Walgreens Deals 5/7/12

I am not a huge fan of Walgreens, but I thought this week had some good deals worth getting.

Transaction #!

Complete Contact Solution $7.99

Receive $7.99 in Register Rewards (RR's)

Used a $1 off manufacturer coupon

Total - $7.45 and Received $7.99 RR's

Transaction #2

Dove bar soap

.99 cents with Walgreens weekly ad coupon

Yardley Body Wash

On sale $1.99

Used a $1 off manufacturer coupons from this Sunday's paper

Mitchum deoderant

On sale $1.99

Used a $1 off a Mitchum Ladies deoderant manufacturer's coupon

Witch Hazel

On sale $4

Receive $4 RR's

Total - $3.36 (used $7.99 RR's)

Plus I received $4 RR for my next trip to Walgreens!

CVS Deals 5/7/12

CVS made up for last week lousy deals by giving us some great deals this week. I did two transactions and started with $2 in ExtraCare Bucks (ECB's)

Transaction #1

Twix

Mars Chocolate Singles on sale .75 cents

Receive .75 cent ECB

U by Kotex

On sale for $3.99

Receive $3 ECB's

Physicians Formula makeup

On sale $5 off any product

PH Lipgloss $4.99 (Originally $9.99)

Green Cover stick $1.29 (Originally $6.29)

Yellow Cover stick $1.29 (Originally $6.29)

I used a $7 off on any Physicians Formula coupon from the CVS coupon machine.

Total - $3.53 and received $3.75 ECB's (Used $2 in ECB's)

Transaction #2

Fruitopia Shampoo and Conditioner

On sale 2 for $5

Used 2 - $2 off coupons from the Reinventing Beauty Magazines

General Mills Cereal

On sale 3 for $9

Receive $4 ECB's

Used a $1.10 off any 2 General Mills printable coupon

Used a .60 cents off any Reeses Puff cereal printable coupon

Total - $4.31 (Used $3.75 ECB's from previous transaction)

Grand Total - $7.84 for $41.31 worth of product

Plus $4 in ECB's towards my next shopping trip!

Finding and Organizing Coupons

Finding coupons is the most important step for saving money. Coupons are the key to saving money every time you go to the grocery store. There are a few ways to get coupons.

Begin with buying papers on Sunday or sign up for a subscription. You can buy papers at gas stations, grocery stores, but the best way (and cheapest) to get coupons is definitely signing up for a subscription. When buying papers be sure to get an even number. Having at least two coupons will save your more money when stores run BOGO free sales.

Coupons can also be printed online. Here are a few sites that I use - coupons.com coupons.smartsource.com redplum.com These sites will allow you to print two coupons per computer. Occasionally, the print limits will change, allowing you to print more coupons. There are stores coupons that are available including - coupons.target.com cvscoupons.com Some stores allow coupon stacking. Stacking is using a store coupon and manufacturer coupon. My local Publix takes Winn-Dixie and Target store coupons because they are a local competitors. Check your stores coupon policy to see if they allow competitor coupons to be used.

Once you have the inserts from the Sunday paper, you will need to start clipping. Clipping every coupon can take several hours or even up to a day until you get a routine down.

 Sort the clipped coupons and put them in your binder. A coupon binder is any type of 3 ring notebook that has baseball card holders and dividers in it to help organize the coupons.

Once all the coupons are put in their correct divider, you are ready to start matching them up with current store deals.

Hope this helps you start on the path to saving money!

CVS Deal 5/2/12

Hey! I went over to my local CVS today and scored an awesome deal. I did 2 transactions. I paid $4.05 out of pocket. Here is how I did it. Keep in mind that you can still do this deal. This sale is going on until Saturday at midnight.

Transaction #2

2 Lady Speedstick deoderants - on sale 2 for $5.

I had a BOGO free coupon

 2 $1 off any deoderant (CVS store coupons from the red kiosk inside CVS.)

Paid .25 cents each.

2 Colgate Maxfresh toothpastes - on sale for $2.99 and receive $2.49 in ECB's

I had 2 $1 off coupons from the Reinventing Beauty Magazine

 2 $1 off any toothpaste (CVS store coupon)

$1.50 Money maker each after ECB's

Total - $3.07 for $15.55 worth of product. (Received $4.98 in ECB's)

Transaction #2

Pantene Shampoo and Conditioner - on sale 2 for $6.97 and receive $1 ECB

Used 1 BOGO free coupon.

$3.48

Fruitopia Shampoo and Conditioner - on sale 2 for $7

Used 2 $2 off Fruitopia coupon from the Reinventing Beauty Magazine

.50 cents each

Skittles - clearance

.89 cents

Total - .98 cents (After using my ECB's from transaction #1)

Grand Total = $4.05 for $34.08 worth of product

Leave a comment below if you have any questions!

Couponing Classes

I am going to a couponing class tomorrow afternoon. I am so excited that I can hardly stand it. I hope that I am able to learn something new from the instructor. I went to a couponing class in the beginning of April that was supposed to be taught by Mary from Couponers United. Unfortunately she was under the weather that day so a man named Perry filled in for her. To be completely honest, I was disappointed. I thought to myself, "How is this guy going to teach us anything about saving money on groceries?" Come to find out, he did an outstanding job of showing us some of the in and outs of couponing. I was very impressed with how he taught the class. I have been couponing for almost a year now, and I was still able to learn some useful tips.

I said all of that to tell you this. Never stop learning! You may feel that you know everything there is to know about couponing; however, I suggest that you continue to gain knowledge about saving money. Someone is always going to be able to offer helpful tips and tricks. Keep reading blogs written by couponers, keep checking couponer Facebook pages, keep watching couponing videos on Youtube, and try to find a couponers class or workshop in your area.

If you live in the Central Florida area, I suggest you visit http://www.couponersunited.com/ and look into the classes that they offer.

Come visit my Facebook page to see how the class goes tomorrow! The Young Couponer

Best of luck to all of my fellow Money Savers♥

The Reason Why I Coupon.

Ever since TLC's show "Extreme Couponing" hit the airways, the couponing industry has really picked up speed. Many people start couponing only to stop in a few months simply because they cannot seem to get the crazy deals that the couponers on "Extreme Couponing" are able to get. Unfortunately, they become frustrated and quit.

 I believe that couponing is a way of life. People need to realize that couponing takes work, and a lot of it. It really is like working a part time job. You will not be an extreme couponer overnight. It will take time to learn all of the tricks of the trade. You must keep reminding yourself that you are helping build your family's stockpile and saving money all at the same time. Overtime you will be saving your family an average of about 60 - 70% on groceries. Now there will be times when you can get items for free. Occasionally you will be able to save 90 - 100 %. Of course, I am sure that there are exceptions out there in the world. Some people may pick up quickly on how to coupon, but others will take more time learning how to coupon.

I have two reasons why I love to coupon. The first reason is that I enjoy doing everything I can to help my family save money and stretch the money that we do have. Getting the best bang for your buck is something that will forever be in my brain. Not trying to sound greedy, but our family can have so much more when we coupon. If our budget is tight, we do not have to settle for buying generic brands. I can almost always find the name brands for a cheaper price if I match a coupon to the weekly ads. The second reason is that I love doing it. Couponing is so much fun for me. Every week I get excited to see what coupons at are the Sunday paper and what deal I will get.

Why do you coupon and what do you enjoy about couponing? Please leave a comment below : )
Feel free to ask me any question that you may have. I will answer to the best of my ability.

Follow me on Facebook "The Young Couponer"
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Couponing 101 at CVS

CVS is one of my favorite stores for couponing. I have done some of my best deals here. Here are a couple of steps to getting started at CVS.

1. Sign up for an Extra Care Card. This card is the gateway to saving a lot of money at CVS. You will want to make sure you fill in the email address line. CVS will send occasional store coupons such as $4 off of $20 purchase.

2. Once you have your card, scan it each time at the Coupon Kiosk inside the store. This machine will randomly print off different coupons.

3. Grab a weekly sales ad. This will show you the deals that are currently running at your store. Pay attention to Extra Care Buck deals.

4. Extra Care Bucks are basically CVS money. ECB's come in different amounts. CVS will run different sales where you can buy an item and get an ECB back for the same amount of money that you spent on that item. (Example, contact solution. Pay $8.99 then receive an ECB worth $8.99) CVS also has deals where you can spend an amount of money and get ECB's back. (Look at the weekly ad above. ^^ Spend $25 and receive $10 in ECB's.) You can spend ECB's on pretty much any item in the store. A list of what cannot be purchased can be seen at the bottom of each ECB. Each ECB has an expiration date, so be sure to use them before the expire.

5. Remember that coupon kiosk? It prints store coupons that can be stacked with manufacturer coupons for even more savings!

6. Beauty Club Rewards. Ladies, be sure to sign up at the link below. The CVS Beauty Club will send you a $5 ECB for every $50 you spend on beauty items.

http://www.cvs.com/CVSApp/promoContent/promoLandingTemplate.jsp?promoLandingId=1284

7. The Reinventing Beauty Magazine is a CVS magazine. It is full of beauty tips, tricks, and best of all coupons. Some of the coupons are actual CVS store coupons, while others are manufacturer coupons.

I hope that these tips will be a help to anyone reading this! If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to comment below. Happy Couponing  :  )