Savin' Maven Monday: Magic's in the Makeup!

Good Murnin'!

Hope everyone had fantastical weekend.

Mine was GREAT. I found lots of great deals. To top it off I spent Sunday night with the beau and his family watching the FINALS all while scarfing down some of THEE best grilled food I think I've ever had in all of my days. Pops can THROW DOWN on the grill-I wish I had some pics to share. But since I don't just know that it was soooo good that I have enough leftovers to last me the rest of the week!!!

Did anyone else watch the FINALS? How was your experience? What team were you going for? (I was rooting for Miami just because everyone else wanted Dallas to win and I must say that LeBron really disappointed me-he may as well not have shown up for the 4th quarter because he didn't do JACK!)

Before I go on I would like to wish MY BESTEST FRIEND in the world a very Happy Birthday. If you're reading this, I love and miss you dearly sugah!

Now, here's what I got in my mailbox last week (and maybe even 2 weeks ago-I'm losing track)-FREE MAGS:



Mailbox Monday

 Being that I there haven't been any really great coupons in the papers for the past couple weeks, I didn't do much shopping.

I went to CVS just to use some of my ECB's before they expired and found that they had marked alot of their cosmetics down to 50 and 75% off. I also scanned my card at the in-store coupon kiosk and received a $3 off $10 cosmetic purchase-->stoked!! Ohhhh, they had the crackle polish that I've been wanting since I mentioned it here, on sale for $4.99. Overall, I spent $3.62 on this purchase.

Savin' Maven (CVS) 

I also did Farm Fresh for the first time in a number of weeks. I figured that I would finally take advantage of their 'double dollar' Wednesday. (This is when they double all coupons up to $1-not sure that there is a limit to the number of coupons you may use either) They had some really great deals. I happened to get lucky and find a printable $5 off $25 coupon from the 'net so that came in handy as well.

Savin' Maven (Farm Fresh)

The deal with the all the Oscar Meyer products was that if you purchased 5 of the selected items you would automatically get $5 off. The Colgate was 3 for $5 and when my 3 ($1 off 1) coupons were doubled they all ended up being FREE. All of the cosmetics and deodorant were FREE as well after my coupons. This pic doesn't include the 2 large containers of Extra laundry detergent that I got for $1 each after coupons. In totality, I spent $11.23 here. Wowzah!

My total  this week was $64.03.

My out of pocket total was $14.85.

For a total savings of $49.18 (77% savings).

Did you find any good deals this week?

-SIDENOTE-Bath and Body works started their semi annual sale on Friday. For all of you who like to stock up on smell goods, you need to hurry in...

Click here to print a coupon for a FREE travel sized item (can be used with ANY purchase).

Before you go:

Couponing Tip #3

Begin collecting coupons.

You may subscribe to the Sunday paper or even ask a friend or family member to save their inserts for you. My mom has gotten hip and automatically takes the coupons out and sets them to the side for me now. LOVES HER! Also you may print them in the comfort of your own home by visiting Coupons, RedPlum, and Smart Source. Various stores such as Target have their own store coupons which can be used and combined with manufacturers coupons. Many of the blogs that are listed on my 'Thrifty Divas' list also post about various coupons that may be printed from home. Some of my faves are InspiringYou2Save and Hip2Save. Make sure to come back next week as I review CouponChief, another of my favorite sites for printable coupons.

 Linked to Mailbox Monday and Meet Me on Monday!!!

Post Title From: Magic's in the Makeup by NoDoubt

Savin' Maven Monday: Playboy....I Am Your Girl, Right?

Good Monday!!

 I hope all of you had a terrific and productive weekend! I must say that mine was well rested and I'm soooo stoked about it because I needed SLEEEEP!!!

Being that it's Monday, I usually get straight into my 'Savin' Maven Monday' spiel (don't worry, it's coming) but today my first matter of BI is to thank all of you soooo much for commenting with your encouraging words in my time of need.



SOURCE

You don't know how much you all made my day. With that being said, I think I have just come up with a new segment for my blog. Stay tuned for more info.

Mailbox Monday

I'm particularly excited today because I received my first issue of Playboy in the mail this week. Yes, I said Playboy. My BF (boo love, boyfriend, lover--I have to do this because someone thought that I was talking about my best friend) is soooo gonna love me for this subscription. And he will only get them after I read them!!! And it's not that I'm being nosey or trying to monitor what he reads either-I find women beautiful too and I like reading mags. Is that wrong?

In other news, the store and coupons deals weren't so great this week so this is all I got:

Savin' Maven (Rite Aid)

I only got these items because I had $10 in UP+ Rewards that I had to use before the expired on 6.5.11 so I am not too thrilled about this shopping trip. I talked about UP Rewards in my last Savin' Maven post. All of the travel size items were B1G1 50% off (so sad because generally coupons won't cover travel sized items). The HUGE bags of Twizzlers were B1G1 FREE and gasp....I've already gone through one whole bag of them. Twizzlers are my FAVE!!! The Club crackers were on special for $1.00 and I used them to eat with the yummy Crab salad that my Mom made for me. LOVES HER!!!

My total for this purchase was $29.31

My total out of pocket was $2.87

For a total savings of $26.44 (90% savings)

What do you think?

What kind of great deals did you find this past week?

Before you leave, here's

Couponing Tip #2

Use previously earned rewards (UP, Register Rewards, ECB's) to purchase products that will give you MORE rewards.

In other words, use your rewards like a revolving door. This will cut down on your out of pocket costs. You may use all of your rewards on a future purchase OR you may make several purchases/transactions in one day to receive the maximum amount of rewards. Lots of couponers like to use the 'several transaction' process but personally I think that's too time consuming and the people in line behind you begin to become irritated after about the 3rd transaction so I would suggest that  you plan your trip in such a way that you can save the greatest amount of dollars while getting the greatest amount of rewards ALL IN ONE TRIP.

That's all for now. Thanks for reading!

I'm So Excited....And I Just Can't Hide It!!

Good Monday my friends....I hope you all had a great and fantabulous Mother's Day weekend. You can read my post from yesterday to see how mine went.

Today is Mailbox Monday. I am sooo excited about it because I got ALL of this in the mail this past week:

Mailbox Monday

4 Magazines (2 Woman's Day, Black Enterprise, Jet) and some random product samples and coupons. I will be linking up with AFrugalFriend to share my mailbox goodies so go on over to see what everyone else got in their box. I also finally received the glasses that I ordered from CoastalContacts when they were doing their FREE giveaway. YAY!!! This was amazing for any of you all that got a chance to take advantage of it.  Usually when websites do giveaways they offer to give you the least expensive item that they have available so as to not lose out on a bunch of money. Buuuttttt, CostalContacts was offering name brand glasses-FOR FREE. All you had to pay was shipping and a service fee which came out to $18.85-still not bad considering I got all of this:

$18.85 for a pair of BeBe glasses that were originally $128. That's an 85% savings and one helluva deal. They even came with a cool carrying case. Kudos to CoastalContacts.

FREE BeBe's from Coastal Contacts

They've done several of these giveaways within the past couple of months but I was only able to cash in on this one. Stay on the lookout for more of them (giveaways, that is).

Next on my agenda is Savin' Maven Monday. I don't feel as though I did much shopping this past week just because there weren't really any great deals out there. Here's my roundup...

My first stop was at Rite Aid. I spent $5.71 there and got this:

Savin' Maven Monday (Rite Aid)



The Revlon and Covergirl Cosmetics were 40% off and I used a ($2.50 off 2) and coupon. The nail polishes were B1G1 50% off but I didn't have coupons for any of them. All of the candy was on a special 'after Easter' clearance so they were around $.25 each after the store coupons that I used. By making this purchase, I received $9 in Register Rewards to use toward my next purchase, a ($3 off $15 purchase) coupon, annnddd a coupon for 10% off.  This trip actually made me alot of money that I can use next towards my next trip. Rite Aid is easily becoming one of my favorite places to shop. Sure some of their prices may be a little on the expensive side, but once you use your coupons and take advantage of their Register Rewards, you really don't end up spending much money at all. You can register for your own rewards card by clicking here.

My next stop was Farm Fresh. They double coupons up to $1 on Wednesdays so I always wait until then to visit. I spent $8.65 there and here's what I got:

Savin' Maven Monday (Farm Fresh)

The Dawn dish detergent is actually from CVS and I only spent $.10 for all 4 of them but that was the only trip I made there so I just tagged it on to my Farm Fresh trip. Nothing else too special about this trip other than the fact that the M&M's were FREE with the purchase of the Rice Krispies (I got the coupon from a peelies that was on the cereal box). I can't wait to make yummy Crab Salad with the Crab Classic that's pictured.

My next trip was to Wal-Mart. They rarely ever run specials so I just go in there in order to rid myself of some of the coupons that I have piling up. I spent $8.06 here and got the following: 

Savin' Maven Monday (Wal-Mart)

This picture does not include the Miley Cyrus camo skinnies that I purchased for $3 but they are included in my total. The Ivory soaps were $.97 and I used 2 ($1 off 1) coupons so they ended up being FREE. Everything else was under $1.60.

There you have it-my weekly roundup of goodies.

This week my total came to $84.40

My total out of pocket was $22.41

For a total savings of $61.99 (73% savings)

What do you think?

Did you find any good deals this past week?

Stacks On Deck...

Good Monday!!

I'm right back up and at 'em today. It seems as if my Spring Break was nowhere near long enough. I think I need another week off. I can honestly say that I wasn't productive at all during this break (at least not enough to my liking)-very little to no spring cleaning went on around my part of town. But hey, at least I found these goodies when I checked my mailbox. (This, by the way, is two weeks worth)  

Mailbox Monday

Tons of magazine subscriptions, samples, and coupons. And being that my Spring Break has practically flown by me, I'm not sure when I will ever get around to reading all of these new magazines. Maybe I should send them off to someone who does have the time to read them.

Let me know if any of you are interested in receiving either of these mags.

(You can leave me a comment of click on the 'Email Me' button on my sidebar).

 And go to AFrugalFriend to see what everyone else got in their mailboxes this past week. 

Though I didn't get much accomplished in the cleaning department last week, I was able to catch some sweet deals at my favorite local stores. I believe I visited 5 stores-Rite Aid, Walgreens, Target, CVS, and lastly Walmart, which I very rarely venture to these days.

My first stops were Rite Aid and Walgreens.



Savin' Maven Monday (Rite Aid/Walgreens)



This was the best trip ever!! I spent $31.52 on all of this stuff. Rite Aid was offering a special for $10 RR (credit that can be used like cash towards a future purchase) when you purchased $30 worth of cleaning products. Can we say 'stacks on deck'! My stockpile is growing bigger by the week. On top of all the other cleaning supplies that I have purchased throughout the weeks, I will NOT be needing any more of these supplies anytime soon.  The Airwick aerosols that you see were on special B1G1 FREE-when stacked with 3 (B1G1 FREE) coupons, they were absolutely free of charge. The Loreal makeup, of course, was not a part of the 'spring cleaning' special but they were B1G1 50% off, all of which I had coupons for. Annnddd a $5RR was rewarded with a $15 purchase of Loreal cosmetics. All of the remaining items were purchased at Walgreens. The deal with the eggs was that if you purchased 2 dozen, then you would receive 2 FREE Redbox rentals. I needed eggs and I love Redbox so this deal was perfect for me.

Just a little sidenote-I am really beginning to despise Walgreens. The weekly sales begin on Sunday and by the time I shopped there on Tuesday, the shelves were totally cleared of all of the specials that they were advertising in the paper. Needless to say, they are on my shit list right about now.

My next stop was Target



Savin' Maven Monday (Target)

  

Savin' Maven Monday (Target)

I spent $17.76 on all of this stuff! It would've been about $6 cheaper than this but I didn't realize until after my purchase that the cashier missed one of my coupons and also that I had a Target gift card that I could've used.  It is particularly important that you watch intently when the cashier is scanning your coupons to make sure that nothing is missed. The coupon that she skipped happened to be for $4 off so I was hot when I looked over my receipt-as luck would have it, this was after I was already long gone from the store. Anyhow, the Reach flosses were all $.97 for which I used 7 ($1 off 1) coupons that I found in last Sunday's coupon insert. So they were all FREE! There wasn't anything too special about the rest of the stuff from Target-I just used regular coupons with those items.

All in all, these items totaled $200.19 (this include purchases made here)

My Savin' Maven out of pocket total was $56.14

which means I saved $144.05!! (woot woot)

What do you think?

What kind of deals did you find this past week?

And Everyone's Lookin' Round...Thinkin' I'm Goin' Crazy....

I'm so excited about the goodies I found in my mailbox this past week. I'm linking up with A Frugal Friend to share my goods. I'm especially excited that I finally recieved my 150 4x6 color prints from Snapfish (just in time to create some cutesy Easter gifts) and my Beauty Bag from Target which includes over $25 worth of store coupons (btw, they can be combined with manufacturer's coupons to get some good deals). And all of these new magazine subscriptions are gonna keep me occupied for a while!!

Sharing is caring!

What did you get in your mailbox?

This week I did my shopping at Rite Aid and Target. I feel like I spent a ton, when compared to the amounts that I see other couponers spending. Nevertheless, I did score on some pretty high value items. Here are my hauls:



Savin' Maven Monday (Rite Aid)

I had the woooorrrrssssttt experience at Rite Aid. First off they were advertising a special wherein you would get $10 in Register Rewards if you purchased $20 worth of Biore and Ban products (other brands were included but these are the only brands I purchased). I mean the signage was clearly right there next to the listed products. So I go to the register and paid for my first purchase (I used some RR from a previous purchase plus a B1G1 Biore coupon and a coupons for my Ban deoderant) which came up to $9 and change. The problem began when the cashier couldn't use one of my printed coupons because a smidgen of the barcode was cut off (as if the cashier couldn't just manually enter it-SMDH). After the transaction was finalized, I patiently waited for my RR to print out annnddd....it never did. The cashier claimed that this happens occasionally and directed me to call the customer service number. After sitting on the phone with the CS rep for 15 minutes and holding the line up, she told me that there was nothing that she could do because apparently Rite Aid had advertised the wrong products. WTH...um excuse me! What do you mean there's nothing you can do. At this point, I was irrate, livid, boiling hot! I started to leave my pile of mess at the counter but I pressed on. I spoke with the manager who so nicely gave me a $10 refund off of my next transaction.

Whew....couponing ain't easy, I tell ya!



Savin' Maven Monday (Target)

Target was a cinch. I got all of the above for $12.35.  I purchased 4 packages of Olay cleansing wipes at $4.99 each (I used 4 $2.00 off coupons) and recieved 2 $5 gift card which were used on a seperate transaction to purchase the remainder of the goodies. BTW, I used a coupon on every single one of the items I purchased (both at Rite Aid and at Target) and I still have $2.38 left on one of the Target gift cards.

Even though my trip started off a little rocky it paid off in the end!

So there you have it.

I got all this for a grand total of $158.47

my out of pocket expenses were $49.05

for a total savings of $109.42

What did you save on this week?

Leave me a link so I can see!!

Make Me Wanna Say....Oh My Gosh!!!

Happy Monday ya'll.

I hope everyone's weekend was better than great!

Mine was super frugalicious!

To start things off...I visited my mailbox. You may ask what's the big deal. Well I only check my mail once a week-usually on Thursday's-and it looked like this this week

...a hot a$$ mess!!!

But it was filled with all sorts of goodies

like these:

Mailbox Monday #2

-2 samples of Miracle Whip

-2 Breathe Right samples

-1 sample of Maggi Chicken Flavored Pasta Soup Mix (yum-can't wait to try it)

-1 John Frieda Haircare sample

-1 box of Kleenex

-1 sample of Maybelinne 'Fit Me' Foundation

-1 sample of Nexxus Pro Mend Haircare Product

-1 Declaration of Independence/Constitution (pocket version)

-Jet Magazine (March 21/28 2011 issue)

-Family Circle Magazine (April 2011 issue)

-1 GotPrint.com paper sample

-1 Valspar paint kit sample (get yours here)

I'm gonna link up with Debra over here to share my Mailbox Monday goodies.

Did you get any free stuff in your mailbox today?

Before I deuce out for the day, I have to share my Savin' Maven Monday goods with you. I shopped at Target and Rite Aide this week using Target web coupons and coupons from newspaper inserts. Here's what my first trip looked like:

Savin' Maven Monday #3

-2 Lysol Disinfecting Wipes

-1 Glade Carpet Freshener (even though I don't have a bit of carpet)

-5 panty liners (Stayfree and Carefree-both on clearance at Target)

-2 boxes of Renu contact solution

-1 Airwick I-motion air freshener

-1 pack of Summer's Eve Cleansing wipes

-3 boxes of Nature Valley Granola Bars

-1 bag of Halls cough drops

-2 Kit Kat bars

-4 Nutrinail polishes

-1 pack of Welch's fruit snacks

-1 pack of Orbit gum

-3 tubes of Wet n Wild lip balm

all for a grand total of  $73.06

my total out of pocket expenses were $11.76

for a grand total savings of $61.84

Oh yes, I added a new location onto my shopper's list....

Wait for it....

Harris Teeter

yep, senora thriftarita went there!! (you know there has to be a catch, because y'all know damn well Harris Teeter's prices are through the roof) I believe that I have shopped there once before about 6 years ago and vowed to never go back because of their outrageous prices. Come to find out they were having a mega double saving event where they were doubling coupons up to $1.98 in value so if I had a coupon that took $1.50 off of a single item it would double up to $3.00.  I figured that this would be one heck of a deal so I gathered all of my 'pons and went HAM in there. I had to take 2 seperate pics but here's my stuff:



Savin' Maven Monday #3



Savin' Maven Monday #3



-2 boxes of Ritz Munchies

-2 boxes of Yakisoba Noodles

-3 bags of Steamfresh Veggies

-1 bottle of Kikoman Soy Sauce

-2 cans of Pillsbury Cresent rolls

-2 boxes of Honey Bunches of Oats cereal

-3 boxes of Totinos pizza

-1 box of Jimmy Dean breakfast sausage dogs

-1 4pack of Danimals yougurt

-1 Dawn dish detergent

-2 Glade oil air freshener plug ins

-6 Renuzit air fresheners

-2 boxes of Puffs tissue

-2 cans of Lysol Neutra air

-2 Lysol toilet bowl cleaners

-1 Renuzit odor air freshener

for a grand total of $106.58

my total out of pocket expenses were $31.11

for a grand total savings of $75.47

Whew...I tell ya if you don't have a butt load of patience, you will never succeed at couponing because I spent alot of time in these stores. I also forgot to mention that I got $85 worth of restaurant gift certificates for 7 DOLLARS through a deal that Restaurant.com was offering (sorry, the deal ended on Sunday before I posted this). I also scored 5 Blockbuster Express movie rentals for $2 through Groupon.com. You can go here to and enter your city to see if they are still offering this deal. 

So all in all this week, I spent a total of $51.87 for $269.64 worth of merchandise. I'm fancy, huh!?

What do y'all think?

I loves feedback.

Feel free to leave any questions, comments, or concerns for me.

No Bra with the Blouse...It's Soooo Necessary...

I did something silly today! In a rushed effort to have a snugly sleepover with the BF so that we could play footsies and battle our enemies in another late night session of 'Army of Two', I forgot my undergarments!! See, I always wear some type of cami or layering tank under my shirts-no matter the weather. I was gonna wear one that had the built-in bra so I made sure to take it out to put in my overnight bag. So as I'm getting ready this morning, I'm searching and doubling back in my bag, looking for my missing 'built-in bra, camisole thingy' and it's not there. Soooo, I had to go sans bra and cami today and I felt so awkward. (Maybe I should retell this story on Thursday for my A & A segment) All day long I'm foolishly folding and crossing my arms so that people won't notice that my headlights are beaming. Un-freaking-believable!!!

In other news, just wanted to express the fact that I love inexpensive things. I love free things even more. That doesn't mean that I'm cheap or that my taste is bad, it just means that I like to be economically intelligent at all times (I'm sure there is no such phrase, but you know what I mean). Samples, giveaways, and freebies are my best friends. Today I'm joining the 'Mailbox Monday' train so that I can share with you all the great stuff that I found in my mailbox this past week. 

 

-March 2011 issue of VIBE magazine

-March 2011 issue of Family Circle magazine

-Free 'For Colored Girls' souveniers (attended one of their sponsored events)

-Lacoste 'Joy' fragrance sample

-CoverGirl foundation sample

-Salon Paus Pain Relief Patch sample

 To join in on the fun visit Debra here.

It's also nice to know that great people visit my blog and leave me awesome comments like this:

"I love how you layered a patterned top underneath that purple sweater. Very chic! www.thejoyoffashion.blogspot.com"

By Marie McGrath (The Joy of Fashion) on I Really Can't See the End Getting Any Closer... on 2/25/11

I'm grateful for you! Thanks for reading friends.