thursday shopping 12-16-10 (& shopping link-up)

Another week, another shopping challenge.  This time I dropped off Princess at preschool at 8:30am and needed to make it to both Walgreens & Publix before picking up my mother-in-law for her hearing aid appointment at 10.  Luckily both trips were smooth sailing all the way, with friendly cashiers and few coupon issues, and I made my deadline with 5 whole minutes to spare!

Here is what I got:

thursday shopping 12-09-10 (& shopping link-up)

Today my shopping challenge was to make it through three stores with Trouble in tow, all in less than ninety minutes.  We left the house at 11:06am and needed to pick up Princess from school at promptly 12:30.  Luckily all three stores are close by, but it was still a push.  Unfortunately I was in such a hurry by the time I got to my last store that I didn't notice that the cashier completely forgot to scan my (3) $3 off coupons for the vitamins, prompting a quick trip back for a price adjustment.  Oops.

Here is what I got:

thursday shopping 12-02-10 (& shopping link-up)

I couldn't resist popping into Walgreens yesterday to take advantage of the Friends & Family 15% discount.  Unfortunately I had to take both girls with me, which was, to put it mildly, an unmitigated disaster.  Princess, who insisted on wearing her "sparkly princess" shoes (although I told her not to), slipped and fell on the shiny floor.

Normally she probably would've just laughed it off, but because it was late afternoon and she was tired and hungry and not at all in the mood for a trip to the drugstore, she decided to cause a hugely melodramatic scene, crying hysterically while artfully collapsing several times, insisting she was far too injured to walk, and forcing me to carry (all 38 pounds) of her around the store, all while I pushed Trouble (who by this point was also screaming hysterically, not to mention standing up and dangling precariously over the front) in the grocery cart.

If you took advantage of the special discount yesterday, you may have noticed that the coupon specifically required checkout at either the photo counter or the cosmetics counter, requiring me to abandon my "regular" friendly cashier, Maggie, and venture into uncharted territory, to a new (to me) cashier who loudly declared to the customer in front of me that she hates coupons and thinks they should be outlawed.

Oh boy.

I shouldn't really complain, because when it was my turn to check out she was perfectly nice, despite her obvious disapproval.  She may have just been taking pity on me, though, on account of the two screaming children, one of whom was desperately trying to get out of my grasp, and one who was clutching on for dear life.  I nicely said something like, "I know it is a lot more work, but I do save a lot of money this way," to which she snapped, "coupons don't save people any money, you just end up buying things you don't need."

I knew I was beaten.

But at least I made out with a great haul.  Here is what I got:

sunday shopping 11-28-10

I hope you all have had a wonderful holiday weekend!  Mine has been spent enjoying a lot of family time, putting up Christmas decorations, & fighting off a cold.  Aside from that last one, it has been a very fun and relaxing few days spent almost entirely at home.  Even so, I did manage to make it out for a little while today for a quick trip to Walgreens and Publix.

For all you Southerners, there is an AWESOME deal on gas at Publix this week--with any $25 purchase (before coupons) you can get $10 off a $50 gas gift card of your choice.  There is also a coupon for $10 off a $50 American Express Gift Card.  This one does not require a grocery purchase, but there is a $4.95 activation fee, so you end up paying $44.95 for a $50 American Express card--$5 free dollars is better than nothing!  You can find both coupons in the weekly sales flyer at the front of the store, and it will be good through Tuesday or Wednesday, depending on which day your store starts the new ad.  (My Publix starts their new ads on Thursdays)

While you are grabbing the weekly flyer, be sure to also grab two new coupon booklets that just came out--the Winter Family Savings booklet and the All the Trimmings booklet.  (I posted a picture of them below).  Both have a ton of great store & manufacturer's coupons that are sure to be useful this month.  If you can't find them at the front of the store, ask at customer service.

Here is what I got:

walgreens black friday shopping (& weekly shopping link-up)

I woke up this morning with a full-blown cold, but I couldn't bear the thought of missing out on the Walgreens Black Friday sale.  Thus, I bucked up, took a big dose of DayQuil, and headed on over.  Unfortunately my head was in a bit of a fog from the medication and I ended up messing up my transactions, which resulted in a higher OOP cost than I had planned.

Oh well, you can't win 'em all and I still ended up with a lot of great stuff, including some more much-needed toilet paper and diapers.

Here is what I got:

cvs black friday shopping

If you like free stuff, you will love the Black Friday deals happening at CVS!  The ad was active as of 9pm this evening, so I couldn't resist my chance to hot deals ahead of the crowds.  I could've easily walked out of there spending less than $5 for over $100 worth of stuff, but there were a few extra things I added that bumped up my total.  I also found a few random items--fall decorations & socks--on 90% clearance.

Here is what I got:

sunday shopping 11-21-10

I plan to hit both CVS and Walgreens later this week to take advantage of their awesome Black Friday sales, but I did make a quick trip to CVS today to grab a few gift items (and milk!).

Here is what I got:

thursday shopping 11-18-10 (& shopping link-up)

To be perfectly honest, I have been dreading today's pre-Thanksgiving shopping trip.  As much as I've tried to stock up on sale-priced Thanksgiving-related items over the past couple of weeks, I knew the day was coming where I would have to--gasp--pay full price for quite a few items, something I rarely do these days.  But considering I spent well over $350 last year doing while shopping for the exact same Thanksgiving menu, in the grand scheme of things, I guess I didn't do too badly.

Here is what I got:

tuesday shopping 11-16-10

I don't normally shop on Tuesdays, but I wanted to quick run into Publix to grab some Bailey's coffee creamer while it was still on BOGO sale. (There was a $1 off coupon in this past Sunday's paper.)  When I got there, I remembered that sweet onions were on sale and I had forgotten to grab them last Thursday even though they are on my Thanksgiving list.  The Bailey's creamer was completely sold out, but since I was there I couldn't resist grabbing a free avocado and a very cheap can of pinto beans.

Here is what I got:

sunday shopping 11-14-10

I just have to say that I really, really, really love shopping at CVS.  I was so glad to see the deals were back this week, because CVS, I missed you!  I stopped at my two favorite stores today (Punta Gorda & Edgewater/US41), and both were a dream.  I mentioned last week that the Edgewater CVS is ranked one of the best stores in the whole country, and this week again the whole staff bent over backwards to help me find the items I was looking for.  If I could only shop at one store for the rest of my life, it would be CVS.

Here is what I got:

thursday shopping 11-11-10 (& shopping link-up)

Wow, I think I may have missed my calling as a movie star.  Actually, I'm just kidding.  I don't think I could be more awkward on camera if I tried.  To me the best part about having kids is always getting to be behind the camera and not in front of it.  Nonetheless, for some crazy reason I decided it would be fun to tape my shopping trip today, just so you can see what a coupon shopping adventure with me looks like. Princess was at school but Trouble got to join the fun.  (And a big thanks to K. for tagging along and holding the camera!)

sunday shopping 11-7-10

After taking a few weeks off from CVS, I just couldn't stay away any longer  I had a couple of rain checks leftover from the Oral-B Vitality toothbrush deal a few weeks ago that I wanted to use, and I had received a couple of coupons via email and regular mail that I figured I would use as well.  The only deal in this week's ad that I was really excited about was the BOGO raisins, but wouldn't you know it, when I got there, the raisins were all sold out!  I did grab a raincheck, though, because my girls can't get enough of those little buggers.  There are 4 CVS stores within 5 miles of my house, but there are two in particular that I really like.  One of those, I found out today, is ranked #7 for customer service out of all the CVS stores in the whole country.  No wonder I like it so much!

Walgreens was actually a lot of fun today as well.  I wasn't sure if all of my coupons and Register Rewards would work out the way I had planned, and the very nice cashier was more than willing to bear with me as I "tested the waters" with my first transaction.  Happily, everything worked out perfectly, and it was a great trip.

Here is what I got:

thursday shopping 11-04-10 (& shopping link-up)

Wow, this morning has already been so full of highs (my trip to Publix) and lows (Trouble waking up at 4am, internet issues) that I can't believe it is only 11am.  I just have to say that today's shopping trip was awesome!  Even Trouble's stubborn toddler insistence that I don't put my hands on the shopping cart to push it (I finally just pulled it around the store from the front of the cart) couldn't put a damper on what was truly a fabulous shopping trip full of mega savings.  I used 68 coupons, a new personal record, and I saved over $144!

I fortunately had my coupons very organized this trip, but it still took a very long time to check out.  Major props to Catherine, my cashier, who was exceedingly patient, even when I went over the coupon limit and she had to call the manager for an override.  And to the two poor guys stuck behind me, (who were less than amused), if you are reading this, I'm really sorry for making you wait so long!

Here is what I got:

hot deal: monday shopping 11-01-10

I hate shopping or running errands on Monday morning because I feel like it throws off my whole week.  I need this time to re-group from the weekend and get my house and life in order.  However, there is such a hot little money-maker deal going on that I couldn't resist venturing out for a quick Walgreens run.  But I gotta say, it was worth messing up my whole day!

Here is what I got:

sunday shopping 10-31-10

Happy Halloween!  Don't forget that today is the last day to enter the giveaway for a $20 Haddy Grace Designs gift certificate!  Haddy Grace features the most adorable handmade girls dresses, onsies, & baby shoes, and the prices are ridiculously reasonable.  Click here for details.

Now, on to shopping....

I had to take a break from all our weekend festivities to do my Sunday drugstore shopping.  I actually decided to skip CVS this week, as the deals there weren't thrilling me yet again.  I'm hoping next week they get their mojo back!  But I had a great trip to Walgreens, and I have to give a shout-out to the great staff and manager at the Punta Gorda store.  They were all so friendly, helpful, & patient today, even with my gazillion coupons, a self-inflicted fiasco, and 4 complicated transactions.  It made shopping truly a pleasure.

Here is what I got:

thursday shopping 10-28-10 (& shopping link-up)

After a whole month of bare-minimum grocery shopping my once-plentiful stockpile was starting to look a little pathetic, and I realized it was time for a major shopping trip.  While Trouble was napping this morning, I actually sat down (novel concept, I know!) and took plenty of time to gather and organize all my coupons before my trip.  So I was really, really irritated with myself when I got to the store and realized I had forgotten to print my free avocado coupon.  Again.  Grrrrr.  I wanted to strangle myself, but other than that one little mishap, the excursion was uneventful.  And in honor of Halloween, the bakery was giving out free frosted sprinkle cookies to the kids, which was a treat (especially since the nice bakery man let mommy have one, too.  The breakfast of champions!)

When I got home, I realized that my very sweet cashier had forgotten two of my coupons and I had forgotten the hot dogs.  Since I still wanted my free avocado, and since I was planning to make a quick trip to Walgreens for milk, eggs, & butter, I decided to pop back in.  The customer service gal very graciously refunded my $2 for the coupons, and I FINALLY got my avocado.

sunday shopping 10-24-10

I've been offline all weekend as I am desperately trying to finish repainting our master bedroom.  (No small task with two little ones constantly underfoot--Trouble seems to be drawn like a magnet to wet paint!)  With hours left of painting yet to complete, I almost skipped my Sunday shopping altogether, but then I ran out of paint.  The CVS ad wasn't thrilling me this week but Walgreens is right on the way to Home Depot.  I figured I would just pop in for a few things.

Here is what I got:

thursday shopping 10-21-10

I started out this morning a little frustrated because my papers didn't include several of the coupons I was hoping to use.  It didn't help matters that I had sneaked Trouble's special blankie into the wash, not realizing that she, being obsessed with the washer, would see it tumbling around and completely freak out.  It was hard to concentrate over the hour-long scream fest that ensued, and I completely forgot to print another free avocado coupon while assembling my list.

My grocery outing itself, however, was a joy.  Trouble was in exceptionally good spirits, having made a full recovery from her earlier trauma, and we zipped through Publix without forgetting a single thing (except my free avocado coupon!)  CVS was similarly delightful, and the wonderful manager there had no problem accepting my 2-days-expired Extra Care Bucks.

Here is what I got:

sunday shopping 10-17-10

Today's drugstore shopping adventure was unexpectedly draining and a good reminder of why people get frustrated and fed up with couponing.  That said, it was also extremely successful, and when all was said and done, frustrations aside, I still saved over $220 for about 5 hours of work (including making my lists, gathering coupons, and going to multiple stores.)  For the math challenged, that is $44 an hour!

Here is what I got:

thursday shopping 10-14-10

Aside from forgetting my list and all my coupons on the kitchen counter (and having to go all the way back home to get them), today's shopping trip was relatively uneventful.  I wasn't super excited by the ads at either Publix or Winn-Dixie this week, but luckily I have enough food in my stockpile to last us several months, which meant I didn't really have to buy too much.

Here is what I got: