Coke Is It!

The new year party is just about here and I was in need for a few drinks for the party. Took a spin to Target today and came out with this.

Target has a sale for their 2-Liter Coke Products for $1.25 each (Reg. $1.99). So I got 2-Coke Zero, 2-Coke, 1-Dr. Pepper, & 1-Fanta Orange. Also remembered to STACK the coupons!!

(6) 2-Liter Coke Sodas
1 - Target Coupon B4G1 Free
2 - $0.99/1 Coke Zero
Still need to pay the bottle fee...ugh!)

Then remembered that Target has an All Laundry Detergent coupon as well. Hey and everyone needs laundry detergent right?!

(3) All Laundry Detergent 32 oz, $4.79 each
3 - Target $1/1 Coupon
3 - Mfg $1/1 Coupon

Finishing it up with my Red Card for an additional 5% off and paying...$11.92 Total!!

Kaui's Longs Haul

Kaui did a haul at the Kahala Longs today and got some really good deals on their clearance items. Look at what she got!

(6) Old Spice Anit-pres/Deodorant for $0.99 each Reg. Price $3.99
Coupon $1 / 2 = $0.49 each

(6) Herbal Essences Hair Spray for $0.99 each Reg. Price $3.99
Coupon $1 / 2 = $0.49 each

(3) Crest Toothpaste for $1.99 each Reg. Price $2.99
Coupon $0.75 = $1.24 each

(2) Golden Grain Pasta for $0.99 each Reg. Price $1.99
Coupon $0.55 = $0.44 each

(3) Hydro Razors for $4.79 each Reg. Price $10.69
Coupon $2 = $2.79 each

(6) Schick Shave Gel for $1.99 each Reg. Price $4.39
Coupon $1 = $0.99 each

(1) Garnier Conditioner for $2.99 each Reg. Price $4.39
Coupon $1 = $1.99 each

(1) Sally Hansen Hard As Nail Polish for $2.23 each Reg. Price $3.19
Coupon $1 = $1.23 each

(1) Centrum Pronutrient Omega-3 for $9.99 each Reg. Price $12.69
Coupon $5 = $4.99 each

Regular Price Total $139.51 + $6.57 tax = $146.08

Sale Price Total $34.00 + $2.89 tax = $36.89

That's a 74.75% savings!!

Kaneohe Long's Drugs Asian Fair

Specials valid at Longs Drugs Kaneohe Bay

(across Windward Mall)

While Supplies Last!!

Walmart Policy

Make sure to check the UPDATED Walmart policy. They now take competitors coupons with a specific price. Noticed it this past weekend when I was checking out. It's posted on their registers numbered light posts. Click here http://walmartstores.com/7655.aspx . This can also be found under the coupon policy links to the right of the page.

Lee Kum Kee...Here I Come!

Did a small haul today at the Kaneohe Long's. They have an Asian product sale going on and their Lee Kum Kee Oyster Sauce is on sale for $1.99 a bottle. So while getting that I also grabbed a few other things.

(11) Lee Kum Kee Oyster Sauce 17oz Bottle
Regular Price $1.99 each ($21.89)
Sale Price $1.19 each (13.09)
Lee Kum Kee Coupon $1.00 each ($11.00)
Price after coupon with tax $0.25 each
Total $2.75

(2) Bagged Kettle Popcorn
Regular Price $1.00 each ($2.00)
Sale Price $0.69 each ($1.38)
Price with tax $0.73 each
Total $1.46

(4) Halls Cough Drops 25 Count
Regular Price $2.29 each ($9.16)
Sale Price $1.19 each ($4.76)
Halls Coupon $1/2
Price after coupon with tax $0.75 each
Total $3.00

(2) Hawaiian Sun Guava Jelly 10oz
Regular Price $3.19 each ($6.38)
Sale Price $1.49 each ($2.98)
Price with tax $1.56 each
Total $3.12

(2) Shick Shave Gel 8.2oz
Regular Price $4.39 each ($8.78)
Sale Price $1.99 each (3.98)
Shick Coupon $1.00 each ($2.00)
Price after coupon with tax $1.04
Total $2.08

Total Paid $12.42 (cents rounded up a penny more)

i HeArT CVS!

Got my phone call today! Yeah me! Took awhile to get it but I was happy that my problem got resolved. Nolan from CVS gave me a call today to clear the air. He was very professional about it and at the same time a nice person to talk to. I got to get my Lee Kum Kee Oyster Sauce today from the Kaneohe Longs!

Plenty mahaloz to you Nolan and to CVS for helping me with my printable internet coupon experience!

Still Waiting For A Response

So this is the 7 working day that has passed since I called 800-Shop-CVS to make my complaint. I've called them a few times already and so far I've gotten these responses.

1. It takes 2 working days for a manager to call you.
2. Your situation just got processed and you'll get a call in a couple of days.
3. Your situation got passed to another person as of 5pm yesterday.

Ok so how many times do I have to call in order to get a response about using internet printable coupons??

I'm calling AGAIN first thing tomorrow morning!

Damn You CVS aka Longs Drugs

I had my day planned out today to head on over to Long's in Kailua after work to do some last minute shopping. Long's had Lee Kum Kee Oyster Sauce on sale for $1.19 and the today was the last day of the sale. So as I loaded my wagon up with 11 bottles of oyster sauce, yes 11, I made sure to have my coupons in hand and ready for the cashier. Today I planned on paying only $2.25, tax included, for all 11 bottles....yah that wasn't happening!!

I get to the check out and the clerk rings me up. I hand her my CVS card and tell her that I have coupons for the bottles. I hand that to her. She looks at it and it seems like she wasn't sure if they were ligit, so she went ahead and called the manager. Manager comes and looks at the coupon and says that they need to call the office to see if they'll let these pass through. So as I'm waiting there for someone to give the clerk an answer, the floor manager explains that they DON'T ACCEPT PRINTABLE INTERNET COUPONS! He told me that there are a lot of fraud coupons floating around and they just have to be sure. So I explain to him that these are not fraud coupons and that I printed them off the Smart Source website (my coupon did have the SS logo on there) and that's the same company that places their inserts in the Sunday newspaper. Another clerk also came by and was questioning what was going on and asked if they scanned. So the first clerk tried it and it went through. At the same time the phone call comes in and it's a NO GO for the coupons! UGH!!

So I figure I try another Long's since my BFF said that the Kahala Long's accepted them this morning. Hey but I wasn't going to drive to the Kahala Longs. I tried the Hawaii Kai Longs.

Being scarred for life of just what happened to me, I decided to call before going down to make sure that they took internet printable coupons. Yup the guy who answered the phone told me "Yes we do! As long as it scans we'll take them!" Yah that wasn't happening at the Hawaii Kai Longs either. Got to the register and it's the same senario. "I'm sorry but we can't take any printable internet coupons because of fraud". Talk about making "A" and getting irritated at the same time.

Get back to the car and pull out my CVS COUPON POLICY. I know I saw something in there about printable internet coupons. Ha! I found it. It states the following:

Internet/Print at Home Coupons
• CVS/pharmacy accepts valid internet/print at home coupons containing a
barcode.

So I take my policy in hand and head back into Long's and look for the manager that told me "no". Finally find him and I hand him the policy. "I don't mean to be mean or rude but can you PLEASE explain to me what this means. This is the CVS policy that I printed out." So he takes a look at it and then tells me, "This is only for CVS printable internet coupons." So I explain to him that the policy doesn't state that it's only for CVS coupons and that I've used other printable internet coupons just a few weeks ago and it was OK. In to which he replies, "Well that's what corporate is telling us. Not to accept any internet printable coupons if they're not CVS internet printable coupons." In which I reply to him, "Well I think you guys should call your corporate office and make sure they note it on their policy because I look at it differently. I read it as CVS accepts printable internet coupons whether it be from the manufacturer or from CVS." I was nice and thanked him for his time before leaving.

I'm not sure WHEN they decided to change their policy but let me tell you that it's VERY IRRITATING and I plan on writing a letter to Corporate and give them a piece of my mind!!

So yah like their saying says...Expect Something EXTRA!!

Xtra Savings from Times!

Took a trip today to Times and just had one thing to get. Toothpaste! I swear my house goes through this so quickly. These suckers can be costly too if you don't catch them on sale. I'm picky at what kind of toothpaste I use. I'll either get Crest or Colgate. Today was the last day the Crest was on sale at Times PLUS they had a Times coupon in the Times ad that I could stack!

So I decided that I needed to get the max that I could get...which was 6.

(6) Crest Baking Soda & Peroxide Toothpaste 6.4oz
Regular Price $3.99 each ($23.94)
Sale Price $2.29 each ($13.74)
Times Store Coupon $0.41 each ($2.46)
Tootpaste is now $1.88 each ($11.28)
Price after store coupon with tax $11.81
Stacking Manufacturer Coupon $0.75 each ($4.50)
Total Paid $7.31

Per the Times receipt I saved a total of $17.16!! Yeah me!! My Crest toothpaste breaks down to $1.22 each!!





But wait...it gets better! Each box of toothpase includes $10 worth of coupons printed on the inside of the box. They consist of: $1 off a bag of Iams dog or cat food (any size), $1 off any CoverGirl product, $1 off Secret Clinical Strength deodorant, and $7 off Crest 3D White Whitestrips Professional Effects. And to top it off these coupons don't expire unitl 1-31-I3. I scored double today!

Things To Keep In Mind

Here are a few things that you should keep in mind when couponing.

• Make sure that you READ and UNDERSTAND what your coupon says.




• Check your expiration dates periodically to make sure that you have everything up to date. You don't want to be at the check-out and get a "I'm sorry but this coupon is expired", then end up paying full price for your item(s).




• Is the coupon you're about to use accepted at the store that you're at? Make sure to read the store policy and make sure that you're not using a store A coupon at store B. Example a Target coupon at a Walgreen store. That's a "no no"!




• Did you check to see if your coupon has a quantity limit? Some coupons state 4 at a time.




• Did you double check to see if there is a store coupon that you can use with your manufacturer coupon? This is called "stacking". Most stores allow this, but double check their policy.




• Did you check to see if your coupon states a "size"? Some coupons state that it "excludes travel/trial sizes". Make sure to double check.




• Does the store that you're at accept "printable" coupons? Some stores don't allow this. A couple of them are Don Quijote (DQ) and Tamura's. They only take originals that can be cut out from coupon inserts or from magazines.




• The only store in Hawaii that does "double" coupon days is Kmart. You need to wait and see if they announce it or send it by email. So go and register at http://www.kmart.com/.




• Expect to pay the tax on the items that you purchase. There are only 14 States that tax on food and lucky us Hawaii is one of them! So there is no way that you're going to walk out of the store with a ZERO balance...unless you use your EBT Card (if you have one...lucky you!)




• When watching Extreme Couponing on TLC, keep in mind that their prices are already less than what Hawaii prices are and most do not pay tax on their food.




• Our grocery stores here in Hawaii rarely give things away for free.




• Please do not HOARD or be GREEDY!! Keep in mind that there are other people out there that coupon as well.




• If you think you'll be doing a large haul, call the store to make sure that they have enough in stock. If not, see if you can order it to make sure that they have it when you get there.




• If there is an item(s) that you need and they are out of stock, check with a clerk to see if you can get a raincheck.




• Buys on Medicine - Remember to check the expiration dates. Think if you'll be able to use it before it expires.




• Just because it's on sale, do you really need it?




• KEEP ORGANIZED AT ALL TIMES!!!! It would totally suck when you're checking out at the register and you don't have all your coupons waiting and ready. YOU DO NOT WANT TO DIG THROUGH YOUR FOLDER, ORGANIZER, PURSE, ETC WHEN CHECKING OUT!!




• Most important of all...Don't forget to SMILE and be friendly with the cashier. You want the smoothest transaction ever!!

Starbucks

So how many of you out there drink Starbucks? I do! And it's been to the point where I NEED it every morning. It doesn't help me out that Target, which is across the street of my job, has a Starbucks. Yup right there in the front and it calls to me everymorning. It's to the point that I've become friends with the staff there and they know what I want. I can be standing in line and they'll have my drink and banananut bread ready and waiting for me before I even order! I love them.

Ok so those of you who are like me should really take the time and get a Starbucks card. They are available right there on the counter by the register. I say this because you can register your card online and collect points!! Points are collected each time the card is "swiped". You can load (add money) your card online or at the register before you order.

Earning Your Points
Once you register your card you begin to collect points each time you use your gift card at Starbucks. You can earn free drink rewards which they mail to your mailing address that you register, specials on their drinks/items, birthday drink, etc. Now it's stated that you get a free drink for each 15 points that you earn. So the trick to earning these points is to swipe your card for each item that you order from Starbucks. So if you're getting a drink and a bagel, tell the person at the register that you want separate transactions. Then that will count as 2 points for you. In no time you'll rack up your points and start collecting your free drinks.

Then if you reach 30 points within that year you'll be considered a GOLD CARD MEMBER. Starbucks will mail you a gold card with your name on it. Special offers for you!!

I'm a Gold Member! So what are you waiting for?! Check out http://www.starbucks.com