My Favorite Bloggers: This Beautiful Frugal Life

This Beautiful Frugal Life is my go to blog for all things Rite-Aid. Melody does an amazing job with the weekly match-ups. The weekly Rite-Aid ad can be really intimidating. I often look at it and feel totally overwhelmed with trying to plan my shopping trip. Melody impresses me every week with her ability to put together deal scenarios from the ad. Whenever I see a promotion in the Rite-Aid ad like "Spend $30 on participating products, get $10 +UP reward", I know that I can count on Melody to come up with the best deal scenario.

If you are planning at trip to Rite-Aid this weekend, your first stop should be This Beautiful Frugal Life.

******************Target.com Gift Card Giveaway******************

Don't forget to head over to my post here to enter to win a $10 Target.com gift card (plus a mystery envelope full of Target coupons). You can enter the giveaway once a day between 4/29 and 5/7 by leaving a comment in the original post. Good luck!

Target.com Gift Card Giveway!

I'm headed on a much needed vacation with my family this coming week, so I won't be around to post any deals or coupons. But I didn't want to leave you high and dry. So while I'm gone, I will be hosting a giveaway for a $10 gift card to Target.com. PLUS, I'll include a mystery envelope of Target coupons so you can enjoy some in-store savings as well.

To enter, leave a comment in this post. That's it.

You can enter once a day from Friday (4/29) through Saturday (5/7).

Each day while I am gone, I will be posting an entry highlighting one of my favorite coupon bloggers. I know these other bloggers will be able to keep you up to date on the latest deals while I am away. Happy Couponing!

Mega SwagBucks Friday

I haven't gushed about my love for Swagbucks lately and since today is Mega SwagBucks Friday, I thought I would take this opportunity to remind you why I think SwagBucks is awesome. You can read my full post about Swagbucks here.

If you haven't signed up for SwagBucks, do it today! I signed up in December and have already earned $80 in Amazon.com gift cards. Quick and easy money...who doesn't love that?!?!

Fred Meyer Trip

One of my favorite things about Fred Meyer is their large organic/natural foods sections. There were tons of things on sale in that section this week. I got everything pictured below for under $16! Fred Meyer doesn't print the shelf price on the receipts and I didn't write them down, so the sale prices of the items I bought are listed below.

Item	Regular Price	Sale Price	Coupon	I Paid
(4) Near East Couscous		2/$4	2/$3 FM coupon (4) $1/1 coupons (tearpad)	$0.50/each
(2) Organic Valley Whole Milk		$2.99	(2) $1/1 printable	$1.99/each
(2) Kraft Singles		$1.79	(2) $0.75/1 printable	$1.04/each
(1) Food Should Taste Good Chips		$2.00	$1/1 coupon	$1.00
(1) Precious String Cheese		$3.00	$1.50/1 catalina (found in Coupon Exchange)	$1.50
(2) Organic baby Carrots		$1.00		$1.00/each
(2) Clif Kids Bars		2/$5	(2) $1/1 printable	$1.50/each
(1) Nescafe Singles	$1.49		FREE Catalina (found in Coupon Exchange)	FREE
(4) Healthy Valley Soups		$1.00		$1.00
(4) Ken’s Salad Dressing		$1.67	(4) $1/1 coupon from 3/20 SS	$0.67/each

Total = $22.33

- $7 in Register Rewards from Walgreen’s

= $15.33

Saved 62% on sale prices

Deal Ideas for Safeway Lean Cuisine/Skinny Cow Catalina

I told you a couple days ago about a catalina deal at Safeway on Lean Cuisine and Skinny Cow items and some corresponding coupons you should print. Hopefully you printed your coupons! You can also get the $1/3 Lean Cuisine and $1/1 Skinny Cow from the Safeway Frozen Foods booklet that was in stores a couple months ago. If you are still hanging on to it, those coupons expire 4/30 so get shopping!

From 4/27/2011-5/10/2011, when you spend $15 on any combination of Lean Cuisine and Skinny Cow products, you will get a $5 catalina off your next shopping trip.

Lean Cuisines are 5/$11 and Skinny Cows are $3.99 a piece this week. Here's a couple deal ideas.

Deal Idea #1
Buy 6 Lean Cuisine
Buy 1 Skinny Cow
Use (2) $1/3 Lean Cuisine
Use (1) $1/1 Skinny Cow
= $14.19
Receive $5 Catalina for your next purchase
Total = $9.19 or $1.31/each

Deal Idea #2
Buy 7 Lean Cuisine
Use (2) $1/3 Lean Cuisine
= $13.40
Receive $5 Catalina for your next purchase
Total = $8.40 or $1.20/each

Deal Idea #3
Buy 4 Lean Cuisine
Buy 2 Skinny Cow Products
Use (1) $1/3 Lean Cuisine
Use (2) $1/1 Skinny Cow
= $13.78
Receive $5 Catalina for your next purchase
Total = $8.78 or $1.46/each

Personally, I'll probably do deal idea #3 because I LOVE Skinny Cow!

I ::heart:: Blog Giveaways!

I always get excited when I see a new giveaway pop up on one of the blogs in my Google Reader. Over the past four months, I have won several blog giveaways. So far this year, I have won:

A $30 gift certificate to Agoo Apparrel from Frugal Living NW.

A mystery coupon envelope from A Little Simplicity.

A $50 credit to Gaggle of Chicks from Centsable Momma.

A Subway meal package from Because More is More.

A $25 credit to Tanga.com from This Beautiful Frugal Life.

I don't think I am particularly lucky. I just enter giveaways that interest me and hope for the best. Here are some great resources for blog giveways.

Deal Seeking Mom Giveaway Gathering: Every week Deal Seeking Mom has a link-up post where other bloggers can post their current giveaways. There are currently 282 (!!!) giveaways linked on her site. Head over there and see which ones might interest you.

Pacific NW Giveaways: This Facebook page is dedicated to a group of Pacific NW bloggers and their giveaways. You don't need to live in the PNW to win most of these giveaways. Like them on Facebook for updates on new giveaways.

Come back here next week to enter a giveaway I'll be hosting for a Target.com gift card!

Have you ever won a blog giveaway? What did you get?

*Hot* $20 for $45 to The Body Shop

Groupon is offering a $40 voucher to The Body Shop for $20. BUT, if you redeem the certificate by May 30, 2011, it is worth $45. Click here to get your voucher. I see the deal under Baltimore if it doesn't pop up for your automatically.

I LOVE the Satsuma line of products. They smell amazing.



The Fine Print

• Expires Aug 27, 2011
• Limit 3 per person. Limit 1 per visit. In-store only. Not valid toward gift card purchases. Valid toward sale items. Valid with "Love Your Body Club." Valid at all U.S. locations. Non-transferable.

Why I'll Never Be a Regular Walgreen's Shopper

I have heard that some Walgreen's are more coupon friendly than others. Well, I'd like to know where those are because I haven't found one yet. When I tried to purchase the Splenda today, which was on sale for $2.99, using a $3.00 coupon, the cashier told me that I couldn't do it because it exceeded the price of the item. The same thing had happened to me last week so I had the Walgreen's coupon policy on me. I showed it to the cashier and he said I would need to speak with the manager.

The manager came over. I politely pointed out in the coupon policy where it states that coupons that exceed the price of the item will only be accepted for the price of the item (basically, no overage). He immediately said "Fine" (in a not so friendly tone) and walked away.

It is so frustrating to be faced with store managers like this. He didn't even bother to look at the printed copy I had with me. It was clear to me that he knew the coupon policy and just choosing to ignore it. Coupon newbies are unlikely to challenge the store manager and often end up overpaying or missing out on deals.

Pulling out the coupon policy may not be something everyone is comfortable with, but I highly recommended keeping the policies for your favorite stores on hand. See my post here for links to the policies for the stores I generally shop at.

Until I find a coupon friendly Walgreen's, I think I'll stick to Rite-Aid. Unless there is a big moneymaker (like the Splenda). Then it's hard to stay away.

What about you? Are you a loyal Walgreen's shopper? Where can I find a coupon friendly Walgreen's?

Item	Regular Price	Sale Price	Coupon	I Paid	Register Rewards Received
(3) Splenda 100 ct.	$5.99	$2.99	(3) $3/1 (4/17 SS)	FREE	$4.00
(1) Stayfree	$3.89	$2.99	$1/1 (3/27) RP	$1.99	$3.00



Total = $1.98 + tax

Received $7 in Register Rewards

= $5.02 PROFIT

I plan on taking my $7 in Register Rewards to Fred Meyer to use on my weekly grocery trip.

Rite-Aid: Saved 99%

I am going on vacation next week and had $17 in +UP Rewards that I needed to spend before I leave (they expired while I am gone).  After several moneymaking weeks at Rite-Aid, I was a little disappointed that I had to pay a whole $0.45 for my trip. Actually though, I got another $3/$15 survey coupon on my receipt so I guess this trip did turn out to be a moneymaker.

How did you do at Rite-Aid this week?

Item	Regular Price	Sale Price	Coupon	I Paid	+UP Rewards Received
(4) Eos Shave Cream	$3.79	$2.99		$11.96	$8.00/each
(1) Veet	$6.49	$3.49 with in-ad coupon	$3/1 (printable-no longer available)	$0.49	$1.00
(2) Renpure Deep Conditioner	$6.99	BOGO		$6.99
(1) M&M (filler)	$0.99	$0.88		$0.88	$0.88

- $3/$15 Survey coupon

Total = $17.32 + tax (Used $17 in +UP Rewards)

Received $9.88 +UP Rewards

$6.99 Mail in Rebate on Renpure (found on product)

= $0.45

Saved 99%

Watch Your Mailbox for JCPenney's Coupon

Three to four times a year, I get a coupon in the mail from JCPenney's for $10 off any purchase of $10 or more. I usually try to score some clearance items to make my $10 stretch. Last time, I got my niece a cute shoulder bag and headband for Christmas. Regular price was over $30, but I paid just $1.50 (mostly tax) after my coupon.

I just got a new coupon in the mail that is good from April 25th-May 8th. I went to their website to figure how you can get on the mailing list. I don't see where you can sign up for the snail mail list, but at the top of the page you can sign up for mobile or e-mail coupons and offers. Hopefully, this coupon comes out on those mailing lists as well. Sign up now because they usually send one of these coupons out around Father's Day as well.

I also get coupons like this from Kohl's via e-mail. You can sign up for that mailing list here. 

Upcoming Safeway Catalina (Skinny Cow & Lean Cuisine)

From 4/27/2011-5/10/2011, when you spend $15 on any combination of Lean Cuisine and Skinny Cow products at Safeway, you will get a $5 catalina off your next shopping trip.

There are a couple of hot coupons that you should print now to pair with this sale. I'll try and put together a deal scenario when the ads come out next week.

$1/1 Skinny Cow product (Like them on Facebook to get the coupon)
$1/3 Lean Cuisine

Earth Day Freebies

Tomorrow (April 22nd) is Earth Day and there are several freebies you can take part in to celebrate.

Head to Starbucks with your reusable mug and you can get a free brewed coffee or tea. They will also be offering 20% off reusable mugs.

Bring a bottle of your current skincare product (full or empty) to any Origins counter and trade it in for a full size bottle of Origins cleanser. You will need to print this form to bring with you.

Bring 5 plastic bags to any Disney Store and trade them in for a reusuable shopping bag.



On Saturday (April 23rd), head to participating Lowe's for a free tree seedling.

How are you going to celebrate Earth Day? I'm definitely planning on heading to Starbucks, but I admit that is less to celebrate Earth Day and more to celebrate Friday!

FREE (+ Shipping) Eyeglasses

Coastal Contacts is offering 10,000 pairs of FREE eyeglasses today. Head to their website and use the code FREEAPR20 when you checkout. You will only have to pay shipping, which is around $15. They have hundreds of pairs of glasses to choose from. Make sure you have your prescription on hand.

I got a pair of glasses through this offer a couple months ago and I absolutely love them! They were shipped quickly and came with a nice case, cleaning cloth, and repair kit. I was a little skeptical because it seemed too good to be true, but I was really impressed. $15 for prescription glasses is a GREAT deal.

Albertson's Doublers

I ended up with 12 Albertson's Twice the Value coupons this week, so I made 2 trips to use them all. No picture, but here's the breakdown of what I bought.

Item	Regular Price	Sale Price	Coupon	I Paid
(2) Yo Baby 4-Packs Yogurt	$2.69		(2) $1/1 (2) Doublers	$0.69/each
(10) Dannon Yogurt	$0.79	$0.60	$1/10 Doubler	$0.40/each
(4) McCormick Grillmates	$3.59	$1.00	(4) $1/1	FREE
(3) Frozen Corn	$2.79	$1.00	$1/3 Doubler	$0.33/each
(6) Clif bars	$1.39	$1.00	(2) $1/3 (2) Doublers	$0.33/each
(2) Bisquick	$3.49	$1.50	(2) $0.50/1 (2) Doublers	$0.50/each
(2) Ritz Multigrain Crackers	$2.99	$2.49	$1/1 $0.75/1 (2) Doublers	$0.74
(2) Frappucino Light 4 packs	$6.49	$4.99	(2) $1/1 (2) Doublers	$2.99/each

= $16.84

Saved 76%

My son was ridiculously excited about the banana Yo Baby yogurts. He kept telling everyone in the store "Nana Yo-Yo". His enthusiam is evident, don't you think?

Did you use your Twice the Value coupons this week? What did you get?