3 RR in return.  These make a great "filler" item because there are no current manufacturer coupons available right now.  You get the free item, and you can roll a RR from a previous deal.  I found packages of barrettes with 5 bonus hair ties included. 

Scotch Magic Tape is on sale for $1.99 each, B1G2F!  There's an in ad coupon that you have to use to get the 2 FREE.  Use this .pdf coupon (save it to your computer for future use too!) to get these dirt cheap.  If your store allows overage you will get these FREE, but if your store, like most Wags, doesn't allow overage, you will pay about .33 each for these.  Remember back to school is just a few months away and the kids ALWAYS need/use lots of tape!

Softsoap is on sale for .99 each with the in-ad coupon.  If you have the coupon booklet from the boxes of Huggies diapers there's a $1 off TWO manufacturer coupon in there.  That coupon makes these .49 each. 

Dove chocolate candy bars are on sale for .39 each with the in-ad coupon.  If you scored some of these .35 off coupons from a tearpad you can get these for .04 each. 

My store was out of the other items on my list, so if I get out to another Wags this week I will post my other goodies.  (Air Wick, Splenda, NasoGel, Captain Crunch). 

Walmart Deals - 4/20

There's a couple good deals with coupons at Wal-mart this week that I wanted to share with you. 

First we have the Nivea men's and women's body washes priced at $3.00 each.  In the 4/17 RP insert there are two $3.00 off coupons, one for men's and one for women's.  Body wash is something that you rarely have to pay for!

Next, these B1G1F packages of Lysol wipes are $2.92.  Use the $1.50 off coupon from Facebook to get these for $1.45 or .72 each.  Remember you can hit the "back" button and print it twice!  Pretty good deal.

My store has the individual packages of cheddar, string and pepper jack Frigo cheese for .33 each.  You can gain some overage with this if you use the .50 off any Frigo product coupon from the 4/17 SS insert.  Each one will get you .17 back. 

White Cloud 4 double roll packs are $2.00 each.  Use the $1.00 off any White Cloud coupon from the May AY magazine to get these for .25 a double roll, my target price for TP.  This coupon is a thicker card type coupon that you can pull out of the magazine.

Purex Complete softener crystals are $3.97 each, so if you use the $2.00 off coupon from the 3/13 RP to get these for $1.97. 

Lastly, my store has had Dole strawberries priced at either $1.00 or $1.50 per container for quite some time now.  The price varies from week to week.  I suggest grabbing these and making some strawberry shortcake!  They also freeze really well.

Finding Coupons in the Strangest Places

I had to stop at Farm & Fleet today because chicken feed is on sale and we were desperately low.  As I was leaving I had to wait a minute for someone to help me load my van.  I was standing by the doors where they have lots of tearpads with rebates on them...you know, tires, motor oil, car batteries, lawn fertilizer, etc.  As I was perusing the rebates, for no particular reason, this caught my eye:

There were lots of tearpads for .35 off ANY one Dove chocolate singles (manufacturer).  Of course I grabbed a whole pad to share with my frugal friends!  These just may get you some FREE chocolate with a sale and a store that doubles coupons.  So, when you are out, even when you least expect it, ALWAYS keep your eyes open for coupons!

Menards Clearance

Here's something I was surprised to find while I was shopping the clearance at Menards today!

Yep, that's a Cricut cartridge for $9.98!  These normally range in price from $45 - $89!  That's a HUGE savings!  The selection was VERY slim pickings and this is the only one that was on clearance that I didn't have in my collection already so I wasn't able to score any others.  I remember around fall Menards was carrying quite a selection of "special buy" Cricut cartridges and machines, so this must be what was left that they wanted to clear out.  I found this at the Cherry Valley store, so keep your eyes open and please report back if you find them at other stores!

Good News for Local Wags Shoppers & Weekly Deals

I stopped in over at Wags (Belivdere, IL) this morning to grab a few of the weekly deals and had a nice chat with my favorite cashier, Rodie.  She told me that her store's District Manager sent an e-mail to all of his stores embracing the fact that the Extreme Couponing show on TLC would most likely cause an increase in their sales of the weekly specials (RR's, etc.) and that the stores need to boost their stock to have plenty available for shoppers.  That certainly is refreshing, especially for Wags!  Maybe the days of empty shelves in the local Wags stores are coming to an end - we can certainly hope so!

Here's what I was shopping for this week:

Carefree panty liners are .99 each with a $1 RR in return, use the .50 off coupon from the 3/27 RP to turn this into a MM - .51 each to be exact!

Luster White Toothpaste is on sale for $4.99 each with a $4 RR in return, use the $1.50 off coupon from the 4/3 SS to turn this one into a .51 MM also!

Bic disposable razors are on sale B1G1 50% off.  The cheapest ones I found this morning were the sensitive disposables for $3.79 each.  Grab two of these, and use TWO the $2.00 off coupons from the 3/27 SS and pay only $1.68 for 24 disposable razors, or .84 a package of 12.   The Flex 3 are also included in this sale so you could stock up on some more with the $3 off coupon from the 4/10 SS.  The cheapest pack I found was $3.99, so grab 2 and turn this into a .02 MM.

Hefty One Zip bags are on sale for $3.29, B1G1 FREE with the in-ad coupon.  Use the $1.00 off two coupon from the 2/20 RP or 4/10 RP.  That makes these $1.14 a box with the stacked coupons.  A good price for bags, we don't see deals on these too often. 

Lastly, the Snickers Cream Eggs are .29 each.  You can use the $1.00 off two coupons from either the 3/20 RP or 4/10 RP to get these CHEAP.  The coupon will beep if you only grab two.  If you only have one coupon, grab 4 and pay only .16 after coupon.  If you have two coupons, grab 7 and pay .03 after coupon.  If you have three coupons, grab 11 and pay .19 after coupons.  This makes a great filler to roll RR's from last week since you aren't using coupons that attach to all the eggs. 

Logli 10 for $10 Mix & Match thru 4/12

My frugal friend Natalie found some great deals over at Logli this week.  They are running a 10 for $10 sale on lots of items with coupons to match to.  Logli, a Schuncks affiliated store, doubles coupons up to .55 each.  Natalie reports that you don't actually have to purchase 10 items to get the discount.  Here's what she found:

Pillsbury Sweet Rolls or Grands -  the .30 & .40 (on 2) printables here makes these .60 to .70 a package

Green Giant Fresh Steamers - .50 on 2 from here,  makes these .50 a pack

Yoplait Greek Yogurt - .35 printable here , doubles to .70 making these .30 each

Suddenly Salad  - .50 on 2 here makes these .50 a box

Heluva Good Dip  - .75 from the 2/27 SS insert makes these .25 each

Chiquita Bites  - .55 from the 2/27 SS insert, makes these FREE and possible overage with doubled coupon

Act II Popcorn  - .50 off from the 2/27 SS insert, FREE with doubled coupon

My frugal pal Nicole also pointed out that the Trans Ocean Crab Classics are also part of the 10 for $10.  Check your coupon binders because there have been tearpads out for .55 off one.  This would double and these would be FREE with possible overage.  Keep your eyes open at the store, you just might find the tearpads right in front of the product! 

A couple other things I noticed from the ad, iceberg lettuce and Fresh Express cole slaw are also part of this sale.  If you picked up any of the produce wine tags I mentioned here then these would be .50 each (WT is $1.00 off any $2 or more produce purchase, so make sure to get two).  Might be worth a wander through the liquor department before you shop.

You can find the weekly sale ad here.

Thanks, Natalie and Nicole for sharing your finds!

Philly Cream Cooking Sauce Idea

With all those great $1.50 off Philadelphia Cream Cooking Sauce coupons out there I'll bet you have a container or two in your fridge. I tried something a little different the other day using the cream sauce and I wanted to share it with you, incase you are looking for ideas to use it up.

My son is a pretty big fan of Kraft macaroni and cheese. He's particular and really only likes the spiral noodles (I wonder where he gets that from :-$). When I make it for him he requests it to be "super, super, super, duper cheesy" so I always add a little extra powder cheese. You can buy the extra cheese powder in a sprinkle container so I always keep one in the fridge, it's good on popcorn too! Anyway, I thought I would try an experiment on my little guinea pig. In place of the milk in the recipe I added one tablespoon of Philly Cream Cooking Sauce along with the extra cheese I usually add. It made a huge difference in the sauce. It turned out so much creamier and thick. The cheese sauce was smooth and very tasty. The guinea pig approved, so there you go.

Do you have any clever ways you have used this versatile sauce? If you do, leave a message with what you use it for, or even include the recipe! The coupons are in the 3/6 SS insert, or there have been tear pads at several grocery stores right in front of the sauce. There was also a printable available awhile back, so check your coupon binder.


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