Mel Says, “Save Me The Money!”

I told you the other day in A Little Somethin’ for Nothin’ that I would be sharing some tips on how to make this promo work for you!  Have you been discouraged by K-mart’s double coupon policy that states you must spend $25 in order to double 5 coupons?  No need!  $25 is BEFORE coupons and does NOT mean you can’t use more coupons.  You just can’t double them.  If your K-mart is running this special, your Walmart will likely match it.  However, CALL FIRST!  Stores and regional policies CAN differ.  Here is what I like to do.  Get several high value, low OOP coupons to help boost your total with out boosting your OOP. 
Some of my favorites are:
$1.50/1 Breathe Right Strip (2-pack is $0.97 which means overage!)
$5/1 Purina ONE Beyond, 1/15 SS (Runs $6.48 at Walmart)
$3/1 K-Y Product, 1/8 SS (Runs $2.84 at Walmart, so there is an overage!)
$3/1 Iams Cat Food, 1/29 P&G (Runs $4.67 at Walmart)
Pick 5 that you would particularly like to double.  Do your math as you shop!  Make sure you are over $25 before coupons!

WALMART
Buy (1) Poise Pads $2.72 (Don’t judge me.  I’ve had babies.  And they were cheap.  The pads…not the babies.)
Use (1) $2/1 Poise Product (Came in a free sample)
Buy (1) Gillette Proglide Fusion Razor, $5.97 (This was in the travel-size area!  Looks like a less fancy version, but still the same brand/type!)
Use (1) $5/1 Gillette Proglide Fusion Razor, P&G  home mailer (Does anyone else get these??  My MIL does, and she has no idea why.  They have higher value coupons!)
Buy (2) Muir Glen Tomato Paste, $0.92 each
Use (2) $0.75/1 Muir Glen Product
Buy (6) Snackwell’s Cookies, $2.50 each
Use (6) and Double (5)  $1/1 Snackwell’s Cookies or 100 Calorie Packs (This was from Facebook and is NLA.  I let it ride with me until I found a worthy deal.)
Final Total: $6.55 which includes tax!
Before coupons: $27.07 a 76% savings for this trip!

WALGREENS
Ooohhhh have I had fun at Walgreens lately!  I used to always feel pressure to spend my RR at the same trip.  I would lose them, forget them, let them expire, and waste my precious money!  I started keeping them right in my wallet with my cash, because, well…it IS cash!  If there is something I want/need, great.  If not, I save them until my next trip.  Since I shop there at least once a week, it is not an issue.  Here is how I put them to use this week.  The first transaction was from Friday (last week’s ad)

Transaction #1 (1/27/12)
Buy (1) Duracell Ultra 4-Pack, $2.99
Use (1)$1/1 Duracell Ultra, P&G Home Mailer
Buy (3) Cortaid, $5.99
Use (3) $3/1 Cortaid, 1/8 SS
Stack with $2/1 Cortaid in January Walgreens Coupon Book (Found in store)
Buy (2) Tuff Paper Towel Rolls and (8) Big Roll Toilet Paper, 10/$5
Buy (1) Ultimate Flurry Bar, $1.99 (Glad I only got one….ewww!)
Used my $5, and $6 RR from last week
Final Price: $2.27
Got another $2 RR after I paid!  Yay!

Transaction #1 (1/29/12)
Buy (1) Blink Tears, $8
Use (1) $1.50/1 Blink Tears (NLA)
Buy (1) St. Joseph’s Aspirin, $2
Used my $2 RR from Transaction #1 Friday
Final Price: $7.10
Received $8 and $2 RR

Transaction #2
Buy (1) Blink Tears, $8
Use (1) $1.50/1 Blink Tears (NLA)
Buy (1) Valentine’s Day Pencil (filler item) $0.39
Used my $2 RR from Transaction #1
Final Price: $5.40
Received $8 RR

Transaction #3
Buy (1) Charmin 6 Rolls, $2.99
Use (1) $1/1 Charmin, P&G Home Mailer
Buy (2) M&M Cherry Valentines 9.9 oz, 2/$5
Use (1) $1/2 Mars Valentine Candy, 1/29 RP
Stack with $1/2 M&M February Walgreens Coupon Book
Buy (4) Mars Snickers Valentine’s Day Creme Hearts, 2/$1
Use (2) $1/2 Mars Valentine Candy, 1/29 RP
Buy (1) Cottonelle Clean Care 12 Roll, $5
Use $0.75/1 Cottonelle Clean Care 12 Roll, All You (November?)
Stack with $1/1 from February Walgreens Coupon Book
Used my $8 RR from Transaction #1
Final Price: $1.14

Total spent at Walgreens (Friday and Sunday) $15.91
Total before coupons/sales $77.11, 79% savings!