Renpure Try Me Free deal

If you’re like me and you tried a “Try-Me-Free” Renpure deal using ECB or +UP, know that they’ve added those store credits as part of the “any other offer” prohibition on their label.  Read more here.

I only did the deal once (I think it was at CVS on Black Friday) and did get my check.   However, a friend did the deal several times in January and hadn’t received her check.  We emailed the company (we b/c she doesn’t have the internet) and they responded favorably and she received her checks.  I was surprised that there is no limit on how many times you can do a TMF (I believe this is still the policy, but I’m not sure).

For a while, I was following a Facebook fan page, but the protesting comments were deleted, and then the entire page.  So… if you missed this info and are looking for a rebate, KINDLY email info @ renpure (dot) com.  They should be able to assist you.

Please read all the fine print when doing rebates!

CVS – 3/27

I’m supposed to be doing homework, but I’ll take a short break to let you know what I found interesting at CVS this week.  I’m holding out for an end-of-the-week coupon to actually make these purchases.

Bandaids/Neosporin — spend $10, get $5 ECB
Buy 4 small items that get just over $10.
Use (2) $2/2 coupons from the internet (for any Listerine, Carefree, Bandaids or Neosporin product)
Net:  varies, but hopefully between $1-2

Folgers Coffee (limit 1) – $4.99, $1 ECB
Use (1) $2/1 coupon from Facebook
Net:  $1.99

Visine Travel – $1.99 (not on sale, but a free filler if I need to get to $25 or $30, usually located near the check-out)
Use $2/1 coupon from internet

Skintimate Shave Cream – $3.49, get $2.50 ECB (limit 1)
Use $1/1 coupon from the newspaper
Net:  $0.01 MM!
Now we just need some free razor deals!

Physicians Formula Make-up – price varies, but get $7 ECB (limit 1)
I plan to use a $5 pdf coupon I found online and buy the concealer for $6.29.
Net:  $5+ MM!
If you haven’t done the “Try Me Free” tag deal, you could look for one of those.  Use it without the coupon on specified products and you’ll have a MM too!

Physicians Formula Organic Mascara – $9.99, get $7 ECB (limit 1)
This is a different deal number than the one listed above.  Rumor has it the CVS ad names the right product, but shows the wrong one.  Make sure you check the deal numbers if you plan to do both.
Again, I’ll use a $5 pdf coupon.
Net:  $2. MM

Share the Wealth – Part 2

I have to admit that my joy yesterday was overcome with sadness today. The food give-a-way is scheduled for 10am-12noon. Every table in the place was full with goods at 10am. I got there at 10:20 and the food and supplies were mostly gone. Gone.

The two workers who came to my house yesterday told me there was a line when they got there at 9:45.

I think my feelings of sadness came when I saw people arriving who were choosing from what was left – some canned goods and produce provided by the food bank in Washington DC. Even the large (I thought) amount of stuff I had to donate didn’t last half an hour.

I learned that things like deodorant, shampoo, etc. are things that none of the other local places provide, and are sometimes hard to get with food stamps and other forms of assistance. I was somewhat shocked at the long list of people who had already been through the food give-a-way when I arrived.

I am still joyful – knowing how appreciative these kind souls must have been for things that they haven’t been able to get anywhere else. Yet, I am still sad I can’t meet every need. I guess I should take heart knowing that what I do makes a difference. Although my donation seemed insufficient and insignificant even for the need at this one food give-a-way, it was very significant in the lives of the people who received the items.

Sharing the Wealth – Part 1

Today I was finally able to give away a significant portion of my stockpile to our local food give-a-way. I have been waiting for today! Two of the people who work with the give-a-way came to pick the things up (what a nice gesture).

All of these things cost me very little money, although it did cost quite a bit of time and energy. Most of it was free. I write this not because I want to toot my own horn, but because I want to demonstrate the tremendous blessing to be had when you coupon. There are probably some who coupon and hoard. I coupon and give. I believe that if something would happen to our family and we would find ourselves in need, God would provide for us in that moment like he is using me to provide for others now.

I have been blessed – now I want to be a blessing
I have been loved – now I want to bring love
I’ve been invited – I want to share the invitation
I have been changed – to bring change, to bring change

We want to show You that we’re thankful
Flooding Your world with hope and peace
Help us to worship more than singing
Giving Redemption hands and feet

Select verse and chorus from Aaron Neiquist’s song “changed.”

I hope to go to the food give-a-way tomorrow to see what happens and to take some pictures of the set up, etc. Maybe it will inspire you to donate some of your abundance to a worthy cause near you!

“CVS, You’re forgiven…”

Not too many items, but getting all this and MAKING $8 a day BEFORE the sale started was well worth it!

All day Thursday, I waited for a $5 off $30 coupon.  I think I checked my email every 10 minutes.  I checked it again on Friday morning, but then had to run errands.  I decided that I would be going past a CVS and had no plans to leave the house on Saturday, so instead of waiting for the “probably-not-coming-this-week” coupon, I would just get my CVS shopping done while I was out on Friday.

I found most of the things I wanted, but was still waiting on a raincheck.  This made my carefully planned transactions not so neat and I had to pay more OOP and have more ECB to carry over.  As I drove to what I thought would be our last stop of errands, I realized that I had not gotten my Coke $5 ECB.  I was a little miffed knowing that I had spent $15.34 and not the $14.34 on my receipt.  However, it was already 1:00 and my kids hadn’t had their lunch yet, so I stopped at a second CVS to get another 2 liter and get my deal.  (Later I remembered that I hadn’t purchased $15 as I thought… doing things in two transactions on two days with baby brain can be so confusing!  Did I really think CVS’s cash registers would mess up my deal?)

BUT… here’s the kicker!  I arrived home around 2:00 and checked my email.  AND THERE IT WAS!  And this week the email coupon was even better: a $5 off $25.  Only, I had just spent $25 half an hour after the time-stamp on the email and wasn’t planning on doing it again the upcoming week.  I walked around in shock for a while.  Then, I regrouped and looked at this week’s ad with new eyes.  That’s when it hit me….

I should try what I’ve only heard others talk about:  Get Sunday’s deal on Saturday.

Hmm…  I quickly put together a scenario very close to $25 and called to make sure that ECB print with the new prices.  My CVS said that after 6:00 at their store, both week’s deals run and ECB should indeed print.  Well, I rallied a friend (I was too scared to try this adventure on my own) and we made our way there on Saturday night.  I had all of the next week’s deals on my list and she had a mix of both weeks.  Do you know what?

It WORKED!

We got our deals and I didn’t have to shop today on an already full Sunday for us.  So, CVS, I was really mad at you on Friday when I got the coupon after I shopped.  But, having made $8 with great customer service a whole day before the actual sale, I’ll forgive you.  Plus, your email worked and you got me to go on a second un-planned trip.  Since you’ll get money back from my manufacturer’s coupons, we both win!

Here’s what I got, though your deals may vary because of the coupons I had.

Head & Shoulders, $4.99, get $2.50 ECB (limit 1, Pantene products also included)
Use $2.00/1 coupon (maybe from a mailer??)
Net total:  $0.49

Allegra, 5 count, $6.99, get $6.99 ECB (limit 1)
Use $2.00 printable coupon
Net total:  $2.00 MONEYMAKER (MM)

Physicians Formula Make-up 40% off
The CVS coupon machine had given me a $6 coupon earlier in the week.  I bought the cheapest thing I could find at $6.29 just so I could use the  coupon and get to $25 to use my email coupon.  The markdown was to $3.77, making this a $2.23 MM for me.
I believe there are newspaper PF coupons this week, but I don’t know the details.

Crest Pro-Health Clinical Toothpaste and Floss – $3.49, get $2.50 ECB (limit 2)
Use various $1 off 1 coupons for t-paste or floss
Net total:  $0.02 MM for 2
OR
Use $1/2 toothpaste coupons
Net total:  $0.98 for 2

Dawn dish soap, $0.97
Use $0.50 coupon from P&G Savings booklet
Net:  $0.47

Trident gum – $1.29 — NOT ON SALE!
I needed a little bit more to get to $25 since I couldn’t find the Colgate deal or my raincheck deal.  I had a CVS coupon machine coupon for $1 Trident gum, so, while this was not on sale, it worked out well for me.

I made money on the Allegra, make-up, and with my email coupon, broke even with the toothpaste and floss and paid minimum for the Dawn, Trident, and Head & Shoulders. I left on cloud-nine last night.

This was the Colgate deal I couldn’t do:

Colgate Total toothpaste and 360 toothbrush, $2.99 get $2 ECB (limit 2)
Use $1 toothpaste coupon
OR
Use $1/2 toothbrush coupon
Net total:  MM or $0.49 each

Check out Hip2Save’s post here about this week’s CVS deals.  She put together  great scenarios for the $15, get $5 ECB Coke deal and the $12, get $3 ECB Suave deal.

Free food at Save-a-lot

Normally I don’t go crazy stocking up on junk food because 1) it’s easy to get cheap junk food and 2) having junk food around our house means…we eat it.

Today was an exception because I am stocking up for the food give-a-way. Earlier this week I went to Save-a-lot and saw that bags of Krunchers! chips were on sale for $1 a bag.

I pulled up the coupon database on my iPhone* to see whether my memory of a recent Krunchers! coupon was a mirage. It wasn’t a mirage – I found my Krunchers! coupon after the database told to look for it in the 2/27 SS insert. Woo hoo! The coupon was $1/1, making these free. So I bought a bag with my 1 coupon. When I got home, I bought 20 more coupons on ebay for $1.50 (including shipping).

During that same initial visit, I realized that the $1/2 Maruchan Yakisoba coupon in the 3/13 insert meant that these were also free because they were priced at $.49 each.

I had two coupons and bought 4.

Today my ebay coupons came in the mail and I went back to Save-a-lot to collect my 20 bags of free chips. Three people said something like “that’s a lot of chips” as I walked up and down the aisles with my cart overflowing with black potato chip bags. I like telling people that they are free with coupons and that I donate them to local food-drives. They usually smile, which almost covers up their confusion.

*In-store access to the coupon database via my phone is so helpful when you’re not as organized as you’d like to be! I don’t know how I’d do without it at the moment.

Weis Update

Well, I did it. And, it went better than expected*. Total: $1.34

My trip went like this:

Transaction 1

5 Boxes of Raisin Bran @ $1.99 each
1 Bag of Clementines @ $3.99 each
Subtotal = $13.94
Instant $5 off order
Used (4) $.70/1 Raisin Bran coupons (you will need two computers to print 4 coupons). Coupons will double to $1.40.
Used (1) $1/2 Kellogg’s cereal
Used (1) $.75/1 3lb. bag of cuties from SS 2/27 (doubled to $1.50)
Get free gallon of milk oyno
Total: $.84

Transaction 2

1 Can of Quaker Quick Oats @ $1.50
1 Gallon of Weis Skim Milk @ $3.34
Used (1) $1/1 Quaker from RP 1/2
Used (1) Free gallon of milk from transaction #1
Total: $.50

*In addition to the (4) $.70/1 Raisin Bran coupons, the cashier also allowed me to use $1/2 Kelloggs from the 3/6 RP insert. I need to check Weis’ coupon policy again. I wonder if they allow 1 coupon per item like RA – so if I buy 5 items I can use 5 coupons.

Upcoming opportunity

In My Utmost for His Highest, Eugene Peterson writes,

“If you are always keeping blessings to yourself and never learning to pour out anything ‘to the Lord,’ other people will never have their vision of God expanded through you.”

I love thinking about the fact that as I give, other people’s vision of God expands.

I recently learned that the Way Station on Main Street in Waynesboro hosts bi-weekly food give-a-ways. A woman from my church is involved with the give-a-ways and I was excited to find a local outlet for my growing surplus. For the last few months, I have been giving my surplus of personal items to my mom (who lives about 2 hours away) because her church does a once-a-year give away of toiletry items and I have not had much luck attempting to donate these items to places within my own town. The Way Station give-a-way is hoping to expand to toiletry items and other personal necessities, so I plan to do a major purge!

I’m thankful for a chance for my couponing to make a difference in my own town. The next food give-a-way is scheduled for March 25th. I write about this opportunity just in case you are local and are looking for a way to give back.

I have some shelves to clear, how about you?

I will make sure to take some images of the donation process. I can’t wait!

 

Today’s Adventures

Today I am headed to Weis Markets to see if I can make magic happen.

Through Saturday, certain Kellogg’s cereals are on sale for $1.99 and if you buy 5, you get $5 off instantly. In addition, starting today, you get a coupon for a free gallon of milk (on your next order) wyb any 3 Kellogg’s cereals. You can read more about qualifying cereals and the overlapping promos here. My plan is:

Transaction 1:

4 Boxes of Raisin Bran @ $1.99 each
1 Box of another Kellogg’s cereal @ $1.99 each
Subtotal = $9.95
Instant $5 off order
Use (4) $.70/1 Raisin Bran coupons (you will need two computers to print 4 coupons). Coupons will double to $1.40.
Get free gallon of milk oyno

Total = $0.65 overage + free milk

I’ll let you know how it goes!

UPDATED: Giant/Martin’s Frozen Ideas…

*See updated information at the bottom about the gas rewards.

If you’re thinking about doing the frozen deal at Giant that Leslie spoke of here, I came up with a few deal scenarios/combos for a friend and thought I’d share them with you.  I only picked those things that I could get to $25 exactly, although there are a few other things that you could get and be under $27 for a transaction.  To make your own combinations, locate a Giant near you here and then look at the weekly ad (my participating freezer listing was on page 8, but I don’t know if that’s for all the locations).

Transaction A
5 Pizzas @ $5 each ($25)

Transaction B
4 Ellios @ 2.50 each ($10)
4 Breyers Ice cream @ 2.50 each ( $10)
2 McCain Fries @ 2.50 each ($5)

Transaction C
5 Smuckers Snack & Waffles @ 2.00 each ($10)
5 Stouffers Red Box Meals  @ 2.00 each ($10)
2 Breyers Ice Cream @ 2.50 each ($5)

Transaction D
5 Aunt Jemima French Toast @ 2.00 each ($10)
5 New York Texas Toast @ 2.00 each ($10)
2 McCain Fries @ 2.50 each ($5)

Transaction E
5 Hot Pockets (or Lean Pockets) @ 2.00 each ($10)
5 Birds Eye Voila frozen meals @ 3.00 each ($15)

Transaction F
5 Klondike ice cream sandwiches @ 3.00 each ($15)
4 Ellio’s pizzas @ 2.50 each ($10)

Remember… you’re buying $25 the first time and getting $10 to use for the next time.  The fourth transaction would result in a $25 (for spending $100) catalina and a $10 (for spending $25 in the fourth transaction).  Your transactions (w/o coupons) would be $25, $15, $15, $15.  Then, you could get $35 worth of other groceries in a 5th transaction.  You’d be getting at least $135 worth of groceries for $70.  (Assuming you get things on sale, it would be more.  I used coupons and sales and got about $190 for about $57).

Here are some other deals to note:

• Don’t forget Leslie’s cereal post.
• I personally think Giant’s deli meats are expensive, so I opted to buy 2 Oscar Meyer deli meats in the prepackaged containers (2 for $6 – the ham and turkey are 9 oz each I think, so that’s not terrible for turkey- $5.33/lb) and you can get $2.00 off a Kraft mayo or Sandwich Works Mayo, which Phil really wanted to try but I wouldn’t buy at full price ($2.59)!
• Hatfield ham steaks – 2 for $5 (8 oz each) and there was a $2 off/2 coupon in this past week’s newspaper.
• Buying the $100 worth of frozen will qualify you for $0.10/gallon off of gas — another great perk!
  UPDATE:  These transactions alone will NOT qualify you for the gas reward, as that total happens post-discounts (like the $10 and $25 catalinas).