Gimme a P-U-B-L-I-X!

I'll agree – it almost doesn't seem normal to be so attached to a grocery store, but Publix keeps giving us reasons to love 'em! Besides the Cookie Club, cool carts, and occasional balloons, there's the Baby Club and Preschool Pals program!

I walked into Publix last night and immediately saw Boneless Skinless Premium Chicken Breasts advertised on sale – and I remembered that I had a Preschool Pals coupon for $1 off! Three cheers for Publix!

The penny item was the same as last week – a four (double) roll pack of GreenWise bathroom tissue. That may not sound exciting, but with all the talk of free (after coupons) Cottonnelle at Kroger stores (which we don't have nearby), I'm thankful for free TP!

So, those are some highlights of my Publix Super Savers for this week! Every little bit adds up to make a difference!

For better or for worse... (CVS vs Walgreens)

Rumor has it that Walgreens plans to discontinue the EasySaver Catalog program this spring, replacing it with something similar to CVS's Extra Care Bucks program. Interesting...

"Imitation is the highest form of flattery!"

I'd been thinking of writing a post, giving tips on shopping at CVS and spelling out what I see as pros and cons of bargain shopping at the two pharmacies, even before I read the rumors. But consider yourself warned – I've become a CVS fan! Experiences earlier this week help to explain...

On Tuesday afternoon, I did a CVS run – primarily for the great diapers deal...

Spend $20 on Pampers products – Get $5 ECBs
(Limit 1 deal)
Buy two Pampers (or Easy-Ups) Jumbo packs at $10 each
Use two $1.50/1 coupons or two $1.00/1 coupons
Pay $17 to $18 out of pocket
Diapers cost $6.00 or $7.00 per pack after coupons and ECBs

I picked up two other free after ECBs items, used a $5 off $25 purchase CVS coupon (more on that later), paid the balance with $20 in ECBs and only $1.68 out of pocket – and earned $12.98 ECBs! (Two packs of 30 diapers for less than $2.00 out of pocket! Not bad at all!)

In contrast, I stopped by Walgreens that same evening hoping for the following scenario (after my positive experiences yesterday).

Buy two FiberOne bars at $1.99 each
Use two $0.50/1 coupons (from recent newspaper inserts)
Use $2.00 in Register Rewards (from yesterday)
Pay $0.98 with Walgreens gift card

Alas! The RR coupon wouldn't scan! And the cashier couldn't even force the computer to accept it. She couldn't figure out why... Then I remembered a common Walgreens glitch – number of coupons per transaction cannot exceed number of items being purchased!

But, the current Walgreens program has offered two major points in its favor:

• Users get a 10% bonus when EasySaver rebates are put on a Walgreens gift card.
• Money on said gift card does not expire.

Drawbacks of the current Walgreens program include:

• You have to remember to "mail in" your EasySaver receipts (electronically or otherwise).
• Rebate money is not immediately available (to be used on next month's deals).
• Register Rewards are the exception; they are immediately available. However, besides the RR frustration recounted above, RR coupons cannot be used on items from the same manufacturer. (For example, if I get RR for purchasing Proctor & Gamble products, I cannot use those RR to pay for other P&G products, etc.)

So, how is the CVS Extra Care Bucks program better? First of all, you have to look at ECBs the way you look at any coupon. ECBs do expire (usually one month from the date of printing).

Advantages of the ECBs program include:

• ECBs print on your receipt, so that "money" is immediately available!
• You can use ECBs like money – they'll pay for anything you're buying (except prescriptions, gift cards, pre-paid cards, money orders, postage stamps, alcoholic beverages, tobacco products, and lottery). A good list of exclusions, actually!
• $$ off $$ purchase coupons tend to print in accordance with your typical spending. I typically "spend" $25 at CVS (mostly to keep rolling over my ECBs), so CVS keeps printing $5 off $25 purchase coupons for me. (A manager verified that's how the program works!) And that consistent 20% savings at CVS beats the Walgreens 10% bonus for getting rebates on a gift card.
• Opportunities to "build" ECBs abound – especially when you can combine coupons with free after ECBs deals and consistently pay for purchases with ECBs.

CVS isn't paying me anything to advertise – I just love the place! I started seriously "playing the coupon game" (including CVS, Walgreens, Rite-Aid, and Publix) in August of last year. I wish I could remember when I first built up to $20 ECBs – it's been months. But just last week, I reached my all-time high of over $60 ECBs – and that's in spite of "never" paying more than $2.00 out of pocket at CVS! How can you do that?! Well, if you're new to CVSing, read these (very helpful) tutorials and tips.

Happy Bargain Hunting!

And do keep your eyes and ears open for a great Huggies diapers deal next week at Walgreens! (You did print $16 worth of Huggies coupons in anticipation of a great deal, I hope!)

Walgreens deals – 03/01 thru 03/07

I'm always happy when I can get FREE food at a drugstore! Here's how it went when I braved the snow and visited two Walgreens this afternoon...


First store:
Paid $1.60 with Walgreens gift card
Got $3.50 in Register Rewards

Second store:
Used $3.50 in Register Rewards from first store
Paid $1.43 with Walgreens gift card
Got $2.00 in Register Rewards

Fiber One Bars – on sale for $1.99 each
Use $1.35/1 printable coupon
$0.64 each after coupon

Buy 1 Colgate Max Fresh (6 oz.) – $3.29
Get $3.50 in Register Rewards
FREE plus $0.21 overage after Register Rewards

Colgate Total Toothpaste (4 oz.) – $3.00
Use $2.50/1 coupon from March EasySaver Catalog
Use $1.50/1 printable coupon
FREE plus $1.00 overage after coupons

Sambucol (30 tablets) – $10.99 to 12.99
Use $10.00 coupon from March EasySaver catalog (or tear pads in some stores)
Use $4.00 printable coupon
FREE plus $1.00 to $3.00 overage after coupons
(This is great immunity-boosting stuff!)

I went to a second store primarily because the first didn't have some deals I was hoping to get. (Go here for details on even more deals!) Well, the second store was also "out" of some deals, so I had to buy something with the overage! I settled for another box of granola bars and the following deal...

Buy 1 Carmex Lip Balm – $2.99
Get $2.00 in Register Rewards
$0.99 after Register Rewards

Viva Publix!

The Italian theme is still on at our favorite grocery store...

Not only do we love Publix because of the Cookie Club and cool carts (and occasional balloons), today they gave us another reason to love them – Dora and Diego Yoplait Kids Yogurt for FREE! Actually, they "paid" us to get it, and the coupon overage helped with the general bill...

These deals are good through tomorrow – see details here. But I actually noticed that most of the items are cheaper in SC (by 3, 4, or 5 cents) than in FL stores! And every little bit counts, eh?

I hadn't planned to get SmartStart cereal... However, when I saw it was B1G1, I remembered I had a rebate from an earlier box with a mid-year expiration date. Bargain shopping can be so much fun!

According to my receipt...

Total out of pocket: $15.20 (before SmartStart cereal rebate)
Store coupon: $3.48 (The Penny Item: 4-pack bathroom tissue)
Vendor coupons: $11.70
Ad Special Savings: $25.04
Total Savings: $40.22

Viva Publix! I'm always excited when the Total Savings are at least double what I spent!

And a HUGE "thank-you" to Sarah at Fiddledeedee for putting the details together for Publix fans!

We love Publix!

Yes, we do! Publix caused me to take a break from our grocery exile experiment (basically trying to use what's already on hand, in cupboards, the freezer, etc.) by featuring Italian deals this week; they included their Italian Sausage – the most similar I've found to Uruguayan chorizo – in their special sales. (To put it into perspective – chorizo is to this Uruguayan MK what peanut butter tends to be to almost every American expat I know...)

So, my Publix Super Savers post this time doesn't have so much to do with how little I spent – but rather with the value of what Publix sent home with me!


I'm also excited about the Rubbermaid containers for $1.24 each – after B1G1 and two $1/1 printable coupons I had tucked away in my coupon folder. (I'm trying to collect Rubbermaid in preparation for moving to Uruguay – all in God's perfect timing!)

The one sad note was the "penny item" – I ended up with oatmeal instead of the tortilla chips I'd seen advertised on another blog. By the time I got to the store last night, they were out. But far be it from me to complain about oatmeal for only a penny! Now, I'll have to make the granola I've been thinking about...

two free tacos at Jack in the Box – only on 02/24

OK – I don't know the whole story...

But you can go to www.HangInThereJack.com and click on the icon in the top right-hand corner or click on this link to get your coupon(s) for two free tacos! The coupon is valid only on Tuesday, February 24, 2009 from 12:00 a.m. until 11:59 p.m.

Tacos for breakfast anyone?!

On frugality, etc.

A recent conversation with a friend motivated me to think about blog posts – specifically those with the theme of (economic) frugality – and I’ve decided to pen some of those thoughts here… To get right to the point – I’ve noticed that pride can be a common thread among frugal bloggers; there can be the attitude: “If you don’t major in savings like I do, you aren’t doing things right.”

A few examples might include:

• If you bought [fill in the blank] (a new car seat, new furniture, etc.) for your baby, then you weren’t frugal! After all, I didn’t spend a cent on that item – my parents gave me a blank check for that need! (But maybe my parents aren’t in a financial position to do the same…)

But this same attitude can be noted in any person passionate about her convictions:

• If you don’t [fill in the blank] (let your baby cry herself to sleep – like I do with mine!), then you’re doing something wrong! (But maybe my child is in pain due to a digestive issue that I don’t advertise…)

You get the picture – these are scenarios where we think of ourselves, our opinions, our ways of doing things, etc. more highly than we ought to think…

In reality, the terms savings and frugality encompass more than finances. What about time? What about simplicity of life? What about personal relationships? What about serving God and others? Shouldn’t we fans of frugality take care to communicate that (economic) frugality is not the only virtue in the world – and, perhaps more specifically, that frugality is beautiful when combined with generosity? (What ideas do you have for sharing all that extra Colgate Total toothpaste you’ve been stockpiling, courtesy of CVS?) Otherwise, we risk coming across as grabbing all we can for ourselves. Is frugality merely part of a life that seeks to glorify God first and foremost in every area? Or is it a consuming passion that drives life and enslaves?

Couponing can become addictive (especially if you already tend to be competitive – like I do... Ahem!) How much time do you spend combing through blogs, trying to find free and almost-free deals? You may be proud of your status as a “SAHM” – but do your children become an interruption when you’re playing the savings game? Do they know that they’ll always be able to find you squinting at the computer screen?

My single friends who work all day every day outside their homes may not have the same liberties to read blogs, clip and match coupons, and run to drugstores to get all this “free stuff” – many of them, in their free time, are focusing on being more involved in church ministries than I’m able to be because I’m a wife and mom. What am I communicating to them?

Humility would become us, my sisters!

For related thoughts on these topics, see posts here, here, here, and here.

FREE Colgate toothpaste at CVS – 02/08 to 02/14

There's a sweet deal at CVS this week...

Colgate Toothpaste – B1G1 for $2.79 to $2.99 (Limit 6)
Use $1.50/1 printable coupon here
FREE (with possible overage) after coupons

Clearance at Ingles!

Attention, local readers!

Ingles at Cherrydale Pointe has two shopping carts of (mostly) No Nonsense brand pantyhose, knee-highs, tights, etc. on clearance!

Late Thursday night I got a 4-pair box for $2.51 and another single pair for $0.71!

Recipe for Whole Wheat Butter Rolls

(adapted from a Pillsbury bread machine booklet)

3/4 cup water
2 eggs
2 cups bread flour
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 3/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter
2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast

Place ingredients in the bread case and insert the bread case into the bread machine. Select the Dough Mode and press Start. When the buzzer sounds, remove the bread case from the bread machine and put the dough in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place it in a warm area. Allow the dough to rise for at least 30 minutes. Pluck egg-sized pieces of dough from the bowl and tuck the rough ends under until you have a smooth ball shape. Put the rolls about 2 inches apart on a baking sheet (or baking stone!) and cover with a clean, damp kitchen towel. Place the pan in a warm, draft-free area until the rolls have doubled in size. Bake at 400 degrees F for 10 to 15 minutes. Enjoy!