Trip #2 of the $40 Challenge!

Hey guys! Today was fabulous. My class was cancelled so I was able to make my trip to Target to make some progress on my $40 Challenge. 

One thing I want to make clear is that this effort to get items to donate is not my typical process of saving money. Normally, I pay pennies for certain items that I need. In this case, I am simply finding the best current prices of Thanksgiving food items and using a coupon if there happens to be one. For this reason, my spendings are a bit higher than usual but for a very good cause. And in all honestly, I had a smile on my face the entire shopping trip. I was so thrilled to be able to give to those in need and to be able to do it for a lower price than many people may think! So here are the results of my trip. What I want to show you guys is the sale price of the item, the price of the item regularly, and if there were any coupons on the items I purchased. Hopefully with all of this information, you guys will be able to repeat my trips and donate things yourself!

Target Trip:

6 Betty Crocker Potatoes [Mashed and Scalloped] $.89 (Reg $1.52)

Used (3) $.50/2 Coupons from 10/2 General Mills Insert

Makes them $.64 each

8 Stove top Stuffing .89 (Reg $1.99)

No Coupons

4 Zatarain’s Rice Mix .89 (Reg $1.12)

(2) $1/2 Coupons HERE

Makes them $.39 each

8 Del Monte Vegetables .65 (Reg $.99)

No Coupons

Spent:

$17.72

Saved: 
$40.94

SO! For someone making this trip on a regular day, without watching for sales and coupons, they would have spent over $50 for all of this! But I spent only $17!

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$20.28 Left

in the $40 Challenge

Trip # 1 of the $40 Challenge!

Hello! 

This week I was able to make 2 trips to Walgreens :D 

Unfortunately, the first trip I made was based on the sales that ended yesterday, so you guys won't be able to get those deals. However, the second trip I made today! So you guys can cash in on the awesome deal just like I did!

Trip 1

Transaction 1 and 2:

2 Pantene Shampoo/Conditioner 2/$7 get $2 RR
- (1) $3/2 from 10/30 P&G

2 Hunts Tomato Sauce (Donate!) 3/$1

2 Crest Toothpaste 2/$7 get $5 RR

- (2) $1/1 from 10/30 P&G

Used $9 RR

Got $7 RR

Total Spent:

$1.65 including .98 tax!

Saved:

$21.27 both transactions

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Transaction 3:

2 Pantene Shampoo/Conditioner 2/$7 get $2 RR
- (1) $3/2 from 10/30 P&G

2 Hunts Tomato Sauce (Donate!) 3/$1

Used $4 RR

Got $2 RR

Spent:

$1.16 including .49 tax

Saved: 

$11.29

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Today's Trip:

Transaction 1 and 2:

3 Smart Water 3/$3 get $2 RR 

3 Betty Crocker Muffin/Cornbread Mix 3/$1

Used $2 RR

Got $2 RR

Spent:

$2.34

Saved: 

$8.09

It seems like I didn't save much but I was able to get 6 Cornbread Mixes to add to my donation for the $40 challenge. It only cost me $2 for all 6 of them!

By the way, the price of the Smartwater is FANTASTIC! I would have bought more but the stock was so limited I didn't want to clear the shelf.

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Total Spent: 

$9.14

 Total Saved:

$61.92

Not too shabby.

:D

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$38 left in the $40 Challenge!

Spreading the "thankfulness"... $40 Challenge!

Hello everybody!!
My friends definitely know me to be one of those huge holiday freaks who tends to decorate the house super early.. and listen to Christmas music all year round.. but I embrace it and I love it! I think that the Christmas spirit is one of the best feelings in the world so I am grateful that I have it year-round!

Well anyways, we've been decorating our apartment for the past few days full of Christmas decorations.. you would think that we just plain skipped Thanksgiving.. lol. But no, I just love the look of the Christmas tree :D

Since this is my first year cooking a lot of food for Thanksgiving, I decided to go through our pantry and clear out the things I won't be needing, or things I can donate to a food-drive for Thanksgiving. I can honestly say that at first I was like... How am I going to part with all of this?? But then before I knew it, my box for donating was overflowing with things to give away, and it felt amazing. 

It was then that I realized how thankful I was to always have food available to me, and how sad it is that many people go hungry and struggle to provide Thanksgiving dinner for their families. So I decided to take on a personal challenge (although I encourage you all to do the same!)....

And the challenge is this! I have set aside $40 to spend solely on food to donate for Thanksgiving. My question is, how much food can I get?! 

I am SOOOO excited to see how much food I end up getting with just $40. Now I know I can't go and buy a bunch of Turkeys or anything, but at least I can provide tons of food such as stuffing, vegetables, potatoes, etc. 

I know that this time fo year is really tough financially for many of you. But it is for me too. I mean, $40 is a sacrifcie, but one that I think everyone can make. When you think about it, we throw away money all the time on fast food and quick indulgences. But imagine what a blessing you could be to someone if you just sacrfice a few dollars to help those in need. 

With that said, I hope you guys decide to participate in my challenge and donate whatever it is you can manage to donate to those in need! Please share your experiences with me!!

Here are a few tips about upcoming sale prices:

Target 11/06-11/12

Betty Crocker Boxed Potatoes .89

 $1/4 coupon in 10/2 General Mills insert

Stove Top Stuffing .89
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Walgreens 11/06-11/12

Betty Crocker Cornbread or Muffin Mix 3/$1 !!!
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Walgreens 11/13-11/19

Gelatin (Jell-O) 5/$1

Green Giant Vegetables .69

Broth and Campbell's Gravy .69

50/4 Campbells Gravy HERE

It has been too long....

Hello everybody! I bet you guys were thinking I died or something.. but NOPE! I am alive and well.. I've just been outrageously busy with school and my field work. Not only am I moving non-stop for like 12 hours everyday, but even the weekends have been busy for me! Finally, I had a chance to update you guys on everything. I have only been able to make shopping trips about once a week. Just to show how busy I am, I don't think I've been grocery shopping in a month!! LOL thank goodness for having a stocked up pantry!

Now I know its been a long time and the deals that I'm going to mention are long gone, I still like to share them so I can keep track of my spending and savings, as well as let you guys see how great deals are achieved! So here I go...

Also, I have not been keeping up with pictures so I'll just have a few random pictures from my trips over the past few weeks.

September 25:

Transaction 1 and 2:

1 Walgreens Maxi pads $2 get $2 RR

1 Balance Bar Cookie Dough 1.59 get $1.60 RR

1 Schick Quattro for Womeen Razor $8.99 get $5 RR

- (1) $5/1 Internet Printable

Used $6 RR, got $8.60 RR

Spent: $2.35, including .77 tax
Saved: $14.89

Transaction 3:

1 Walgreens Maxi Pads $2 get $2 RR

- (1) $.50/1 Walgreens Catalina

1 Halloween cup .29

Used $1.60 RR, got $2 RR

Spent: $.32 including .13 tax

Saved: $3.49

Transaction 4:

2 Colgate Optic White $7.98 get $6 RR

- (2) $.75/1

1 Walgreens Maxi Pads $2 get $2 RR
1 Balance Bar $1.59 get $1.60
1 Schick Quattro Razor $8.99 get $5 RR

- (1) $5/1
1 Zarbees Medicine $5.99 get $6 RR

- (1) $1/1
8 Candy .39

Used $21 RR, got $19 RR
Spent: $2.71 including $1.54 tax
Saved: $40.27

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September 30:

Transaction 1:

1 Schick Quattro $8.99 get $5 RR

- (1) $5/1 Coupon

1 Arizona Tea for HUBBY! .50

2 Votive Candles .49

Used $4.80 RR, got $5 RR

Spent: $1.16 including .77 tax

Saved: $11.80

Transaction 2 and 3:

1 Schick Quattro $8.99 get $5 RR

- (1) $5/1 Coupon

2 Votice Candles .49

Used $4 RR got $5 RR

Spent: $1.67 inclduing .70 tax

Saved: $13.00

Transactions 4 and 5:

1 Zarbees $5.99 get $6 RR 

- (1) $1/1

1 Votive Candle .49

Used 5 RR, got 6 RR

Spent: $.52

Saved: $10.00

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October 7 and 14

Transaction 1:

2 Cottonelle Toilet Paper $5 (get $3 RR wyb 2)

- (1) $1/1 WAGS (takes off $2)

Used $5 RR, got $3 RR

Spent: $3.70 including .70 tax

Saved: $7.00

Transaction 2 and 3:

1 Colgate Optic $3.99 get $2 RR

1 Herbal Essence Shampoo $2.99 get $1 RR

2 Cottonelle Toilet Paper $5

- (1) $1/1 Walgreens Takes off $2

- (2) $.50/1

Used $11 RR, got 6 RR

Spent: $4.17 including $1.19 tax

Saved: $15.50

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October 16: TODAY!

Transaction 1 and 2:

1 Schick Hydro $8.49 get $4.50 RR

- (1) $5/1

5 Tuf Paper Towels .50

Used $5 RR, got $4.50 RR

Spent: $1.76 including .77 tax

Saved: $15.95

Transaction 3 and 4:

1 Schick Hydro $8.49 get $4.50 RR

- (1) $5/1

2 Tuf Paper Towels .50

1 Walgreens Pads $2 get $2 RR

- (1) .50/1 Walgreens Catalina (Transaction 3 only)

Used $5 RR transaction 3, $6 RR Transaction 4 and got back $6.50 RR both times.
Spent: $1.76 including .77 tax transaction 1
$1.30 including .81 tax transaction 2:

Saved: $15.87 and $16.37

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So, my totals for all of these shopping trips are as follows:

Total Spent:

$27.72 including $10.39 tax! WOW. Gotta love that tax... lol

Total Saved:

$217.98 !!!!

I wish I was able to show pictures of EVERYTHING I bought but a lot of it has been donated already, so here are the pictures that I do have! Hopefully it gives a perspective of how much you can really get for such a low price at Walgreens when you put some effort into it!

Here is a closer look....

What ever happened to good customer service?

Smh. What a rough day. I had about $60 RR that I wanted to use to get some essentials for my house. In the end I was only gonna spend about $5 and get $36 RR back. Normally I go to one of my favorite 24 hour Walgreens, since they seem to have the best stock. But today, when I got the newspaper and saw the FABULOUS $2/1 Crest Complete toothpaste/Oral B complete toothbrush coupon, I knew I wanted to get the toothbrushes. Unfortunately only one store in my area carried this item so I decided to try it out. It was a 24 hour store in a really nice area of town so I figured it should be a smooth trip. Well.. I was wrong.

First of all, I walked into the store, took about 30 minutes to find everything I wanted and do my calculations. Then I got in line. I used my coupons, paid my fees and then..... No register rewards printed. Sigh. "Here we go" I thought to myself.

I asked the cashier if there was a problem with the machine and she goes no no no its because you used coupons. You can't get register rewards if you use coupons. Double sigh. Of course we all know that tends to be the ignorant cashiers reply whenever RR's don't print and they don't feel like finding out the TRUE reason. So she called the manager to the front so I could get a refund. 

Then the manager shows up. Usually I'm glad when the manager steps in because they know what to do. Well not this lady!!! First, she tried to convince me that I don't get RR because I used some RR to pay. I explained to her nicely that that wasn't true and that she should re-run the transaction on a different register so we can get them to print. And THEN she decides to tell me... Well the Catalina machines are down!!!

WHAT?!?! I thought to myself. She told me that the store is in the middle of renovating and the machines do not work. 

So then I said well there you go, thats why I didn't get my RR and I asked for a refund. I also asked why they didn't tell me the machine was broken BEFORE I started shopping, or before I paid, considering that they already KNEW their machines were down and the manager told me "We aren't supposed to tell anyone unless they ask". Like WTH lady. What a ripoff. I can only imagine how many people got screwed out of their RR because the store is stiffing them. UGH.

Then she insisted that she wanted to just refund me the difference... I was really confused but I just let her do her thing. She started scanning items, coupons and all sorts of things and when I asked her what she was doing she snapped at me "Hold on! Let me figure this out".... Well sheesh. I guess I just thought that as the customer, I deserved to know what was going on.... UGH

So she refunds me $12 in cash, instead of RR... I was alright with this as long as it meant I could leave. So when I told my husband that we were just gonna go to another store to do transaction 2 and 3 the manager said no no no stay here and let me do the same thing... So I thought to myself, whatever. Why not... BIG MISTAKE.

She started ringing up the items at a discounted price, basically substituting RR with a discount. So for example, for the AirWick at $7.99 with $3 RR, She rung it up at $4.99... and so on with the other items. Then my grand total is down to like $8 and I have $20 RR to use, so I was confused. I thought she was going to give me the cash instead of RR, but instead what she was doing was making such a discount so I could add $12 of merchandise, pay tax, and get NO RR back. Well jeez lady. Thats not what you did the first time!

So I was like no thank you ma'am but I don't need $12 of stuff now, I want my RR so I can come back in the future and use them, so I'll just go to another store. And then she's like WELL YOU SHOULD HAVE TOLD ME THAT BEFORE! And im like... wth... You told me you were gonna do the same thing as the first time and then you DIDNT! UGH!

[Of course I didn't scream, as the CAPS and !!! make it seem, I'm just mad now lol.]

What made me the most ticked off is what happened next. After all the madness I said politely, "Maybe you guys would consider putting a sign outside or inside saying the RR machine is broken so people don't waste their time shopping and going through all this mess" and she said "No". Apparently the machine is "supposed" to be fixed in a few hours. Well goodness. In the MEANTIME put up the sign!

So I took my bags, left the other crap and headed to my favorite store. Although they didn't have everything I wanted, I had my favorite cashier, and ended up getting a pretty good deal. 

All in all, what a terrible day. I have $21 RR left, and $12 in cash from transaction 1. Its really confusing and I'm pretty bummed that I don't a lot of RR anymore, but I did get some good stuff.

Still so mad and I'm definitely leaving a complaint with Walgreens. I can't believe a manager is so terrible... why work with customers if you don't know how to treat them?

Transaction 1: [Stupid Messed Up Transaction]

Honestly,  I don't understand half the stuff on my receipt. So many numbers didn't print because of the low ink.]

Tuf trash Bags $4.99

Airwick Freshener $7.99 get $3 RR

- (1) $4/1 from 9/11 SS

Colgate Optic White $3.99 get $2 RR

- (1) $1.50/1 From 9/11 SS

Colgate Sensitive Toothpaste $4.99 get $3 RR

- (1) $1/1 from 9/11 SS

Oral B Indicator Toothbrush $1.99 get $1 RR

2 Crest Complete Deep Clean Toothpaste 2/$5 get $3 RR

- (2) $1/1 from 8/26 P&G

Used $20 RR

Got... $12 Cash.

Total:

$2.48 including $2.03 tax! Awesome =D

Saved:

$40.58

And while many might prefer getting cash to RR, it really was not worth the headache, and I know I'll be tempted to spend the $12 elsewhere, so it really feels like I got jipped.

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Transaction 2: [Good store!]

1 Crest Floss 2/$5 get $3 RR

1 Crest Complete toothpaste 2/$5 get $3 RR 

- (1) $2/1 from 9/11 SS

Tuf trash Bags $4.99

Airwick Freshener $7.99 get $3 RR

- (1) $4/1 from 9/11 SS

Colgate Optic White $3.99 get $2 RR

- (1) $1.50/1 From 9/11 SS

Colgate Sensitive Toothpaste $4.99 get $3 RR

- (1) $1/1 from 9/11 SS

Oral B Indicator Toothbrush $1.99 get $1 RR

Used $20 RR

Got $12 RR

Total:

$2.48 including $2.03 TAX! Wow.

Saved:

$48.78

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Transaction 3:

2 Quilted Northern 9 Rolls $4, Get $1 RR wyb 2

Airwick Freshener $7.99 get $3 RR

- (1) $4/1 from 9/11 SS

Colgate Optic White $3.99 get $2 RR

- (1) $1.50/1 From 9/11 SS

Colgate Sensitive Toothpaste $4.99 get $3 RR

- (1) $1/1 from 9/11 SS

Oral B Indicator Toothbrush $1.99 get $1 RR

1 Arizona Tea .50

Used $20 RR

Got $10 RR

Total:

$2.89 including $1.93 Tax. Again, WOW lol.

Saved:

$38.99

Now if my store gets the complete toothpaste back in stock, I hope to go over there get 2/$5, use 2 $2/1 from 9/11 SS , Pay $1, and get $3 RR BACK! 

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Grand total:

$7.85, including $5.99 tax! 

That means all my stuff was only $1.86 before tax.

Saved:

$128.35!