KMart Double Coupons Shopping Trip

Well, the Kmart Doubles worked in St George. I called the store and asked the girl who answered the phone if they were doubling coupons. She said, “No, we do not do that.” I asked to speak with the manager. I explained I had a letter from corporate stating all KMarts were doubling coupons. He confirmed this saying they were indeed doubling coupons if the customer requested it. I asked if I should bring in my letter and he said the cashiers and mangers knew about the special. I thanked him and began my planning. Thursday after work I did a test run. I did not have any idea what coupons I would need for the sale so it was not as profitable as I had hoped, but I did get about $80 worth of products for $ 14.XX. I was not complaining, but I wasn’t getting much for FREE, just a good savings. Things like some of the toothpastes and toothbrushes, along with cleaning products were still cheaper on sale with regular coupons than at Kmart doing doubles. After coupons, I did get:
dog treats for $1 or less
8 packs of Scott paper towels for $3
carpet deodorizers for $.19
FREE shampoo
FREE soap
FREE Easy Mac meal cups

A few things rang up higher than I thought I remembered seeing, but after a day at work and wanting to get home, I decided not to dispute a couple dollars. Not that it is good not to follow up on receipt errors, but sometimes rest is more important than the battle. I do not condone this, but I needed to get home, rest up and plan for my trip today. I had months of coupon inserts to go through to get things ready. I am not one who cuts out all my coupons when I get them and end up throwing a lot of unused coupons away when they expire. I keep my coupons in the in weekly inserts intact so I will be able to find what I need when I need it, rather than waste time up front cutting. This is a good method for me, but I am sure you can see the downside as well. There are times when I see something on special or clearance and do not have the coupon. Personally or me, I feel the risk out ways the lost time from clipping and organizing, but that is just a personal preference. Back to the facts of last night, I stayed up LATE getting all the coupons I thought I might use picked out, cut out and into a semi organized state.

Today Lydia and I went to Kmart after a wonderful relaxing lunch with friends (hi, De and Raven!) We were ready to hit the deals. While my coupons were not well organized in my box, we managed to do some damage to Kmart’s bottom line  My total before coupons was $170 +, I paid $8.86 for tax which worked out as $3.41 before taxes for 60 items. It was awesome!

Clearasil items regularly $8.79 on clearance for $4 … FREE with $2 coupons
Clearasil items priced $4.79… $.79 with $2 coupons
Colgate toothpaste big 8.2 oz tubes on sale $2 … FREE with $1 coupons
Gillette Men’s Shampoo on sale for $4…. FREE with $2 coupons
Visine for $3.99….. FREE with $2 coupon
Sunsilk Shampoo, Conditioner and styling aids $3… FREE with $1.50 coupons
Reach Access Flossing system for $2.69 … FREE PLUS PROFIT with $2 coupon
Herbal Essence Styling products for $3.79… FREE PLUS PROFIT with $2 coupon
Pert Plus Shampoo/Conditioner for $2.99… FREE with $1.50 coupons
Whiskas cat food for $1.39… FREE plus profit with $1.50 coupons
Pounce cat treats for 1.29… FREE plus profit with $1.50 coupons
Resolve Rug Cleaner Spray on sale for $4.50… $.50 after $2 coupons
Endust for $3.29… FREE plus profit after $2 coupons
Glade Plug ins for $1.79… FREE after B1G1 coupons
Hormel Compleats $2.. $.50 after $.75 coupons
Clorox Toilet cleaner for $2.29… $.79 after $.75 coupon
Old El Paso taco shells for $1… FREE after $1/2 coupon
Old El Paso soft taco shells for $1… FREE after $1/2 coupon
Old El Paso Dinner Kits for $1.50… $.50 after $1/2 coupons
Albacore Tuna for $2… FORGOT to give the cashier the coupon… $2

Of course I bought multiples, usually 4 of each item to give me the best savings. We had a great time and saved a bunch. I just wish we could have double coupons ALL THE TIME! WOW…. Imagine if they did this at Albertson’s!!!

Happy shopping to all.

Things you should never pay for… at least not much: PART ONE

Toilet paper: This is my most recent purchase of TP… FORTY SIX 4 packs of Scott’s Extra Soft Toilet Paper. It was on sale for $1 PLUS I had coupons for $2/2 packs. Great deal, huh? Well, it got better when I found there was an unadvertised Kimberly Clark Catalina at Albertson’s. I happened to come across the deal when I bought the original 26 packages it spit out a $5 OYNO (on your next order) Catalina when you spent $20 on KC product. I later went back for another 20 packs. Not bad to make $10 and get 184 rolls of FREE toilet paper! Of course you can not always get paid to take items out of the store, but amazingly, it is more common than you would think.

Shampoo: I have not paid for shampoo in probably 8 years. When we moved from Salt Lake I brought a big box of what was left from my stash up north. Since moving down south I have only continued my deal making and now have enough shampoo and conditioner for a couple years if not longer. I have a ton of product which we use, give away to friends and family and donate. It seems I never get low because there is always another great deal to be found. I get good deals from watching the sales, using my coupons and looking for Catalina deals. I do not have to use store brands to get them free. I have Loreal, Dove, Herbal Essence, Pantene, Infusium and my latest haul was on John Frieda. As you all know, these products can be expensive. I usually get the regular size bottles, but last year was able to get the large family size bottles… over 30 bottles FREE. Again, FREE is good, but my John Frieda deal was a money maker.

John Frieda was $5.99 a bottle at Walgreen’s. This included shampoo, conditioner and hair care products. They had it on sale for B1G1 50% off. There were $3/2 coupons out for the deal.
2 John Frieda items @ $5.99 $11.98
50% off one -$3.00
$3 /2 coupon -$3.00
two products $5.98

Less than $6 for two bottles of John Frieda is not a bad deal, but I am much too cheap to pay that much for even really good shampoo. Lucky for me there was a Refund Reward (RR) for $9 OYNO which printed out each time I purchased two JF items. I gave them $6 and they gave me $9 and two bottles of John Frieda! I was paid $1.50 for each bottle I “bought.” After special ordering the products in advance, I came home with over 40 products and over $60 extra!

Soap or body wash: In March there was a great at Walgreens that ended on a Saturday and another great sale starting on Sunday so we had a Girls’ Weekend Out in Vegas. Olay soap was on sale for $2 for a 2 pack of soap. There were $2 off coupons, so FREE soap. But again there was a great RR available. Buy 2 packs of soap for $4 and get a $4 RR. So For every two packages of soap I got FREE I was “paid” $4! I think I came home with about 50 packages of soap, 28 bottles of shampoo, a bunch of other bargains and an extra $130!

KMart Doubling Coupons Oct 1-5 up to $2

WOW!!! This is amazing. I know KMart has been doing this around the country in specific test markets. I have been jealous to hear of all the great bargains people have been getting, but I just heard they are asking ALL KMarts to honor this deal, IF the customer requests it! Well, I can tell you I am going to be requesting it! I am waiting for an email to be forwarded to me that was sent out from the corporate office so I can carry it with me to the store. This is what it says:

Dear Valued Customer,

Thank you for your recent correspondence regarding our double coupon offer. We are always interested in hearing from our customers.

The double coupon offer is running from October 1 through October 5, 2008. Not all K-Mart stores are participating in this offer. However, all
K-Mart stores in the United States have been instructed to honor the double coupons if the customer requests that they do so.

Following are the rules for this offer:

Amount of credit from [doubling or tripling] a coupon cannot exceed the retail price of an item. No cash or in-store purchase credit will be awarded for any amount exceeding the retail price of the item. Limit 1 coupon for each item purchased. Only 1 coupon will be [doubled or
tripled] per item. You may only purchase 4 of the same item using double coupons. Coupons do not apply to sales tax. Limit 75 coupons per customer per day. Internet coupons or copies of manufacturer instant coupons are not valid. Offer excludes products prohibited by law,
including but not limited to alcohol, tobacco, and prescription medication. Not valid on non-merchandise, federal or state regulated
items, prior purchases, Lands’ End, Sears merchandise rung on Sears registers within Kmart and Kmart.com. In the event of a return, coupon
savings may be deducted from refund.

Sears Holdings reserves the right to modify or cancel this program at any time.

Thank you for taking the time to contact us. We appreciate your business and value you as a Sears Holdings customer. We certainly hope you will continue to make Sears Holdings your choice for quality and value.

Sincerely,

Joanne J.
National Customer Relations
Sears Holdings Corporation

I plan to get my coupons organized, see what they have on sale and plan my strategy. For those of you who have never experience DOUBLE COUPONS it is so much fun! And to have coupons doubled up to $2 is terrific! I will keep you posted on deals and what coupons to look for. I am so excited!

Going overboard

I sometimes have to remind myself about this concept. It is really easy to go overboard if you get caught up in a deal. For example, I did this once with the Quaker Oats deal at Albertson’s. I got a ton of things free or pretty close to free. Oatmeal, breakfast bars, instant oatmeal, oatmeal to go… I had a ton of products on my shelf. Hello… what was I thinking? It was like pulling teeth to get my family to eat any of these items. There is no reason for me to buy this stuff, even if it is free if no one is going to eat it. Luckily, I gave it away to people who would use it. Each time the Quaker deal comes up, I have to remind myself of this.

Along this same topic is buying more than you could possibly use. If something has an expiration date, I try to decide how many of these items I can actually use before it would expire and buy accordingly. Buying something you will not use is not saving you money, so before going crazy on a deal, take a minute to think about it. If it is a money maker like some of the Walgreen’s deals, go ahead and buy the items, but make sure you give it away or donate it before it expires. I am doing this with all the Robitussin I got. There is no way my family and friends will use that much Robitussin, but if they are going to pay me $7 to take 3 of them out of the store, I am going to do it. I have a box of 30 Robitussin and 4 glucose monitors I am bringing to the free clinic in town.


As for non perishables, my belief is if it does not expire and it is free stock up…. IF YOU HAVE THE ROOM. (I added this for my husband, this is his only issue with my shopping addiction.) I have enough shampoo, deodorant, air fresheners and cleaning products to last quite awhile. Do I get funny looks when I am buying multiples of items? Sometimes, but I just smile kowing how much I am saving.

Last week I had a friend call me about some expiring coupons she had. They were for FREE dog food. She was not feeling well and wanted me to help her daughter use the coupons. I met her at the store and we got 130 cans of dog food for tax only. Her dog will be eating for free for quite some time and her daughter learned about using coupons, it was a good day!

The Zone Perfect deal ending Tuesday

Zone bars are on sale 10/$10. If you buy 10 of them you'll get $3 off instantly. Use the $1 coupons out for them and get them all free plus $3 profit for each ten to be used towards other stuff in your order.



Don't forget for the entire month of Oct. the Glade Scented Gel Plugins are FREE at Walgreen's. They are regular price $1.99 and there are $1 peelies on them. There are also BOGO coupons from the 9/14 inserts, and bogo coupons available on www.glade.com

Also, if you can find the Gel Plugins at Albertson’s or Smith’s they are on sale for $1.79. For each one you buy you can get a $2 catalina, so you are making money to bring them home. I have not been able to find them in St George as they are always out of stock, but I did find them in Mesquite and was able to use my B1G1F coupons, so I paid $1.79 and got $4 back. If you have the B1G1F coupons for the Oil Warmers, they are $5.39 and you will get 2 $2 catalinas. Some packages of the Oil Warmer refills have coupons for FREE oil warmers, so you can make $2 profit from eash Warmer. Again, I found these in Mesquite.

Bad weekend to post... Sorry! Here is a sample tho!

A few deals I can post tonight…

1800-PetMeds.com $20 off $20

1800 Pet meds has a code for $20 off $20: 253Rx
Free shipping if your order is at least $39 (or $19 after coupon.)



Head and Shoulders sample
First 70,000 get a http://www.ivillage.com/0,,dk52h7jv,00.html?ice=fsp,schic


FREE Schick razor sample


http://www.thepeople-vs-stride.com/

I feel bad I do not have more to share, but I have a couple articles I have written this past week that I want to share on the blog about couponing and as a TEASE... what you should NEVER pay for! I have pics and fun stories about the shopping experience. I WILL post more this week. As a heads up. Albertson's sale this week is nothing to write home about, but if you like Crocs, you can get a FREE pair for buying $25 worth of certain merchandise this coming week. Personally, I love my crocks, but deals need to be looked at. None of them looked that great to me. Buy the $25 worth and you will get a catalina coupon for the FREE Crocs. It is limited to ONE per address.

As an update about the Glen Muir tomatoes... I must add a WOOHOO thank you to Joe for all his hard work in trying to get us (Joe, Steph and myself) the tomatoes! He has gone OUT of any expectation to make sure we have the great deal. THANK YOU, JOE! Unfortunately, the tomatoes are back ordered and the coupons EXPIRE tomorrow.. 9/30.

I called my local Albertson's and explained the situation. Mike Rawlings the manager of our 3 Albie's is out of town. I spoke with Gary at Bluff Street, he is the acting manager, he PROMISED to accept the coupon PAST THE EXPIRATION DATE! Thank you, to Albie's for stepping up in a messed up situation. Joe who is the ordering guru said he would be lucky to get a few cases as Richfield, UT ordered 89 cases they did not get! WOW... I was feeling bad ordering 18 cases for three of us! WOW!

MAKE SURE TO GET A RAINCHECK BY 9/30! Order what you want and print the coupons... NOW!

I will add more tomorrow.... thanks