Giveaway alert: check out the Bloggy Giveaways Quarterly Carnival

Most of you probably already know about the Bloggy Giveaways Quarterly Carnival, but in case you don't, you should definitely check it out. There are hundreds of giveaways (over 800 as of this writing). Plus, you'll get to check out blogs you've never heard of!

Walgreens $5 off $20 purchase coupon + a very easy way to use it

I had a feeling Walgreens would come out with a two-day only coupon this week, and they did! It's a printable $5 off $20 purchase coupon that's good tomorrow and Saturday. And it's a pleasant surprise that the minimum purchase amount is $20, since last week's required a $25 purchase. But I'm not complaining!

Tomorrow and Saturday are this month's "double dipping" days, when the October and November EasySaver catalogs overlap. To see which deals benefit from both catalogs, check out this thread at A Full Cup.

You can view the November EasySaver catalog (pdf) online. There are only two free-after-rebate items, but one of them is the L'Oreal Age Perfect Pro-Calcium Radiance Perfector, 1.7 oz., with a rebate of $19.99. There were $1 off any L'Oreal moisturizer coupons in the Sept. 21 and Oct. 19 newspapers. Add a filler that's $1.01 or more, and use the $5/$20 coupon, for a near $5 profit. Make the deal even better: Pert Plus 2 in 1 is on sale for $3.49, so if you use the $2 off coupon from this past Sunday's newspaper and also use the $2.50 off coupon in the October EasySaver catalog, you'll get $1.01 overage. (Be sure to have the newspaper coupon scanned first.) That means your filler item can now be up to $2.02 and you'll still pay only $15 after the $5/$20 coupon.

I'm still working on my own scenario, since there are actually some sale items that I want to pick up. I'll probably forego the Radiance Perfector, since I still need to pick up the L'Oreal Revitalift Anti-Wrinkle Concentrate that's free after rebate this month. Unless it's out of stock, which would make me very sad!

Update: Check out the Benefiber moneymaker deal at Common Sense with Money before you start planning.

Walgreens clearance alert: free Quattro for Women & possible free Fusion

I went to Walgreens this morning and found a couple of razors in the clearance section: Schick Quattro for Women for $2 and Gillette Fusion for $3. I had a $2 off Quattro for Women coupon, so that was free. But the register beeped on my $4 off Fusion coupon and my favorite cashier wouldn't adjust it down, so I had him take it off my order. I can't complain too much about this store because the Register Rewards always print when they're supposed to, the shelves are generally correctly marked, sale items are usually in stock and, most importantly, the employees are friendly and coupon-friendly.

I suspect, however, that some (many?) stores will take the $4 off coupon, so if you can find the clearance Fusion razors, I'd still give it a try.

Update: You can read about my entire transaction over at Chief Family Officer.

Whole Foods: Printable $5 off $25 printable coupon

I'm so excited about this: it's a printable $5 off $25 purchase coupon available through the official Whole Foods blog, Whole Story. I've never seen such a coupon from Whole Foods before, and I love shopping there for the high quality organic products. (Although the inference I draw from the coupon's availability is that the company is not making money.) The coupon is good through Oct. 22, and can be used once per day. Mercedes at Common Sense with Money thinks you should be able to use the coupon on gift cards because there's no wording restricting that on the coupon. I'm not so sure, but it's worth a try.

Conveniently, there's a guest post today over at Money Saving Mom on how to save money when buying organic. I picked up a few new tips, like signing up for the newsletters mentioned.

New $5 off $25 purchase Walgreens coupon

There's a new printable $5 off $25 purchase coupon. It's good tomorrow and Saturday, and the usual restrictions apply. There's also wording that I think is new, specifying that the $25 total must be after all Walgreens coupons as well as manufacturer coupons. (In the past, some stores allowed use of the coupon before Walgreens coupons were applied.)

In keeping with my commitment to play The Drugstore Game less, I decided early in the week that I would only go to Walgreens if a coupon came out. And since it has, I do plan on going now. There are quite a few party items that I'm planning to pick up (plastic utensils and cups) as well as some cleaning supplies (cleanser and wipes). Walgreens brand diapers are on sale for $5.99 for a jumbo pack, so I might buy some to get me up to the $25 mark - we've been quite happy with them, although we only use them during the day.

CVS deal alert

If you haven't bought the free-after-ECB Always Infinity yet, you may want to wait until Saturday (if you think your store will have it in stock). The limit is reported to be two, not one as advertised. Sunday's Smart Source P&G insert will have a $2 off Infinity coupon. So, if you pick up two early editions of Sunday's paper on Saturday and buy 2 Always Infinity packs with 2 coupons, you'll end up with $4 profit!

Lots of free items at Rite Aid next week

Erin at Coupon Cravings reminded me that there's a long list of cold and flu-related items that will be free after SCR at Rite Aid next week. If you never shop at Rite Aid, next week might be a good time to give it a try. Check out the list and see if there's anything you know you'll need in the cold months to come. And remember, if you're out here in Los Angeles (or other areas of California), the deals will start this Friday.

CVS this week: Cheap contact solution

My CVS trip this week was quick and easy - or at least, it would have been if the shelves had been marked properly. But they weren't, and I couldn't tell which Renu solution qualified for the $6.99 sale price that was advertised as producing $2 ECBs. It turned out all of the 12-oz. bottles qualified, so I happily purchased three in the following transaction:

3 Renu multipurpose solution 12-oz. @ $6.99 each - $20.97
Cover Girl liquid foundation - $5.49
Total before coupons: $26.46

Coupons used: $5 off $25 purchase received via email, $2.50 Renu that came in the mail (with a sample?), 2 $2 Renu (these were printables that I'd held onto for a while)

I paid with ECBs and a gift card and received the following ECBs: $6 for Renu ($2 each) and $5.49 for Cover Girl.

Find more CVS deals at The "Cent"sible Sawyer.

My Walgreens trip this week with the $5/$20 coupon

My planned transaction almost went according to plan. Here's how it broke down:

Gillette Fusion razor - $8.99
Keebler Sandies & Club Crackers - $5
3 Children's Tylenol @ $4.99 each - $14.97
Oral B toothbrush - $4.49
Lysol wipes - $3.99
L'Oreal Revitalift cleanser - $6.99
4 Puffs tissue @ 89 cents each - $3.56
Total before coupons: $47.99

Coupons used: $4 Fusion, 55 cents Keebler Sandies, 3 $1 any Tylenol, 75 cents Oral B toothbrush, $1 L'Oreal cleanser, 4 25 cents Puffs, $10 RR, $3 RR, $5/$20

Total after coupons: $22.82 including tax

I received the following Register Rewards: $5 for Tylenol, $4.50 for Oral B, $4 for Gillette, $2 for Keebler (total: $15.50)
I will also receive the following monthly rebates: $6.99 for L'Oreal, $1 for Lysol, plus 10% on my gift card (total: $8.79)

I was shocked to find that my favorite Walgreens had quite a few of the free-after-RR Oral B toothbrushes in stock. In fact, the only thing they didn't have that I wanted was a second package of Keebler Sandies cookies - I had to substitute a box of Keebler club crackers, which I didn't have a coupon for. It worked out fine, though - I was planning to get the free-after-rebate Lypsyl so that I had as many items as I did manufacturer coupons, so I just put it back and will get it later in the month. The Lypsyl and Nivea men's body wash were free after rebate last month, and have been added as items for October - they're not in the Easy Saver book, but you'll see them online when you enter your receipt info. FYI, I found the Lypsyl with the Chapstick next to the cold medicine and cough drops.

The biggest snag I ran into was that the Easy Saver book I picked up doesn't have the Children's Tylenol coupon in it. I hadn't thought to print it out, so I couldn't ask if my favorite cashier would accept it. And I didn't think to pick up a different book and see if it was in there - I just assumed that it was some weird regional thing, since we do seem to get different deals out here sometimes. But after getting home and looking the catalog up online, I realized that the catalog I grabbed is missing the page that the coupon is on. Of course, the missing coupon may have been a blessing in disguise, because my total would have been under $20 if I'd had the coupon - and I don't think I would have realized it until after I'd been rung up. I also didn't get a $2 RR for the Tylenol, although I had read reports that they were printing out - bummer!

If I have a little time to kill tomorrow, I might head back to Walgreens to use the $5 off $20 purchase coupon a second time. I'm hoping my gift card will have been credited with last month's rebates, making it easier to spend $20 after coupons. I won't be able to use the Register Rewards that I received today if I want to do the same deals tomorrow, but that would be okay if I'm using a gift card. I'll have that much more to spend in the next two weeks - and the $5 RR from the Tylenol deal has an expiration date of Dec. 26, so I can hold onto it for a while.

I'll definitely get another razor and toothbrush, and maybe more Tylenol. PaidTwice pointed out a deal over at Chief Family Officer for Quilted Northern toilet paper - it's on sale for $4 for 6 double rolls, and there are $1 off coupons in the Easy Saver book, and $1 off coupons from the September 21 paper (some regions got a $1/2 coupon, I think). It works out to 33 cents per roll, which is quite good, or 25 cents per roll after the $5/$20 coupon. The Kimberly Clark deal at CVS worked out to 30 cents per roll after ECBs. So I'm adding that to my shopping list as well. Thanks, PaidTwice!

Find more drugstore scenarios at The "Cent"sible Sawyer.

Another $5 off $20 Walgreens purchase coupon, valid Oct. 3 & 4

So what do I know? I go on record saying I'm not expecting a Walgreens coupon for this weekend, so lo and behold, we've got another $5 off $20 purchase coupon that's good tomorrow and Saturday only. The usual limitations apply.

It's interesting that the coupon came out, since earlier this week, there was a report that Walgreens was going to reduce promotions, since they didn't increase the last quarter's profits the way executives had hoped they would. Whatever the reason it was issued, I'll gladly take the coupon. I figure the store is still making money off of me because they get reimbursed for all of the manufacturer's coupons that I use. They just don't make as much money off of me as they'd like, since I don't pick up impulse items.

And now I'm really glad I didn't hit Walgreens on the way home from work on Wednesday, like I'd planned. I'll post my planned deal over at Chief Family Officer tomorrow morning.

How I used the Walgreens $5/$20 coupon

I had intended to do two transactions (detailed over at Chief Family Officer), but my favorite coupon-friendly cashier wasn't working, and I didn't want to risk asking the woman who did ring me up if I could split the transaction up. I also ran into an unexpected wrinkle, a consequence of not double-checking my local ad against the information that was online: the Reach deal wasn't advertised here. Grrr!

But overall, I had a pretty successful transaction, so I really can't complain:

3 Garnier Fructis family size shampoo + bonus conditioner @ $7.29 each - $21.87
Pert 2 in 1 - $3.49
3 Dimetapp DM Elixir @ $5 each - $15
Crest ProHealth toothpaste - $3.79
Visine - $4.79
L'Oreal Revitalist Anti-Wrinkle Concentrate - $16.49
5 Halls cough drops @ 99-cents each with weekly ad coupon - $4.95
2 Nabisco Nutter Butters - $5
Total before coupons: $75.38

Coupons used: $4.50 RR, 3 $2 off Garnier family size, 3 $3 off Garnier from Oct. EasySaver catalog, $2 off Pert, $2.50 off Pert from Oct. EasySaver catalog, 3 $2 off Dimetapp, 75-cents off Crest, $2 off Visine, $2 off Visine from Sept. EasySaver catalog, $3 off L'Oreal, $5 off $20 purchase

Total after coupons, including tax: $38.02

I received a $10 Register Rewards for the Dimetapp and $3 RR for the Nabisco cookies. I should also get the following rebates: $10 for Garnier, $3.49 for Pert, $3.79 for Crest, $16.49 for L'Oreal, plus an extra 10% or $3.38 for having the rebate credited to my gift card. That works out to a profit of $14.13 $12.13 - a little bit less than my original calculations, but not bad considering I couldn't even do the Reach deal.

I was also bummed to realize that my local ad didn't include the 2 for $4 Snuggle dryer sheet deal that's apparently available in other regions. I'm not sure why we're getting shorted on deals here, but I don't like it!

On the bright side, the woman who checked me out turned out to be extremely coupon-friendly and totally supportive. She did something new to me, which was scan the coupons for each item after she scanned the item. For example, she started with the Garnier and scanned all three bonus packs, then scanned the manufacturer coupons and then the EasySaver coupon. She even said that she's good about doing the rebates but not coupons, but that I inspired her to clip coupons because I did so well. (She was impressed by my sale price and coupon savings, which came to $55.97 - I wanted to tell her the number was meaningless without context, but that's a discussion that can take all day!)

One last note: Since the max rebate amount for the Pert is $4.29, I assumed that it would ring up at that price. But it actually rang up at $3.49. I've submitted my my receipt for the rebates in this purchase, so we'll see if they all go through without a hitch.

See more non-CVS drugstore deals at The "Cent"sible Sawyer.

CVS: Kimberly Clark deal limit is 2

As I mentioned over at Chief Family Officer earlier this week, I was pretty excited about the Kimberly Clark deal, which included Viva paper towels, Cottonelle toilet paper, and Kleenex tissue with lotion. I needed all three items, but especially the tissue - I've had a cold for the last week, which has been a good reminder of what's in store in the coming months. And we go through a lot of tissue during the winter. The deal was excellent: buy $25 worth of products, get $10 ECBs back. But the best part was that even though the weekly ad said the limit was one, the limit is actually two. And you have through tomorrow to take advantage of it.

My transactions were pretty simple, since I only bought the three items I mentioned. But Huggies mega packs and Clean Team wipes are included, and if I'd had another $3 off 2 Clean Team products coupon, I would have worked that into my purchases. Alas, I only had three 50-cents off Viva and 1 50-cents off Cottonelle coupons, so here's what I did:

Transaction #1:
2 Cottonelle @ $5.99 each - $11.98
17 Kleenex @ 77 cents - $13.09
Total before coupons: $25.07

Coupons used: $2 off $10 purchase, 50-cents off Cottonelle

I paid with ECBs and a gift card and received $10 in ECBs.

Transaction #2:
3 Viva @ $6.49 each - $19.47
Cottonelle - $5.99
Total before coupons: $25.46

Coupons used: $2 off $10 purchase, 3 50-cents off Viva

Again, I paid with ECBs and a gift card and received $10 in ECBs. This time, my receipt said "Offer limit reached."

And I'm now super well-stocked on toilet paper, paper towels and Kleenex, which makes me extremely content. What can I say? I'm weird that way :)

See more CVS deals at The "Cent"sible Sawyer.

My wish came true! A new Walgreens $5 off $20 purchase coupon good Friday and Saturday only

I mentioned last week that I forgot my last two-day only coupon when I went to Walgreens, so I am extremely thankful that I've been given a chance to make up for my error and pick up some of the free-after-rebate items that I haven't gotten yet. There's a new $5 off $20 purchase coupon and it's good tomorrow and Saturday only. The usual limitations apply. I'll be posting my scenarios tomorrow morning over at Chief Family Officer if you want some ideas on how to make the most of the coupon.

Almost-free prints/gifts at Shutterfly - but you must order tonight!

I just happened across this deal at MoneySavingMethods, and paid a mere 14 cents for a 5x7 photo book and one print at Shutterfly. I'm still stunned at that deal. It ends tonight, so don't delay!

Thanks to Freebies 4 Mom for the deal alert.

Walgreens this week: No $5/$20 or $10/$40 coupon, but I'll be getting cheap trash bags

Not that I needed it, but proof that I don't get enough sleep and have too much to do came last week when I forgot to put the $10 off $40 purchase coupon in my coupon bag! I found myself at Walgreens about to move my purchases from the cart to the counter when I realized my mistake. Fortunately, it's my favorite store with the nicest cashier, who kindly offered to hold everything while I ran home for the coupon. But a drive home and back didn't really fit my plans (Walgreens isn't that close to our house) so I just bought my non-rebate items and called it a day. Well, except for the water pitcher filter - I finally found one, so I bought it.

I was hoping for another weekend coupon so I could make up for last week, but there isn't one so I guess I'll wait until next week to pick up the remaining free-after-rebate items just in case a coupon comes out for then.

In the meantime, though, I can't pass up the deal on Ultra Tuf brand trash bags. I bought some of these last month when they were free after the sale price and monthly rebate, and they're comparable to the Kirkland brand drawstring bags that we've been getting from Costco for years. This week, they're on sale for 2 for $5, but the best part is that the 45-count boxes aren't marked on the shelf with the sale price but ring up $2.50 per box. It's been months since I bought trash bags at Costco so I don't remember the exact price, but I estimate $2.50 for 45 bags to be about two-thirds of the cost of the Kirkland bags. I'll be buying as many boxes as I can find, since there don't seem to be that many great sales and coupons on trash bags.

While I'm at the store, I'll also pick up Colgate Max toothpaste since it'll be free after the "super coupon" that's in the weekly ad and a $1 off coupon that I think came in the mail. I will also check out the Glade Plugins sale - I don't use these things, but I haven't maxed out the monthly rebate and I have a bunch of coupons. I'll need to check exactly what's on sale, though, to see if it matches my coupon. Finally, I'll pick up a bottle of the free-after-Register Rewards Crest ProHealth mouthwash, since I still have the coupon I didn't use last week.

I'll definitely be heading back to Walgreens next week, too - check out the preview at SlickDeals, there are some really good deals in it!

Walgreens 2-day coupon: $10 off $40 purchase Friday & Saturday only

Walgreens has come out with another $10 off $40 purchase printable coupon. It's good tomorrow and Saturday only, and contains the now-standard language requiring the pre-tax total to be $40 after coupons. It also excludes stamps, which might be new.

Check out Chief Family Officer tomorrow morning for my scenario. In the meantime, check out the deal scenarios at Money Saving Mom. And if you have a scenario yourself, please share. (Feel free to include a link in your comment if you've posted about a deal yourself.)

Two free years of Parents Magazine

Parents Magazine is one of my favorites, and right now, you can get a free two-year subscription. But you should hurry - I don't know how long this deal will be available!

Thanks to Money Saving Mom for the deal alert.

The Drugstore Game This Week: One quick stop

I almost didn't go to any drugstores this week, but I had a little time to kill with both boys this morning, so we popped into CVS for the free Dawn. I picked up the last two bottles on the shelf, along with two weekend editions of the Los Angeles Times (it has some pretty good coupons).

My transaction went like this:

2 Dawn Plus Hand Renewal @ 88 cents - $1.76
2 LA Times @ $1.50 - $3.00

Coupons: 2 $1 off Dawn Plus Hand Renewal (they didn't beep, so the cashier didn't adjust down, giving me 24 cents of overage toward the papers)

Used: $2 ECB

Paid 99 cents on a gift card

I normally buy my early papers at Ralphs, so I was pleasantly surprised to see the weekend edition at this CVS (it's one I rarely go to but it was on the way to our playdate).

See more CVS deals at The "Cent"sible Sawyer.

CVS this week: Water shoes for Alex

I completely forgot to post about my CVS trip earlier this week. I was really pleased that they had everything I planned to get in stock, since so often the free-after-ECB items are sold out. And the shelves were even marked properly. My planned trip was a money-maker, but then we saw faux Crocs on sale for 50% off, and Alex has been needing water shoes for school. So here's how my deal ended up:

2 Zipfizz @ $5.99 each - $11.98
1 Kotex liners - $1.49
1 Playtex tampons - $4.99
1 pair faux Crocs - $3.99
Total before coupons: $22.45

Coupons used: $2 off $10 purchase, $1 off Kotex, $1 off Playtex
ECBs used: $11.58 and $5.69 (I was happy to have a chance to use up the $11.58 ECBs from buying Children's Advil earlier in the month)

I paid $1.44 with a gift card and received the following ECBs: $11.98 for Zipfizz, $1.49 for Kotex, and $3 for Playtex

If it hadn't been for the shoes, I would have had a pre-tax profit of $2.01. But since the shoes were essentially free - and something we needed anyway (I'd been looking but couldn't find any) - I can't complain. :)

New Walgreens Coupon: $10 off $40 purchase Friday & Saturday only

There's a new printable Walgreens coupon for $10 off a $40 purchase. Again, it's good today and tomorrow. You can see my plan for the coupon at Chief Family Officer.