Friday, October 17, 2014

An Almost Free Haul and a Rant About Walmart Price Matching

Good afternoon readers,

Today I have a couple of hauls for you...one of which that was completely free...and at the end of this post, a little bit of a rant about my Walmart price matching experience last night. I'll start with the haul though.



Dollar General:
Transaction #1
 Toothpaste $1.00
Toothpaste $1.00
Toothpaste $1.00
Toothpaste $1.00

= $4.00
-$1/1 coupon (not sure what insert as I purchased online)
Total: $.32 of tax

Transaction #2
 Toothpaste $1.00
Toothpaste $1.00
Toothpaste $1.00
Toothpaste $1.00

= $4.00
-$1/1 coupon (not sure what insert as I purchased online)
Total: $.32 of tax

Transaction #3
 Toothpaste $1.00
Toothpaste $1.00
Toothpaste $1.00
Toothpaste $1.00

= $4.00
-$1/1 coupon (not sure what insert as I purchased online)
Total: $.32 of tax

Transaction #4
 Toothpaste $1.00
Toothpaste $1.00
Toothpaste $1.00
Toothpaste $1.00

= $4.00
-$1/1 coupon (not sure what insert as I purchased online)
Total: $.32 of tax

Total tax paid: $1.60


Walmart:
Transaction #1
 Pasta (pm from Smith's) $.99 each x 30 = $29.70
Prego Sauce $1.88 each x 10 = $18.80
Classico Sauce $2.50 each x 2 =$5.00
Newman's Own Sauce $2.50 
Barilla Sauce (pm from Smith's) $1.79 each x 10  =$17.90

-ten $1/3 Barilla pasta coupons (not sure what insert as I purchased online)
-ten $.75/1 Barilla sauce coupons (not sure what insert as I purchased online)
-ten $.75/1 Prego sauce coupons
-$.75/2 Classico coupon 
-$.75/1 Newman's Own coupon

Total: $42.11 after tax

And now for my rant. 

I have been price matching at Walmart for the last five years. I have never had a problem. The morning of the day we go grocery shopping, I sit down with all of the ads to compare prices and make our list. Not only do I write down all of the prices we are matching and where they are from, but I also bring the ads with me even though the ad clearly states that you do not need to show the ads. 

I always make sure all of my prices are accurate. I know many people fudge the numbers or make up prices, but we never do! I am always 100% honest. That being said, yesterday was nothing new, I made our list the exact same way. 

When we got the register, the cashier said she needed to see all of the prices in the ads before she would ring anything up. Okay. No problem. Even though that is not required per the policy, I know they were all correct so no problem. 

The part that I had a problem with was when the cashier started interrogating me, implying that I was making the prices up. If I were making the prices up, why would I be able to show you them in the ads? She compared every single ad to every single item and even brought a manager over to verify everything. She made me feel like a criminal, and I did not appreciate my integrity being questions. 

She did find one error, that was completely ridiculous. I was price matching red delicious apples from Mariana's 4lbs for $1. I picked up a bag of red delicious apples. Apparently, in Walmart, they don't price match the red delicious apples but substitute the red gala apples.  I matched red delicious to red delicious, but the manager treated us like we were trying to pull a fast one on them! How were we supposed to know that they substitute a different kind of apples? Ok whatever. I sent Josh to get the correct ones. While he was gone, I told the lady to ring up the people behind us because they had been waiting. I stood there at the end of the register to wait for her. As soon as Josh came back, the cashier switched off her light and said "Sorry, I'm closed now." Really? How rude. 

I was so frustrated and upset. I don't like to be treated like I am lying especially when I have spent so much time trying to make sure that everything was correct. I'm not going to stop price matching. I'm not going to stop couponing. I'm going to continue to prove that although some people take advantage of the system, there are still some of us that are doing things correctly. 

So that is my little rant. Have you ever had issues in price matching?



Monday, October 13, 2014

I couldn't let the $5/3 coupons expire!


Here is today's little haul. I had two more of the $5/3 Tide/Bounce/Downy coupons, and I just couldn't let them expire. As you know, I have PLENTY of Tide, so I used the coupons for some other things we needed. While I was there, I picked up a few other things we needed.

I absolutely LOVE the Windex Touch-Ups and the automatic toilet bowl cleaners! We bought them a few months ago to try, and they are so convenient. For me, life is about convenience lately. At my previous job, I only worked 3-4 days, about 20 hours a week. Now, I am working full time, at least 40 hours a week, which is a big change. I just don't have the kind of time I had before! The first few weeks after I started this job, I tried to keep up the house like I used to, but I just couldn't. I just don't have the time, or the energy for that matter. The only way my house stays clean anymore is by quick cleaning.

The Windex Touch-Ups were for sale for $3.47 each. There was a peelie on the bottle for $.75 off making them $2.72 each. I also found a rebate on Ibotta for $1.50 off, which will make them $1.97 each! That is a 44% savings.

The toilet bowl cleaners were for sale for $1.97, and I bought four. I had a coupon for $1/2 from the 10/7 RP, which made them $1.47 each. This was a 26% savings, which is not as good as I would have hoped as I like to stay around 40% savings, but we actually did need these.

The Bounce bars were for sale for $5.47 for the refill and $5.97 for the other two. I used the $5/3 coupon from the 9/28 PG, which made them $4.13 each. I love these. So much easier than using dryer sheets! This is a 33% savings; again, not as great as I would have liked it to be, but these really don't go on sale that often, and they are something that we use a lot. Plus, I needed to use my coupon lol.

The Downy was on rollback for $3.97 from $4.97. I know we just bought Downy in our last haul, but I like the scented one for doing the sheets and the regular one for clothes. I know, I'm weird. Anyways... I used another of the $5/3 coupons from the 9/28 PG, which made them $2.30 each. This was a 54% savings!

The Soft Scrub was for sale for 1.97, I bought two. I had a coupon for $1/1 from the 10/7 RP. This was a 51% savings. I have never used these before, but I am always looking for easy things to clean the bathroom with, so for a dollar, I'll give it a try!

Finally, the Advil was on rollback for $12.96. I had a $3/1 coupon, again from the 10/7 RP. This made them $9.96, a 24% savings. Again, not to the 40%, but something we needed. Josh likes these the best for when he has migraines. Plus, it came with 20 free pills, so that's a plus!

Oh, and I also purchased an All You magazine.

Alrighty, there is our little haul. Tomorrow, I am headed to the Dollar Tree --well a few Dollar Trees since you can only use four coupons at a time-- to use my $1/1 Advil PM coupons, which will make them absolutely free!! See you tomorrow!!


Saturday, October 11, 2014

Tide and Downy Haul --ENDS TODAY!!


Hello everyone!

I have a very exciting haul for you today! This deal on Tide ends today, so hurry and read this so you can head to the store!!

Josh loves Tide laundry detergent. It's the only one he will use. As you know Tide can be EXPENSIVE! So when there is a good coupon on it, I stock up! Our total out of pocket today was $21.86! A 60% savings! Here is the breakdown:

Food For Less:
Transaction #1
 Downy 64oz $2.49 
Downy 64oz $2.49
Downy 64oz $2.49

= $7.47
-$5/3 coupon from 9/28 P&G
Total: $3.08 after tax

Transaction #2
 Downy 64oz $2.49 
Downy 64oz $2.49
Downy 64oz $2.49

= $7.47
-$5/3 coupon from 9/28 P&G

Total: $3.08 after tax

Dollar General:
Transaction #1
Tide Ultra Stain Release $4.95
Tide Ultra Stain Release $4.95
Tide Ultra Stain Release $4.95
Tide Ultra Stain Release $4.95
Tide Ultra Stain Release $4.95
Tide Original $4.95

= $29.70
-$5 off $25 purchase store coupon
-$5/3 coupon from 9/28 P&G
-$2/1 coupon from 9/28 P&G
-$2/1 coupon from 9/28 P&G

Total: $15.70 after tax

The $5 off Dollar General coupon can be pulled up on their website and scanned as a mobile coupon. Both the sale and the $5 off end today! :) 

Well, I am headed off to work. What are your plans for this lovely Saturday afternoon?