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AuburnChick Loves Clearance Items!

Yesterday, I went shopping at Target and picked up some GREAT deals!

I’ve recently discovered Attention Target Shoppers.  If you’ve never visited this site, I strongly advise you to do so.  It will only take one post to convince you to subscribe to it in Google Reader.

After finding some good deals listed, I headed out.  I had the entire afternoon to myself with Chicky and the Mr. gone to see Guy Friend and watch a Rollins game (remember that she will be playing soccer at Rollins next year) and Rooster playing in the band at  an away football game, so the natural thing to do was shop!

Here’s what I got…

I spent $19.18 and saved $37.90 for a savings of 66%.  Let’s look at how I did it.

First, let let say that I’m going to include savings percentages on individual items.  I always run my numbers before I purchase something to make sure I’m getting a decent deal.  I have gotten to the point where I won’t buy something if I can’t save at least 60% or more on it.

Snuggle is on sale this week for $3.99.  One of the coupon inserts had a $3 coupon, making each bottle $.99.  The savings on each bottle was 75%.  I cannot wait for Chicky to see it because we don’t use our dryer, and she’s missed the nice smell from dryer sheets.

Skippy is listed for $2.09.  I matched a $1/1 Target coupon with a $.40 mfr coupon, making these $.69 each.  Think about this…that’s a savings of 67% on this product alone!

Now…clearance items are the best…especially when you can find coupons on them.  The Rimmel was regularly $5.29, but it was marked with a clearance sticker of $2.64.  I used a $1 mfr to make this $1.64…a savings of 69%.

That was all this Target had, so I headed to the SuperTarget located on the beach.

I went specifically looking for the razors, air fresheners, and Febreeze (below) but found an unexpected deal when I spied the shaving cream on clearance for $2.30 from $3.29.  I am so glad I took my P&G savings booklets, because I pulled them out and found a $1/2 mfr.  Since each twin pack had two items, I used one coupon for each duo, making each set $1.30.  Divide that in half, and I spent $.65 per can.  You cannot buy shaving cream that cheap.  Overall, I saved 60%.

The razors were also on clearance…marked down from $7.94 to $6.74.  I had a $4 mfr, taking the price down to $2.74, making for a savings of 65%.  I figured it was cheaper to buy new razors than the refills for them.  Sure, it’s probably not the “greenest” thing to do, but I have to save money right now.

I had $1/1 mfr on Febreeze.  I had read that there were small bottles located near the cash registers.  These weren’t available in my “town” Target, but I found them at the beach.  They were on clearance for $1.67 from $1.99, dropping my price (after the coupon) to $.67 for a savings of 66%.  These will be great to stick in the car.

One of my favorite deals involved the reed diffusers above.  They are on sale for $4.49, and I had printed $3.50 mfr coupons from the internet some time back, keeping them filed for over a month.  The coupons made them $1 each for a savings of 77%.

I was thrilled to walk out of that second Target, although I did notice when I studied the receipt, that one of my $3.50 coupons had not come off.  I walked right back into the store, approached the cashier with the issue, and walked back out with the $3.50 in my pocket…which she gladly refunded.  ALWAYS check your receipts!

I know you’re probably sitting there shaking your head in amazement.  You, too, can do this.  All you need to do is read the sites I’ve provided above and in the sidebar on my blog.  These blogs do the work for you!  All you need to do is keep your eyes peeled, your coupons filed, and your head in the game.

The Mr. Needs a Shave

A couple of weeks ago, the Mr. handed me this…

It happens to be his empty razor cartridge holder.

It was his not-so-subtle way of letting me know that I needed to buy him more.

“Wait,” I said, “until I can find a coupon.”

Poor guy.

He waited a week, reminded me of his request, and then reminded again…this time with the admonition that he had just cut himself on a blade that was getting more and more dull by the day.

Fortunately (for both of us), Target had Gillette Fusion razors on sale this week, and Your’s Truly had coupons.

Here’s a picture of everything I bought today…

Now, let’s talk deals.

First of all, I bought everything in three separate transactions.

For Transaction #1:

I used the following coupons…

Let’s talk $$.

First off, the red Gillette coupon was a Target peelie that I found a month or two ago when I bought Venus Razors.  I only grabbed one because I didn’t think it was all that great of a deal.  Turns out I was wrong.

To get the $4 off, I had to buy a box of razor cartridges and a twin-pack of gel (which I later returned because I didn’t have a coupon on it).

So, the breakdown:

Razor – On sale for $7.94
Target Coupon – $4.00
Mfg coupon (which you can stack with store coupons) – $2.00
Total:  $1.94

I had a coupon for free Gillette Shampoo with the purchase of the razor.  The coupon did not specify a particular size bottle, nor did it specify a price (up to “X” amount), so I bought the largest bottle – $6.79 value
Total:  FREE

I had a coupon for free Gillette Body Wash with the purchase of the razor – $3.99
TotalFREE

Catridges – $13.29 (ouch!)
Mfg Coupon – $4.00
Total: $9.29

I had a coupon for free Gillette Deodorant with the purchase of the cartridges.  I found a deodorant with a free sample size attached.  $4.24
TotalFREE

I had a coupon for free Gillette Shaving Gel with the purchase of the cartridges – $3.59
TotalFREE

Now here’s the awesome part.  This week, customers get a $5 Target gift card when they purchase two Gillette razors or cartridges (or a combination).  Woo Hoo!

Because I buy two papers each week, I had enough coupons for an almost identical deal – Transaction #2….

For this transaction, I had the following coupons…

This time, I didn’t have the $4 peelie, but I had something better…my $5 Target gift card.  So, I saved a dollar more than the previous round and got another set of free items!

Once again, at the end of the deal, I received a $5 gift card.

Time for Transaction #3.

Chicky has soccer games this weekend, so I knew we would need water.  We’ll be driving to South Carolina, and I like to keep a cooler in the back.  We’ll drink on the water all weekend…on the way, at the hotel, and during games.

The water was on sale for $3.99

One added treat:  two Twix bars.

Of course I had coupons for these.  Yesterday I received my last two free chocolate bar coupons.  I had originally planned on using them at Walgreens, which has Mars candy for $.49 this week, but on a whim, I stuck them in my back pocket and thought I’d check out Target’s prices.  The coupons are only good for up to $.85.  Target sold them for $.52.

Free is free, and knocking one store off of my list made me happy.

I used the $5 gift card from the previous transaction to pay for this transaction and walked out with $.90 left on the gift card.

So, do you want to know the grand total for the day?

Total spent:  $25.95

Total saved (coupons, gift cards, etc.):  $50.26

Total I would have spent if I didn’t use coupons:  $76.21

I saved 66% today!!

Now, I’ve gotta tell you that I had one of the most patient cashiers ever.  She never once lost her cool, despite having to void two entire transactions because I was dumb.  The first time, I didn’t get the twin pack of gel, and rather than make the customers behind me wait, she voided the transaction, let me run get it, waited on the next person, then started over with me.

For the second transaction, I had forgotten to get the second box of cartridges.  Because she had already completed the transaction (including the coupon part), the register wouldn’t kick out the gift card, so she had to void the entire thing while I ran and got another box from the shelves.  When I returned, she was just finishing the voids, and she started over.

To say that I was the object of everyone’s attention would be like saying there’s a sun in the sky.

Yeah.

But you do what you’ve gotta do when you want to save money and when your husband needs a shave.  He should be able to shave for a year without getting another cut…from a dull blade, that is.