Don't want FREE Nail Art? What about FREE Mineral Make-up, just pay shipping!

Check out SaveMore.  It's the daily deal website I posted earlier for the free nail decals.  If you don't want to get nail decals you can get $40 worth of mineral make up for FREE (just pay shipping).  When you sign up for a new account you will automatically receive a $10 credit.  You can use this credit right away on today's deal-  $10 for $40 worth of mineral make up from Mineral Hygienics!  This deal is under the "Jacksonville" tab on top.  Shipping is around $5.25 for this one.  So use your $10 credit to buy $40 worth of make up and brushes, just pay shipping!


Get yours before this deal is gone!

I was just saying that I need some new make-up brushes.  I think I am going to treat myself to a few brushes since I will just have to pay shipping which is much cheaper than buying brushes in the store!

~Once you sign up, share your referral link and get a $10 credit for each one of your friends that sign up and make a purchase.  The link above is my referral link.

HOT FREE $15 Jamberry Nail Decal Voucher PLUS FREE Shipping!!!

Check out SaveMore.  It's another daily deal website.  When you sign up for a new account you will automatically receive a $10 credit.  You can use this credit right away on today's deal.  A $15 Jamberry voucher for $7.50 which includes free shipping.  So use your $10 credit to buy a free set of nail decals. They have lots of cool decal patterns.  I ordered from this company a few months ago and they decals are so pretty.


Get yours before this deal is gone!


Thanks Raining Hot Coupons for Sharing!  Once you sign up, share your referral link and get a $10 credit for each one of your friends that sign up and make a purchase.  The link above is my referral link.

HOT Deal on Hawaiian Tropic at Walgreens this week starting tomorrow....

Walgreens has Hawaiian Tropic lotions and oils on sale for Buy One Get One this week.  There are $2 off Hawaiian Tropic coupons in 5/22 Smart Source and there is also a $2 off Hawaiian Tropic Walgreens coupon in the Summer Beauty Guide that you can find behind the register at most Walgreens beauty counters.  You can use one manufacturer and one Walgreens coupon PER ITEM so here's the scenerio-


Buy 2 Hawaiian Tropic lotions or oils.  They range from $9.99-$11.99.  Use (2) of the $2/1 Hawaiian Tropic manufacturer coupons AND use $2/1 Hawaiian Tropic Lotion Walgreens coupons.

$9.99 minus (2) $2 off mfg coupons equals $5.99 minus the $2 off Walgreens coupon which will take $4 off (one of each bottle you are buying) which equals $1.99 total for 2 bottles.

PLUS they have a deal that if you buy 2 Hawaiian Tropic products you get a FREE Walgreens 6 oz Aloe Vera Gel.  $1.99 for 2 bottles of Hawaiian Tropic and a tube of Aloe Vera Gel is awesome! :)   

Couponing Language

What does it all mean?  Here are some of the frequently use abbreviations.  Please let me know if there is another one you come across. 


RR- Register Rewards (coupons that you get at Walgreens)


ECB- Extra Care Bucks (coupons that you get at CVS)


Wags- Walgreens


OOP- Out of Pocket (how much you spend after coupons, etc.)


YMMV- Your Mileage May Vary (that means that things might be different at your store, the item might not be the same price at your store, the manager might not allow you to use that coupon/do that transaction at your store, your outcome might be different at your store) 


BOGO- Buy One Get One Free


SS- Smart Source Coupon Insert


RP- Red Plum Coupon Insert


P&G or PG- Proctor and Gamble Coupon Insert



GM- General Mills Coupon Insert


WYB- When You Buy 


FAR- Free After Rebate


MIR- Mail In Rebate


Man or Mfr- Manufacturer

Walgreens- Register Rewards, coupon policies, etc.

Note in this picture on the bottom right the Wal-Fex is on sale for $9.99 and you get $3 in Register Rewards back so it's like paying $6.99 after Register Rewards.  Yes, you have to pay the $9.99 first but you get the $3 back to use on something else.

Walgreens offers special coupons called Register Rewards (RR).  You do not have to join any programs, sign up for anything, or have a special card (like at CVS).  Once you make a qualifying purchase the machine next to the register, called a catalina coupon machine, will print out the Register Reward.  You can use the Register Reward towards your next purchase.  They expire 2 weeks from the date it is printed so make sure to use it before it expires.  The good thing about the RR not being tied to a rewards card like at CVS is that you can usually do multiple transactions to get more than one of the deal.  Some stores to enforce a limit so check with your store.  Usually the limits are on items that become free after RR.  For example, buy a toothpaste for $3 and get a $3 RR back.  It basically makes it free after RR. 


You can get a RR from one transaction and then use it on your next transaction on the same day at the same store most of the time.  For example, you buy a bottle of baby wash that is on sale for $3 and it also gives you $2 in RR back.  You can pay for the baby wash, get the $2 RR and use it to pay for another item as long as the second transaction before tax is over the price of the RR or $2 in this example.  


You cannot use a RR from one deal to buy another one OF THE SAME DEAL or the RR for the second transaction won't print out.  For example, a toothbrush is on sale for $2 and you get a $2 RR back.  You buy a toothbrush, pay the $2 and a $2 RR comes out.  You decide to buy another toothbrush.  If you try to pay for the second toothbrush with the RR you got from the first transaction it will not print another $2 RR at the end of the second transaction because you are using a RR from the same type of deal.  The register knows which deal the RR came from.


BUT, you can use a RR that you got from most other deals to pay for the toothbrush and it will print the RR.  For example, you can buy a $3 bottle of baby lotion that gives you back a $3 RR in the first transaction.  You can then use the $3 RR from the baby lotion to pay for a toothpaste that is on sale for $3 with a $3 RR and that $3 RR will print.  A few months ago there were 2 items on sale one week that were both $2 and then you got a $2 RR back.  You could have paid for item A, received a $2 RR from that transaction, used it to pay for item B in a second transaction, then received a $2 RR from the purchase of item B.  Then you could have "rolled" that RR into transaction number three to pay for another item A and so on and so on.  But check with your store because some stores enforce limits.


Other rules- You can only use 1 manufacturer and 1 Walgreens coupon PER ITEM.  Walgreens coupons can be found in their weekly ads, their monthly coupon booklets, and sometimes other Walgreens coupon booklets.  A Walgreens coupon DOES NOT have a manufacturer's address on it like a regular coupon does.  


IMPORTANT- If you have a Walgreens coupon and a manufacturer coupon for the same item make sure to give the manufacturer coupon first or the register might beep at you and mess up the transaction.


Filler items- A Register Reward counts as a manufacturer coupon.  If you are buying an item that you have another manufacturer coupon for and you want to pay with a RR you need a filler item.  What this means is another item that is cheap so you can use the 2 coupons.  For example, if you are buying a deodorant for $3 and you have a $1 off manufacturer coupon for the deodorant and you want to pay using a $2 RR that is 2 coupons for only one item, the deodorant.  But if you add something else to this transaction you can use 2 coupons, the coupon for the deodorant in this case and the Register Reward.  I usually look to see what is on sale that week to use as filler.  Often popcorn packages will be on sale for $.25 or you can find a holiday themed pencil, a package of jello, etc.  


Some stores, like Publix, will take Register Rewards as payment.  That does not mean that Publix is counting Walgreens as a competitor.  Publix will not price match Walgreens ads or accept Walgreens coupons.  But because RR are manufacturer coupons, not Walgreens coupons, Publix WILL accept them towards your grocery total.  RR have the manufacturer's address on it so Publix can mail it to the manufacturer like any other coupon and get reimbursed for the face value plus a $.08 handling fee on each one.  Publix WILL NOT take CVS Extra Care Bucks however because those are CVS "currency" and Publix would have no where to get reimbursed for them like with the Register Rewards.


I hope this helps!  Please let me know if you have any questions.  

My Walgreens Haul 5/29/11

Here are all my goodies from today.  Note 1 can of iced coffee is missing.  I drank it before I even made it home.  Yummy!  I will probably go back to the store to get some more!

For those of you who asked, here's what I bought at Walgreens today.  Note I went to SEVERAL Walgreens so I didn't clear out the shelves at any store I went to.  See my post below for coupon match ups to these items.
2 packages of Scott Paper Towel- 6 packs
4 Aquafresh Kids Toothpaste
1 Ritz Crackerfuls
9 packages of Reynolds Wrap 70 ft foil
6 bottles of Calcium suppliments
2 cans of Illy Cappucino
6 Icy Hot Naturals pain relief cream
28 Right Guard Deodorants- most to be donated
22 Dry Idea Deodorants- most to be donated
8 Gallon bottles of Arizona Iced Tea                                                                   
Total OOP was $77.89.  Total left in Register Rewards is $66.99 so net OOP is only $10.90!!!!!  I plan on using my $66.99 in RR at Publix today I don't mind that I had to lay out so much OOP today.  And if I didn't buy the 8 bottles of iced tea for my husband today ($16), I would have actually had a negative $5.10 OOP. ;)

Iced Tea lined up to be taken upstairs for my hubby.  :)

Here's How I Organize My Coupons

I personally do not like the binder method.  Some people swear by it and it works for them.  It just doesn't work for me so this is what I prefer.  I keep my inserts whole.  I create a new folder for each insert so 5/22 Smart Source will have it's own folder that is labeled on the tab.  And I use match-up up websites that match sales with the coupons.  Then when it's time for me to shop I look up the sales on the websites and pull the coupons I need from the proper insert folders.

Here are all my whole inserts in a file box.

I usually get 10 newspapers a week so I take each insert (Smart Source, Red Plum, etc.) and take it apart and reassemble it.  I do this by laying all the covers out in one pile.  Then I lay all the second pages out in a pile and so on. Once I have a pile of each page of the insert I staple the corners of each page and then reassemble the whole insert so it looks like one insert.  I do this so when I am looking for a coupon I just have to cut it out once and have 10 of them instead of searching through 10 inserts to find 1 coupon in each.  It saves me time on the day that I am actually clipping my coupons.  


***I have recently learned that some manufacturers aren't accepting coupons from stores that look like they were "gang cut" which means all cut the same.  I have since started only stapling the tops of each page of the insert and instead of gang cutting all 10 coupons I am cutting each one out on it's own but it still saves me time because they are all together instead of in 10 separate inserts.  

Here is a picture of a pile of each page stapled together with all the copies of the same page.

Here is how the insert looks once it is put back together.  It looks just like one insert but it is really 10 together.

Keep in mind that I do this technique because I have at least 10 of each insert each week. If you don't buy a lot of newspapers then this might not be the best for you.
I find it a lot easier than clipping and carrying around a binder.  Do I miss some deals by not having all of my coupons with me?  Probably a few.  But I do look up coupons from my phone in coupon databases (there are lots of them- google coupon database to find some) to see if there is a coupon for something I might find on clearance.  And then sometimes I buy the item and take my receipt back with my coupons when I find them at home.  Most stores will give you money back if you bring back your receipt and coupons you could have used.  


When I am ready to go to the store I print my list and look in my folders for the matching coupons.  I then have a small accordion file that I keep my coupons in for the weekly deals.  I have it arranged by the stores I frequent so I have a section for the Publix weekly deals, CVS, Walgreens, and Other.  I also keep restaurant coupons, Groupons, etc. in another section.  I put all coupons for the deals at each store each week in their own section so if I happen to go to one of the stores during the week and see the weekly deal I can scoop it up.

I also keep a second accordion file for internet printable coupons and other random coupons- 13 sections and then some have subsections. Each section/subsection has it's own long envelope that I put in backwards and write the title on the outside top before I fold the flap inside- See the Dairy envelope in this picture.

Here are my Sections/Subsections- Each Subsection has it's own envelope inside the section tab
1. Front section without a tab is Misc.
2. Meat, Chicken, Deli, Seafood
3. Dairy
4. Bread, Cereal, Breakfast
-subs are Bread and Breakfast, Cereal and Granola Bars
5. Condiments, Dressings, Sauces, and Seasonings
6. Cookies, Snacks, Crackers
-subs are Cookies, Snacks, Crackers (each has it's own envelope)
7. Canned and Fresh
-subs are Canned Fruit and Veggies, Fresh Fruit and Veggies
8. Pasta, Rice, Soup
-subs are Pasta, Rice, Soup
9. Flour and Baking
10. Frozen
-subs are Frozen Veggies and Frozen Fruit, Frozen Dinners and Pizza, and Frozen Desserts
11. Beverages
12. Cleaning, Household, Paper Goods
-subs Cleaning, Household, Paper Goods
13. Meds and Personal Care
-subs are Meds and Personal Care (I think I will be breaking down the Personal Care envelope into a few separate envelopes soon as it is getting full with so many different personal care items.)