I went shopping today. It was a really cloudy, dreary day, and no one was feeling terribly content with their toys at home so I decided to run some errands I’ve been putting off all week. We grabbed snacks, water bottles, diapers (yes, still!!!!), and coupon binder and headed out.

First stop was Walgreens. We have an infestation of some type of tiny white worms in our garage. They keep multiplying under the freezer, trash cans, boxes, really anything! They are nasty and disgusting and we are trying to keep them out. Anyone know what they might be? They are the size of rice and live in tiny rice-sized brown cocoons until they emerge as these nasty white worms that look like maggots. Yuck! Brad cleaned out the entire garage yesterday and we think we’re rid of them, so the Raid Max is hopefully going to keep them away now.

Because we only needed one thing at Walgreens, I decided to defer a cart. Bad idea. The instant we got in the door of Walgreens, Hannah was on the floor screaming because she didn’t want to hold my hand, she wanted to run down the aisles and pull things off the shelves. I grabbed the Raid Max as quickly as possible then corralled my children (Hannah running up and down the aisles giggling, Kayla running after her shouting). It seems we make a scene wherever we go.

Raid Max Bug Barrier on sale for $8.99
Used the $1/1 Walgreens in-store coupon
Stacked with the $3/1 coupon from the 7/15 SS
Final Cost:  $5.29 with tax

Next stop was Giant. I just ran in for cereal. Decided to put small fry in cart this time due to previous insanity. Just my luck, the cart I chose was stuck to another cart. Here’s your visual: Me holding squirming, wailing Hannah under one arm while yanking the cart with the other, with Kayla holding onto the cart mine was stuck into. Nice gentleman emerges from the store and asks “Maam, do you need help?” I gratefully accept help then head for the cereal aisle. That was thankfully the majority of the scene we made at Giant.

Four Apple Cinnamon Chex 2/$5
Used two $1/1 coupons found here and two $0.75/1 coupons found here (one doubled to $1)
Final Cost:  $6.25
Got back a FREE Milk Catalina (value up to $4.50)

Next stop was Michael’s. Kayla wanted to buy some Polymer Clay for an art project. I gave her a 25% Off Michael’s coupon that we printed online so she could experience the joy of saving her own money with coupons. Hannah pitched a huge fit the instant we entered the store because she wanted to push the cart, not ride in the chart. We quickly (and noisily) searched out the correct type of Polymer Clay, did the math, counted Kayla’s money, and proceeded to checkout. We got a nice surprise there, since the cashier asked us if she could apply $0.86 to our total. Apparently the gentleman who had checked out before us had $0.86 left on a gift card and didn’t want to use it so he left it for the next lucky customer, my happy munchkin.

After that, we headed to Target to browse the clothing clearance. I found a gorgeous Merona T-Shirt on clearance for $5.98 and was totally thrilled until I realized I hadn’t printed the $3/1 Merona coupons, I only had coupons for Mossimo, Xhilaration, and Denim Bottoms. Since I was not willing to pay $5.98 for a top, we left it there, oh well!

Next, on to Walmart! Here’s what I got there:

Pampers Wipes $1.97
Used $1/1 coupon from home mailer
Final Cost:  $0.97

Glade Expressions Starter Kit $2.98
Used the $2/1 coupon from the 7/15 SS
Final Cost:  $0.98

Two Glade Expressions Refills $1.98 each
Used two $2/1 coupons from the 7/15 SS
Final Cost:  FREE!

Four boxes of Crayola Crayons 24 count $0.25 each (priced matched to Toys R Us ad)

Milk $4.25
Used FREE Milk Coupon from Giant (Walmart accepts select competitor coupons)
Final Cost:  FREE!

Total Cost Before Coupons: $14.16
Total Cost After Coupons: $3.39

I’m going to submit for the Try Me Free Rebate on the Glade Expressions Starter Kit for $2.98 back as well, making this trip just $0.41!

And last but not least, we hit up Rite-Aid. Kayla got 2 packs of Extra Gum on clearance for $0.99. They each had $0.50 Rite-Aid peelies on them, and I had a $0.50/2 coupon that I gave her, so she paid just $0.24 per pack. She said later “shopping can actually be fun sometimes”.

I had $10 in +UP rewards going in, so I got the following:

Six Shave Gels at $2.50 each = $15
Used four $1/1 Skintimate coupons from the 6/24 SS
Used two $1/1 Edge coupons from the 7/15 SS
Got back $7 in +UP rewards
Final Cost:  $0.33 each

Samy Hair Spray $3.99
Got back a $3 +UP
Final Cost:  $0.99

My total at Rite-Aid after using my $10 in +UP rewards was just $3.17 with tax, and I got back another $10 in +UP rewards, so for all of the above I paid just $3.17. Yippee!