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I've finally bitten the bullet and decided to move to a self-hosted blog. If you weren't already automatically redirected please head on over to: CashAndKari.com

Thanks and I hope to see you there!

No, I Don't Have a Baby...They're For My Sister

I mean my future niece/nephew (my sister doesn't wear pampers). My Rite Aid run today produced the following money making transactions:

Transaction One (my SCR acct)

1 Pampers 8.99
1 Bordreaux's Butt paste $3.99
1 Bufferin $6.99
1 Pantene Beautiful Lengths $4.00
1 Nivea for Men body wash $3.00

Coupons:
•1, $5.00 off $25.00
•1, $3.00 off Bufferin
•1, $2.00 off Bourdreaux
•1, $3.00 off Bourdreaux Ad Perks
•1, $1.00 off Nivea bodywash
•1, $2.00 off Pantene (8/29 P&G)
•1, $3.00 off pampers from home mailer
•2, $3.00 Up rewards from last week (yesterday)

Paid:
$1.11 OOP ($0.14 was tax)

Received/Will Receive:
$4.00 in Up Rewards (1,$2.00 pantene & 1, $2.00 pampers)
$6.00 SCR from the bufferin

Transaction Two (mom's SCR account)

1 Pampers $8.99
1 Wipes $3.49 (rang up $2.79 with 20% discount)
1 Gain $0.89
1 Lint roller $1.00 (rang up $0.80 with 20% discount)
1 Nivea Lip $2.99 (rang up $2.39 with 20% discount)
1 Bufferin $6.99
1 Trident gum $1.29 (rang up $1.03 with discount)
1 Kit kat $1.59 (rang up $1.25 with discount)
1 Everlast energy shots $5.99 (rang up $4.79 with discount)

Coupons:
•1, $5.00 off $25.00
•1, $3.00 off pampers
•1, $2.00 off pampers from RA mom's rebate book
•1, $3.49 Buy pampers get free wipes (cashier entered pre-discount price)
•1, $1.00 Nivea Lip (sept all you)
•1, $3.00 Bufferin
•1, $10.00 Everlast supplement printable good through 12/31/10
•1, $1.00 gain (8/29 p&g)

Paid:
$0.43

Received/Will Receive:
$3.00 in Up Rewards (1,$1.00 nivea & 1, $2.00 pampers)
$6.00 SCR from the bufferin, $1.99 Nivea

Transaction Three (my SCR account)

4 Schick Hydro Razors (rain check $5.99 each)
1 Shick Hydro shave gel $3.49
1 Poster board lights $3.59

Coupons:

•1, $5.00 off $25.00
•4, $5.00 off schick hydro
•1, buy schick razor get free shave gel ($3.49)

Paid:
$4.37 ($1.82 was tax)

Received/Will Receive:
$3.59 SCR from the poster board lights

Total spent Out of Pocket (OOP) for all 3 transactions (everything in the photo!):

$5.91!! Less then the cost of one razor! PLUS will get back $17.58 in SCRs for a Moneymaker of $11.67 And, I have $9.00 in UP rewards to use next trip!

Did you get paid to shop this week? Tell me about it!

Signed, Sealed, Delivered

It's been a while since I've received anything good enough to write home about. This week was definitely a good week. The above photo shows everything that's come in the mail over the past week or so.


Magazines:
•Cosmopolitian
•Baby Talk

Coupons:
•Free Dunkin Donuts cup o' joe for signing up for the Dunkin perks program
•Pampers mailer with 2, $3.00 off one package coupons, gonna save this for next week at Rite Aid
•P&G coupons, not super impressive values, but the $0.50 off bounty doubled at the grocery store might make for a free roll when there's a sale.

Samples:
•Cheetos Zingers (came with a $1.00 off coupon)
•Better than Ears-missing from photo because the BB already ate it (came with $1.00 coupon)
•Gain liquid dish detergent-Wasn't sure if this one would come because I didn't think I was one of the first to sign up, but I must have made it in under the wire.
•3 full size Nature's Miracle products. Shampoo, Conditioner and deodorizing spray. This was a promotion run by the company where you try the product then right a review for their website. I'm thrilled to try this product because we use the Nature's Miracle cleaning product to clean up "pet spills" and always have an industrial size bottle on hand. We like the product so much I could be a spokesperson. We'll definitely be trying this product this weekend, and by "we" I mean I'll be trying it out on the BB. He on the other hand is not thrilled because the blow drying alone takes at least an hour and a half.

Free Toliet Paper, Right on!

This week there were a slew of free and cheap items after rebate. To make the best use of all of them and score 4, 12packs of Cottonelle here's what I did:

Transaction 1:
1 Cottonelle $6.49
1 Cramp 911 $6.99
1 Chestal Honey Cough Syrup $7.99
1 Stopain $6.99

Coupons:
$5.00 on $25.00
$0.50 Cottonelle (some regions got $1.00, not me)
$1.00 Chestal Cough Syrup pdf printable

Paid:
$21.96 OOP

Will get back $20.98 in SCRs!

Transaction 2:
1 Cottonelle $6.49
1 Cold calm $7.99
1 Kerasal $6.99
2 Joint Juice $5.99

Coupons:
$5.00 on $25.00
$1.00 Cold calm printable pdf
$1.00 Kerasal printable
$5.99 Joint Juice bogo

Paid:
$14.61 OOP

Will get back 13.00 SCRs!

Transaction 3:
1 Arth arrest $14.99
1 Salonpas $5.49
1 Cottonelle $6.49

Coupons:
$5.00 on $25.00
$1.00 on 12pk of cottonelle from all you

Paid:
20.97 OOP

Will get back $20.48 in SCRs!

Transaction 4:
1 Cottonelle $6.49
1 Cystex $6.99
1 Sinus Buster $8.99
1 Back aid $3.49
2 Snickers Marathon $1.49

Coupons:
$5.00 on $25.00
$0.50 Cottonelle

Paid:
$20.46 OOP

Will get back $17.49 in SCRS, plus $5.00 SCR 10 and $5.00 SCR 148 for buying $25.00 of Cottonelle!

Total For all Four Transactions (Everything in photo plus 2, 12packs of TP that are missing from the photo) OOP was $78.00, Total SCRS is $81.95, for a money maker of $3.95!! That's right 48 rolls of TP and over $140.00 of product for Free, plus Rite aid paid me $3.95 to carry it out.

Rite Aid- Christmas is Coming!

Christmas is coming! Yes I know it's only August, but when you can snag great deals like this, it immediately makes me think of the upcoming Holiday season.

3 Transactions yielded the following:

2, $25.00 I tunes gift cards
2, Pantene hair sprays-Missing from photo
4, C. Booth bath products (these smell delicious and they are FREE with the $6.00 in ad coupon found in this week's flyer!! PLUS get a $2.00 SCR, a $2.00 moneymaker!)
2, Dickenson's Witch Hazel-One is missing from photo (look for the one's with Mail in rebates attached)
1, Complete Contact Solution ($7.99 SCR)
1, Tugaboo trial size diapers ($1.00 SCR plus a $1.00 coupon inside!)
4, Chewable Rolaids
2, Kit Kat bars (E "needed" these-notice one is already missing)

Total Paid After Coupons:
$32.52!! (remember the gift cards alone retail for $50.00)

Total After Rebates:
$17.54

Plus...I got a $3.00 Up reward to use next time from the pantene hairspray!

I noticed that the I tunes cards are selling for approx. $20.00 to $26.00 (yes for a $25.00 card), so I might sell one to make my money back, making the second card and everything in the photo absolutely free!

The C.Booth products are very nice and would make a wonderful gift. Just add a little basket or tie them together with some cellophane and ribbon and you're good to go.

Back From Vacation

E, Little gray dog and I spent the week in Maine a few weeks back (thus no posts), but don't worry I was still shopping. It's a little hard to be motivated to shop when you're surrounded by such beautiful scenery. Now I just need a coupon for an ocean front estate...






Now it's back to the grind ugg

Do You Bzz?

A few months back I saw a little write up on a blog about being a BzzAgent. The concept/idea behind BzzAgent is that the marketing company receives a bunch of samples that they send out to members for free and in return the members will go out and share the samples with all their friends, creating a “buzz” (hopefully positive from the company's perspective) about the product. I signed up and hadn't really heard much from the site for a while (and honestly forgot I signed up). This morning I got an e-mail inviting me to participate in the Sebastian Professional Volupt System BzzCampaign. I filled out a short survey and then received the following e-mail:

"Greetings BzzAgent couponkari,

Thanks for joining the Sebastian Professional Volupt System BzzCampaign! Your BzzKit will be delivered within 21 days."

I'm not sure exactly what is being mailed to me, but I'm excited to try out a new product and give my opinion. Has anyone else done a BzzCampaign before? Do you Bzz?

CVS, Finally a Good Week!

CVS has been sort of dead for a while. I haven't been able to roll my ECBs and I've been waiting for something worth spending on. Last week I picked up some Starbucks, but really that was the only thing worth buying.

Please excuse this terrible photo!

Bought:
2 John Frieda $10.00
1 Complete contact solution $7.99
1 Papermate pens $0.99
1 Scissors $0.99
2 Bio True contact $2.99 each

Coupons:
2, $10.00 ECBs
2, $2.00 off John Frieda (I used my $3.00 cpns at Rite Aid last week)
1, $2.00 off complete

Paid:
$1.07 (my subtotal was negative 5 cents!, hand the ECBS first so the coupons will deduct tax).

Got back:
$5.00 John Frieda, $0.99 pens, $0.99 scissors, $7.99 complete, $5.98 bio true, not to bad of a trip! I may never have to buy shampoo again.

Rite Aid Deals 7/11, $2.25 MoneyMaker

This week's Rite Aid deals weren't as great as the past couple weeks, but I was still able to come out ahead.

Bought:
1 Coppertone Sunscreen $8.99 (counts towards the $25.00 skincare giftcard)
2 Suave Professionals
1 J&J non-stick pads $3.99, rang up $3.59 with Wellness discount
1 Crest with Scope $2.69
1 Crest 3D white $2.99
1 Tampax $2.99

Coupons:
$5.00 off $20 RA
$3.00 Coppertone Value Video
$2.00 Coppertone In ad
$1.00 Coppertone printable from company's site
$2.00 J&J nonstick pad printable (these had $1.00 peelies)
$2.00 J&J in ad
$1.00 Crest 3D (from a mailer, or use the RP 6/27)
$1.00 Tampax from the 7/4 P&G
$2.00 Get a free Suave product, from a mailer

Paid:
$6.46 OOP (1.21 was sales tax)-$2.25 Money Maker after Up+and SCRs below. If I was paying attention I would have paid with Up+ rewards from last week, but I was holding out hoping the next Rite Aid I went to would have the Neutrogena clinical box set...they didn't, so I'm crossing my fingers I'll be able to snag one on Wednesday when they get them back in stock.

Got back:
$1.00 Suave UP+, $1.00 Coppertone Up+, $1.00 J&J Up+

SCRS:
$2.00 crest, $2.69 crest, $1.00 tampax

Free Sobe at CVS

Update:
Above a photo of the Sobes I was able to snag this weekend (3 stores, I didn't wipe out anyone). All of them were FREE, I just paid sales tax, no coupon problems, not hassles. Gotta love CVS!

Have you been able to pick up your Free Sobe yet? This weekend I picked up 8 Sobe waters on sale BOGO at CVS. I used the BOGO Sobe Coupons I got playing the Sobe game here The coupons were even coded so that the cashier didn't have to enter the price (I love it when this happens).

8 Sobes BOGO
4 BOGO Coupons
= 8 Free Sobes (I just paid tax)

Fourth of July Finds at Rite Aid

Rite Aid is having an amazing sale this week. There were so many SCRs and Ups that I didn't even know where to begin. Lately I've been trying to only purchase things I know I'll have a use for (or can donate) as I'm up to my eyeballs in Everlast vitamins and can't seem to find anyone that wants them. I was really worried the contact solution might be gone by the time I got there, but amazingly there were bottles and bottles everywhere. I'm glad that this time they stocked up on the SCR items, because usually by the time I get there there's nothing left. This could be due to the fact I was shopping at 9:30pm on the fourth of july (weird I know).

My transaction:

1 Renu $7.29
1 Crest mouthwash $4.99
1 Oral B cross action $5.99
1 Blink $7.99
1 Crest toothpaste $2.49
1 Burts Bees Hand Salve $2.49 (rang up $2.29 with discount)

Coupons:
1, $5.00 off 20 RA Value video
1, $2.00 Renu printable
1, $2.00 RA value video July
1, $2.00 off crest mouthwash
1, $3.00 off Oral B power toothbrush (6/6?)
1, $2.00 off blink
1, $2.00 burts bees non-lip product (attached to the lip balm I bought previously, but when I got to the car I noticed the cashier didn't scan this and I didn't have the energy to go back in ugg)
1, $10.00 Up rewards from the john frieda I bought last week

Paid:
$4.25 OOP, will get back the following SCRs: $7.29 Renu, $4.00 oral B, $5.00 blink, $4.00 Crest mouthwash. For a money maker of $16.04! Plus I got back a $2.00 Up on the blink.

E also did the same transaction, minus the hand salve. Frustrating things that happened during the trip: the cashier insisted that we were buying the wrong blink and made us buy the blink for contacts, which I'm sure won't produce the $5.00 SCR, and the $2.00 up rewards that we should have received on both toothpastes didn't print. There was no manager on site, so they couldn't do anything and told us we could come back to fix the problem. I'm not sure I'll bother, as it was still a good trip.

Coupon Myths..."Buy You Can't Buy Organic/All Natural With Coupons"

So many times I'll be explaining coupons to someone and they'll end up telling me that they don't bother clipping coupons because, "We don't eat processed food", or "We only get organic". I think most people would be surprised to find that there are coupons for many different kinds of food (Organic, Meat, Dairy, Vegetables), not just "Cheap processed crap". A few weeks ago I was able to snag a Mambo Sprouts Coupon booklet at the customer service desk at my local shoprite.

Inside the book were coupons for:
$1.00 off 1 back to nature product
$1.00 off Blue Diamond Almond milk
$1.00 off nut thins
$0.50 off one mojo bar
$1.00 off Dagoba organic chocolate
$1.00 off 1 Kashi Organic promise cereal
$1.00 off 1 bear naked product
$1.00 off two kefir products
$1.00 off 2 organic valley products
$2.00 off two organic valley cheeses
$1.50 off any one rice select item
$1.00 off one Seventh Generation disinfectant cleaner
$0.75 off one R.W. Knudsen juice
$1.00 off one yo baby organic yogurt.

The photo is my most recent Shoprite trip. The all natural chicken sausages were $0.49 a package, the chicken was an organic whole roaster I got 50% off, just $7.99! The Honest Teas were free, the Gourmet D'Artanon Sausage was $3.00 (half off), the hamburger patties were $3.00 (half off). The turkey burgers were $0.49 a package (these aren't organic, but a great price). Cherries, $1.99 a pound. Olivia's Organic Salad $2.99. Ask you local meat manager when the meat gets clearanced. Our A&P always has 50% off meat Sunday afternoon. We stock up on good quality organic meats for a fraction of the retail cost.

Plastic Storage Love

Plastic storage is an addiction to me. I joke with E that when we go to target he should keep me away from the storage/organization section of the store because I will want to buy everything. It's an affinity I can't really explain, except for I like to keep things organized. One of my very favorite movies as a child was Mary Poppins and not so coincidentally, in both Mary Poppins and the Sound of Music Julie Andrews was a lovable a neat freak! "A place for everything and everything in it's place".

Anyway, enough background story. I was walking the growl box today when I happened upon a sign that said, "recycle or free". I did a double take then immediately started scooping up as much plastic storage as I could hold while walking the dog. Luckily it was in my next door neighbor's "yard" (cement area)so I made a second trip. I recently bought a bunch of shoe box size containers (and now wish I hadn't), but holy cow I'm more then thrilled at this find. If I wasn't headed to work I'd wash all of them now so I could start organizing my stash of drug store purchases right away. In total there are about 40 different size boxes and baskets and organizers.

Most of the shoe box size containers still have the Bed Bath and Beyond sticker $1.99!! SCORE

Rite Aid John Frieda Money Maker

This weekend I persuaded E to make several Rite Aid runs with me. Here's what the transactions looked like:

Bought:
4 John Frieda Root Awakening Products

Coupons:
1, $5.00 off $20.00
1, $1.00 off $10.00 hair care wellness
4, $3.00 off John Frieda Root Awakening (bought $20 for $1.99 on ebay last week)

Paid:
Paid with a $2.00 UP reward from buying Colgate last week
OOP was $ZERO! tax was $0.98
The pringles are in there because E had to have them and I had one $3.00 Up that I needed to use because I ran out of $2.00 rewards. They were $1.50 ekk

Got back $10 Up Reward on each transaction

Rinse and Repeat 5 times- for a money maker of $45.00!

Disclaimer: We went to different stores so we wouldn't wipe out any one store's stock. We do actually use this shampoo/conditioner and now will be fully stocked for the rest of the year. I have Rubbermaid containers (a little larger then shoe box size) that I put all of my alike products in...one for shampoo, one for toothpaste etc. To keep myself from going overboard and buying quantities too large for us to use, I give away and donate any products that can't fit in the containers. This week several toothbrushes, bodywashes and shampoos made their way to our local men's shelter.

Side note: Word on the street is that Rite Aid will now be coding all of it's $5.00 off $20.00 coupons and tying them to the new wellness card. I'm going to check with my local store this week as I had previously asked them about the coupon and they said there was no limit to the number I could use. I shop for my grandma, so it looks like I might need to sign her up for a separate card and videos account and watch the videos twice, bummer, but you know what they say about deals that are too good to be true!

Rite Aid's Back on My Good Side

After a few frustrating Rite Aid trips, I'm happy to say that Rite aid is back on my good side after this week's hassle free transactions.

Bought:
5 Puffs with Lotion @ $0.99 each
1 Zegrid 14 ct $11.99 rang up $10.79 after wellness discount
(is Wellness throwing off your totals too?)
1 Colgate toothpaste $2.99
1 Everlast Energy shot 2pk $5.39 after Wellness
4 Reeses PB cups @ $0.88 each bogo (yes one is missing from the shot..hmm where could that have gone ;)

Coupons:
1, $5.00 off $20 RA
1, $3.00 off Zegrid RA
1, $4.00 off Zegred Man
1, $1.00 off Colgate
1, $10.00 off Everlast RA pdf valid through 12/31!
5, $0.50 off puffs with lotion vocal point mailer

Paid:
$0.38 woo hoo

Got back $2.00 from the colgate and will submit for the Zegrid rebate for a $12.41 Moneymaker!

The wellness discounts are really throwing off my totals, I had figured the total out before checking out and thought I was A-OK, as I was watching the cashier scan the coupons I noticed that I had a negative subtotal. I quickly grabbed another two candy bars to "solve" the "problem". The cashier was very nice this time and I didn't have any problems with their acceptance of my coupons.

Rite Aid $4.76 Money Maker!

A trip to Rite Aid this Sunday yielded the following:

2 Rolls of Bounty Basic $0.99 each
2 Purex 3-in-one laundry sheets $3.00 each
1 Motrin $3.00
2 Pantene shampoo/conditioner $3.50 each
1 Colgate toothpaste $2.99

Coupons:
1, $5.00 off $20 RA coupon
2, $1.00 off Purex printables
1, $2.00 off Purex VV (May)
1, $1.00 off two Bounty towels
1, $3.00 off Motrin PM
1, $1.50 off pantene from home mailing
1, $1.00 off colgate

Paid:
$6.24 OOP, Got back $3.00 Up reward on Motrin, $2.00 Up on Colgate, $3.00 Up on Panteen. Plus I got back a $3.00 SCR on the Pantene (this has to be e-mailed to you or you won't receive credit for it). For a Money Maker of $4.76. For some reason the Up reward did not print on the Purex, but it's only a dollar so I let it slide.

What's with the New Title/page?

Well, come to find out City Saver is a registered trademark (whoops, never even occurred to me to check into that sort of thing) and the folks at City Saver don't like to share.

No biggie, I'm happy to change my title/blog address. I was trying to think of something more creative, but under pressure to take the old site down, I'm now going with Couponingwithkari.blogspot.com for at least now. Thanks to all of my readers for sticking around and check back late this evening/early tomorrow for my latest Rite Aid deals!

Corporate Calling...I'm Bringing Coupons Back!

So I took the day off Friday to for a little R&R. During the day I made a "quick" trip to Rite Aid to pick up some of last weeks deals. Everything was going smoothly as planned until...the cashier looked at my two $10.00 Everlast coupons and told me, "you can only use one".

Now I frequently need to "educate" cashiers about their own corporate coupon policies, but this particular cashier wouldn't not hear it (or see it, as I bring my own copy of the policy for exactly this reason). The cashier called for the manager who also told me (even after seeing the policy)that her district manager said they were "losing too much money" so they are "cutting back on coupon use". She then told me that "they"(district manager) don't "interpret" the policy to mean that customers can use two coupons on a bogo sale.

I stayed calm while the manager went to the back to call her district manager. I explained "in a calm and appropriate manner" that it doesn't really matter what the district manager says, as I have a copy of Corporate's policy, but she was not able to hear this. While she called, I called corporate from my cell phone. Once I got the CSR I told her the situation and handed my phone to the cashier who then handed the phone to the manager.

They were gone for about 5 minutes, but when they came back the manager apologized (after both the cashier and manager repeatedly acted like I was trying to leave the building with a flat screen TV in my pants). The cashier even said to me, "You'd be getting 5 items for $0.76". I responded, "Exactly, that's why I use coupons". She then asked me if I worked for corporate, I didn't say anything, just smiled.

Long story short the manager told me that I was right and she was sorry for the "confusion". I concurred and responded, "I'm glad we're all on the same page".

I don't like to argue, but when I'm right I will be aggressive assertive until I make my point. I left the store with everything in the photo for just $3.20 (two transactions). Plus I'll get back a $10.00 scr on the sunglasses and a $3.00 scr on the secret for a moneymaker of $6.80! The moral of this story is, be assertive, if you know you're right, don't let cashier bully you into feeling like you're doing something wrong. The whole ride home poor E had to listen to me singing my best rendition of "I'm bringing coupons back..." Yeah I Lame, I know.

I Heart Hood!

Being a New England girl, I've always loved Hood dairy products. Growing up we had a Collie named Morgan who loved Hoodsie cups (for those of you who aren't familiar they are little cups with half vanilla and half chocolate icecream, not swirled, literally half of the cup is chocolate and half vanilla. They touch but are not mixed). To eat one you must unwrap the wooden "spoon" and peel back the paper "lid". Summer just isn't summer without at least one Hoodsie cup.

Recently, I "Liked" Hood dairy on facebook and signed up for a free milk coupon. Yesterday I received a letter from Hood stating that my state doesn't allow free coupons. Inside the letter was a coupon for a chocolate milkshake (apparently milkshake isn't milk?) and a check for $5.00!! You read that right, Hood sent me a check for $5.00! I certainly would have been pleased with the milkshake coupon alone, but the check was above and beyond my expectations.

Just another reason to love Hood Dairy!

Sunday Rite Aid Money Maker!

Took a trip to Rite Aid this afternoon to "get in" on the 3 day body wash sale. Unfortunately nobody in my family/extended family, except my dad (and how much can one man really use?), uses men's body wash, so all of this will be donated. Fortunately, everyone in my family uses deodorant (smile) so these secret's will go to good use.

Two transactions yielded:

4 secret, $2.49 each
4 Old spice body wash, $2.99 each
2 Herbal Essences shampoo, $2.49 each
2 Herbal Essences conditioner, $2.49 each
1 Style Science kids sunglasses $7.99
1 Schick Hydro 5 blade $6.99

Coupons
2, $5.00 off $20.00 Value Video coupons (1 per transaction/account)
4, $1.00 off Herbal Essences
2, $1.00 off secret when you buy 2
2, BOGO old spice bodywash
1, $4.00 off style science kids sunglasses
1, $5.00 off schick hydro
1, $1.00 off schick hydro value video
Tried to use 2, $1.00 off $10.00 skincare but they wouldn't scan so the cashier wouldn't take them, the Rite Aid near me has really touchy scanners, I wish they would upgrade.

Paid
$17.45 OOP, will get back the following SCRs:
2, $2.99 SCR on the old spice (one for my account and one for mom's)
4, $3.00 SCR secret (two me, two mom)
4, $3.00 SCR herbal essences (two me, two mom)
1, $10.00 SCR sunglasses (already bought one, needed one more for this rebate)

For a Money Maker of $10.53 yay!