whew!

What a week! Between work, coughs, colds, and more work, I wasn't sure if I'd get on here in time to tell you about my week. But obviously, I made it!

*Walgreens this week:
2 Natural Instincts hair color @ 5.99 = 11.98(-$5 coupon) =6.98
1 Natural Instincts hair color clearanced @ 3.89 (-$2 coupon) =1.89
1 Pantene shampoo@ 5.99 (-$2 coupon) =3.99
-these 4 items before coupons were over $20, which earned me a $5 Register Reward good on my next purchase, after coupons it was $12 which is a great deal (as long as you would have bought these items anyway). And I have a "free" $5 to use another time.

2 Sunsilk shmp/cond @ 3.50 = 7.00 (-$2 coupon) = 5.00
1 eight pack of Lever2000 soap @ 5.99 (-$1 coupon) = 4.99
2 Ragu spaghetti sauce @ 1.99 = 3.98 (- .75 coupon) = 3.23
1 Skippy peanut butter @ 1.99 (-.60 coupon) = 1.39
-these six items purchased earned me a $6 Register Reward (gonna have to call that an RR from now on), so all that for around $15

1 Renu contact solution 12 oz + a travel size too (clearanced) @ 3.59 (-$1 coupon) = 2.59 (WOW!)

I used a $3 coupon off $10 or more (um, it was right on the front page of their ad for all to see - why not use it?!?), handed in a $5 RR from a previous purchase (see how those will come in handy??), used my Walgreens gift card that had about $14 dollars on it in rebates from December and paid about $12 out of pocket. I loved looking at all that stuff knowing it only cost me $12!! AND I have $11 in RR to use another day! What a good trip!

*SAMS - I bought diapers & toilet paper (pampers and charmin - we don't skimp with generic on either of these) - and mailed off my receipt to P&G to get a $10 gift card back in the mail - not bad for something I buy anyway.

*I received my $5 rebate check from Energizer - this is something I had already received a Walgreens rebate on, so it was just pure profit!

*I mailed off my Orajel manufacturer rebate for $8 - once again, already received the Walgreens rebate - cha-ching!

So there's my proof on how this coupon/rebate game really works! It seems slow till you get the hang of it, get a good coupon stash going, have enough turn around time to actually see the rebates get back to you, etc. Hang in there for a month or two before you decide if it's worth your time/energy. I decided to get serious a couple months ago and it is SO fun to see what I'm able to save! If I can save $20/week?? That's a thousand dollars over a year! In my family, that's a good two months (maybe 3?) of groceries! I know, I know, those who are true frugality experts probably just had a heart attack over spending that much in two months... I just claimed to love a good deal - never claimed to be very thrifty!! ;) Hope my pep talk can help some of you if you're just getting started! I'll try my best to post earlier in the week to give you ideas of what you can do - this week just got away from me!