I got the FEVER!

Well, actually, Trace really DOES have a fever right now, but that's a different story. I just sat down in my cute (FREE) new jeans I got yesterday at Target to tell you about my shopping trip today, so why don't you take a moment to think about what you paid for your yours and then continue reading.

Sabre went with her Grandmother (aka Nonnie) to eat lunch with Windows GS--just kidding, ladies! I know, W(omen)inG(od's)S(ervice), WinGS, but Lee and I like to call you the aforementioned nickname--so I took Curtis and Trace to "the GREATEST PARK EVER" (or so I was told a few dozen times), and, of course, do a little coupon shopping. The Rite-Aid I chose didn't have ALL the deals I was hoping to score, but you take what you can get when you live in small-town Alabama.

First of all, I had prepared by watching all the video values at RiteAid.com. If you don't do this, you HAVE to start. It's like throwing away money not to. The deal is this, they have a bunch of little mini-commercials you can watch (about 30 seconds each), and at the end, you get either a coupon or a credit towards a bigger coupon. For example, by watching 16 short videos I received a $4 off coupon. Not bad for 10 minutes work. And to be honest, I didn't really watch them. I played them while I checked my email and answered messages on FB. There were three or four different promotions this last time. Check it out!

Another big coupon I was excited about was for Loreal Youth Code, a new anti-age skincare regimen. The 3-piece value kit retails for $34.99 (one solitary bottle is $24.99!), but Rite-Aid has it discounted right now for $29.99. I used a $10 video values coupon and received 2 $5 UP rewards, meaning I paid $10 for it! Next time you see me, I had BETTER look about 12 :OP

Some of the things I got were necessities for right now, with all the sickness that has been going on in my house lately. But luckily for me, it was all on sale and came with UPs! I got Sucrets lozenges and Halls coughdrops for 99 cents (minus my 50 cent coupon = 49!), and the Rite-Aid brand Head Cold medicine and Sore Throat Sprays were both B1G1Free. I also got Lee some body wash, since he was out again, and in case you're wondering, after UPs, Right Guard is 99 cents, too!

Oh, and last but not least: the kids needed shampoo. What to do? Pay full price or just the tax? No brainer. This week's promotion offers Wellness members the chance to get unlimited $2 UP rewards for select Johnson and Johnson products that they reduced to $2.99. I didn't need Desitin, but that's included, too. Ninety-nine cents for a big bottle of tearless shampoo is awesome, especially when your kids have as much hair as mine do! But why pay even that much, if you know how to use your computer? There's always loads of different places to get JnJ coupons on the web. Try coupons.com, for one. Rule #1: Never pay for something if you can get it for free (now, I'm talking legally, here). $1.00 - .99 = 1 cent to use towards the .24 tax.

So let's add it all up: $35 for skincare, $30 for medicine, and $36 for 'soap'. So I spent just over a hundred bucks. No, wait, that was REGULAR prices. What I would have paid if I waited to buy it one shopping trip at a time, when I needed something, you know, like I used to shop. What did I really pay? OOP (or Out Of Pocket), I paid $49--and got $29 in UP rewards!

Not a bad day, all in all. Twenty dollars for 14 things I actually needed anyway. Well, 13 things I really needed and one awesome splurge for me ;) I actually gave $14 in past UPs, so only 35 dollars actually left my possession today. Hmmm... that's the price of the skincare. What a coincidence :)