I got paid 3 cents to buy this AND If you have a cat or need soda this week, RUN to Food Lion!

I'll post my breakdown for yesterday's trip below but first, check out the deal ideas for this coming week at Food Lion (beginning tomorrow 2/19). To make these deals a moneymaker, you will need to be able to print coupons (limit 2 per computer) but if you just need cheap cat food and don't have the coupons, you can really rack up!

The coupon in question is $2 off ANY 3 IAMS cat food (found on coupons.com)

Food Lion is still running their Gold Medal savings event where buying 10 included items will save you an instant $5 off your total OR buying 15 included items will save you $10 off your total instantly. There are lots (and I mean LOTS) of items that qualify, but I am highlighting the BEST POSSIBLE SCENARIOS below. If you do not own a cat (like me) but love to make money when you buy groceries, then go ahead and print the coupons and buy the cat food anyway and donate it to the local shelter or a friend with a cat. The following scenarios require 4 printed coupons, which also have a limit of 4 per household/day so you can only do a moneymaker ONCE per day (but if you have multiples options to print, then hold those coupons and do another trip later in the week). Food Lion will only take off a max of $10 per transaction, but you CAN do multiples transactions (if you are stocking up on cat food here). So, let's go over the options:

Option 1: YOU JUST NEED CAT FOOD AT A ROCK BOTTOM PRICE (NO COUPONS REQ'D)

Buy 15 IAMS cat foods (at $0.79 each)

Total will be $11.85 pre-instant $10 off/pre-tax. The $10 will come off and you will pay $2.48 after tax for 15 cat food tins (makes each tin 16.5 cents each)

You can do this transaction multiple times and if you have coupons for the IAMS (from the paper or computer) then you will do even better.

Option 2: YOU CAN PRINT 2 COUPONS FOR THE IAMS AND WANT TO SAVE ON GROCERIES (2 COUPONS REQ'D)

Buy 15 of the Iams cat food (at $0.79 each), use 2 $2 off any 3 Iams cat food coupons

Total will be $1.85 AFTER $10 savings, but cash in those 2 coupons, and your new total will be NEGATIVE $2.15 (pre tax) so buy something over $2.15 for FREE (you will only pay tax on your transaction here). Like I've said before, I like to use this overage to get staple items or a loaf of bread or something. You have a $2.15 moneymaker situtation above...BUT, it could be better :)

Option 3: YOU CAN PRINT 4 COUPONS AND WANT A BIGGER MONEYMAKER (4 COUPONS REQ'D)

Buy 15 of the Iams cat food, at $0.79 each, use 4 of the $2 off 3 Iams coupons

Total will again be $1.85 AFTER savings, but pre-coupon/tax. Now cash in those 4 coupons, and you will have a $6.15 moneymaker!! Buy some produce or milk, or whatever else you need :)

Option 4: THE BEST OPTION WITH BIGGEST SAVINGS (5 TOTAL COUPONS REQ'D, 1 FROM PAPER 2/16 AND 4 PRINTED)

 Buy 15 Iams cat food (at $0.79 each), use 1 paper coupon from this Sunday (buy 2 Iams wet cat/dog food, get 1 Free) AND 4 of the printed coupons to save even more

$1.85 (after savings) - $8 in printed coupons and - $0.79 in paper coupon will be a $6.94 moneymaker :)

                                                                                                                                                             
Now, another scenario is a great option if you want to buy some Coke products at rock bottom prices (as in, less than 50 cents/12 pack)

All Coke multi-packages are included in the Gold Medal savings event, and the 12 packs are on sale 3 for $10 this week. If you buy 3 of the 12 packs AND 12 of the Iams cat food, AND use 4 of the printed coupons, you will pay the following:

12x $0.79= $9.48 (Iams) plus $10 (3 Coke 12 packs)= $19.48 pre-tax

Gold Medal savings will bring your total down to $9.48, use 4 of the $2 printed coupons, pay just $1.48 (plus tax) for the cat food and 3 packs of soda :)

There are SO MANY OPTIONS to mix and match with all of the included items..and if you need personal care products or toilet paper/paper towels, etc, all P&G items are included and will pair with some nice coupons..I am just highlighting the best option with the cat food.
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Now, here's my trip yesterday (2/17) using moneyakers at both Kroger and Food Lion. This Kroger moneymaker is awesome and can be done until March 4th.

Kroger:
This moneymaker requires 2 printed coupons on Neutrogena items (found on Target.com--it's a manufacturer coupon and can be used anywhere--it is $3 off any 2 Neutrogena items)
The price of these soaps is $2.09, if you buy 4 and use 2 of these coupons, you will pay $2.80 at checkout (after tax) and get back a catalina for $5 (so, a $2.20 mm)

I bought:
4 Neutrogena soaps (2.09 each)--used 2 $3 off any 2 items (printed from Target.com)
1 Bounty big roll (2.39) --used a Kroger coupon for $2 off any paper towels and a manufacturer coupon for 25 cents off any Bounty
1 Lysol Power and Free Wipes (2.99)--used a Kroger coupon for $2 off any cleaning item and a $1 manufacturer coupon
1 bag of 3 avocados (0.99--in the reduced produce section)

Paid $4.02 after tax, and got back $5 :)

Then, at Food Lion, I did the following:
15 Iams cat foods (79 cents each)--used 4 $2 off any 3 Iams cat foods AND 1 buy 2, get 1 free coupon (took off 79 cents)
1 Alexia frozen Sweet Potato fries (2.69)--used $1/any Alexia frozen item
1 Gallon (?) Food Lion white vinegar (2.59)
1 Pet Buttermilk (1.99)
1 bunch Parsley (0.79)--can't you tell I'm making ranch dressing lol

Paid a total of $0.95 (mostly tax, of course)

My net for yesterday's trip was $4.97 and got back $5 for a 3 cent moneymaker. I'm extreme, but this was one of my bests! Of course, you could use that overage on ANYTHING so if you just want a free pack of toilet paper, that's the beauty of it--it's FREE MONEY to spend at the store, all you have to do is print the coupons :)

I made $2.37 for shopping--enough to cover my snow bread!

Walmart: 2/8/14

3 Hydroxycut shakes @ $3.98 each
1 tub of Country Crock butter @ $2.00 (this was the 'medium' siz tub)

Coupons used:
3 $5/1 Hydroxycut item (mm of $1.02 each)
1 $0.30/1 Country Crock butter

Final: Walmart owed me $1.01 so I left with more cash in hand than when I walked in :)

Food Lion: 2/8/14

18 count eggs, $2.50
2 tomatoes ($1.49/lb...was $1.4 total I think)
1 bunch cilantro, $0.79
1 bunch red leaf lettuce, $1.29
1 Pummelo, $1.99
1 box Chocolate Toast Crunch, $2.99
2 Boxes Betty Crocker snacks, $2.79 for both

Coupons used:
Checkout 51: save $0.50 on any eggs
$1 off any $5 produce purchase (Food Lion coupon sent via email)
save 20% on red leaf lettuce using Savingstar (gave me back 25 cents)
$1 off any 1 box of Chocolate Toast Crunch (from bettycrocker.com) PLUS I got $1 back from Ibotta for this cereal AND $0.75 back on Savingstar (final cost of the cereal was 24 cents!!)
$1.10/2 Betty Crocker fruit snacks (from bettycrocker.com) PLUS got $1.75 back on Ibotta for buying those 2 specific boxes AND 50 cents back from Savingstar (final cost of the fruit snacks was a 56 cent moneymaker :) :)

Final cost at Food Lion:
After taxes, I paid $6.24.

Kroger: 2/8/14
**I recently got some awesome coupons from BzzAgent to check out all of the 'other' aisles at Kroger--they are promoting their paper goods, cleaning/laundry supplies, and non-food sections. These coupons helped me save a ton! So, they are not widely available and can't be duplicated unless you have these specific coupons--but I encourage anyone who likes to try products and write reviews check out BzzAgent.com**

1 box Arm & Hammer Baking Soda, $0.89 sale price
2 bottles Clorox bleach, $2.19 each reg. price
1 tub of Kroger brand Oxi-clean, $4.39 reg. price
1 package of 12 rolls of Quilted Northern, $5.99 sale price

Coupons used:
Get 100% back on 1 box of Arm & Hammer baking soda (Savingstar Free Friday item)--got 89 cents back
*Kroger coupon for $2 off ANY laundry item $2+ (received several of these, used 2 on the 2 Cloroxes) made each bottle 19 cents :)
*Kroger coupon for $4 off ANY cleaning supply item $4+(used this on the Oxi-clean--paid 39 cents for it)
*Kroger coupon for $5 off ANY bath tissue purchase $5+ (combined with a 55 cent off Quilted Northern manufacturer coupon, I paid 44 cents for this whole pack of tp..yay!)

Final cost at Kroger: $1.99 (tax was 78 cents)

Saturday's Total: $6.24+ $1.99 - $1.01= $7.22 for everything pictured above but I canceled all of that spending out with Sunday's trip to Walgreen's (see below)

Walgreens: 2/9/14

**Using paper coupons, anyone can recreate this deal this week--I have not been couponing at Walgreens much before, but I am definitely starting to like it there--and don't you know I actually needed chapstick? Lol. Sorry this photo is turned**

Also, I did multiple transactions for the deodorant so I would get the rewards. Walgreens is a little tricky to begin with just because of their reward programs, but so worth it! I will break down by transaction.

Transactions #1 and #2 were identical:

2 Mitchum deodorants, on sale for $3 each--register reward of $4 wyb 2

*Used 2 $2/1 Mitchum deodorant from SS insert (2 weeks ago I think)

Paid: $2.31

Received a $4 register reward (moneymaker of $1.69) (this was exact same for both)

Transaction #3:

2 Mitchum deodorants, $3 each--register reward of $4 wyb 2

5 Nivea 'regular' chapstick, $2.99 but sale was buy one, get one half off AND get $2 in points wyb 2

3 Nivea 'lipgloss', $3.49 and same sale* (2 rang up at $3.49, one rang up at $1.75, 2 rang up at $2.99, and 3 more rang up at $1.49 each for a total of $19.18 for the Niveas)

Total: $26.04 pre-coupon inlc. tax

Coupons used:

1 $2/1 Mitchum deodorant (I only had 5 total coupons of that kind, so I could have save $2 more, but I used what I had)

4 $3/2 Nivea lip products

1 Walgreens store promo coupon "get $5 back in points when you spend $25" from the ad yesterday

AND I have the winter beauty event loaded onto my card, for an extra 50 points on all skin/body/beauty items for every $1 you spend (everything I bought counted)

Final total for this transaction: I used a previous (from the free Culterelle last week) $10 register reward and $2.04 in cash to pay. I got back $4 in register rewards, $13 in points, and $1.25 in bonus points so that gave me a $6.21 moneymaker!

**I calculate my moneymakers by counting what I used to pay (in ANY form) and then subtracting what I earned. If I used less than I earned, it's a mm to me since I spent less than I got back. I used a total of $12.04 and got back a total of $18.25, for a difference of $6.21.

My totals at Walgreens: $9.59 moneymaker woohoo!

If you look at it this way, the $9.59 I made at Walgreens - the $7.22 I spent on Saturday still leaves me with a $2.37 moneymaker (enough to pay for bread I will need before this next snowstorm haha)

Fruit Snacks for 2 cents each? Yes, please! And my Sunday trips for about $20.

This coming week at Food Lion (beginning 2/5), Betty Crocker fruit snacks will be on sale BOGO free for $2.79. If you combine a coupon with some awesome Ibotta and Savingstar deals, you can get 2 boxes for just 2 cents each (yeah!)

Ibotta is an awesome app that gives you cash back for buying certain things (if you are interested, use my personal referral link HERE and it helps me out) and I have written about Savingstar before but it's basically the same idea.

Buy 1 box of Despicable Me fruit snacks and 1 box of Fruit by the Foot Flavor Mixers and use a $0.50/2 manufacturer coupon (from various SmartSource inserts, but the one I have expires on 3/2)

Pay $2.29 at checkout
Submit for $1 back on the Fruit by the Foot Flavor Mixers (Ibotta) and $0.75 back on the Despicable Me (Ibotta) AND get back $0.50 for buying 2 Betty Crocker snacks (Savingstar)

So, $2.29-$2.25 in credits = 4 cents total for 2 boxes (woohoo!!)

**You MUST buy those two certain flavors/types because the Ibotta offer will ONLY work on those specific boxes, but hey, who doesn't love nearly free fruit snacks? Also, if you don't have the manufacturer coupon, no big deal because you will still get both boxes for only $0.54 total which is awesome still!

(sorry the quality is awful, I have tried everything...)







CVS

1-18 count Cottonelle, 4 packs of Cottonelle wipes, 1-6 count Scott paper towels, 1 Glade plugin, 1 Glade wax melts

Pre-coupon sale total: $39.95 (incl. tax)

Coupons used:
1 CVS coupon for FREE Cottonelle wipes wyb an 18ct toilet paper (-$3.99)
1 CVS coupon for $1.50 off any Glade product
1 Manufacturer coupon for $1 off any Scott towels, 6 count or higher
1 Manufacturer coupon for $3 off the purchase of BOTH a Cottonelle toilet paper and wipes
3 Manufacturer coupons for $2 off any Cottonelle wipes (peelies on the product)
1 Manufacturer coupon for a FREE Glade customizables scented oil plugin (took the $5 off)
1 Manufacturer coupon for a FREE Glade wax melts (these 2 Glade coupons were mailed to me directly as a part of my participation in BzzAgent  I take surveys and fill out my opinion of products in exchange for free stuff. How cool is that?!)

After coupons, $16.46. I got back $10 ExtraBucks (for the toilet paper, towels, and wipes) and got $3 back on Checkout 51

Final cost at CVS: $3.46

Food Lion

2 Nutella jars, 1 loaf of Sara Lee bread (this is free this week wyb 1 Nutella), 2 pork loins (3lbs. each) and 1 gallon of milk

Pre-coupon sale total: $21.74

Coupons used:
1 BOGO free Nutella (man. q for yesterday's paper) (this took off $3.79, which is the regular price...)
2 $1 off "this pork loin" peelie manufacturer coupons (were on the pork)
1 Food Lion coupon for $1 off any $5 meat department purchase (emailed to me)
1 FREE loaf of Sara Lee bread wyb Nutella (Food Lion promo) -$2.50

After coupons, $12.36 (I think the tax gets adjusted acording to store coupons...)

I got $1 back on my milk from Ibotta and $0.50 back on the milk from Checkout 51 (yes, these work together and you can save a ton if you combine all of these apps to save on the same product!)

Final cost at Food Lion: $10.86

Walgreens

4 Mountain Dew Kickstarts ($4), 2 AZO Cranberry supplements ($20), 2 Culterelle supplements ($20), and 4 Coke 12 packs ($10)

Pre-coupon total: $54 (and that's the sale price. The Culterelle is reg. price at $24.99 what?!)

Coupons used:

I had 4 surveys on my receipts worth $1 each, so I used 1 of those on each transaction before the Coke. and otherwise, I simply took advantage of this week's awesome "freebie after register reward" items and a great 1-day sale on Coke. Walgreens is a little tricky since register rewards can be rolled, but must be rolled in a certain order (no problem once you get the hang of it though).

I did multiple transactions and used the money I earned from #1 to buy #2 and so on like this:
#1: 1 AZO at $10 and 1 Mountain Dew Kickstart at $1 and used $1/$5 purchase survey q
Paid $10.03, got $11 in register rewards back (3 cent net)

#2 1 Culterelle and 1 Mountain Dew Kickstart (used the $10 from #1) and paid $0.03, got $11 back
and I did those exact two over again, and then I used my final $10 to buy the 4 packs of Coke (paid 25 cents in tax). I left the store with $4 in Register Rewards from the Mountain Dews.

In all, I paid a final of $6.37 after register rewards at for everything. Pretty sweet for the Cokes :)

Total Spending for yesterday: $20.69 (not my lowest ever, but considering I bought 4 packs of Coke, houshold goods, milk, bread, and meat--I'll take it!)