Walgreen's and CVS deals beginning 11/30

I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving and got some good deals on Black Friday. I’m looking through the sales papers today and not finding much in the way or Register Rewards or Extra Care Bucks. However, the deals yesterday and Thursday were outstanding, so I hope you got in on some of them.

Both WAG and CVS are big on sales this week. CouponMom does a match to both WAG and CVS sales and Qs. I suggest going there to start. I’ll speak to the Register Reward and Extra Care deals.

Walgreen’s

Here’s where I noticed some things starting to happen. I’ll list the best Register Rewards deals. Generally, I’m looking for items that give at least a third back.

Reach Ultra Clean Dental Floss or Toothbrush: 2/$6 get $6 in RRs.

There’s a coupon from 10/12 for BOGO on the toothbrush, so you could get two, pay $3 and get $6 in RRs each time. Remember, though—if you turn around and use those RRs on the same deal, it’ll work, BUT you won’t get any more RRs.

Colgate Max Fresh or Total: $2.99 get $2 in RRs. There’s a Q for $1 from 11/16, which makes this pretty good.

Excedrin: 3/$15 get $8 in RRs. There’s a $2 Q from 10/19 you can use. If you use 3, that’d bring it down to $9, get $8 in RRs. HOWEVER, if you decide to use other RRs to help further (say the Toothbrush deal above), that would be 4 coupons for 3 items, which the system won’t allow. So, you’ll need to find something cheap to add to your purchase. It can be anything, so find the cheapest thing you can—look at the holiday clearance area. That’ll bring the total number of items to 4 and the transaction will work.

In perusing the flyer, I suggest either votive candles (6/$1) or disposable lighters (4/$1).

Several choices of shampoo, buy 3, get $3, buy 4, get $8 in RRs. All items are on sale for $5.99

There’s a Q from 10/12 for $3 off 2 Herbal Essence that expires tomorrow, so if you use it, you could get each for $4.49. Just buy according to the amount of cash you’re willing to spend. If you’ve gotten rebates on your gift card, you could use that as well.

CVS

CVS has a bunch of sales but very few Extra Care Deals. As I mentioned, go to CouponMom to find the best way to use your coupons.

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A nice surprise: Publix published their weekly flyer a day early—probably because they are closed on Thanksgiving. It’s light, as you might expect (or maybe because I’m distracted getting ready for Thanksgiving), but there are some good deals to be had. Interestingly, very few BOGOs, however. Where coupons are denoted, check CouponMom for the date and publication.


GE Energy CFL Bulbs: 50% off plus Q
Duracell SD Flash Memory Card 2GB: $8.99 This can be SD, MicroSD or USB
Nabisco Oreo Cookies: 2/$5 plus online Q
London Broil: $3.99/lb.

Starkist Tuna: BOGO
Kraft Barbecue Sauce: BOGO
Knorr Side Dishes: BOGO plus Q
Quaker Oatmeal to Go: BOGO plus Q
Orville Redenbacher Popcorn: BOGO plus Q We just went through the Scout popcorn sale. We’re up to our eyeballs in popcorn
Arnold Bread: BOGO plus Q
Nestle Coffee-mate: BOGO plus Q (this comes out to about $0.49 each w/coupon)
Ricola Throat Lozenges: BOGO plus Q (this comes out to about $0.35 each w/coupon)

Tomorrow the family and I have a busy day.

6-10 a.m. Volunteering at the Gobble Jog 5K for MUST Ministries
10:00 a.m. Stop at CVS for some of the deals I listed yesterday
2:30 p.m. Company arrives
4:30 p.m. Dinner

Somewhere in there, a turkey’s got to get cooked. Fortunately, Publix has videos on how to cook a turkey. I bet there are some good ones on YouTube as well.

Well—off to the races! (In more ways than one)

Have fun, save money and check back on Saturday for more great deals (I hope)!

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CVS Deals for Thanksgiving/Black Friday/Thanksgiving Weekend

If you’re looking for a place to “jump in” and start your coupon snowball at CVS, this weekend is the time to do it!

I’ve got a sneak peek at the weekend flyer and there’s a bunch of ECB deals where the amount is equal to the original purchase price. Add coupons to the deal and you should be able to get things rolling pretty well.

I don't think I ever explained how CVS Coupons work in these situations, so here's the quick overview.

First, you'll have your Extra Care card scanned. Once all the items are rung up and you've paid, the receipt will print out along with your CVS Coupons. They are simply an extension of the receipt. The Extra Care bucks will be listed in total by deal. That is, if you've done more than one of the promotions, the ECBs will be listed for each deal separately.

The other good thing that happens is this; in addition to the ECBs, there are usually more Qs for other promotions. For example, last week, I got a coupon for $1 off of cosmetics. (One word of advice--don't throw these away even if you don't think you'll ever buy that type of item. You never know how you might be able to work it into a coupon snowball!)

Besides that, what also printed was a coupon for $3 off my next $15 purchase. This coupon can be for the total BEFORE ECBs and coupons are applied IF you hand the cashier that coupon first. If your total is less than $15 AFTER ECBs and Qs, the coupon won't apply.

Now, regarding this weekend...

I’ll list some of the ones I found and if there’s a Q out there, I’ll note it, but you’ll need to go to CouponMom to get the date/pub. I’ll also just list the ECB and limit so you can see what you can do.

Colgate Total Advanced: $2.99 limit 2 plus Q
Magnavox Remote or Philips Headphones: $6.99 limit 2
Aussie Shampoo or conditioner: $2.99 limit 2 plus Q
Johnson’s Softlotion: $5.69 limit 1
Gatorade G2: $1.49 limit 3
Hershey’s King Size: $1 limit 1
Bic Soleil razor: $5.99 limit 2 plus Q
Garnier Nutritioniste towelettes: $5.99 limit 1
Maybelline Mineral Power: $8.99 limit 1 plus Q
5-hour Energy Extra Strength: $3.99 limit 1
L’Oreal Color Juice: $6.99 limit 2
Cover Girl Smoothers powder: $5.99 limit 1 plus Q
CoverGirl Smoothers liquid: $7.99 limit 1 plus Q
Sally Hansen nail polish: $3.79 limit 1

There are also some other good deals to consider, such as a Schick Razor, a memory foam pillow with ECBs.

Finally, there are just some really good sales, including some BOGOs to consider, so on Wednesday, if you’d like to see more, go get a copy of the flyer.

If I learn more, I'll post it. Stay tuned!

Here are pictures from my coupon seminar. It was very successful-27 attendees and we all went away learning something--even the instructor! Thanks to everyone who came!

Here we are covering the 5 steps to saving at the grocery store.

Here we discuss the ways to save at the drug store....

And I don't know when this was taken.

Later today or tomorrow, I'll have a sneak peek at the Thanksgiving Day CVS flyer. Save money for your family and the people you know! Visit my blog at: http://www.thekingofcoupons.com/

What I Learned at CVS Today and How I Did at Publix

CVS Savings

CVS went well today, but I have figured out that they definitely favor those transactions done on Extra Care deals. On several occasions, I’ve gone there to just buy something and scanned my card, but got no coupons. As soon as I buy something with an ECB reward, you can hear the trees falling from all the receipt paper being generated.

I have figured out that if you spend more than a certain amount--$15 I think, you’ll get a $3 off $15 purchase Q, but you’ll only get 1 a day. I’ve now used that to further reduce my spending on my trips.

Today, I did the following:

Coast Soap 3 packs: $1.99, get $1 ECBs limit 5
Maybelline Mineral Moisturizer: $8.99 get $8.99 ECBs, limit 1

Price: $18.94
Q: $3 for Maybelline from paper
Q: $1 off cosmetic purchase from CVS
Q: $3 off $15 purchase from yesterday’s battery purchase
ECBs: $15

Obviously, this was more than the purchase, so I also purchased:

Coke 2L, $1.89 (not $1 like I thought yesterday) BOGO
Lypsyl lip balm: $2.99

Final Price: $1.82, get $14.99 in ECBs

Also, I did the following:

Right Guard Professional Strength: $7.99 get $7 ECBs

Price: $15.98
ECBs: $14.99

Final Price: $0.99 get $14 in ECBs

One thing, though—the system didn’t give me the ECBs at first. The cashier—Kristin, who is very helpful, by the way—had to override the system to print out my ECBs.

Publix Savings Update

I killed it today at Publix—I highlighted what I was considering in yesterday's post, but here’s the final numbers:

Before all the deals: $290.71 This includes Thanksgiving, which is budgeted for $75, so I’ll take that right off the top

Adjusted for Thanksgiving: $215.72
Coupon Savings: $33.01 (thanks to The Grocery Game)
Other Savings: $97.89 (thanks to e-mealz.com)

Final Total: $84.82

I hope you're coming to my seminar! If not,

Have fun, save money and Happy Thanksgiving!

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Walgreen’s Savings, CVS Savings and deals for November 23

FYI: Publix Deals are on my last post--just check on the right side of this page to see what I recommend.

Things are starting to look up on Walgreens; they have some Register Rewards deals worth mentioning and CVS Extra Care deals are consistently good lately. I’ll try to explain what I look for at each store and the deals that I intend on doing as well. See my Beginner’s Coupon Guide to the right if you’d like additional explanation.

Up front, you should know that I’m especially interested in shaving cream, bar soap, dental floss, dishwashing detergent and Jet Dry or similar rinse agent. Magic Erasers would be good, too.

Walgreen’s

So I don’t forget—the new Easy Saver coupon booklet is now available and while there aren’t any “free after rebate” deals I’m interested (there’s only one and it’s some sort of skin conditioner for bald guys)-I see some potential with the coupons they’re offering.

Register Rewards Deals

These are the deals I’m considering. I don’t see deals on all of the items I'm interested most, but when I start perusing the flyer, that’s what I look for. Until I see a deal I like, I’ll just be working to get the best price for those items I can at whatever store seems best.

When I do RR deals, I look for those that return at least a third of the original price to see if I can work it. Less than that and it gets hard. Also, try to finish whatever you do with some RRs for next week. That'll keep the "Coupon Snowball" rolling....

Here’s some possibilities:

Edge and Skintimate Shaving Gel

Price: $1.99, get $1 RRs (Shaving Cream--yay!)

Gillette Venus or Fusion Razors

Price: $9.49, get $6 in RRs if I can find a Q or rack up some RRs, this might be worth doing.

Variety of Cold and Flu Meds, each deal returns $5 RRs. Many of the items have Qs out there, so you might consider them. Robitussin cough syrup has a Q this week and it’s in the mix.

I don’t know what the Q looks like, but there’s been an online Q for $2 from the Robitussin web site, so if you have it, your deal would look like this:

Robitussin:

Price: 3 x $3.99 = $11.97
Q: 3 x $2 = -$6.00

Final Price: $5.97, get $5 in RRs.

Then you could use that $5 on the Fusion razor.

Price: $9.49
RR from last deal: $5.00
Final Price: $4.49, get $6 in RRs.

Unless you see something else that's helpful, you could just save those RRs for next week.

Total out of pocket: $10.49
Savings: just over $10.

That’s a suggestion to start at WAG. Not the greatest, but if you have a use for those items, it’s pretty good.

CVS Savings

CVS is “old faithful” with the Extra Care deals, but they did slow down a little this week.

They have some great sales, too—especially if you’ve got Qs for any of the items. First, the sale that jumped out at me is BOGO on Coca-Cola 2 liter bottles (variety to choose), limit 4. There’s a sign out front that they are $1.00 each, so you’ll get 4 bottles for $2.00

There is also a sale on 12-packs, 3/$12. Not bad, but not the best I’ve seen. I’m used to seeing these as a “loss leader” for $2.50 each right around the summer “picnic” holidays at my grocery store. Those days might be only nostalgia anymore w/prices being what they are. That being the case, it’s not a bad deal.

Here’s the Extra Care deals I’m considering. Remember, the goal is to end with some ECBs you can use next week. I try to find deals that return either a third or more of the original price in ECBs. This week has some good ones.

Maybelline Mineral Power Foundation (just to be clear--for my WIFE): $8.99 Get $8.99 in RRs limit 1
Complete Multi-Purpose Contact Lens solution: $8.88 get $8.99 in RRs limit 1

If you use either of these, they are both a great start for your “Coupon Snowball.”

Dial, Tone or Coast bar soap 2 x 3 pack: $1.99 get $1 ECBs (bar soap-yay!)

Right Guard Professional Strength: $7.99 get $7 in RRs limit 5

This is another great start to your Coupon Snowball.

Energizer Batteries: Buy $20, get $10 ECBs. However, if you are reading this on Saturday, November 22, 2008, you should go TODAY and get Duracell batteries. You’ll get $15 in ECBs instead, but this ends TODAY. There’s also a Q from last week you can use. Check the CouponMom database for info on the Q.

Check back tomorrow for CVS, Walgreens, Publix and Kroger Deals. As I mention in my previous post, Publix and Kroger are having some really good Thanksgiving shopping deals.

Have fun, save money and stay tuned!
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Publix Deals Beginning 11-20: Thanksgiving Deals, watching Kroger as well

Just a reminder: My Coupon Seminar is this Sunday (November 23) at 5:00 p.m. at Marietta First United Methodist Church in Marietta, GA. All are invited! Road trips are encouraged, but I can't put you up for the night--sorry!

We've got some great giveaways--

Publix has graciously provided re-usable grocery bags as well as refreshments for everyone
The Coupon Mom has given books for all attendees
Lifeway Christian has provided raffle prizes as well as 100 copies of the New Testament
Chick-Fil-A has provided Qs for their new milk shake.

This ain't no small thing going here! It kind of took on a life of its own--last week I realized, darn, I think I need to make this good....REALLY good, so I will do my best to make it fun and entertaining.

Please, though--call the church so we know you're coming. Space is limited, but it's not THAT limited--we're planning for 90 families. I don't think they're anywhere close to that in RSVPs yet.

Back to Business...

As promised, Publix put a sale on most staples needed for Thanksgiving. I've only given the highlights and as usual, you can find the associated Q in CouponMom.

Before I get into the weekly deals, one thing to mention: Publix has ready-made Thanksgiving meals available for order. If you do this, check for in-store Qs for the side items and other things you might want. They had a big "Sample Night" a few days ago and there were Qs everywhere. I found some floating around and in displays as late as this past Wednesday, so I'm sure you can find some when you go.

Now the Weekly Publix Deals:

Turkey is on sale for $0.69/lb, but I am going to wait until Sunday to buy ours--just in case Kroger has one of those sales for which they're known. Right now, Kroger's is the same price, but I know Dona at CAYF mentioned hers is running a deal where if you spend $20 you get a turkey for less than that. See the link on the right to take a look, but Kroger's deals are regional, so it may or may not happen here in the ATL.

Charity suggestions are marked with a *C*

Land O Lakes Butter: 2/$5 plus Q
Fresh Cranberries: BOGO
Canned Cranberry Sauce is BOGO (no Q)

For some reason, it's difficult to find canned cranberry coupons (Say that three times fast!). You might check Coupon Clippers on the right side of the page. I don't know if they can get it to you by Wednesday, if they even have one.

Celery: $0.89
Birds Eye Frozen Veggies: 50% off

Crisco Canola Oil: BOGO plus Q
Birds Eye Voila Meal: BOGO plus Q
Lipton Tea Bags: BOGO plus Q
*C*Betty Crocker Potatoes: BOGO plus Q make these almost free!
*C*Uncle Ben’s Long Grain & Wild Rice: BOGO plus Q
*C*Del Monte Canned Veggies: BOGO plus Q
Hellman’s Mayonnaise: BOGO plus Q
Mt. Olive Pickles: BOGO plus Q
Chex Mix Snack Mix: BOGO plus Q
Wrigley's Orbit or Eclipse Gum: BOGO plus BOGO Q. In the past, with other items, this has made both items free. I don't know if it works here, though--CouponMom says 'no,' so I'll update this once I get The Grocery Game's list on Sunday.

Beer!

Michelob products are $10.49

I just realized, my next post is theoretically on Thanksgiving. Depending on how things are going, it might be a little rushed, so consider yourself warned--I might even be a day late.

And just in case....

Have fun, save money and Happy Thanksgiving!

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Publix Update and a Quick Kroger and Ingles Mention

Quickly on Kroger: There are several 10/$10 deals to look at and some of the holiday meats are on sale as well (Turkey, Ham).

I'll mention Ingles because I noticed that ground round is on sale for $1.97/lb as well.

Now for the Publix update:

I learned something today--the red box promo Qs that are sometimes in the aisles are considered mfr Qs, so you can't combine them with a Q from the paper. Fortunately, I only had a few of them. They let it go, but I'll have to watch that from now on. Especially, since it's clear they are watching me.

Today, when I handed the cashier all my Qs, the manager stood and watched. I don't think it was suspicious--I think there's a computer system bug. It counts the items and it counts the Qs. If you have more Qs than items, there's a problem--which makes sense. However, I think they count a doubled Q as 2--there is NO WAY I had more Qs than items.

However, I have become a legend there--not so much because I do so well, but more because I'm the only guy doing it.

I was surprised how many Qs from today's paper applied. That's a little unusual. Most of the time, you can count on a week gap between the inserts and the sales.

Anyway, here's the final totals:

Before Qs: $331.57
Sales buys: $103.00 (thanks to e-mealz.com)
Coupons: $74.52 (thanks to The Grocery Game)

Final Bill: $154.03
Budget: $180.00

The difference is going into a safe hiding place and we're going to watch how fast it builds.

Have fun, save money and stay tuned!

Also, for those of you in North Metro Atlanta, don't forget about my Coupon Seminar next Sunday. See the earlier blog post for details
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CVS Savings This Week is Pretty Good. Walgreen's Not Highlighting Register Rewards

Here's what I've got this week.

***Updated to show what actually happened this morning.***

CVS

CVS has a bunch of deals again and I’ll highlight the ones with the “biggest bang” and a couple of others I’ll be doing. One note: I have found with these types of “larger” deals, it’s not unusual to get a Q for $3 off a $15 purchase. That happened last week, so I expect I may see one or two this week as well. If I do, I’ll work them in—for example—on the batteries or the Vaseline

LOreal Age Perfect moisturizer: $15.99 get $15.99 ECBs limit 1
Duracell Batteries: Buy $20, get $15 ECBs limit 5
Right Guard or other deodorants: $2.99 get $2 ECBs limit 5

Glade products, several varieties, spend $10, get $5 ECBs. There are Qs for BOGO and others where you receive something free. You should be able to at least break even on this if you do it right.

Vaseline: $5.99 get $2 ECBs Not great, but I’ll be doing it because we need some and I’ve got a Q.

Here’s what I expect to do:

Deal #1: Loreal

Price: $15.99
Q: -$1.00
ECBs: -$14.00

Final Price: $0.99 get $15.99 ECBs ***also got a $3 off $15 Q***

Deal #2: Duracell Batteries

Price: $20.98 (estimated based on the prices I saw)
Q: 3 x $0.75 = $2.25
Q: $3 off $15 from deal #1
ECBs: $15.00

Final Price: $0.73 get $15 ECBs

Which reminds me--We just did the "fall behind" switch to (Eastern) Standard Time. If you didn't do it, change the batteries in your smoke detectors. With this deal, you have no excuse!!!

Deal #3: Glade

Price: $10.00
Q: $5.00

Final Price: $5.00 get $5.00 in ECBs

Deal #4: Vaseline:

Price: 3 x $5.99 = $17.97
Q: 3 x $0.75 = $2.25
ECBs: $15.00

Final Price: $0.22 get $6 ECBs

Deal #5: Right Guard:

***There was a Q for $0.55 on each tube***

Price: $2.99 x 5 = $14.95

ECBs: $11.00
Q: 5 x $0.55 = $2.75

Final Price: $1.20 Get $10 ECBs

I'd do the math but I've got to get ready for church, so here's an eyeball summary:

Estimated Total Before Deals: $81.00
Estimated Total Out of Pocket: $9.50

Left with $10 ECBs, so technically, I made $0.50

Walgreen’s

Walgreen’s is light on RRs—AGAIN, but I’ve got $6 RRs that expire tomorrow so I need to do something with them.

In fairness, it looks like they have some pretty good sales this week, though.

They have a Breyers Ice Cream Sale 3/$7 and I’ve got a $0.50 Q. With RRs final price will be $0.50.

***Updated--I did the Breyers transaction and got $2 in RRs--a pleasant surprise!!!***

If you want one, they also have AirWick Lumin’Air starter kits w/$3 Q on the pack. There’s also a $3 Q in the paper. You’ll probably need to add a small item so you’ve got more items than Qs, but the final price of the item will be $1.99

Just for Men Touch of Gray is $7, get $7 in RRs. I, however, am not old enough for this product. I’m not. Really. Stop Laughing.

There’s a variety of items from Lever Bros (Dove, Q-Tips, Caress, etc.) buy 4, get $3 RRs. Combined w/Qs you can do OK if you need the items.

I just got the Kroger paper, so come on back for a review!

Have fun, Save Money and Stay Tuned!
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Publix Deals Beginning November 13--Time to Stock Up for Holiday Cooking and Charity!!!

As I mentioned last week--Publix is great around the holidays. Everything you need for cooking and baking goes on sale around this time. This year is no exception--they're starting this week!!!

I've listed the BOGO plus Q deals I noticed along with a couple other notables. There are others, but these are the ones that jumped out at me. Also, I want to stress a point that I haven't made lately: It's vital that when you are making your purchases, you are picking up extra to give to charity.

If you're reading this Blog, you're blessed with more than you need. Even if you're trying to stretch your purchases, you've got more than many people. Just think what the holidays are like for someone that is alone, or in a shelter and/or homeless. And for the record, it doesn't matter how they got there--you're still more fortunate than they are.

(That's just a friendly reminder. If you've never thought about it before, it's a call to action, so get moving!)

When you make your list, plan to buy extra. If you're following the techniques I share, you've got extra Qs and can get a few more items to donate. I'm going to start marking the deals I see as especially good and mark them with a "*C*" as an easy charity purchase.

Also, if you're having Thanksgiving at your place this year, find out if there is anyone at work or in your area who is going to be alone and invite them to Thanksgiving Dinner. One year in college, my siblings had the chicken pox, which I have never gotten, so I had to stay up at school. I can't tell you how grateful I was to have been invited to dinner that year. I can also tell you that the more chaotic your house is on that holiday, the more fun it is!!!!

Look in the CouponMom database for the associated Qs.

Celestial Seasonings Tea: BOGO plus Q
Crisco Olive Oil: BOGO plus Q
Orville Redenbacher Popcorn: BOGO plus Q

*C* Betty Crocker Frosting: BOGO plus Q (CouponMom says the item's free w/Q)
*C* Betty Crocker Cake Mix and Brownie Mix: BOGO—no coupon, but I’m recommending it anyway. This is still a good deal.

McCormick Vanilla Extract: BOGO plus Q
*C* McCormick Gravy: BOGO plus Q

Hefty EZ Ovenware pans: BOGO plus Q
Lysol All Purpose Trigger Spray: BOGO plus Q

Tombstone Pizza: $2.99 no Q, but it's almost half price and it’s a good idea to get one if you have kids. On Thanksgiving, you can throw this in the oven for lunch while the big dinner is being made or the night before if you're working ahead. It's sort of the "antithesis" of Thanksgiving dinner, so you're keeping the meal "different and special" to the palate.

*C* Kraft Macaroni and Cheese: $0.50 each
*C* Publix Brown Sugar: 3/$2.00

And Beer!!!

Bud Light: $9.49 Although, I’m no longer going to be highlighting any Anheuser Busch sales once the InBev transaction is complete. You’ll recall that AB is being purchased by the Danish beer giant. This means it’ll no longer be an American Beer, so I’ll be switching to Coors.

Finally...
I'm starting to consider other areas to focus and its been recommended that I start including the following for special strategies beyond the standard listings.

Whole Foods Deals
Trader Joes
Baby Diapers and Formula

If you have any suggestions for new places to study and report, e-mail me at allen@thekingofcoupons.com

Have fun, Save Money and Stay Tuned!!!
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Update to Publix Today--One important Freebie and other stuff

There's a Publix flyer in the Sunday paper that can work out great with Qs.

There's a bunch of J.M. Smucker's stuff, buy any 10, get $5 off the purchase. Almost all the items have a Q in the paper today.

I screwed up because I remembered the Q, but I couldn't remember where I saw it and just found it a few minutes ago.

I still did well, but here's the best deal:

Martha White muffins: 5/$4 buy 10

Price: $8
Q from paper: $0.55 off two 5 x $0.55 = -$2.75
Q from flyer: -$5.00

Final Price: $0.25

Overall: I spent $115

Savings: $93. I don't have the receipt handy, but it was approximately $25 in Qs and $68 in sales.

Kroger is still running some Mega deals from last week. Here area couple that I did lately:

Glaceau Vitamin Water: Buy 10 @ $1.00 each, save $5.00 Final Price: $0.50 each!!

This same deal works for PowerAde, Carnation Evaporated Milk and a couple of other things. If you use the Qs for Evaporated Milk, you'll get them all for free!!!

You'll recall that last week I said I wouldn't be able to shop this week due to lack of room. Well, today, we made a donation to Scouting for Food for the Boy Scout troop my boys are in, so that opened up a little room.

However, next week, we're going to skip e-mealz and make our menu off of what we already have, buy only the super deals from The Grocery Game and save the rest for Thanksgiving.

Let not your heart be troubled, however--I'll still report the Publix deals this Thursday.

Have fun, save money and stay tuned!
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Great Week for CVS and only a few deals for Walgreens

Briefly on Walgreens: I didn't see any great RR deals, but they do have a bunch of sales that might be worthwhile--I'll see what Dona on her CAYF blog says.

If you need some Sudafed, there's a buy 3, get $5 in ECBs. There's online Qs for it, so this might be good.

***Sorry--I had a RR deal here involving St. Ive's lotion. Turns out I misunderstood and it wasn't part of the deal, so I've deleted it.***

This is a good week to start a Coupon Snowball at CVS. They’ve got some good deals that can get things going for you.

Garnier Fructis Shampoo $2.99, get $2 ECBs, limit 1
Palmolive Dish Soap $1.49, get $1 ECBs, limit 5
LOreal Revitalift $11.99 get $11.99 ECBs, limit 1
St. Ives Body Wash $3.99 get $3.00 ECBs, limit 4
Listerine Agent Cool Blue $3.99 get $3 ECBs limit 5
Glaceau Smart Water $1.49 get $1.49 ECBs limit 1

I'll also note these, but I don't think I'll be buying them.

Neutrogena Lipstick $5.99 get $3 ECBs limit 1
Tums $5.79 get $2 ECBs limit 5


You can combine these with Qs to really get something going. Remember I’ve said that I always try to leave with ECBs for next week. Going in, I have the following:

1. $6.98 ECB Q
2. $4.00 ECB Q
3. $3 off $15 purchase Q (note: in order to make these deals work, you'll give this Q to the cashier first. If you give the other Qs first, the net will be less than $15 and you won't be able to use it)
4. $1.00 off any body wash

I also have some newspaper Qs that I’ll use

Palmolive (I only have 4 Qs, so I’m not doing 5)

Price: 4 x $1.49= $5.98
Q: 4 x $0.25 = $1.00
ECB #2: $4.00

Final Price: $0.98 get $4 ECBs

St. Ives Body Wash

Price: 4 x $3.99 = $15.98
Q # 3: -$3.00
Q #4: -$1.00
ECB #1 plus last -$10.98

Final Price: $0.98 get $12 ECBs

Loreal plus Garnier Fructis together

Price: $14.98
Qs: -$2.00
ECBs from last deal: -$12

Final Price: $0.98 get $11.99 ECB and $2 ECB

Then I'll do the Listerine, but I only have 1 Q

Price 4 x $3.99 = $15.96
Q: -$0.50
ECB from before: $13.99

Final Price: $1.47 get $12 ECBs.



If I do all the deals, my total out of pocket will be $4.44 and I'll have $12.00 total in ECBs. The other thing that will probably happen is I'll also get some Qs from the receipts they give me--maybe a $3 off $15 purchase.

As I think about it, I'll throw the SmartWater offer in there somewhere and Women's shaving cream is on sale, which my wife wants.

Publix shopping tomorrow.

Have fun, save money and stay tuned!
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Results of Price Comparison-Walgreen’s and CVS and a Re-announcement On My Seminar!!!

As promised, I’ve got the results of a price comparison between these two stores. The results weren’t dramatic.

I created a list of 14 items and went to local stores and wrote down the regular prices. The goal was to see if there was a significant difference between the two. In short, there wasn’t much difference.

I was going to list the actual items, but given that from item to item, the prices varied a bit, if you were buying the list, there would only be a $0.90 difference between the two. The real difference, on any given week, would be which store had the most items under their savings program. At list price, it certainly wouldn’t be worth the hassle of going to one or the other based on this information. I thought the information would be useful if you were to find both stores having the same item in a savings deal (i.e. receiving ECBs at CVS and RRs at WAG). The conclusion is, you should just stick to the math around the specific deal and assume the regular prices are similar at the start.

I don’t know it for fact, but I’m fairly certain that at list price, I could find these items cheaper at the grocery store and Wal-Mart, but that would only be if I needed the item immediately and I thought it was worth the trip.

Not an earth-shattering result, but it’s good to know you’re really not missing anything in this regard in choosing one or the other.

For those of you in the North Metro Atlanta Area: Here it is—the long awaited announcement:

Cutting Costs with Coupons- How to Save Money at the Grocery and Drug Stores

Sunday, November 23 at 5:00 p.m.
Marietta First United Methodist Church
56 Whitlock Ave. Marietta, GA 30064

Space is limited so please call the church at (770) 429-7800 ext. 7816 to register!

If you have questions, you can e-mail me at allen@thekingofcoupons.com ********************************** -

Coupon Seminar November 23!!!

For those of you in the North Metro Atlanta Area:

Here it is—the long awaited announcement:

Cutting Costs with Coupons-
How to Save Money at the Grocery and Drug Stores

Sunday, November 23 at 5:00 p.m.

Marietta First United Methodist Church
56 Whitlock Ave.
Marietta, GA 30064

Space is limited so please call the church at (770) 429-7800 ext. 7816 to register!

If you have questions, you can e-mail me at allen@thekingofcoupons.com

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Publix Deals beginning November 6, 2008

The new flyer brings deals that seem somewhat “unoriginal” but helpful nonetheless. Don’t worry, though, Publix is great around holidays. We can expect great deals on anything and everything you want or need for Thanksgiving in the next couple of weeks, so check back!

Here are the deals I’m considering. If I haven’t provided a link, check the Coupon Mom Database for dates of the Q’s needed:

Pompeian Olive Oil: BOGO plus Q (click here) This is one of the better brands—Olive Oil goes bad, but the higher the quality, the longer it lasts.
Simply Orange orange juice: 2/$6
Ragu Pasta Sauce: BOGO plus Q
Hunt’s Tomatoes: BOGO plus Q
Campbell’s Soups (various): BOGO plus Q
Nestle Toll House Morsels: BOGO plus Q (I won’t be buying any, though—Kroger included them in the Mega Deal this week.)
Doritos: BOGO no coupon, but there never is.
Quaker Cereals: BOGO plus Q (Note: Crunch Berries are in season, so take advantage of this very seasonal fruit!!!)
Yoplait Yogurt 8-pk: 2/$7 (this will be good if the ‘buy 6 get $0.50 off’ Qs will work—check the terms)
Swiss Miss Pudding: BOGO (click here for a Q—it’s a little weird, though. The terms are $1 off 2 of several listed products. Swiss Miss isn’t in the list, but it is pictured, so I’m not sure this will work)

GE Energy Smart Bulbs are 20% off. There’s a Q in a Publix flyer and a Q in the paper that might make this a good deal IF they’ll let you use both Qs.

And I promise: today you'll see my price comparison data and also my announcement on the Coupon Seminar.

Have fun, save money and stay tuned!!!
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CVS-Connect the Dots on Savings This Week

At first glance, I didn't think I'd be going to CVS this week, but I did a little poking around and figured a couple of things out.

Along with the weekly flyer, CVS also has a monthly flyer that has many deals you don't necessarily find any other way. When I looked at the two next to each other, here's what I found:

1. This week, Gillette Men's Shampoo is on sale 2/$10. However, in the monthly flyer, there's an ECB deal, buy 2, get $5 in ECBs. I used my $10 ECBs and got these free, and got $5 ECBs.

2. Crest Pro-health has an ECB of $3.49, get $3.49 in ECBs, limit 1. However, in the monthly flyer, it's a limit of 2. As it turns out, it is a limit of 2 regardless.

3. In the monthly flyer, it's got Right Guard Professional Strength, price $9.00, get $7 in ECBs.

So I strung a couple of things together. I got the $5 ECBs from deal 1, then I bought the Crest and Right Guard together and spent $8.00 (which is the most I've spent in a while). I got $6.98 and $7 ECBs from these.

Then, I took the $6.98 ECBs and bought two kids Colgate power toothbrushes for $4.99 each, Get $2 ECBs, limit 2. I also had a Q for $2 off, so I spent $1.00 and got another $4 ECBs.

Not too bad--I could have knocked the total out of pocket another $4 if I had re-arranged things, but I was in a bit of a rush. Oh well, that just leaves me more ECBs for next week.

I also did a small price comparison today between WAG and CVS. I'll be posting the results later this week. I still want to do a broader price comparison between Publix "on sale" and Wal-Mart, just to see how they compare. We all know that Wal-Mart is usually cheaper, but I've wanted to know how it compares to a sale elsewhere. If you'll look at my coupon guide, I discuss the fact that Target "on sale" is cheaper than Costco. I want to see how things compare under other circumstances.

By the way--Dona's got some good info on Target this week at Coupons Are Your Friend.
Click here to go to her blog.

I'm still waiting on a room number for my Coupon Seminar coming up, so stay tuned!

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November 2 Results-Did Well at Kroger and Publix!!!

I’m a Publix shopper, but today I went to Kroger first. They’ve got a big sale where there are groups of items that if you buy 10 of them, you get $5 off. I found out that it’s really just $0.50 per item—you don’t need to buy 10. However, the deals are really good if you have Q’s.

Regionally, my Kroger does not have a problem using more than 3 identical Qs, but they also don’t triple Qs $0.35 and below—they’re just doubled.

Here’s what I did there:

10 cans evaporated milk: $1.00 each, buy 10, get $5.00 off. There are Q’s in today’s paper and earlier for $0.50 off of 2, which gets doubled, so you get them all free!

There are a bunch of deals all worth investigating, but here’s my final numbers:

Before savings: $91.91
Total Q savings: -$66.99
Final: $28.92

This was a big “stock up” week at Publix—I had Qs left and right. I did so well, in fact, that I think I actually can’t go shopping next week—I won’t have any room to put anything!!!

The Ore-Ida Steamin’ Mashed Potatoes were on sale, 2/$4.00. There’s a Q in the paper for $1.00, so if you have 2, they are 2/$2.00. But wait!!! There’s more!!! On the freezer case, there’s another Q for $1.00, so if you have that, you get it free. I got 4 for free!

The same goes for Green Giant Valley Steamers, normally $1.89, on sale for half price. Q for $1.00 off of one, so with each Q, you get a free one!

Here’s my final numbers:

Cash Price: $291.22
Qs: -$40.41 (Thanks to The Grocery Game-see the link on the right side of the screen)
Other svgs: $74.25 (Thanks to e-mealz.com—see the link on the right side as well)

Final: $176.48

By the way--the mystery coupon is for Publix brand Oatmeal.

So in total, I was over budget slightly (budget: $180, actual: $205), but I literally don't think I can shop next week because I don't have the room for anything else. I'm going to be donating a lot to the local shelter in the next few weeks.

Look for an announcement on my coupon seminar coming up! I will be posting it as soon as I have the room number.

If you have a question, e-mail me at allen@thekingofcoupons.com

Have fun, save money and stay tuned!

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Announcement of Seminar, CVS Savings, Walgreens Savings for 11/2

One announcement for those of you in North Metro Atlanta. I'm going to be having a Coupon Seminar in Marietta in a couple of weeks. Space will be limited, but I'm lining up some pretty good "give aways," so check back in a couple of days for the official announcement

That was an unofficial "Sneak Peak." You lucky, lucky people.

Now back to business....

Not the most exciting week for deals, but there are some things you can do:

One thing I’ll mention overall: Dunkin’ Donuts coffee has been on sale a lot lately (WAG this week). However, there’s a $2.00 Q off 2 in the new P&G (Procter and Gamble) flyer. The coffee is already $7.99 at Dunkin Donuts and you get the second at half price. Use the Q at Dunkin’ Donuts. The bags at WAG and CVS are 12 oz. bags, but at DD, they’re 16 oz. making it a better deal--especially with the Q.

I’m going to give the benefit of the doubt here and say that CVS and WAG are taking some time to prepare for the holiday season and as such, aren’t putting a lot of effort into their programs this week. CAYF said on her blog last week that things are usually slow this time of year and the flyers seem to indicate that.

There are some good sales, but not so much on ECBS or RRs. For the sales, make sure you check the new P&G Flyer for Qs. Check CouponMom as well for others. If they are things you immediately need, you can work yourself some savings that way.

CVS Savings

I’ll limit my report those that look like they can be turned into something better than $1 ECB for every $3 out of pocket. I may be skipping this week, but I'm going to hold off on a decision until I see what CAYF posts on her blog.

Several Choices of Candy, buy $10 get $5 ECBs. All the candy is $1. That’s just what I need right after Halloween—more candy. Cadbury bars are included, so that’s pretty good, I guess.

Gillette Fusion Razor $9.99 get $5 ECBs. No Qs, though. They all expired, so I hope you got those before.

Crest Pro Health $3.49 get $3.49 ECBs limit 1There’s also a $0.75 Q this week in the P&G flyer

Colgate Kids Battery powered toothbrushes: $4.99 get $2 ECBs. There’s also a $0.75 Q out there.

There are some other beauty and cosmetic deals, but they mean nothing to me, so check Dona’s blog at www.Couponsareyourfriend.com for her perspective.

Walgreens Savings

They have some good sales as well, but as far as RRs go, it’s light, too. In fact, if my current RRs weren’t going to expire, I’d probably hold off a week.

Block of cold and flu items, with a variety of deals. Here’s the best one and the one I am doing:

NyQuil, DayQuil or VapoRub, $4.49 buy 3 get $6 in RRs. There’s a Q in the 10/12 P&G (Procter and Gamble) insert for $1.50 off, so you can use 3 and pay $9. I’m going to use my RRs to knock it down to $4. One note, I'll have 1 RR Q plust 3 mfr Qs, for a total of 4 on 3 items. You'll recall from my coupon guide that the system doesn't allow that, so I'll need a 4th item. Luckily, all the Halloween stuff is on sale, so I'll get a pumpkin candle for $0.25 to make it work.

Oral-B CrossAction Power Toothbrush $5.99, get $2 in RRs. There’s a P&G Q in the new flyer for BOGO. You won’t get a second RR deal, though.

There’s a choice of several kitchen appliances that are $9.99, buy 3 get $10 in RRs. There’s also a Rebate offer of $5 each, limit 3. They look like the same items, but I will check and report. Assuming they are, the net of the deal would be $30 out of pocket, $15 Rebate, get $10 in RRs. Again, though, they could just be similar, the brand names don’t match exactly, but they definitely look like the same items.

There’s a sale, 2/$5 on Glade Glass Scents or Scented Oil Candle Refills. There’s a $1.50 Q on the Candle Refills on the CouponMom web site and a BOGO Q for the Glass Scents making this a good deal, but no RRs.

Kind of a yawner this week. I'll finally have time to do my price comparison, though. Okay, actually, my 14 year old will finally have the time (hey, that's why you have kids). I intend on creating a list and comparing Walgreens, CVS and Kroger on a set of items to see what the "starting point" is.

FYI: the items I'm looking out for are as follows. If you find any deals or good Qs, please e-mail me at allen@thekingofcoupons.com

Shaving Cream for both me and my wife

Dental Floss--not Glide, though. That stuff stinks--it keeps breaking.

Also, I think it's actually teflon tape, which is the same thing plumbers wrap around pipe threads before joining them. That's only a guess, but I have teflon tape for plumbing repair and they are amazingly similar. We got rid of all our teflon pans in our house a couple of years ago when we saw a report that over 90% of people in the US have teflon in their systems from cooking. I don't care if it doesn't hurt you--I have a choice and I choose not to have teflon as part of my biology.

Also:

Mustard
Keebler Toasteds
Cookies other than Keebler
Chips, chips and more chips
Qs for Honey Bunches of Oats.


Have fun, save money and stay tuned!!
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