Fun with Coupons

So I went shopping...  Not specifically for beauty related products since I am still trying to finish up 100 of them during my challenge but these deals were too good to pass up.  So I'm really into coupons, but I'm not super organized yet.  You can say I have a lot going on around here...  But I occasionally get my act together to save big. 

So at Rite Aid, Wet & Wild was BOGO.  I noticed that there was a $5 off $10 purchase in the September All You Magazine.  I had previously cut it out.  I have never tried Wet & Wild in the past.  Every once in a while I check http://www.riteaid.com/ and look for coupons.  You can also watch these video values, which are 30 seconds to 2 minutes long that qualify you for point and when you rack up 20 points, you get a coupon for $4 off $20 purchase.  I also had found one for $2 off $6 Wet & Wild purchase.

I went through the Rite Aid weekly circular, cut out the things I wanted based on the coupons that I had.  Put everything in an envelope and away I went!  This is what I grabbed:

I was going to grab some Wet & Wild foundation but I just have this stack of foundations that I need to use up so I wanted to be a little practical.  The Wet & Wild stuff includes the following:

2 eyeliners, $2.99

eye marker, $3.99

eyelash plumper mascara, $3.99 (but free with the BOGO)

2 nail polishes, 99 cents

So the total price for these items with the BOGO offer was $7.97.  I had the $5 off $10 purchase and $2 off $6 purchase, bringing the Wet & Wild price down to 97 cents!

Then I had a $2 coupon off of the Revlon lipstick which was on sale, bringing it down to $3.99 and I had a coupon for $1 off the Nivea and Rite Aid was offering a $1 up reward and a rebate so I got that for free! 

Out of pocket for these items, I spent roughly $4.96 and of course tax.  I bought other items as well, diapers for 2 $2 up rewards and Pantene Shampoo.  Pantene Nature Fusion was on sale for $3.50.  They were offering a $1 up reward for the purchase.  So I bought 2 and had a coupon bringing the total for the shampoo and conditioner to 2 for $3.50 or $1.75 a piece.

So as I am walking around Rite-Aid I spot a deal and it is a $10 up reward for a $20 Nexxus purchase.  So I have never tried Nexxus products before or it has been a long while.  I remember that when a sample came a while back, it came with a $3 coupon.  I go home to get it.  It was still attached to the sample!  Later on I return to Rite-Aid.  As I am walking in I see this...

The shampoo and conditioner on the left are BOGO $15.99.  Okay so now I need to find something for roughly $5.  I head to the back of the store to the other Nexxus products.  No luck on that but I'm curious about the leave-in treatment on the right since winter is swiftly approaching and I get wicked static.  The total for these 3 items comes up to $27.98.  (well actually it came up to $30.98 b/c the BOGO shampoo and conditioner rang up $18.99.  I pointed it out to the cashier that it was marked on the shelf at $15.99, they took the $3 off).  I had $7 in up Rewards from my previous Rite-Aid shopping excursion and a $3 coupon.  That brought my total down to $17.98.  Then when the receipt printed, I got my $10 up Reward good for another purchase!  3 Nexxus prodcuts for $7.98 is a pretty good deal people!

Now on to CVS.  I am loving L'Oreal Studio Professional Magic Perfecting Base.  It controls the shine all day for me in over 90 degree heat and crazy humidity that we had at the end of the summer.  I even use it as an eyelid primer.  I've never tried Urban Decay's but the L'Oreal works great for me.  It is juut amazisg stuff as far as I am concerned but it comes in this tiny glass jar.  So I needed more of course. 

I had $10 Extra Care Bucks sitting in my wallet from another purchase.  Also when you walk into a CVS look for the red coupon machine right in front.  Scan your card and more coupons will pop out!  The coupon machine spit out a bunch of crap but one was a $4 off Lumene purchase.  I really like the line, but it can be a bit pricey so I only purchase on-sale.  I found some make-up remover wipes for BOGO 1/2 off.  I'm obsessed with make-up remover wipes right now!  So I grab 2 packages, one for $2.99, the other for 1/2 off so $1.49, total $4.48.  I have the $4 coupon so the total for these items are 48 cents.  Not bad.  I walk over to the L'Oreal section and grab the base.  Up to the register with my $14 in coupons and my total is $3.47 plus tax of course for the 3 items.

It really doesn't take a lot of time to get organized, look though the Sunday circulars and pick out your products and coupons.  The thing is, when you get a deal and receive Extra Care Bucks and up Rewards, you need to remember to use them!  A couple years ago, I never paid attention to the coupons that printed out at the end of my receipts.  Now I specifically shop for them so I can use them on other purchases.

Yesterday I saved $74.95.  I spent around $30 for everything including 2 packages of diapers.  Now one could argue, "Hmm, but you wouldn't have purchased some these items without coupons so in fact, you could have saved that money."  Sure one could argue that.  But when you are getting 5 products for under a $1 and quality Nexxus products for roughly $2.66 a piece when they are normally $12 or $18 a piece, how can you pass that up?

So my advice is to cut out your coupons, get your Rite Aid Wellness and CVS Extra Care Bucks cards and rack up the savings on beauty products.  It take a little leg work but the benefits can be huge!