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:

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:

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:

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!)

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:

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.

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: