Dawn Dish Detergent Deal at Rite Aid less than $.50 each

Super pysched, that I collected a bunch of the free P&G coupons from my last weeks circular delivery.  Inside was a coupon for $1 off 2, Dawn Olay Dish Detergents.  This week at Rite Aid, they are on sale for $.99 each!!!!  So I bought 2, and paid $.98 for BOTH!!!!!! 

The coolest part is when I looked at the bottom of my receipt, my Pre-Coupon total of $1.98 was added to the 50 Years $20 Up deal and another hidden UP reward deal.  It was tracked under a buy $15 get $3 UP reward Lysol Jet Dry deal.

Best Scenario

Buy 16 Dawn Olay Dish Detergents and use 8 P&G coupons, (you have to split into 2 transactions)
Pay Out of Pocket $7.84
And you will get a $3 Up reward.
Making the price per Detergent about $.32 each!!!!!!
And have $15.84 counted toward the 50 Year Buy $100 of eligible products and get $20 up reward deal.

WHOPPEE!!!!! I definately, don't mind stockpiling this because there's no expiration to worry about and seriously its not easy to get a Dish Detergent deal these days since Extreme Couponing has become all the rage.

Target Post Christmas Clearance

Gosh, people must have been really thrifty in my neighborhood this year because when I got to my Target expecting all the Clearance to be still there, a lot of it was gone!!! And it was only at 70% off, I was waiting for it to go to 90% but I don't think its gonna happen this year.  I was hoping to get the Nordiac Bakeware everyone was seeing for 70%, but there was only a mini Pie set left at my store.  

Anyways this year Target is being pretty sneaky, I found the best stuff hidden out of the Clearance section hiding among normal stuff.  Like the Dukin Donuts holiday Coffee, I had to do a price scan to see it was 70% off, so I picked up each bag for $2.51!!!!! Mines also had all the holiday tissues marked down but you would only know by scanning it the UP and UP brand was down to $.50!

My favorite find of the day was not holiday related at all, it was the Peach Nectar I found on clearance for only $.26 and the Goya Beans for $.16!!!

I'm really glad, I stocked up big time in the past because this years Christmas Clearance was pretty disappointing otherwise. But again it varies by store, so you should check your area.  My store did have tons of chocolates, a lot of it you still could use for Valentines day!

Because my Haul was pretty heavy, I didn't get to check out other stores like Marshalls and Century 21, even Pathmark does Christmas clearance! But for those of you who don't have much of a stock pile, this is the best time of the year to load up on Christmas stuff (especially gift sets you can repackage and baking clearance)!

Olay Regenerist Wrinkle Cream deal

Two days left to participate for the $15 Proctor and Gamble rebate offer LINK to FORM

I'm super psyched to go and get me my OLAY Regenerist Micro-Sculpting (top rated) Wrinkle cream!!  I rarely spend over $10 on anything these days but this cream is truly worth the hype.  I've used some expensive creams over the years SKII, Origins, Shiseido and honestly the only cream better than this one is LaMer which is a $100 for half the size.  Truly even my sis in law who is all about Luxury grabbed my jar to take home with her.

Perfect timing that this week for the first time in a year, I got the P&G coupon booklet with a $3 off coupon for Olay Regenerist.  On top of the P&G rebate deal, there's a killer Rite Aid deal going on where if you spend $100 on eligible products you get to double dip with a $20 UP reward!

So here's my Scenario starting tommorrow, Olay products will be Buy One Get One 50% off.

Olay Regenerist Microsculpting Cream is $32.99 at my local store. ( You can get at Drugstore.com for about $26 on sale right now)

My Plan is BUY 2, for total of $49.48.  Use two $3 off coupons.  So far my out of pocket will be $43.48.

But for the Rebate I need $.52 more to qualify.  So I'm going to buy a Herbal Essence Shampoo on sale for $2.49 and use a $1 off P&G coupon.   

Making my total Out of Pocket Cost $44.97   

And I will submit for $15 rebate.  Making my final cost for TWO jars of Wrinkle cream and Shampoo

after rebate about $29.97 !!

EVEN better scenario is in a separate Transaction...

My other fav is the Olay Regenerist UV lotion priced at $23.99

BUY 2 for total of $35.98, use two $3 off coupons, pay OPP of $29.98

I still need $14.02 to submit for another rebate (that I will gift to my Sis in law who lives at another address)

Buy FOUR Pantene Shampoos on sale 2 for $7 with a $2 up reward (limit 2)

Use two $3 off coupons, so my OPP will be another $8 

Still need $.02 so buy a Herbal Essence Shampoo on sale for $2.49 and use a $1 off P&G coupon

Making my total OPP $38.47 but will get total of $4 ups from Pantene. There for cost will be $34.47.

Submit for Rebate and basically get $15 back from Corporation, making final cost $29.47 for all items in Second Transaction

It gets even better.. with the $20 up reward deal on $100 eligible items from tommorrow till Jan 26.  It didn't specify if its before coupons or not.  But if its before coupons the total cost of the two transactions above is $104.44, I would get a $20 UP reward!!!  So taking the total final cost of the two transactions $59.44 and deducting the $20 Up reward, would make the real FINAL Cost effectively $39.44!!!  (liberal estimate my $30 per jar cream just went to about $10!! even with the shampoos!)

DIY Movie Theme Gift Basket

Instead of just giving the standard, Movie Gift Certificate in an Envelope, why not create a more extravagant looking gift like this DIY Movie themed "gift basket"?  With smart couponing and Clearance shopping, it only took less than $.50 per basket more to make this than giving an impersonal envelope with the gift certificates.

What you'll need:

Paper Popcorn basket ( you can usually find these cheaper at the dollar store party section than at a craft store)

Ribbon (optional)

Candies (Halloween Clearance and CVS freebie black friday sale)

Movie gift card or certificate

Piece of Card Board as backer for stability (optional depends on the candies you use)

Filler paper or plastic bag

Cellophane Wrap 

Directions

Fill Popcorn Basket with the filler of your choice at the bottom.  If your using Cardboard for extra support in the back, put it in before filler.  Now you can add the candies and movie tickets from the back (tallest candies) to the front (shortest).  Arrange to preference.  The wrap with cellophane and tie with ribbon.

My gift has retail worth of $30 if not more and I pretty much spent less than $.50 to create my gift this year because of My Coke Rewards!!! I love them this year, I got the 2 AMC silver tickets, 2 free Sodas for free by using my coke bottle and can codes for rewards!!  But even if you did't have the free tickets, you can use those discounted tickets you get throughout the year from deal sites like the last one I announced for Regal Entertainment that went for $5 each !  Those are great once because they never expire and have no restrictions!

Eye Palette Gift Set for Christmas another gift via couponing

So I also picked up this cute Eye Palette set this week at Rite Aid for free also a slight money maker.  You know what they say about gifts these days Packaging is everything.  And this packaging makes my gift look more expensive than if I had simply bought a regular eye palette without the gift packaging.  Still I picked up this set in particular because I know I had a lot of eye related make up stuff in my stockpile.

Specifically, I wanted to add Sephora Mascara Free Sample, Revlon Eyelash Curler and Tweezer since it would be perfect for the Eye Makeup theme of my gift.

So wrapped the box set as usual.  And picked a holiday themed cellophane treat bag (Target Clearance) that was clear so that the Sephora Mascara was visible.  Tossed the Mascara, Eyelash Curler, and Tweezer in and tied it with Ribbon.  And further attached it to the wrapped boxed Eye Palette.

And Tada, another gift completed and all for free because of my couponing!

Nail Gift Set for Christmas

So I picked up a bunch of Cosmetic Gift sets for free at Rite Aid this week and the best part is no coupons were even needed! Even better is that it came as a gift set so you don't have to deal with the challenge of how to wrap this to make it look more gift appropriate.  Without the sticker I'd guess the gift to cost about $5 granted at Sephora it would be alot more.  I wanted to make the gift look a little more generous so I turned to my stock pile of freebies that I picked up this year from couponing and found a Revlon nail buffer and set of Emory boards (retail of about $6) so that it would look like my gift cost at least $10, even though I got it all for free and as money makers.

So I pulled out my gift wrap (that I got for almost nothing last year at Target's Christmas clearance)

And I went ahead and wrapped it.  Separately, depending on your gift audience, I could technically have had two $5 gifts.

But since my family is kinda snotty, I combined the two by tapping the ribbon the my boxed gift so I could give this to one of my girly girl cousins.

I played around alil with the presentation.

Either way thats ONE gift down, cost $0 because of Rite Aid and my couponing !!!

Starbucks Coffee Tumbler Gift Idea

One thing, I always keep an eye out for throughout the year is Coffee Tumblers, like this one from Starbucks I got for 75% off last Christmas.  It's the perfect co-worker gift and you don't even have to wrap it in cellophane just put it on their desk! So you can give just the Tumbler as the gift but it wouldn't look every festive.  Or you can pay extra to buy one of Starbuck's packaged Coffee gift sets.  Granted the retail price on most tumblers is above $10 so you don't have to worry about people thinking your giving them a cheap gift but personally, I would think its somewhat impersonal.  

 

To make it more festive and  more expensive looking (if you just got a regular tumbler from Not Starbucks);   I simply got a bow, festive mini sample of coffee from Targets $1 section, a candy cane, and added random candies into a cellophane mini treat bag (that I got from Target last clearance).  Just put some tissue paper as a filler, and add your items in on top.  I had super cheap mini Christmas card (again from Target clearance last year) that I topped gift off with as well since I didn't plan on wrapping it with cellophane wrap.

You could also keep it very sparse and just put the mini coffee and Candy cane and it would still look fine.  But cellophane wrap would definately make it look better.

Either way this is a super super easy gift, that you can pre-plan months ahead of time and assemble in less than 5 minutes.

Other variations:

You can do the Hot Chocolate version with marshmallow instead of a bag of candy.

Or for the tea drinker get a small $1 store jar of honey and put a couple version of tea bags.

Cat Lovers Gift Basket Idea

I was really inspired by this amazing video posted on Youtube called Cat Lover's Gift Basket -- The Fancy Gift Guide by Brooke Peterson.  She had a beautiful basket created which is unique because of the beautiful presentation.  I think it was the fact she had a purple/silver gray theme throughout that really tied the basket together.  And the reason, I'm posting about it is a lot of the items are coupon items and cheap craft items you could create yourself or get easily from dollar store.  Her gift basket is modern and chic enough to gift year round.  

For her basket

She had a cute cat pillow with purple flowers that she put at the bottom of her basket.

Mason Jars filled with Cat Toys

Silver personalized tins that had cat food inside.

2 decorative bowls/plates for cat food

A table place mat, that was purple that she rolled for a beautiful presentation

A grey fleece blanket ( which you can even cut up to smaller size since cats don't need the full blacket)

Modified for Christmas

You can choose a Red/ Green/ Silver theme.

Use plastic bowls/ Holiday Placemats ( from Christmas/ Valentines Clearance or just the dollar store)

Peacock Feathers ( you can get really cheap on Amazon)

And if you can't find a basket (use a shoe box wrapped in nice Christmas Wrapping)

Cheap Santa Hat for the cat or a cute cat sweater you make from a thrifted christmas sweater which you can wrap in cupcake style

And as a cheap decorative filler, you can use the cheap fabric ornament balls (removing the hooks)

Cat Treats in glass baby food bottles

Nice framed picture of Cat and Owner

I also searched the web for some ideas as well my favorites are below.

And Martha Stewart has some amazing DIY cat toy projects.  Martha's Ideas

Kabocha Ramen

I've become obsessed with NongSHIM ramen, its MSG free and is spicy and just so easy and delicious.  And I've been experimenting with different fillings to make it healthier and a more well rounded meal.  This time, I ran out of greens and duck meat so I decided to use Kabocha pumpkin and it came out great! Not only is Kabocha low in carbs and calories, it has tons of vitamins.

Ingredients:

1 pack of Ramen (Nong Shim Spicy Flavoring packet preferred)

1 egg

1 handful of left over Kabocha Pumpkin (cut into pieces)

2-3 pieces of left over Kimchi

Scallion (optional)

Directions:

In soup pot, add 2-3 cups of water bring to boil.  Once boiling, add seasoning packet (half is all I need).

Then add the Kabocha, let heat up for 2 minutes. Then add our Ramen.  When ramen is just about ready, crack in egg into the pot.  Let cook for 2-3 minutes.  Finish off by adding kimchi and scallion and serve. 

NYC Freegan Experience

So for those of you who've been reading my blog you've probably noticed I'm all about saving money but also keeping as much of your hard earned taxed money away from the Corporations as possible.  Politics aside, I went to explore my local freegan group and left amazed.  It was great to meet like minded, caring people (one freegan had a whole shopping cart to give to his local shelter) and if you had been there you would have left that night just flabbergasted by the amount of Corporate waste going on during a recession.  Environmental consequences aside, these are common stores you shop at and instead of reducing  prices just a little for customers or plain out giving it away to the less fortunate, it would rather just toss it away to add on to our landfills. 

We only made 3 stops, a group of 15 people and everyone left with a ton of stuff and we even had to leave a bunch behind.

At Duane Reade, I picked up 9 bags of various breads that had not even reached its sell by date.  Others picked up boxed Rocher Chocolates, Yogurt, Packaged Salads and Sandwiches, Nuts, Yogurt, Flour, Batteries, Makeup, etc.

D'Agostino's was crazy, I picked up all the above but others picked up a lot more.  There was bagged salads, fruits, veggies, tofu, juice, canned soup, even several bouquets of Flowers.  Passerby's picked up stuff and there was still a ton we left in common sight because no one had room to take more home!

And at one Bagel Shop, there was literally bags of still warm pastries and bagels.  I can't believe I ever paid money for this stuff!!!

O and lets not forget someone had on the curb a super gorgeous expensive dark wood book case that was a super modern piece and it was literally going to get thrown out!  Whats even more sad is that something that beautiful it was also in perfect new condition, not even dusty, was going to be destroyed. 

Overall, the night was an amazing eye opener I rescued over $60 worth of food and to think if I hadn't everything would be sitting up in a landfill right now.  

Rite Aid Freebie perfect for Christmas

I have to thank hip2save and iheartriteaid for this awesome freebie tip.  Rite Aid this week has their Cosmetic Gift sets on sale at Buy One get one 50% off with a $5 up reward limit 2.  I went to the store and besides the circled Eye Shadow Palate for $2.99 they have holiday flavored lip gloss set of 3, and nail polish for $2.99!!! Which means buy two sets for $4.49 plus $.40 tax and get a $5 Up reward.  Perfect gifts for the tweens on your Holiday Shopping list!!

Asian Supermarket Sales

For some reason this week is a pretty good week to stock on some Asian food staples.  At GW supermarket, Napa Cabbage is $.12 the lowest price ever!!!  So tasty and you even preserve some by making kimchi.  And Kabocha for $.33/lb is also super crazy cheap compared to the summer sale prices of $.79 if your lucky.  I'm totally stocking up because this can keep for a month in room temperature and is just amazing worth every penny.  I'm actually pretty surprised at how good the food sales are, and now is the time to take advantage because once Christmas gets closer everything will get costly because stores now people are shopping for holiday parties.

And moving on to my next favorite store Hmart, I'm really just going there for the Bulgogi and Ramen Noodle sale!

I'm totally in love with Nongshim Ramen it's freaking amazing!!!!! Its spicy and no MSG!!! Perfect for the cold days coming up, not to mention its so easy because its Ramen.  The $13.99  for $20 makes it about $.70 a bag.  Which I initially thought was pricey, but when you consider the size its actually has more oz than the cheap Nissan brand noodles.  And of course, I actually only need half the flavoring packet to have a pretty spicy soup so yes this is my stock up price and I'm going to pick up some because I can totally make a $1 meal out of it.

Coke Rewards Christmas

Man, this year Coke Rewards has gone all out in offering awesome stuff!  Like $25 gift cards to TJ Maxx, Best Buy and Home Depot for only 600 pts!!  I really wished I kept up with entering my codes.  Either way what an awesome way to score awesome gift cards.

Lesson: Next year I will be ready with lots of points to burn.

Kohls and Macy Gift Card deal

I've really become obsessed this year with all these Gift Card deals.  Rite Aid has been pretty great with them.  So this weeks deal, Buy $50 worth and get a $5 Up Reward Back.  Which pretty much is a 10% discount!!! What I love about gift cards these days is that they can't Expire and if you pay for them with your rewards card most will give you back 1%, and you can use promo deals like store coupons to make your buy even better!!!!

**It seems this time of year is the hot time for these promo's so stock up for the year if you can afford to.  You can always give them as "gifts" or what to use these at the most optimal time for a super deal.

Jamba Juice Gift Card deal

If your addicted to Jamba Juice like me, any gift card deal is pretty golden.  You get a free smoothie and I'd personally keep the gift card to pay for future smoothies.  Jamba does pop up with occasional deals on new products.

Chipotle Gift Card Deal

Chipotle is awesome!!  And what I love about the holidays is all the gift card deals that pop up.  So buy a $30 gift card and as early as the next day you can go and get yourself a free Burrito, Bowl or Salad.  Estimating average cost of $8, your getting about a 25% discount.  

Rite Aid Deals starting 11/18

The Sucrets is a freebie (limit 1) if you have the coupon from this weeks smart source for $1 off.

The Cetaphil is a great deal except you have to watch the prices because most items are slightly under $15.  Limit 2.

Rite Aid Black Friday Deals starting 11/22

This years Black Friday all around isn't that crazy stellar but Rite Aid does have some decent deals and the lines are much shorter than other stores.
Freebies

• The Hair Products after Up rewards limit 2
• Yardley Soap if you can pick up this weeks Smart Source there's coupon for $1 off the Mango Cream bar.  Only problem is that coupon will likely beep and have to be adjusted down. You will need 2 coupons to do this deal as a freebie.

Great deals
*The PNY or Scandisk 8gb's after up is $3.99 which is a super deal!!!
**The Home Improvement Prepaid Gift Cards buy $50 and get a $10 Up reward is awesome because you can use it at Home Depot or Lowes, etc any home improvement place that will accept DISCOVER.  Basically its a 20% discount after you account for ups. Note you can't pay for the gift cards with ups so my suggestion is depending on how much you plan on spending on the other Rite Aid deals buy the Gift Card first and then the next day use your UPs for the other Rite Aid deals.
*Kushy Foot getting the Microfiber tights for $.99 after Up rewards is pretty great too.

Rite Aid Look Ahead starting 11/11

Sometimes, the best grocery deals can come from Drug Stores.  They have white vinegar in the buy $5 and get $2 up deal.  And the Campbells Soup and Carnation Milk at a $1 alone matches the best sales price at Grocery Stores and even Target.  So with the up it would make it 40% off sale price aka $.60 each.  And the Libby's Pumpkin Pie filling is definately at a stock up price as well after UP rewards. It would be even better if you can find coupons !  I wouldn't pick up the canned veggies, because you can occasionally find those at lower than $.40.

I put the posts about the Gift Cards because any deal is note worthy if you shop at that store. I'm eyeing the TGI Fridays and Best Buy Gift Cards.  But you'll notice that the discount is not as good as past deals.  So I'd definately stock up on the Applebee's deal happening this work.

Thanks to Iheartriteaid for the scans!

Rite Aid Sale starting Oct 28, Gift card deal back

The AMC and Applebee's Gift Card deal is back again.  You can't use your UP rewards to pay for it but you can charge it and get $5 UP reward back making it it 20% discounted gift card deal.

And if you need to churn ups, after UP rewards you would be paying 2 for $1 on paper towels or tissues which is a good deal on non perishables.

The Got 2b  is a freebie with the $4 monthly UP reward on  got2b oil-licious or smoothin’ chic smoothing lotion limit 3 and you can get a $2 money maker if you watch their Video values for a $2 coupon.

Limes, Limes

Bag of Limes ALL for $1

I just love having Asian Supermarkets around you just never know what you can get for $1, whoppeee!

AMC , Applebee's Gift card deal at Rite Aid for the week of Oct 14-20

I don't know what's going on with Rite Aid and Giftcards lately, but keep them coming! So if you buy a $25 Gift Card from Applebee's or AMC Theaters you will get a $5 UP Rewards back limit of 2!  This is basically a 20% discount if you are a Rite Aid shopper.  You can't use your UP rewards to pay for it.  But you can use one of your reward credit cards so you technically earn additional cash back rewards for your purchase.  Keep in mind these are GREAT gifts for the holiday season coming up !!!!! 

I also included another freebie deal they have going on if your going to be in store anyways.

Thanks to iheartriteaid for the ad scans as always!

Rite Aid deals starting Sept 30 - Oct 6, more deals cont

Ramen on Sale! This is the lowest I've seen all year buy 4 Bundle Packs for $5 and get a 42 UP reward back.  That means you will have 24 individual packs for Ramen for $3 after UPs!!! I'm totally going to purchase up to the limit of 3.

If you must buy name Junk Food, which Drug Stores will occasionally have the Rock Bottom Stockpile prices.  Like after UP rewards, Goldfish crackers for $1 each, and Ritz Crackers for $1.50, Lays Stax for less than $1, Kashi for less than $2 that'something you will not be finding in grocery stores these days.  

Holiday Planning: Ritz Crackers are usually great for appetizers for parties so you might want to pick them up now because this is as low as you'll find it.  And the Generic Soda, basically comes out to $.50 a bottle!!! Who will know that you bought generic when your serving these.  The Lemon/Lime ones are great for mixing with liquor for mixed drinks recipes!

**Hurry, there a month long up deal ending Oct 2, where if you buy $10 in Gold Fish the original cheddar flavor, you get another $3 up. So you buy 7 Gold Fish, for $10.79 and get back 3 x $2 up, and another $3 up, making all 7 packs cost a total of $1.79!!!!

Toys R us, Macys, Bed Bath Beyond Gift card deal at Rite Aid deals starting Sept 30 -Oct 6

I'm already planning ahead for Christmas and holiday shopping, so I got really excited when I saw this Gift Card deal at Rite Aid.  Buy a $25 gift card and get a $5 UP Reward back (limit 2).  Basically that's 20% off! If you can't get away with homemade gifts or stockpile gifts, then this is an easy gift route.  You can flat out give the gift card as a gift or if your a savvy deal hunter, you can buy the gift card and use this it to score some door buster deal.  

As an example, the Bed Bath and Beyond card is great for any gifting occasion, particularly the holidays, weddings, etc.  For me personally, paired with their frequent $5 off coupon when you spend at least $15, and a sale item, I can score a pretty decent deal on a retail item that I can gift or use for myself.

Toys R us, if you have kids to consider, on top of their sale ads, when the holidays come they have great Black Friday deals you can use your gift card to pay for.**checked no fees or activation or expiration

Note: Most gift cards have no expiration date and no activation fee but its good to check first.  Also, Rite Aid doesn't let you use your UP rewards to actually buy gift cards.

I also put the scan disk deal up, because pre teens usually want these now for school and its a deeply discounted deal.

Ground Beef mini Batch Cooking Plan

Prep Work

Night before: 

Marinate Meat in one big bowl, by adding your cooking wine, soy sauce, salt and pepper.  Then take out 1/3 portion of meat to transfer to separate bowl and add your Sazon (this is just for the Spanish style meat)

Day of cooking:
Chop all your onions you need for Menu in Food Processor.  Coarsely process Onions for Carmelized Onions if making.

Wash your veggies.  Dice Bell Pepper.  Roughly cut Broccoli.

Cooking Strategy

I start with the Carmelized Onions (basically dump ingredients in Crockpot and forget till end of day)
Then make Flavored Rice (basically dump ingredients and press cook and forget about it till I'm eating)
Make the Spanish Style Meat (about 10-15 min at the stove)
When that is done, I make the burger patties allowing the food to cool a little.  Then I store the food in fridge.

Using the same pan, I proceed to making the Hamburger Helper meal ( about 15-20 minutes at stove). I make this last, because its sauce based and if you make it first you will have to clean the cooking pan. While I'm waiting for the liquids to boil, I put my Broccoli on Steamer plate and steam.  By the time the pasta in the Hamburger Helper is done cooking, I can turn off the flame for the Broccoli.  Then eat something I've made since rice would be done as well.  And when I've finished eating, the Hamburger Helper should have cooled enough for me to prep for fridge storage.

If you have this routine down, you can do all this and clean up in about an 1-1.5 hours.  I was so happy because I barely had any dishes to wash and for me its at least 15 FULL meals.  I won't be eating meat everyday but I have at least 15 meals I can turn to if and when I am craving meat.  If your feeding a family just multiply the recipes to fit your needs and fridge space.

And by the time you are reheating your your next meal, your Crock Pot onions should be done. And all you have to do is transfer to the fridge.

** I was motivated to cook my ground beef because I had a 10 LB of Onions and some Bell Peppers I got on sale that I needed to use.  I took the opportunity since I was already prepping these ingredients for my immediate meal plan to freeze my extras as well for future meals.