Beer Money

No, I'm not giving anybody money to buy beer. But beer companies are giving us money and we don't even have to buy their beer.

I have a few extra rebate forms if anyone is interested. The last call on these rebates is 12/31.

Budweiser: Spend $10 in salty snacks, ice, coolers, condiments, dips, bottled water, pizza, buns and/or prepared foods and get $6.

Budweiser: Spend $10 on any turkey, ham or deli platter and get $6.

Coors: Spend $50 or more in gift cards and get $10.

Corona: Spend $10 on meat, poultry and/or seafood and get $10.

George Killian's Irish Red: Spend $8 on any hot deli foods and get $4.

Heineken: Spend $80 in groceries and get $20.

Keystone Light: Spend $20 on certain holiday accessories and get $10.

Miller Lite: Spend $10 on a turkey or ham and get $3.

Miller Lite: Spend $10 on beef or seafood and get $3.

Pabst Blue Ribbon: Spend at least $85 in groceries on multiple receipts and get $15.

Shock Top Belgian White: Spend $10 on pumpkins, fall fruits and/or baking items and get $6.

Email me at qponswithclass@aol.com if you want one or more of these rebates. First come, first served!

In December, I received $149 in rebates. I am waiting on $45 in rebate checks. Today, I mailed off over $75 in rebates. I love rebates!

**Pinch**

Extreme Couponing on TLC

There is a new reality show premiering Wednesday (12/29) at 8:00PM called "Extreme Couponing." Click here to watch a preview from Good Morning America.

I don't know whether to laugh or cry. I am feeling extremely inadequate because of the size of my stockpile.

The highlights from the preview are below. My comments are in italics.

Amanda:

• She spends 70 hours a week couponing. (She obviously doesn't have children or grandchildren).
• Her stockpile, valued at $35,000, has it's own insurance. (I can barely afford car and health insurance.)
• Her stockpile makes her feel secure. (So I can only assume that my insecurities revolve around the fact I don't have 3,000 rolls of toilet paper.)
• She used 1,000 coupons on one shopping trip. (She obviously doesn't shop at my Harris Teeter or my CVS or my Walgreens or my Rite Aid. My least favorite self-appointed Coupon Police-woman at Harris Teeter would have a heart attack if I gave her 1,000 coupons. And the sour-puss at Walgreens would probably quit her job!)

For some reason, her story made me really, really sad.
 
Nathan:

• He has 10,000 items in his stockpile. (That makes my five bottles of dish detergent look pretty slim.)
• He has 1,500 sticks of deodorant in his stockpile. (This guy must smell bad to have to stockpile that much deodorant.)
• His stockpile is valued between $50,000-$75,000. (I'm speechless!)
• He "bought" over 2,000 items in one shopping trip, including 300 toothbrushes and 1,100 boxes of cereal. (So THAT'S why there are never any toothbrushes when I shop. And my store never has 1,100 boxes of cereal on the shelf at one time.)
• He says he donates a "share" to the church food bank. (My guess...three boxes of cereal!)

His little segment really ticked me off!

Joanie:

• She dumpster dives for her coupons with her toddler son and pregnant BFF. (Did you notice...Joanie is wearing gloves and knee-high boots in the dumpster, while her toddler son is sitting in the dumpster WITHOUT gloves?)

I can relate to her...only about couponing when her hubby lost his job. As for the dumpster diving...she is NUTS!

I am going to watch this show just for the laughs. I love to coupon but I don't think I am as compulsive as these people. But I feel I need to defend myself...I gave away A LOT of my stockpile at Christmas. I do spend time cutting and filing coupons, checking grocery lists and shopping...but I still have a life!

I must go now...I'm going to call my therapist and cancel my next appointment. I have found the secret to a secure life...I NEED TO BUY MORE TOILET PAPER!

**Pinch**

The Deals Keep Coming At Rite Aid

Woo Hoo! There is an awesome deal at Rite Aid if you are in the market for free pencils and/or rulers. Believe it or not...without coupons! They are on sale for 99¢ and you get a $2 +UP reward. Free AND a money maker! The sign said $2 +UP when you purchase this product. It didn't say you had to buy two and I forgot to get one rung up at a time to see if it would work that way. I had a plan and had to alter it seeing as they didn't have a few items that I went after. It all worked like this:

1 pack of paper clips @ $1.79 (I should have gotten $2 +UP according to the sign...I didn't and just now realized/remembered it.)
4 rulers @ 99¢ each = $3.96 (I received two $2 +UP rewards = $4. I should have gotten $4 more in +UP.)
4 packs of Pilot easy touch pens @ $2.29 each = $9.16 (I received two $4 +UP rewards = $8.)
3 packs of 7-Up @ 3/$9.99 (I received $2 +UP rewards.) These are not in the picture.
2 packs of Mr. Goodbar @ 50¢ each (I had two peelie Qs for 75¢ off of one Hershey's that I got at Food Lion). These are also not in the picture, and no I haven't eaten them...Yet!
1 Hershey almond bar (I had to buy it because my subtotal was negative 10¢.)

Before any sales my total was $32.72.
Sale price was $26.40.

After the $5/$25 RA Q, the total was $21.40.
Minus $1.50 Hershey's Qs, the total was $19.90.

I paid with my $20 Gift of Savings Gift Certificate.
My subtotal was negative 10¢.

This is where it gets tricky...I am not really sure how this came to be but my tax was 11¢ so I paid ONE PENNY OOP for everything. I can follow it to the subtotal but after that you got me. There was an overage of 50¢ because of the Hershey Qs. I don't know if that came into play or not.

Now I received my +UP rewards of $14 to spend another time and I am due $6 more for the paper clips and pencils. Looks like I will be going back to my very friendly Rite Aid in the near future. That is $14 that I have for spending ONE PENNY, JUST ONE PENNY. My $6 due makes it $20 total for that ONE PENNY!

==Sleeping Beauty==

Merry Christmas To All!

Just waiting...almost everything under this tree was purchased with coupons.

Merry Christmas to all. Let's get started on our coupon shopping for next year! WooHoo!

==Sleeping Beauty==

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas

and

Happy Holidays
We wish you and your family a Merry Christmas. We have enjoyed sharing our shopping experiences with you and hope you will continue to be a part of our lives in the coming year!

Sleeping Beauty and Pinch

I Had To Laugh At This...

...coupon I found at Harris Teeter last night. Save $1 on 2 bags of Cheetos. Look at the left hand corner...Good at Food Lion!

I get amused at the strangest things!

**Pinch**

Twas Days Before Christmas - Pantene

CVS is wanting all of us to have clean hair for the holidays. The deal on Pantene products is good thru January 1st.

Buy 2 for $6.97
Use B1G1 Q (minus $3.49)
Use $1/1 Q (for the one that's not free)

OOP $2.48

Get $2 ECB...makes it 48¢ for 2!

If you are lucky enough to get a $1/2 Q from the red magic machine, then your OOP would be $1.48. After the $2 ECB, two Pantene products would be a 52¢ moneymaker.

Be sure to save your Pantene receipt for the Olay rebate. In fact, save ALL your receipts. On Monday, I will be listing the rebates that end December 31st. I will also be giving away rebate forms. Rebates are a good way to get back a portion of the money you paid out for all those Christmas presents. By the way, where is MY Christmas present? I will be home all day if you want to stop by and give me my gift!

**Pinch**

Rite Aid Gift of Savings

I hope you saved your receipts! The Rite Aid Gift of Savings program ends soon. For more details, check out the Rite Aid website. All qualified in-store and on-line purchases made between November 26th and December 25th are eligible for a Gift Certificate. Manufacturer coupons are not deducted from your purchases. However, the $1 Video Values are deducted.

Spend $25-50, get a $5 GC
Spend $51-$100, get a $10 GC
Spend over $100, get a $20 GC

I just requested my RA Gift Certificate. My purchases totaled $105.29. My OOP was $32.38 (including tax). I am eligible for the $20 Gift Certificate and a $5 Single Check Rebate. I still have $13 in +UP Rewards left to spend. I really have been paid to shop at Rite Aid!

**Pinch**

Twas Days Before Christmas - Batteries

Nothing makes a kid madder than not being able to play a game because Santa forgot the batteries. Help the Big Guy out...buy your batteries now!

I bought two packs of batteries (AA and AAA) at Rite Aid. Batteries are on sale for $8.77 per pack and you get $1 +UP Rewards for each pack. The batteries at the Rite Aid where I shop did not have their batteries marked with a sale tag, so there were lots of batteries on the rack. And don't forget to use a $1.50/1 Q for each pack of batteries. I also had a $1 RA peelie that was on the Air Hockey game I bought a couple of weeks ago.

I also bought Motrin PM...$5.99 minus $2 in ad Q and $2 manufacturer Q...total $1.99 AND you get a $3 +UP Reward. I bought a toothbrush as a filler item because I needed to reach $25 to use a $5 off $25 RA Q. The toothbrush was on sale for $2.99 minus $1 RA Q and 75¢ Q...total $1.24 AND you get a $1 +UP Reward.

Shelf Price $26.52
Minus $5 (off $25 Q)
Minus Qs $9.75
Minus VV $2
Minus +UP $1

Subtotal $8.77...the price of one pack of batteries
Tax $1.51
Total OOP $10.28

I received $6 in +UP Rewards. I also get $5 in RA Single Check Rebate for purchasing $15 in batteries. And did you notice this in the picture? I got $20 in P&G Qs!

Staples also has a Duracell battery deal going on for Staples Rewards members...purchase two 20-packs of AA or AAA batteries at $12.99 each and get 100% back in Rebate Rewards. Just remember the price eligible for Rebate Rewards is the amount paid at checkout AFTER all promotions, coupons and Rewards redemptions. Be sure and check the Staples ad for the correct battery SKU numbers. There is a limit of two packs of batteries per customer per week. I think this promotion ends on 12/24.

**Pinch**

Twas Days Before Christmas - 25% Off CVS Coupon

I had a $5 off $30 CVS Q and a 25% off your total order CVS Q that expired today. The problem with a 25% off your total order Q is that it can't be used with sale items. Sounds like diaper time to me! Pinch convinced me. Thanks...I think!

No pictures of diapers since we all know what they look like and I don't want to bore you to much. I pretty much got three bags of diapers for the price of one...almost. That 25% CVS Q took off $7.75. Sweet! Plus my $3 diaper Qs equaled $9 off AND I used my $5 off $30. That is $21.75 off of three bags of diapers.

The manager at CVS wanted me to mention to everybody that CVS will be open until Midnight this week.

I almost forgot...I got ThermaCare and shampoo this morning at CVS. Pinch can share that info with you since she shared her secrets with me. I was clueless.

==Sleeping Beauty==

Twas Days Before Christmas - Rubber Duckies

I had to have the little Rubber Duckies for the two little Baby Beauties and one other for a Christmas Gift. I had some Walgreen Register Rewards to spend. These cute little guys were $1.99 each.

Subtotal (after RRs): 97¢
Tax: 46¢

Total OOP: $1.43

==Sleeping Beauty==

Twas Days Before Christmas - Rite Aid

Good Deals Last Week
Great deals once again at Rite Aid. What can I say? I need an intervention, I am sure of it.

Everything pictured was purchased last week at Rite Aid. There are still sale tags for the Eco Tools at some Rite Aids (Buy One, Get One 50% off). There is a VV ($5/2) for the Foamie Activity Sets. Some Cover Girls items are on clearance and the $1/1 or $2/2 Qs can be used to be make a super deal. The Boo-Boo Buddies are on clearance.

I paid a grand total of $2.64 (66¢ plus $1.98 tax) in two transactions at two different stores. You gotta do what you gotta do. I received $9 in +UP Rewards.

Good Deals Sunday Afternoon
The Hot Wheels cars are 2/$1 (limit 4), and there are very few left.

Everything pictured was $6 OOP ($4.06 plus $1.94 tax) and I got back $2 in +UP Rewards. If you take away the +UP Rewards that I received, it's like I paid $4 for everything. Aren't coupons just grand?

Good Deals Sunday Evening
Yep, I did it again. Just can't stay out of Rite Aid. Can't somebody help me? I must have an addiction...we will take no comments on that one.

Okay, I spent $3.42 this time. The real kicker is my subtotal was 87 CENTS! I paid $2.55 in TAX. AM I YELLING? Well, yes, I guess I am. ~~sorry~~ Enough said!

And just when you thought I was done with Rite Aid...

...I discovered more deals.
After all of my shopping Sunday at Walgreens, CVS, and Rite Aid (multiple times), I was at home and discovered a good deal on AXE. Can we make it to RA just one more time? Sure we can because we need to go back to CVS (more on that trip later).

The Axe coupons expired on Sunday so they had to be used...like NOW. Oh, and while at home, I discover the $5/$25 Rite Aid Qs that had vanished are back again on the internet. I have been looking for those little guys. You can print six on a page now. YIPPEE! They expire on 12/31. Those little guys make for some great deals. Where were they this morning when I needed them?

The AXE didn't work quite the way it was supposed to...remember YMMV from location to location. I still thought it was worth it. I paid $4.47 for the four AXE items. They retail for $5.69 each so I paid a little more than $1 for each.

I'm done...for now! And to all a good-night!

==Sleeping Beauty==

Twas Days Before Christmas - Zhu Zhu Pets Are Back

CVS has another B1G1 sale for the Zhu Zhu Pets this week. Click here for a "Buy 3 Get 1 Free" CVS Q. You can get four Zhu Zhu Pets for the price of one.

I have not had a problem with this CVS Q. Just remember...you can only use one Q per email address. AND you can only use a printable Q once. If you print multiples of the Q, the register will beep and tell the cashier that this Q has already been used.

The B1G1 sale at CVS ends Saturday, December 25th. The B3G1 CVS Q expires December 31st.

**Pinch**

In My Christmas Mail Box

I got a coupon for Dreft for the Grand Beauties and my P&G coupon booklet. WOO HOO! I used some of the coupons from that booklet already!

To receive your coupon booklet with over $110 in coupons, buy $50 worth of P&G products (before coupons and tax) and send in the rebate form found here. This rebate ends December 31, 2010.

==Sleeping Beauty==

Twas Days Before Christmas - Harris Teeter

I made a quick trip to Harris Teeter and it is not Super Doubles or Triples, but I can get some stocking stuffers for a decent price...shave gel and Blistex, NOT frozen veggies in the stockings. NO, NO, NO! Hmmm, well...I could do that, couldn't I?

Anyway, I could have probably done better but I didn't have a lot of time, so I just went with it.

Before any coupons my total was $56.88, after coupons I paid $12.96. From what I can tell they didn't deduct $1.00 for the Green Giant veggies (buy 10 get 1 free). I will have to stop in tomorrow and get them to correct that.

Never mind, I just figured it out. The veggies ring up at odd amounts, not $1 each. For example, the green peas ring up like this:
GG June Peas $1.95
VIC savings -.10
VIC savings -.95
Price you pay .90

The other Green Giant items may have a price you pay of .90, corn of .95, etc. It all comes out in the end to being correct. Eleven Green Giants for $10. The registers must be pretty darn smart to figure that one out! I was looking for it to deduct that 11th one some other way. Silly me!

The Blistex is B1G1. I saw two different kinds at B1G1. I chose the Raspberry Lemonade Blast. Sounds yummy, doesn't it? One rings up at $1.49 minus the VIC savings of 75¢, price you pay is 74¢ minus 25¢ Q doubled = 28¢ OOP for Blistex. I did this deal three times in separate transactions and one time with what is pictured.

No chapped lips for us this winter!

==Sleeping Beauty==

School Parties

I put on my Suzie Homemaker hat this week and started my holiday cooking. A couple of years ago I found the easiest fudge recipe ever. Not only is it good but it is super super simple to make. Last year, I shared the recipe with Sleeping Beauty and she made a bunch of it for her family.

I made the fudge for teacher gifts. I also gave each teacher a candle (just in case they didn't like the fudge).

Young Jedi Pinch had a Christmas party today at his school. I brought the cheese and crackers. I love the Creative Cutters Set from Pampered Chef. It always impresses people when you have cute little decorative cheese pieces.

Off the subject a bit...a few years ago Mr. Pinch and I had a party for his hockey team. Those guys were so impressed with the cheese. Really, they were!! I told them that I hand cut each cheese slice and it took me all day to carve all the cheese pieces into fancy designs. They believed me! Men are so gullible.

Christmas Eve is the Young Jedi's birthday and I wanted to bring cupcakes to school to celebrate. His class birthday party was supposed to be Thursday but the ice storm cancelled school. I tried to talk the Young Jedi into celebrating his birthday in January because the class was having a Christmas party today. But he didn't want to wait. So not only did the class have cookies, chips, cheese doodles and Christmas cupcakes, they had birthday cupcakes also. Can we say sugar overload??

By the way, cookies and cupcakes have to be store bought for school parties. When I stopped by Harris Teeter on Wednesday to order the cupcakes, I about had a heart attack when I realized that 36 cupcakes were going to cost around $30. I have cake mix in my stockpile that probably cost me less than $1 and I am going to spend $30 on cupcakes! I made a specific point of mentioning that I would not pick the cupcakes up on Thursday morning if school was cancelled on Thursday. (After all, our local weather person was telling us that we might get snow and ice Wednesday night.) I also mentioned that if I didn't get the cupcakes on Thursday, I would get them on Friday. School was cancelled Thursday. When I went to HT on Friday, I was told that my cupcakes were sold to someone else. Okay, I'll admit it, I was a little irritated. Then the bakery person told me she had some cupcakes she could give me. The bakery person then pulled out a big brown cardboard box and started opening packages. Hmmmm, a bakery that doesn't actually bake! Imagine that! Then she had to scramble to find decorations to put on the cupcakes. The best part...she didn't charge me since it was their mistake. And it's a good thing I didn't pay for those cupcakes. I have one word...STALE. No, make that a few words...STALE, YUCKY, DISAPPOINTING!

And why can't I bring homemade cupcakes? For the last two weeks, different grades have had bake sales at school with actual home baked items. Why is it okay to have homemade things at a bake sale but not at a birthday or Christmas party??

I guess I made a big mistake earlier in the school year when I made pimento cheese sandwiches, chicken salad sandwiches, ham biscuits and sausage biscuits to feed volunteers at a book fair. I did notice that I was the only one that "made" something. Next time I will not go to all that trouble...a pack of nabs and a bag of chips is what I'll be donating. And I definitely will not be bringing cupcakes from Harris Teeter.

**Pinch**

Twas Days Before Christmas - Revlon Stocking Stuffers

Mani and pedi for Santa's Elves & Reindeer
Okay, so I didn't get the emory boards for free because they were all gone at three stores. And no, I didn't run around town to even try to get them. I was at different places at different times and ended up making purchases at two different stores. But I did get all of the items pictured for less than $3. Stocking stuffers for sure!

Retail value (not counting the M&M's that I had to purchase because of a negative balance) is $21.84. All of the Revlon nail products that I purchased were 40% off at the wonderful Rite Aid sale! WOO HOO!

Subtotal: $1.87
Tax: $1.08
Total OOP: $2.95

I got back $8 in +UP rewards to spend on other things! That is a definite money maker. The M&M's sure were good!

==Sleeping Beauty==

Twas Days Before Christmas - Air Hockey

I realize that everybody might not be interested in this Air Hockey game at Rite Aid. But Rite Aid has other games on sale, just in cause Santa needs something extra to fill a stocking.

I was at Rite Aid this morning buying the Air Wick candles that Sleeping Beauty told us about in an earlier post. I just happened to pass by the toy aisle and there it was...one lonely Air Hockey game perched on the shelf. And then I saw the sign...25% off select toys.

Young Jedi Pinch decided Sunday night that he wanted an Air Hockey game. He got some poster board out of my craft closet and drew a hockey rink on it. Then he got a quarter and two poker chips to complete his homemade Air Hockey game. (When I told Sleeping Beauty about it, she suggested that I give him my hair dryer to make air for his Air Hockey game. She is sooo funny!)

As Princess Pinch and the Young Jedi were playing his homemade game, he looked at me and said, "I know it's too late to ask for an Air Hockey game because I already gave my list to Santa." He looked so sad. It just broke my heart.

So when I saw that little Air Hockey game today, I knew I just HAD to have it. Well, today was my lucky day. The Air Hockey game was 50% off and I just happened to have $7 in +UP rewards in my coupon binder.

The final price: $1.07

The smile on a 6-year-old boy's face on Christmas morning: PRICELESS!

**Pinch**

Twas Days Before Christmas - CVS, Rite Aid and Walgreens

The Bounty 8-roll pack from CVS is not pictured. Mr. Beauty put it away before I took the picture, and I just remembered it when I looked at my receipt.

Here is today's shopping trip breakdown:

Rite Aid - $2.97 + $1.32 tax = $4.29
CVS - $1.02 + 85¢ tax = $1.87
Walgreens - $1.99 + $1.01 tax = $3

At Rite Aid, I used a $2 +UP reward and Qs. I purchased four Air Wick candles and the Aleve. I received $4 in +UP rewards. So it's like paying 29¢ for everything!

At CVS, I used a $10 ECB and a 20% off entire purchase coupon. I purchased the paper towels and mascara.

At Walgreens, I used $5 in Jingle Cash I received from the tissue paper. I purchased two packs of Bic disposable razors (six in each pack), two boxes of Huggies wipes and two boxes of Christmas lights.

Total OOP for today was $9.16...take the $4 in +UP rewards received from Rite Aid and it's like I got everything for $5.16 OOP!

My total retail value for the merchandise is $67.79!

DO YOU HEAR WHAT I HEAR???

==Sleeping Beauty==

CVS Good Deal Gone Bad

Here we go again with a CVS employee having a bad day and taking it out on customers. Namely ME! (Read my "Nightmare on CVS Street" post in August.)

I went to CVS to purchase some Zhu Zhu Pets. I'm sure I can find someone to give them to for Christmas. Shouldn't be a problem. Ms. Pinch had done this deal and it went somewhat smoothly for her two times at a different CVS than the one I was going to. My first mistake...choosing the wrong CVS to shop at. Here I go with my $4/$20 coupon and a B2G1 free CVS Q for the rats. I can use both of them to get a really good deal.

Zhu Zhu's are in stock...I should have known there would be a problem right then. I need to add I did the P&G deal on Pampers, Gain, and Pantene to get $10 in ECB. No problem there. Now it is time for the Zhu Zhu's to be rung up. Oh, and CVS had the pets on sale B1G1.

To get to the point, Ms. Pinch had explained this deal to me more than once. Sometimes I just don't get it. But I did finally and thought I had it all figured out. My nice and friendly cashier had no problems with anything until it came to the B2G1 coupon. It just wouldn't scan. She had to call a manager up to help. OH NO, big trouble. I explained to the manager after she rang up my pets and had some ridiculous total that it wasn't right. She didn't agree with me. I again explained my total would be like I was paying for one of the pets. She re-rang the four, got $15 and something...re-rang them again and got some other amount. Believe me, I had a piece of paper with everything written down. It's my way of keeping things straight (sometimes). HA! I told this manager that a friend of mine had done this deal earlier and it did work. I didn't know what the problem was but it wasn't working. My total should have been $7 and something. Multiple times we did this re-ringing. Finally we got to $11.41 including tax. The manager person tells me that is the way it is, after all I was basically paying for one pet. I paid that amount and left. Oh, I did call Ms. Pinch from the store to ask how the cashier that waited on her made this work. I did this for the CVS manager trying to help her, still to no avail. She even called another guy up to the front and he told her something that I didn't hear just to get my total down to the $11.41. I was ready to leave.

Moving on, when I got home I realized that she had not taken my $4/$20 coupon from my total. THAT WAS THE PROBLEM! I should have paid $7 and something, not $11.

Yes, I had to go back to CVS after dinner. My nice friendly cashier is still there. (You may have forgotten about her already.) I told her what the problem was and she had to get Ms. MEANager back up to the front. Well we waited, and waited, and waited for management to show up. She may be on a 30 minute break, or she maybe was taking out the trash, I was told. Either way she finally shows up and refuses to do anything, seems my total didn't reach $20. It more than does before scanning the CVS card and before any Qs. At this point I am not a happy camper, I wasn't before but it was okay. Now it is not okay. She finally tells me I need to spend 22¢ more as she is walking away. Now wait just a minute, can you explain that in just a little more detail??? No way was she going to do that. She left me, the customer, and the poor cashier to figure it out. Okay fine we do. I really needed to spend 24¢ to hit the magic $20 mark. We have to call for Ms. MEANager to come back. The cashier doesn't know how to give me back $4 after I spend 33¢ on a piece of candy to reach my $20 mark. We wait some more. Finally "SHE" decides to come back to the front after being called numerous times, rings up the candy and walks away. The nice cashier doesn't know what to do next...seems the manager hadn't rang up the candy. She just rang up somehow to give me $4. So the deal finally worked. And I do mean finally...this process took 45 minutes of being in the store.

I was determined to call corporate Monday morning but decided not to, just let it go and breathe.

Fast forward to Wednesday night...I was out and decided to run in CVS and scan my card to see what I might get from the magic coupon machine. I was hoping for another $2.50 Q off the Planter's nuts. Well, I have to have those...they are only 5¢ total. I didn't even take my pocketbook in so I had to go to the car to get a nickel. Guess who saw me come in the door the first time? Ms. MEANager. She came out of the office and went to the back of the store. Hmmm, what is up with her? I should have just yelled Hello to her. Okay I had to stand in line for a few minutes to give up my nickel for the nuts. When it is my turn to pay, the phone rings right by the register and the nice cashier answers it. The nice cashier says SHE JUST CAME IN TO BUY SOMETHING! Well now we can guess who was on the other end of that phone, can't we?? AND we can guess who she is talking about, can't we??? After all, we aren't stupid! Well that is all fine and good, I just happened to know that there were a few upper CVS employees in the store so don't think that I didn't have a nice conversation with one of them about a certain CVS employee's attitude on Sunday night and Wednesday night. One more thing, I did call corporate today and am waiting to hear back from the district manager. I will let you all know the outcome of this one. Should we take a vote? Am I right or wrong? Just where is customer service these days? This one is for you T. Where were you when I needed you?

==Sleeping Beauty==

Twas Days Before Christmas - Zhu Zhu Pets

CVS has Zhu Zhu Pets B1G1. There is also a B2G1 free CVS Q for the Zhu Zhu Pets. If  you use the CVS Q AND a $4 off $20 ECB, you will need to buy a filler item, such as a candy bar.

3 Zhu Zhu Pets @ $9.88 each
1 Baby Zhu Zhu Pet @ $6.99
Total for 4 = $36.63
Minus 6.99 (B1G1 sale)
Minus 9.88 (B1G1 sale)
Minus 9.88 (B2G1 Q)

Total for 4 Zhu Zhu Pets = $9.88

The CVS B2G1 Q is good through December 31. The  B1G1 sale ends today.

Stay tuned for my story of the "CVS Good Deal Gone Bad" that I will post later tonight. It is quite entertaining.

==Sleeping Beauty==

Twas Days Before Christmas - Toys For Tots

Princess Pinch and Young Jedi Pinch's school collected new unwrapped toys, games and books today for the Marine Toys For Tots Foundation.

I got these two games at Target back in November. Monopoly Junior was on sale for $5 and I had a $5 Hasbro Q on any Hasbro game. I checked the Target website this morning and Monopoly Junior is still on sale this week for $5, and there are various Hasbro Qs still available.

The Twister game was $7 and I had a $5 Hasbro Q for that game also. I spent a whopping $2 plus tax for two games.

On a side note, my Sweeties are cute, aren't they?

**Pinch**

Twas Days Before Christmas - Cabbage Patch Dolls

I can't wait to tell you about this episode of Twas Days Before Christmas...so here it is!

With the two Baby Beauties that we have, what better idea than to get them Cabbage Patch dolls from Jolly Ole Saint Nick! I didn't realize until Black Friday that these dolls were on sale on Thanksgiving Day for I think $5 or thereabouts. (Don't quote me on that one.) Anyway, I missed that sale but that is okay because this one was even better.

Walgreens has a $4 off Q on select toys that are priced at $9.99. Cabbage Patch dolls are $9.99. Follow me? $9.99 - $4 = $5.99 for the dolls. Not a bad price. Wouldn't you agree? The deal gets better when you use your Jingle Cash of $5 to purchase the dolls. Yippee!

This is the way it works:

Cabbage Patch Doll $9.99
Minus $4 store Q
Minus $5 Jingle Cash
Subtotal = 99¢ plus 46¢ tax

Final Total $1.45 per doll

$2.90 for 2 CABBAGE PATCH DOLLS

I can't wait for the next episode!

==Sleeping Beauty==

Twas Days Before Christmas - Tissue Paper Anyone??

As you know, we here at Qpons With Class follow a couple of other websites/blogs. You know what they are if you have attended one of our classes. Well, here is a big thanks to Collin for posting this Walgreens deal. I read her post about Hallmark tissue paper. Hmm, wonder if that will work here I was thinking...it does so I found out.

Ladies and Gents, this is the deal. Buy 6 packages of Hallmark tissue paper, use the 3/$1 Q in the sale ad and you get back $5 in Jingle Cash to spend right now or save for later. Your receipt will look like this:

Hallmark Tissue Paper - 6 @ 99¢ = $5.94
Minus $3.94 from the Q
Subtotal = $2 plus 16¢ tax

Final Total $2.16
Get $5 in Jingle Cash

They are paying you to buy tissue paper!

Stayed tuned and find out what I did with my $5 Jingle Cash! You will not want to miss this one.

==Sleeping Beauty==

Twas Days Before Christmas - The Series

Qpons With Class

presents

Twas Days Before Christmas

Starring:
Sleeping Beauty (A legend in her own mind)
Pinch (A legend that has lost her mind)
Each series will contain good deals that will make Santa turn green with envy. This series is scheduled to run daily until Christmas...unless we collapse from exhaustion. Shopping is hard work!

Stay tuned...we promise to entertain you.

Nutty Good News/Bad News At CVS

The good news...the red magic machine at CVS is spitting out an ECB for $2.50 off any Planters Flavor Grove almonds. I got one ECB on Sunday and another one today. The almonds are on sale for $2.50 this week. All you have to pay is tax of 5¢.

Now the bad news...there aren't any in the store. I stopped by the CVS near the kiddo's school. The shelf was empty. There was someone stocking the shelves and I asked if there were any in the boxes. Nope...he didn't think they got anymore in. So I stopped by another CVS near my house and their shelf was empty also.

Note to CVS: YOUR sale, YOUR coupon out of YOUR machine. And you don't stock enough product??? Come one CVS people...you have to know that dedicated Coupon Peeps are going to actually want this product since it is only going to cost us 5¢. PLAN, CVS PEOPLE, PLAN!!! Think ahead. Order more product.

Rant over, now back to your regularly scheduled program!

**Pinch**

Black Friday Flashback

I'm late in getting this done. Sorry! My Black Friday shopping wasn't too exciting, but I did get most of what I went after. Never again will I go at 3 AM...NEVER, NEVER, NEVER!

I am usually a night owl so staying up was my choice. Mr. Beauty was going with me but he took a nap from 8 PM till 1 AM. Here I am wide awake, still checking on the sales, and making my list around 11:30 PM...not too much longer before 2:30 AM, the time we were leaving to go to Kohl's. I can make it, so I thought. Close to midnight I decided to lay on the sofa for a few minutes. Of course, I fell asleep but woke up just a couple of minutes past midnight. Mr. Beauty is up at 1 AM like he planned. I thought I would jump in the bed for a few minutes with my clothes on so all I had to do was put on my shoes when the bewitching hour came around. Wrong! I fell asleep and awoke to a ringing telephone! It was Ms. Pinch...she and her daughter Little Miss Sunshine were already in line at Target. It was 2 AM. I am glad that she called seeing as who knows when Mr. Beauty would have decided I should wake up. Time to rise and shine! We were out the door by 2:30 AM and at Kohl's by 3 AM. The line was ridiculous. It looked like every person in town was at Kohl's. The line went from the front door all the way around the building. People are going in the store by the time we found a parking place, but we still had to stand in line at the side of the building. I got exactly what I went for, no problem. It only took 10 minutes tops to get my five items. The line to pay was worse than the one that was outside when we arrived. No way am I going to stand in line forever to get five items and besides that I wanted to be at Target at 4 AM or close to it. We put the things back and left to go to Target...not the one by Kohl's but the other one. The line at the nearby Target was worse than ridiculous.

We arrive at the other Target just a few minutes after 4 AM. I got most of what I wanted, some things were already gone but not a big deal to me. The line to pay was again not an option. What was I thinking??? Okay, let's put these Target things back and go back to Kohl's. Yes, believe it or not that is what we did. Back at Kohl's, I got the same things I went for the first time. We checked out at 5:50 AM and then drove back to Target and got everything that I had the first time and checked out at 7:24 AM. We did stop at McDonald's for a biscuit on the way.

Moral of my story: I could have gone to bed, got up around 6 AM and still got most of what I wanted. When I got home I went to bed, got up at 1:00 PM and went to work. Have I lost my mind? That is a matter of opinion...and NO I don't want any answers to that question!

==Sleeping Beauty==

Rite Aid Kisses

Just a quick trip to Rite Aid for one strand of white Christmas lights for a PINK Christmas tree! I was amazed to find the white lights on a white cord, just what I needed for the pink tree. You can't have white lights on a green cord on a pink tree...just in case anyone didn't know that little tidbit. Pink lights on a pink cord was asking way to much.

Okay, so I got my lights. The last set they had on a white cord! I also knew I needed to spend at least $5 to use my $5 in +UP rewards. Before I left, I was semi-prepared to get the Hershey Kisses since we didn't get the Q for the Hershey's Pot of Gold in our SS today. (That was my first plan to reach $5). Long story for such a short trip! I grabbed my Hershey Kisses Qs and printed some from the VV site. Off I go.

The buggy had three bags of Kisses and a set of lights, but that didn't work. I had a negative balance. I had noticed the Starlight peppermint candies on the way to the register for $1.50 per bag so I went back and grabbed those. Well, we still had a no-go. The peppermint candies were on sale for 99¢, which I didn't know. After adding the peppermint candy, I had a negative balance of 2¢. Geez Louise...instead of just grabbing the cheapest thing near the register I decided to go for more Hershey Kisses.

This is my outcome:
2 bags of regular Kisses
2 bags of almond Kisses
2 bags of cherry Kisses (these taste just like chocolate covered cherries) *New* at least we have never had them. Yummy!
1 set of white lights (on that white cord)
1 bag of peppermint candy

Subtotal: $1.68
Tax: $1.14
Total OOP: $2.82 and I got back $3 in +UP rewards

==Sleeping Beauty==

Sing-A-Ma-Jigs At CVS

These things are just too darn cute! CVS had these guys for $12.99 each. I had a 30% off Friends and Family Q, a $4/$20 CVS Q, and $3 in ECB. My 30% off Q expired today so I felt the need to spend it. I got both of the Singing Thingy's for $12.28 total, less than the price of just one! Both of the Baby Beauties will be getting these guys for Christmas. I know they are too young for them but we will watch closely.

==Sleeping Beauty==

Target Practice

I dropped by Target this morning just to see if there was anything left after BF. I found a few good deals. But first I must confess something. I got a $10 GC on BF (purchase $100 and get $10 GC). On Sunday, I stopped by Target to buy Young Jedi Pinch some shoes and wanted to use my GC. His shoes cost $17.99 ($19.38 after tax). I gave the cashier my GC and money to pay the difference. Imagine my surprise when he gave me my money back along with the GC, then put the shoes in the bag, gave me my receipt and said thank you. It seems my $10 GC was actually a $20 GC. I thought about it after I got home, and I felt guilty. I knew something was not right. So I confessed today at Target that I should have only got $10 instead of $20. The wonderful lady at Customer Service told me not to worry about it...the registers made a few mistakes on BF. It seems their loss is my gain. So if you got a GC on BF, you might want to check to see if you got a little Christmas surprise.

Now back to today's shopping. The Tyson bagged chicken nuggets are on sale for $2.50 per bag. You can use a $1 Tyson Q from the HT penguin and get these for $1.50. The only problem is there are none on the freezer shelf. There are plenty of the Tyson chicken strips but those are not on sale. (Just a word of warning in case you pick up the wrong thing.) I got a raincheck for six bags so I will be ready when the freezer shelf is restocked.

I did get the Vaseline lotion. The lotion is $2.64. I used a $1 Q plus a $1.50 Target Q. The final price for the lotion is 14¢.

Mountain Dew 12-packs are 4/$11. I used a $1/2 Target Q making each 12-pack $2.25, which is a good price for this Mountain Dew lover.

The Sauve shampoo is $1.07...use $1 Target Q and these are 7¢. My mom likes this shampoo so I will be putting these in her Christmas basket.

My total today was $5.17. It should have been less. I used my own shopping bag and should have got a 5¢ credit. When I asked if the credit had been applied, the cashier said I can't get a bag credit when I use coupons!! What?!? I know it is only 5¢ but that is the dumbest thing I have ever heard. The 5¢ is not going to bankrupt me but that just ticks me off. I confessed about the $10 overpayment on my GC and I was prepared to give Target their $10 back. But it was treated like it wasn't a big deal and I was told to keep my money. On the other hand, the 5¢ bag credit is a big deal because I used coupons! That's just wrong. Maybe it is just me, maybe it's just my mood today, but that just makes no sense to me.

**Pinch**

Timeless Tales From Hallmark

What fun to shop at Hallmark with $5/$5 and $10/$10 Qs. I got Little Bitty Beauty her first Christmas ornament, a LED Snowman, a kissing crystal mistletoe hanging thingy, and one red jingle bell. (I had to purchase the jingle bell for 99¢ to make my $5.)

The crystal mistletoe hanging thingy
I used one $5/$5 and both of the $10/$10 Qs in different transactions at two different Hallmark stores. The $5/$5 Qs were in Family Circle and Real Simple magazines. The $10 Q was a printable. I received $2 off your next purchase at one of the Hallmarks. Woohoo!

Total spent: $11.54

Retail value: $33.92

Now where did I print those $10 coupons from???

==Sleeping Beauty==

Shop Talk

I went to Harris Teeter Saturday to try out the new electronic e-VIC Qs. By the way, the Penguin is back...so take any Qs you want before they are gone!!

I bought a few of the advertised e-VIC items:
2 lb. package HT Rancher Beef Ground Chuck - $2.99 (limit 1)
6-pack Coca Cola - $1.99 (limit 1)
Cheetos - $1.47 (limit 2)
Gallon of HT Milk - $2.47 (limit 1)

I also bought these items that were on sale:
Morton Sea Salt $1.07 minus $1Q = 7¢
Kool-Aid Jammers $1.99 x 2
Nabisco Crackers B1G1 (bought 2) $3.69 minus $1Q from the Penguin = $2.69
Bagel Bites (Large Box) $5.88 x 2

I also bought bread ($2.69) and bagels ($3.99) at full price! Ouch!!

Now for the electronic e-VIC specials:
2 boxes of Betty Crocker potatoes ($1 each) $2 minus 50¢ Manu Q (doubled) AND 50¢ e-VIC Q = 50¢ (or 25¢ per box)
Betty Crocker Cookie Mix $1.50 minus 40¢ Manu Q (doubled) AND 40¢ e-VIC Q = 30¢
Betty Crocker Cake Mix (94¢) and Frosting ($1.50) $2.44 minus 75¢ Manu Q (doubled) AND 50¢ e-VIC Q = 44¢ for both

I used a $5 off $25 Q from CVS. The $5 off $30 e-VIC Q also was deducted.

Shelf Price $74.28
Minus VIC $30.77
Minus CVS Q, paper Qs (doubled) $10.30
Minus e-VIC Qs $6.40
Total OOP $26.81 (excluding tax)

I want to mention a couple of tidbits about the electronic e-VIC Qs. You can only access your list through the email message from HT. You cannot find the e-VIC Q offers when you go through harristeeter.com so don't delete your emails from HT. (Thanks to Sleeping Beauty who found this out the hard way!) You can only use each Q one time then you have to reload the Q to your card. For some reason, the Qs that I used still show up as being on my card but they really aren't on my card. (Hope that makes sense.) The $5 off $30 Q is only deducted AFTER all paper Qs.

My daughter has her own VIC card. I cannot load her Qs from my computer. I can't look at or manage her e-VIC Qs from the same computer that I use. This is not a problem for me since we also have a laptop computer. But it may be a problem for those of you who only have access to one computer but have more than one VIC card. Also, she was not offered the same Qs that I was offered.

Another thing I don't like is the only way I can print my list of Qs is if I print a shopping list from the Harris Teeter ad. Then it prints ALL the Qs I have on my card...all three pages.

I can put up with the little quirks. I think I am going to like this new electronic e-VIC Q program.

**Pinch**

Saving More Money At Harris Teeter

I think I am going to like the new Harris Teeter e-VIC electronic coupons. There is a new coupon posted...save $5 on a $30 or more purchase. This offer is good through November 30th. If you haven't signed up for the e-VIC electronic coupons, now is time!

**Pinch**

Black Friday Comic Relief

Sleeping Beauty and I spent the past week plotting what we were going to get on Black Friday (BF). We were calling each other all day on Thursday sharing last minute tips and scoops. Sleeping Beauty went shopping with Mr. Beauty and I'm sure she will report about her experience in the next few days. I went shopping with my daughter, Little Miss Sunshine, or her BF name...Little-Miss-I-Can't-Believe-I'm-Doing-This. She was a lot of fun...really...I'm not being sarcastic. She was a lot of fun! This is the first time Little Miss Sunshine has been BF shopping. Usually she spends BF as the sales associate dealing with all the unhappy customers who didn't get one of the two computers advertised in the sale paper.

Little Miss Sunshine picked me up at 1:30 AM. We headed out to Target with all the store fliers, the Target Store map, and a list of things we wanted. On the way there, we got organized and we strategized.

The Target parking lot was packed and the line was L-O-N-G. At 2:45, a very nice Security Guard announced that all the tickets for one of the TVs had been given out and if that was the only thing people were waiting for, well, it was too bad. A lot of people left and we moved closer to the door. There were probably 150 people ahead of us now. I am so glad the couple in front of us left. They were doing strange things under their blanket! I hope they left and got a room somewhere.

Sleeping Beauty called me...she was at Kohl's. She said it was raining on her side of town. Being a good friend, she shared the rain. As soon as we ended our conversation, the rain started. But never fear, Little Miss Sunshine and I were prepared...we had an umbrella. We shared our huge golf umbrella with the very nice couple behind us. It only rained for a few minutes. Finally, the appointed hour arrived and the doors opened. I have to give Two Thumbs Up to Target. Everything was organized!

I got everything on my list. I had no problem doing price matches.

Wii NHL Slapshot - Target price matched K-Mart's sale price (Target $59.99; K-Mart $39.99...I saved $20)
Kid's Character PJ's - Target price matched Walmart's sale price (Target $5; Walmart $4...I saved $1)
Kid's Slippers - Target price matched Walmart's sale price (Target $5; Walmart $3.50...I saved $1.50)

I also bought the Batman DS game ($7), several pairs of boy's jeans ($6), several pairs of gloves ($1), and several Sandwich Makers ($3). I spent $107.97 and got a $10 gift card. It was worth the wait, especially for the Wii and DS games.

I was home by 5:00 AM, asleep snug in my bed by 5:15, and didn't see daylight again until Noon. I did go to Kohl's after dinner and bought two more Pillow Pets. I used two of the $10 off $20 coupons that were in the paper and also used a 15%-off-total shopping pass that I printed. I think Mr. Pinch and I were the only customers in Kohl's. That place was dead...and thoroughly trashed!

I also bought something tonight that I thought I would never, ever buy...

...a Justin Bieber shirt for Princess Pinch. She is going to be thrilled. I, on the other hand, will probably throw up every time she wears this shirt! The shirt was only $5...I think I overpaid by $4.98!

Now for the comic relief part. Before I tell this story, which I find sooooo funny, I realize that it is not funny to the Police Officer or the person that owns the car. But bear in mind that it was 3:00 in the morning, we have been standing in line for over an hour and still have an another hour's wait, it is raining, and it is slightly on the cold side.

Little Miss Sunshine is standing in the road by the sidewalk. She calmly announces that the Police have arrived. No sooner had she said that when a LOUD BANG is heard. For about two seconds, everything was really quite. Then laughter, LOUD laughter, starts. The Police Officer had a wreck...right in front of the crowd. He slammed right into a car! (No one was hurt or this story would not have been funny.) Just about everyone in the line starts holding up their cell phone to take pictures. I bet within 10 seconds of that Police Officer hitting that car, the pictures were popping up on Facebook. Little Miss Sunshine texted her picture to all her contacts.

About 15 minutes after the accident, three more Police Officers show up. As soon as they parked, they turned on their blue lights. Then the crowd starts laughing again...and taking pictures again.

I feel bad for the person in the car, but it provided a little comic relief to those of us standing in the line.

I hope each of you had a good time shopping on Black Friday. I can't wait to do it again. Only 364 more days!

**Pinch**

Harris Teeter e-VIC Coupons

UPDATED
Harris Teeter just announced that the e-VIC coupons CAN be combined with a paper coupon. Woo Hoo!! It may take up to an hour for an e-VIC electronic coupon to be added to your VIC card.
**********
I got an email from Harris Teeter yesterday:

Because you're a Very Important Customer and an e-VIC Member, we wanted to give you a sneak peek into this great new way to save. Below are the details on how you can link valuable manufacturer coupons directly to your VIC card. This week includes offers from great brands like Green Giant, Breyers, Pillsbury, Yoplait, Betty Crocker, Borden and many more. You can look for great new offers anytime it's convenient for you to browse the list of e-VIC coupons (we're adding more all the time!). Please take a minute to enroll in this program, download some offers and SAVE. If you have any issues, please contact Customer Relations at 1-800-432-6111. Thanks for your support!

The email then explains how to sign up for e-VIC coupons.

Whether you want to sign up for the e-VIC coupons is your choice. But I want to point out a couple of things. These are electronic coupons that will be loaded to your VIC card and WILL NOT double. The e-VIC coupons are manufacturers coupons (NOT store coupons) and CANNOT be stacked with a paper coupon. The e-VIC coupons can only be used once. You will have to reload the coupon (if it is still available) if you want to use it again.

I did not see anything that I don't already have. At least my paper Qs will double (or triple).

**Pinch**

Product Review: Renpure Organics Shampoo and Conditioner

We all know that using coupons can save us tons of money on products we use and love. Coupons also allow us to get products we have never used before at very little cost, sometimes for free, and sometimes we even get paid for buying new products. Sometimes these products are great and sometimes these products are not so great. From time to time, Sleeping Beauty and I do a review of products we would never have bought unless it was a good deal because of coupons.

Our ranking will be:
Two Coupons Up - I love this product and will buy it again at full price...even without a coupon...even if it were not on sale.

One Coupon Up - I love this product and will buy it again when it is on sale or when I have a coupon.

One Coupon Down - This product is okay, but I would only get it again if it were free.

Two Coupons Down - No way will I take the time to even pick this product up. I don't care if it is free or if I get paid to take this product home.

Today's product review is Renpure Organics Volumizing Shampoo and Conditioner. This is taken directly from the bottle of shampoo..."My luscious hair needs lift! Made with 100% certified organic extracts and safe, fresh, natural ingredients. No sulfates, parabens, color, dyes."

I have used the shampoo and conditioner for a week. You know how your hair squeaks after you wash it? My hair never squeaked. It never felt clean. After I dried my hair, it was limp and had no body. It definitely had NO LIFT! Even after I washed my hair, it looked and felt like I had not washed my hair in a week. This shampoo and conditioner is terrible!! As soon as I took the picture, I put it in it's new home...the garbage can.

Each bottle is $6.99 and I bought it at CVS when it was B1G1. There was also a hangtag for a try-me-free rebate. I sent the rebate in and received a check for $6.99. The final cost is the tax I paid, the stamp and envelope. I will NEVER get this shampoo and conditioner again even if the cost is reimbursed. I will not buy it to donate. I will close my eyes when I pass by it on the store shelf.

Renpure Organics Volumizing Shampoo and Conditioner: Two Coupons Down

**Pinch**

Rite Aid Success

I paid $12.67 and got back $9 for the diapers. I paid $2.63 for two Dry Idea deodorants, wrapping paper, and Herbal Essence shampoo & conditioner. I got back $4 for the shampoo. I did the Herbal Essence deal again, paid $1.44 and got back $4.

My totals were $16.74 for three transactions and I got back $17 in +UP rewards.

==Sleeping Beauty==

Sunday's Target Trip

I spent around $23 and got three $5 gift cards. One GC was for buying the Glade products.

I purchased the other two GCs just to get the infamous Target dog Leggo set. Now what am I to do with those? One will go to my nephew and the other is up for ideas.

==Sleeping Beauty==

Life Happens

Sleeping Beauty and I were away from the blog for a few days. Actually it was 14 days. But who's counting?

Sleeping Beauty was busy working. I hope she is making lots of money because Christmas is just around the corner and I would love to get a big expensive present from her!

My excuse for being away is this...my computer email got hacked. It happened one dark and stormy night. Sleeping Beauty asked me if I sent her an email at 5:30 in the morning. I told her I didn't and never gave it a second thought...until my son called me later that day and asked why I was sending him all sorts of strange emails. That's when I discovered that my personal email account had been hacked. Apparently someone, somewhere, thought it would be funny to send everyone on my contact list advertisements for all sorts of things. It took a while to contact everyone and apologize. It took some time but I think I have everything cleaned up. So if I sent any of you strange emails, I apologize.

It is one of those things that's not funny...but then again it is sort of funny. One person even mentioned that my computer gave their computer an STD. I gave my computer a dose of penicillin and I think it is okay now. Personally, I don't think it was my computer that transmitted a horrible virus. But it is hard to argue that fact when I am sending emails to people telling them the benefits of Viagra or how to obtain a mind-blowing O -- and I'm not talking about O as in Oprah.

Anyway, I was busy trying to undo some damage...both to my computer and to some family & business associates. Some people were not amused!

But we are back...and ready to shop!

**Pinch**

Toy Story Freebies

Johnson & Johnson - Toy Story book when you buy three Band-Aid, Neosporin or Purell products. I bought three Band-Aid products for $2.22 (after Qs) at Target. The book will be a nice stocking stuffer for a my 3-year-old grandson who is a big Toy Story fan. Also included with the book were $6 in Qs. The grandson is NOT getting the Qs!

Kellogg's - Toy Story Hamm piggy bank. There is a code in specially marked boxes of Kellogg's cereal for Toy Story products. I ordered the bank on a Friday and received it the following Thursday. The best part...no shipping charges.

**Pinch**

Target Deals

I stopped by Target this morning and found some good deals.

Stove Top Stuffing - on sale for 79¢ each...used a Target Q for 50¢/2 and IP Q for $1/2. Grand total for each box of stuffing is 4¢.

Olay body wash with bonus body lotion ($5.39)...used a $5 Q off Olay when you buy any Secret deodorant (trial size is 97¢) and $1 Q for any Secret deodorant. Grand total for Olay and Secret deodorant is 36¢. (I got 3¢ overage for the $1 Q.)

Air Wick candle ($2.99)...used a $3 Q. Grand total FREE. (I got 1¢ overage.) These candles were on an end cap and the only scents at the $2.99 price are Cherry Tart and Warming Spice. Cherry Tart was the only scent I found.

Santa asked me to pick up a couple of games. I don't mind helping that Jolly Fat Guy as long as I have coupons. (Note to Santa...send me some coupons for the Wii NHL Slapshot game and the Pittsburgh Penguins jersey that Young Jedi Pinch has on his list.)

Toy Story 3 Operation is $15...used a $5 Target Q from the Toy Coupon Book and a $5 Hasbro Q. Grand total $5.

Scrabble Jr is $10.99...used a $5 Target Q and a $5 Hasbro Q. Grand total 99¢.

Don't forget to carry your own bags. Target gives 5¢ for each bag. Every little bit helps.

**Pinch**

A Few Snippets

I thought I would share a few shopping trips from the last few weeks.

Walgreens:
I got 11 toothbrushes and five dental flosses...PAID $1.41 (no rewards used, only Qs). If anyone needs any new toothbrushes, come see ME!

I also got six bags of Ricola cough drops and nine packs of Trident gum. (Pinch has a bag of drops and I dropped the gum off at my Dad's.) I PAID 36¢ for two bags of drops and three packs gum. I did the dirty deed three times.

Rite Aid:
I got four dish towels and nine kitchen tools...PAID $1.31 for ALL on that receipt. And yes, I bought more.

CVS:
I got six packs of Mentos gum and one candy bar. I had B1G1 Qs for the gum and it was a B1G1 sale. I had to buy the candy bar because my subtotal was negative 13¢, add 45¢ tax...I PAID 32¢!

==Sleeping Beauty==

Harris Teeter Fast Forward

Remember the catalinas from a few weeks back that we got at Harris Teeter? Well, this week I had $16 to spend. I used one of my $8 catalinas for the Del Monte veggies that were buy 2 get 3 free and the Kleenex that were on sale for 88¢ a box. This is how it went down.

5 cans of Del Monte veggies (buy 2 get 3 free sale) combined with coupon
6 boxes of Kleenex (sale 88¢) combined with coupon
2 bags of Hall's cough drops on clearance for $1.25 each...had coupons for those also

I paid $2.29 OOP after using my $8 catalina.

I didn't realize until I got outside that the cashier had charged me for 7 boxes of Kleenex. I was refunded 95¢ when I went back in. Why don't I catch these things when they happen or before I leave the store??

$2.29 - 95¢ = $1.34 OOP

AND I GOT A CATALINA FOR $3 OYNO FROM KLEENEX

MIGHT I ADD ARE WE HAVING FUN YET?

==Sleeping Beauty==

Flashback

Okay, you have all heard it before...sometimes life gets in the way!

As far as Super Doubles went, it was a blast. No, I didn't go every day but I didn't miss many days. Free is always good and I really can't remember what all I got. I can't find my receipts right now. The Lysol Neutra Air was one of the free items. I got Advil for free because I had a coupon from Advil for a free box. I paid 99¢ for Kleenex hand towels. I think Doritos came out to being 99¢ per bag. I paid 49¢ for the big bottle of Crisco oil. Glade aerosol in Christmas scents was $2.50 per can. I bought three cans with a $3/3 coupon and whatever other ones I used, I remember it coming out to 60 some cents per can, and it smells wonderful. Bush's Grillin' Beans were free. I don't know if they are good or not but I have four cans to try out. The Martha White muffin mix was just pennies per pack. Sorry I can't do a better job and I didn't take any pictures this time either. I believe the Campbell's great for cooking soups were free also.

Can't wait to do it again!

==Sleeping Beauty==

New Catalina Deals

These catalina offers will make Super Doubles at Harris Teeter even better. (OYNO means On Your Next Order)

Betty Crocker Skillet Helpers - Buy 3, get $1.50 OYNO. Buy 4, get $2 OYNO. Buy 5+, get $3 OYNO. All purchases must be in a single transaction. Good 11/1 - 11/28.

California Pizza - Buy 2, get $1 OYNO. Buy 3, get $2 OYNO. Buy 4+, get $3 OYNO. All purchases must be in a single transaction. Good 11/1 - 11/28.

Kellogg's - Buy 3+ cereals, get catalina for a free gallon of milk. All cereal purchases must be in a single transaction. Good 10/24 - 11/20.

Kleenex - Buy 4, get $1 OYNO. Buy 5, get $2 OYNO. Buy 6+, get $3 OYNO. All purchases must be in a single transaction. Good 11/1 - 11/28.

Pampers - Buy $25 or more of Pampers Cruisers Diapers and Pampers Wipes in a single transaction, get $5 off your next purchase of any Pampers product. Good 11/1 - 11/27.

Pillsbury (crescents, cookies, sweet rolls, Grands biscuits, Grands sweet rolls, pie crusts, dinner rolls, loaves, breadsticks and pizza crust) - Buy 4, get $1 OYNO. Buy 5, get $2 OYNO. Buy 6+, get $3 OYNO. All purchases must be in a single transaction. Good 11/1 - 12/26.

Tombstone Pizza - Buy 4, get $2 OYNO. Buy 5, get $3 OYNO. Buy 6+, get $4 OYNO. All purchases must be in a single transaction. Good 11/1 - 11/28.

**Pinch**

Stop Procrastinating...

...And get your coupons in order!

Super Doubles at Harris Teeter starting November 3rd

**Pinch**

A Good Day At Rite Aid

Have I ever mentioned how much I love Rite Aid?

There is another super deal this week found on page 7 of the weekly ad.

Buy any N.Y.C. color eye, face or lip cosmetics ($1.99 - $4.99 retail value) and get a nail enamel FREE (99¢ - $1.99 value). $1 +UP reward when you buy any N.Y.C. cosmetic valued $1.99 or above.

To make this deal sweeter, there is a $1 IP Q for any N.Y.C. cosmetic product. You can print this Q twice per computer. I used two computers and printed this Q four times.

My subtotal was negative 02¢ plus 31¢ tax for a grand total of 29¢ AND I got back $4 in +UP Rewards.

I forget to mention something about Sunday's Rite Aid shopping trip...Sleeping Beauty and I finally scored the Clip & Save booklet with $128 in coupons. This booklet is given to customers that get a flu shot. Rite Aid sent out emails last week advertising their flu shot and Clip & Save booklet. At the bottom of the email in little bitty teeny tiny letters were the words NO PURCHASE REQUIRED. So, yes, you can get that booklet without getting a flu shot!!

Have I ever mentioned how much I love Rite Aid?

**Pinch**

Happy Halloween

Harris Teeter has carving pumpkins on sale for $3.99 each (regular $6.99). The Little Pinches had a great time decorating these pumpkins with the free pumpkin decorating set I got at CVS a few weeks ago. The three pumpkins were $11.97 (not including tax) and I used $6 in catalinas from the GM deal. Final cost was $5.97 (plus tax). AND I get $6 back in a rebate from a beer company. I love rebates!

**Pinch**

Strange Places

Sleeping Beauty and I always look for hidden coupons, blinkies, peelies and hangtags at every store we visit. Last week I found a coupon at the strangest place ever...the doctor's office. And it was not in an outdated magazine. There was a huge stack of them on the counter where you make your next appointment. Coupons are EVERYWHERE.

And yes, I put VOID on the coupon before I scanned it. I read somewhere that you are supposed to do that...or I may have just made that up! Anyway, I don't want the Coupon Police visiting me. I see enough of the Coupon Police working undercover as cashiers. I don't need them visiting my home.

**Pinch**

Behind The Mission

Saturday night I received the following message: Good evening Ms. Pinch. Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to get Princess Pinch and Young Jedi Pinch each a Pillow Pet to be delivered to them on Christmas Eve. Pillow pets are currently priced at $19.99 at Rite Aid. Sincerely, Santa Claus

Well, when the big fat guy in the red suit sends a message like that, you have to accept it. And I really don't want to spend $19.99 x 2 for these Pillow Pets. Plus I need candy for the treat-or-treaters this weekend. (And don't you love how he is going to take credit for all my hard work!!)

In my first transaction, this is what I bought:

Two single Butterfingers are not pictured
Coupons Used:
Cottonelle - Free Q (received in mail last week)
Butterfinger - B1G1 Q
Ace Instant Cold Compress -$1.50 Q x 4 (each Q adjusted down to $1.29)
Advil - Free Q (received in mail last week)
Nivea - $1
Rite Aid $4 off $20
Rite Aid $1 Video Value Q

OOP 87¢ plus $1.02 tax = $1.89
Received $5 +UP Rewards (Nivea)

In the second transaction, I bought 10 bags of Halloween candy at $2.50 each. I used a $5 off $25 RA Q, $5 +UP from last week, 4 $1 Manufacturer Qs, and $1 RA Video Value Q.

OOP $10 plus 31¢ tax = $10.31
Received $10 +UP Reward (Candy)

Now I am ready to buy one of the Pillow Pets at $19.99. I used $4 off $20 RA Q, $10 +UP and $5 +UP (Nivea).

OOP 99¢ plus $1.24 tax = $2.23
Received $2 +UP Reward

My totals:
Retail $68.60
OOP $14.43
+UP Rewards $2

Of course, I could have just bought the Pillow Pet less $5 +UP Reward from last week and $4 off $20 RA Q, and paid $10.99 plus tax. But what fun would that have been. Besides I needed the candy for Halloween. Now I have to get creative and figure out a way to cheaply get another Pillow Pet!

Mission (Partially) Accomplished!!
**Pinch**

The Notebook

I bought a new notebook last week at Walgreens. And I use the word "bought" very loosely...it was on final clearance for $4.98 and I used a Register Reward. Anyway, Sleeping Beauty "bought" one a few days before and I liked her notebook so I copied her. I bought the tabs on sale at Office Depot for $1. The only thing I don't like is the tab sheet is clear. And my OCD is showing...yes, I typed the category labels! But I am so proud of my notebook. A stranger even complimented me on my notebook yesterday.

My notebook is metallic blue...Sleeping Beauty's is pink. I really like the pink better than the blue but I didn't want to be a two-time copy cat.

I am finished with this week's coupons. This morning I cut, trimmed and filed all my coupons. It took me less than an hour.

My book is so beautiful. I'm so proud. Is it abnormal to want to stare at it, touch it and admire it?!?

**Pinch**