Frugal Friday: Deals of the Week

Here are the deals for the week:

Scotch Brite sponge $.86 - $1 printable coupon = Free (Walmart)

Marcal paper Towels $1.09 - $1 coupon from newspaper = $.15 (Shop-n-Save)

Grapes $.99/lb (Shop-n-Save)

Aveeno hand lotion $3.69 - $1 printable coupon - $2 in-ad Rite Aid coupon = $.74

CopyPlus printer paper $5.99 - $5.49 = $.50 after easy rebate (limit 2) (Staples)

Duracell 20 pack AA batteries $9.99 - $9.99 Staples Rewards = Free (Staples)

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And, for this week's "reduce, reuse, repurpose and recycle" I'm going to be conscientious of how much I am using when it comes to hand soap, shampoo, dish soap etc making sure I'm not using more than necessary...'cause Mom always said "a little dab will do ya"...and as an additional note, I've taught Mike to fill the bottle with water and shake it up to get the last use or two from a liquid bottle that would not be used otherwise.

Frugal Friday: Reduce, Reuse, Repurpose, Recycle and DQ Blizzard 25th Anniversary

Here are the deals I found this week:

U by Kotex $3.49 - $1 coupon - $3.49 rebate = $1 profit (Rite Aid)

CVS Cocoa Butter Moisturing Lotion $1.49 - $1 coupon off CVS skin care from machine = $.49 (CVS)

Stride Shift gum $.99 - $1 ECB raincheck = Free (CVS)

CVS Green Bag Tag $.99 - $.99 ECB = Free (CVS) - see below

TGIF Potato Skins Snacks $.99 - $1 coupon no longer available = Free (Rite Aid)

Ronzoni Smart Taste Pasta $1 - $.75 coupon doubled = Free (Martins)

7 Up 2 Liter $1.25 - $1 printable coupon no longer available = $.25 (Martins)

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April 22nd was Earth Day. I'm not a political advocate for Earth Day but I do feel responsible to be a conscientious steward of the beautiful creation and blessings that God has given us. The motto "reduce, reuse, recycle" is called the waste hierarchy. The aim of the waste hierarchy is to extract the maximum practical benefits from products and to generate the minimum amount of waste. The best option is to reduce consumption, then if that is not possible reuse the item, then if that is not possible repurpose the item. And the least favorable if nothing else is reasonable, rather than sending it to a land fill, recycle. It makes sense to me.

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It's so easy so not think about it and just flow with the norm and put everything in the trash to go to "get rid of it" somewhere. Mike and I could always do a little better in this area too. So, I thought I would focus on ways to reduce, reuse, repurpose and recycle over the next few weeks.

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The CVS Green Bag Tag is a great way to encourage reusable bags when shopping which reduces waste by reducing usage of plastic bags. You can put the tag on any reusable bag. Each time you shop at CVS and use your reusable shopping bag (scan the tag) it goes toward earning ECB. After 4 scans, you earn $1 ECB. I love it...I wish other stores did the same thing.

And as a treat...who could pass up on a "buy one DQ Blizzard, get another for $.25" Anniversary Special April 19-25?

Frugal Friday: Deals of the Week, Getting Inexpensive Prescriptions & Giant Eagle is Coming to Town!

It was a slow week again. I went to Martins for a few items, made a stop at Tops (which used to be BiLo soon to be Giant Eagle) and got my couple deals at CVS. Tops has all their inventory on clearance. The shelves are about 1/2 empty. Clearance prices range from 20-50% so I wouldn't say there were the best deals I've ever seen, but I did get a few items at decent prices. (It was interesting to see people in the store - it appeared like they were loving the prices - I guess these people probably don't look at regular sale ads to recognize a good bargain.)

I am excited about Giant Eagle coming. I picked up their pharmacy flyers (and a few promotional freebies) the other day because we send our patients to that pharmacy. They have several antibiotics for FREE now in addition to a nice list of $4/$10 generics. I am going to switch my prescription from mail-in to Giant Eagle (hopefully with an extra incentive gift card or something) because my copay for mail-in went from $0 to $20 for 3 months at the beginning of the year. At Giant Eagle I can pay $10 for 90-day supply! I think it really pays to keep checking out options for prescriptions.

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Most people don't think of shopping around when it comes to health care, but it really is worth it (especially if someone has to pay out of pocket, unless it's an emergency, ask about costs first, even for labwork/testing etc). If you or someone you know is paying out-of-pocket for health care, ask the doctor about costs and alternatives before you leave the office.

- Drug companies often have samples at the physicians offices.

- For low-income patients, many pharmaceutical companies offer patient assistance programs for medications.

- Sometimes there will be a rebate on a prescription.

- Or, if nothing else and it's not available in generic, ask if there is alternative medication that will work just as well.

Unfortunately, physician's don't always think about costs when it comes to ordering tests or writing prescriptions, so it pays to be knowledgable, shop around and ask for alternatives. I experience this daily at work and we've experienced it personally recently as well.

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We were grateful for the kindness shown to us last weekend when Mike had strep throat. We avoided a trip to the ER and the prescription was a $4 generic at WalMart. We saved possibly a few hundred dollars!

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Finally, here are my deals of the week at CVS...

-(2) CVS toilet paper single rolls 2/$1 - $1 coupon from CVS on paper products = Free

-Dove shampoo/conditioner $4.49 - $1.50 "peelie" coupon on the bottle - $4.49 ECB = $1.50 profit

So, I walked away making $1.50 (actually $1.75 - more on this later) for this trip to CVS ;)

Signs of Spring

I'm finally getting around to uploading these pictures, so it is going to be one big post rather than a few smaller ones...

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We spent a good part of the weekend a couple weeks ago doing yardwork - raking the front yard and digging out bushes. It was still pretty chilly but I would actually prefer to be out working with long sleeves on rather than sweating in the summer heat. I have decided that our yard is plenty big enough now that I have been out there raking the leaves for hours and I haven't even touched the back yard yet. I guess it's hard not to have hundreds of thousands of leaves to rake when there are wooded areas on three sides of the yard. I just hope that it stays leaf-free once it's all been raked until fall - not likely. Anyway, it was good to finally be out of the house - I love the smell on the clothes when you've been outside in the Spring - indescribable. We were at Mom and Dad's for Easter - it's been awhile since we have been there for Easter Sunday - it was nice to be there to go to church (hear Mom sing in the cantata) and have Easter dinner together. It was a gorgeous weekend...the weather was warm enough to be out in shorts. Mom grilled hamburgers and hot dogs Saturday. Dad and Mike hit some golf balls into the field and then later Mike disappeared on the bike into the woods. We had our windows open in the house last week enjoying the unusually warm temperatures into the night. This last weekend we stopped at Mom and Dad's again (after our trip to the Cleveland Clinic) and we planted some of the garden - carrots, potatoes, parsley, radishes, parsnips. It's amazing how much more the flowers and trees have blossomed in one week. (Mike spent all weekend inside and not feeling well - he has strep throat. He started an antibiotic today, so hopefully he'll be feeling lots better soon.)

Frugal Friday: Deals of the Week

This week I bought bread, milk, a few Cadbury eggs on clearance and these deals and made a trip to Walmart Supercenter at the end of the week...it was a "low budget" week...

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Rite Aid

Oral B Advanced toothbrush $2.29 - $2 coupon - $1.50 rebate = $1.21 profit

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CVS

Softsoap body wash $4.49 - $1 coupon - $2 ECB = $1.49

Pantene (2) $2.99 each - $3 off 2 coupon - $2 ECB = $1.98 for 2

Stride gum $.99 - $.99 ECB = Free

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Aldi

Strawberries $1.29/lb

Assorted small gardening tools

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Shop-n-Save

Fresh Boneless Chicken Breast $1.88/lb (sale from earlier in the week)

Isaly's Chopped Ham $1.88/lb - $.35 off/lb coupon doubled = $1.18/lb (4/8 sale)

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And, thanks to my siblings for "new to us" yard tools/garage stuff, bed frame and a bike. (Joni, would you take some pierogies for the bike?)

Frugal Friday: Martin's Double $1 Coupons

Martins had Double Dollar Coupons in last week's Sunday paper ads. I love these. Here are the deals I found for these (I wish they had them every week) (sorry, no pictures this week):

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*Tropicana 50 juice regular price $3.49 on sale $2.50 - $1 coupon doubled = $.50

*(8) Del Monte diced tomatoes $1 each - (2) $1 coupon doubled on 4 = $4 for 8 cans and $.20 off per gallon of gas

*McCormick spices - several priced at or just over $2 - $1 coupon doubled = Free

*Yoplait Plus yogurt $2.49 - $1 coupon doubled = $.49

Philadelphia Cream Cheese $1.25 sale price - $1 coupon = $.25

Daisy sour cream 16 oz $1.67 - $.50 = $.67

Also, I got a free large bottle of 7th generation dish soap through for points I got for signing up for Recycle Bank.

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Aldi (through 4/6):

Pineapple $.99

Baby Carrots $.69

Garden Salad $.39

Russet Potatoes $.99 (10 lb bag)

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Shop-n-Save (through 4/6):

93% lean ground beef $2.99/lb

Fresh Boneless Chicken Breasts $1.88/lb

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CVS

Folgers 11.3 oz $1.97 - $1 coupon off 2 = $1.47 each

Oral B toothbrush $2.99 - $2 ECB = $.99 (also BOGO coupon so 2 for $.99)

Huggies Jumbo Pack Diapers 2/$17.98 - (2) $3 coupon - $5 ECB = $6.98 for 2

Windex 2/$5 - $1 coupon = $1.50 and toward $5 SC Johnson rebate

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Walmart

Reese Dark Peanut Butter Cups $.50 - $.55 coupon = Free plus overage

Johnson & Johnson 30 pack (travel size) cotton swabs (in with baby stuff) $.97 - $1 coupon = Free

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And (if you can find it)...

Olay Body Cream Free after rebate here

***Tops (old BiLo) has $1 coupon doubler coupons in next week's ad.