May 2009

My Dirty Little Secret

by admin on May 26, 2009

One of the first rules of successful couponing is, barring allergies, brand loyalty is GONE! One brand of detergent works as well as the next brand, one brand of toothpaste cleans your teeth as well as the next brand, shampoo is shampoo and…

Well, sorta.

I know all about “the rules”. Heck, I wrote up a bunch years ago . But we all know that “the rules” or “coupon tips to save” don’t exactly hold true for all. Sometimes products just do not work with our skin/hair/body type. Sometimes we just don’t care for a flavor/texture or scent. Sometimes, against all recommendations, we find products we absolutely love and cannot do without.

Brand Loyalty. A dirty little secret.

It happens.

I have two brand loyalties. One is a Kotex product that I have used for nearly 30 years (wow, am I old!). This really is not a problem since coupons abound; it is always free/cheap and I can occasionally make money on the product. I now have a six year supply it will be a race to see what happens first: my supply is exhausted or menopause.

The other brand loyalty I have is something I only admit to by the light of a full moon on the eve of summer solstice.

*Looks out window at the sky.*

*Checks calendar.*

Eh, close enough…

I love, love, love and am firmly brand loyal to Land O’ Lakes fat free half and half. For some reason it tastes best to me with home brewed coffee. I drink at least one pot of coffee per day, and use a lot of the LOL.

The LOL fat free half and half does go on sale at some store in my area once a month. I seldom, if ever, pay full price. The problem with this particular brand loyalty is coupons are few and far between. They are out maybe 6-8 times a year and distributed in varying markets so I have to hunt them down and trade for these coupons. Land O’ Lakes offers printable coupons and sometimes the half and half is on the list. I got a $1/2 two months ago that was so regional I swear only my market received it. Buuuuuut there is a 55¢ off one this upcoming Sunday! I have order(s) in already hoping it shows up in a lot of markets. This stuff has an expiration date six weeks out (I do not want to even think of the preservatives, I’m imaging it is more like organic milk that lasts a month. Hey, I can dream!) I’ll stock up twenty at the end and drink more coffee to use it all up! Any excuse for a cuppa java I say.

So, what is your dirty little secret? Find any coupons or sales or are you so hardcore brand loyal you pay full price? Don’t worry, you only have to admit it by the light of a fill moon on the eve of summer solstice.

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Target Deals 5/31 – 6/6/09

by admin on May 26, 2009

GE Reveal Light Bulbs (4ct) $2 x 2 = $4 – $2/2 manufacturer coupon (from the 5/3/09 inserts) = $2/2 4 packs

Purchase two (2) Gillette Venus Embrace or Fusion Power Razor or Cartridges ($7.99), Receive $10 Target Gift Card

$7.99 x 2 = $15.98 – (2) $2 manufacturer coupons (from the 5/3/09 inserts coupons expire 5/31/09 ) = $11.98 + Receive $10 Target Gift Card

Purchase 10 Smart Ones Frozen Items ($1.80 to $2) , Receive $5 Target Gift Card

10 x $1.80 = $18 – $4/$10 Printable Smart Ones Coupons = $14 + Receive $5 Target Gift Card

10 x $1.80 = $18 – (2) $1/5 Printable coupons = $16 + Receive $5 Target Gift Card

Purchase two (2) Depends (18ct; $10.99) or Poise (42ct; $10.99), receive $5 Target Gift Card
Printable Poise Coupons
Poise Pads $1.50/2 manufacturer coupon (from the 5/10/09 inserts)
Printable Depends Coupons
Depend $2 manufacturer coupon (from the 5/10/09 inserts)
Caregivers Marketplace MIR

$10.99 x 2 = $21.98 – (2) $2 manufacturer coupons = $17.98 + Receive $5 Target Gift Card

Purchase two (2) participating products, Receive $5 Target Gift Card:
• Bounty Paper Towels (12ct; $14)
• Charmin Bath Tissue (30pack big roll or 16pack mega roll; $14)
• Olay Definity Moisturizer ($21.99)
• Olay Regenerist Sculpting Cream ($21.99)
• Pampers Big Pack ($19.99)
• Tide 2X (150 load liquid; 95 or 120 load powder; $18.99)

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Target Deal Update

by admin on May 26, 2009

On the Target Page I have the write up about the softsoap refills and GC deal:

Purchase any two (2) 2 Softsoap double packs ($6) or Irish Spring body wash double packs ($6) or Softsoap Ensembles double packs ($6), Receive $5 Gift Card

2 x $6 = $12 – (2) Softsoap ensembles $2 printable coupons = $8/2 + Receive $5 Gift Card
* Note, there are $1 Target coupons available for these items in a flip, clip and save booklet. YMMV of course

but it gets better on Sunday. In the 5/31/09 inserts there will be the following Target coupons:

Target Coupon: Softsoap Ensembles Starter Kit $2
Target Coupon: Softsoap Liquid Hand Soap one (1) refill or two (2) pumps $1
Target Coupon: Softsoap or Irish Spring Body Wash (15oz) $1

I am hoping for Colgate-Palmolive coupons in the Red Plum, but will not know until later today. So, at this point:

2 x $6 = $12 – (2) $2 printables = $8 – (2) $2 Target coupons = $4 + receive $5 Target GC

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Kraft Coupons Reset … Again

by admin on May 26, 2009

Need more Kraft coupons? They’ve been reset once again. They go fast, so get ‘em while you can.

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Another CVS Update

by admin on May 26, 2009

Look for:

Hefty One Zip Bags (6-8ct) $1 – $1 manufacturer coupon (from the 5/17/09 inserts) = FREE!

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Food Lion 5/17 – 6/23/09

by admin on May 25, 2009

Wow, I don’t have a Food Lion anywhere near me, and I stopped posting the weekly coupons when I moved to blogging, but this is an interesting deal. Anyone near a Food Lion might want to investigate this Catalina deal.

Purchase a minimum of 4 (maximum of 40) Food Lion Brand Products in one shopping visit. (All Food Lion Brand items are eligible except fresh meat, produce and random weight Deli/Bakery items.)

*Receive up to $10 in Food Lion Coupons at checkout. Coupons are redeemable on your next shopping order. (Coupons expire two weeks from date of issuance.)

4 products = $1
6 products = $1.50
8 products = $2
10 products = $2.50
20 products = $5
40 products = $10

Link to offer detils

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Stockpile Recipe Spaghetti Sauce

by admin on May 25, 2009

Quite possibly the easiest, cheapest, most readily accessible stockpile recipe is Pasta and Sauce. You can cook up a pound of cheap or free spaghetti, macaroni, spirals, whatever pasta you have in your cupboard, open a jar of Ragu and you are done. It is what you do to jazz up the Ragu that makes it yours. You can add: ground beef, chicken, sausage, pepperoni, mushrooms, cut up beef, etc. Add a few herbs and spices and you are set. Serve with a salad, cheap rolls and cheap Parmesan cheese and you have a quick and easy meal.

But what if you don’t have pasta sauce and you do have a load of canned tomatoes? Well, make your own sauce!

• 1 pound ground beef or 1 pound sweet Italian sausage, sliced (or use both)
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced (I get cheap jarred garlic and use 2 tsp… too much garlic for you? Cut it down to suit your taste or use 1/2 tsp garlic powder)
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 1 – 28oz can diced tomatoes
• 1 – 16oz can tomato sauce
• 2 – 6 oz can tomato paste
• 2 tsp oregano
• 2 tsp basil
• 1 tsp parsley
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper

Cook ground beef and/or sausage until browned. Drain, reserving 1 tablespoon of fat.

Cook the garlic and onion in the reserved fat, adding green pepper after 5 minutes just to soften.

Combine all ingredients into pot and simmer on a low heat for 2-3 hours, stirring occasionally.

Now, I’m sure with all the 75¢ McCormick spice and pepper coupons people have stocked up. The garlic may/may not be a house staple so that would require some planning or, just using the garlic powder. I always have a supply of Parmesan cheese in the freezer. We have a restaurant supply store at the south end of the city that sells bulk items cheaper than Sam’s, BJs or Costco. Like anything else you have to watch, but the Parmesan cheese was under $2 per pound . I am lazy and have bagged salad in the house all the time. Because of all the great Kraft salad dressing coupons, I have free dressing for the rest of the year.

Cheap, easy and obvious. I’ll do better next week, I promise.