Rant and Rave

I'll start with my rant first since it's always good to end on a positive note.

RANT

The infamous Terrible Two's have officially arrived at the Cassidy household. In the past two weeks or so, Ethan has been just throwing fits about things he cannot have or if he doesn't get what he wants ASAP. He has a strong-willed personality and does not like limits. I mean, who does? But he will certainly let you know when he does not like having those limits. My first public tantrum was in Target last Friday when I wouldn't give him any more of my ICEE. I am one who does not like attention being brought towards me so I was absolutely mortifed! He did the full on back arching, screaming, kicking tantrum so much that I couldn't even hold him in my arms. He was literally falling out. I tried to stand him up on the floor to talk to him, and he just plopped himself down and laid down. I have learned you cannot rationalize with a toddler! They just don't listen. Since then, he has thrown fits just out of the blue. What has happened to my sweet, laid-back baby boy? I want him back! I think that phrase definitley doesn't apply to two year olds, but just toddlers in general. Maybe, just maybe, this has started early and will be gone soon. HA - who am I kidding! ANY tips would be appreciated!!!

RAVE

I scored pretty good at Rite-Aid this morning. I usually don't shop at Rite-Aid unless I can get a pretty good deal on stuff. I love Wet Wipes but I can never find them at a good price, so I don't buy them. This week Rite Aid has them on sale for $1.99, plus you get a $1 rebate. Using a $1 coupon that I printed on-line, that made them FREE. I bought five and then also bought 3 packs of Mentos gum, in which I had .55 coupons for. The Mentos gum was on sale for .99 but they rang up for .64, so that made them .09 each! I was pumped! I had a $6 rebate check from something I bought last month, so I only paid .64 out of pocket, which was basically the tax! That made up for the tantrum I had from E this morning.

Doubles and Triples

No, I'm not talking about espresso shots in my latte, but the deals that will be going on next week at my favorite grocery stores. Harris Teeter will be doubling up to $1.98 or less and Bloom will be tripling next week 6/24- 6/30. I'll be taking this week off of buying groceries because there just aren't any good deals out. But next week, it's on! Yipee! I'm getting geared up!

Great Customer Service!

I just had a wonderful customer service experience this morning that I just have to share with my blog readers! Both Chris and I appreciate great customer service and when we don't get it, it just rubs us the wrong way. I'm sure a lot of you are like that. Well, last week I trekked it over to CVS because they were having a fabulous deal on Pampers. Having a child in diapers, we buy a TON of them and need to find good deals where we can get them! On their website they were advertising Pampers for $8.99 and you get back $5 Extra Care Bucks. I had a $1 coupon as well so in the end it would have cost me $2.99 for a pack of 30 diapers. That's 10 cents a diaper! The limit was 3 so I bought 3, and got NO ECB's! I asked the manager what was up and she told me to call the 1-800 CVS number. So I did and I was told it was an error on the website and they could not honor it! I didn't like that answer. I hung up and called back to see if I could get a different answer, but I got the same answer. I had several friends with whom it worked for them so I wasn't letting this go. I wasn't taking NO for an answer! I let it go for a day but then decided to see if I can get an answer from emailing customer service. Here is the reply that I received in my in-box this morning!

Dear Amanda Cassidy,
Thank you for contacting CVS Pharmacy ExtraCare regarding your extra bucks not printing for Pampers. I apologize the Pampers ExtraBucks did not print at the time of the purchase. After reviewing the purchases made, as well as the promotions, I have issued a courtesy coupon in the amount of $15.00 on your account. The coupon will be available to print at the bottom of your register receipt on 06-19-2009 or any time there after when you have your card scanned while making a purchase.
We apologize for the confusion with the Pampers offer. The advertisement for the $5.00 Extra Buck offer was listed in error. Once we became aware of this listing we took steps to remove the offer. I apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you. We appreciate your patronage and look forward to serving you again.
Sincerely,

Tammy CVS/pharmacyExtraCare

Yea!!! I was thrilled! It goes to show persistence pays off! :)

My Harry Peter Trip

I made it to Harris Teeter yesterday for the triple coupon event and I made out pretty good. I thought I'd share my deals:

Lawrys Marinade - 12 cents
Viva Big Roll paper towels - 14 cents each
Dole Mandarin can - 47 cents each (not the BEST deal)
Lipton Tea Bags (14 ct) - 21 cents each
Welches Aqua Juice - 70 cents each
White House applesauce (6 ct) - 87 cents each
Glade carpet deodorizer - 24 cents
Mentos gum - FREE
Snyders Pretzel Bits - 25 cents each

GRAND TOTAL BEFORE COUPONS - $54.91
GRAND TOTAL AFTER COUPONS - $11.54

TOTAL SAVINGS OF $43.37 = 79% SAVINGS!!! (It's sad that I tallied this up)

I heart Harris Teeter Triple Coupons! I was going to set all my stuff up and take a picture like all these moms do, but I just don't have the time.

Oh Target - you've disappointed me once again

Ohhhh please bear with me because I'm about to blow off some serious steam right now! I just got back from making a quick run to Target during my lunch break and I wish I would have never gone! It has ruined my afternoon (I won't let it ruin my day) and makes me sad. I love Target, and they've done me wrong. It was my worst experience ever, besides when I was 9 months pregnant and they wouldn't return any of the items I had registered for. They just had to deal with a hormonal woman crying her eyes out. This time I was ill and ready to strangle someone! Argh! So here's how the story goes:

There is currently a sale on Bertolli frozen meals. We love them at our house. Even though they are not really the healthiest thing to eat, they're great when you just don't feel like cooking. The sale is when you buy 3 Bertolli frozen meals at $6, you get a $5 gift card back. The deal is pretty good when you use 3 - $1.50 off coupons. So, I put the items on the belt to be rang up. The cashier, aka Mrs. Crabby Pants, rung me up and I handed her my coupons. Mrs. Crabby Pants (let's call her Mrs. CP to make things easier) said I could not use the coupons AND get the gift card. It was one or the other. I told her I have never had any problems with this before. Mrs. CP told me they shouldn't have done that. So I told her to cancel the transaction. Mrs. CP huffed and threw the bags to the side. I was so embarrassed to be so difficult, but I know for a fact I can get this cheaper at a different Target. In the meanwhile have you, there are three people in line behind me, one being a very nosy older lady who was watching every single move that I made.

Next I had another transaction I was going to make so I could use the $5 gift card and basically pay next to nothing for all the items. Well forget that. Mrs. CP rang all my items up and put them all in a bag. First were 2 packs of Oscar Meyer lunch meat for $2.99 each. I had 2 - .75/1 manufacturer coupons PLUS a Target $1/2 coupon (you can stack them). One of my manuf. coupons wouldn't ring up, but the other two did. Mrs. CP just said "sorry" and attempted to move on. I asked her if the coupon could be overridden and she said no. Then I asked her to void the lunch meat. Mrs. CP did and again huffed and put the lunch meat over to the side with the Bertolli bags. Then was the deal I was super excited about - buying one box of Ritz crackers and getting a box of Wheat Thins FREE! I had two of these coupons so what I was going to do was use 2 - $1 manuf. coupons + 2 - $1 Target coupons, THEN the BOGO coupon. This is supposed to be able to work in any given case, and ended up being just 50 cents per box., but she refused to let me use "50 coupons", as she put it. As calmly as I could, I told her I did not have 50 coupons, but just 6. So I just forgot about it and let bygones be bygones. I got my Wheat Thins for FREE, but not as cheap as I wanted them to be. As the transaction went on, there were a few other coupons that simply would not ring up. Mrs. CP just kept saying sorry and moving on. At this point I was so over it and starting to turn red in the face. At the end of the transaction Mrs. CP proceeded to tell me that next time I come in I should have someone check all my coupons to see if they are valid instead of wasting time and having to waste product. What!?! Are you kidding me!? THAT is wasting time! I never have coupons that simply just don't ring up. Mrs. CP said that all the frozen stuff, like the Bertolli and the lunch meat, would have to be thrown out now and that was also a waste. I wish she would have explained that to me BEFORE, not AFTER. I now felt horrible, but then got angry again because it's not MY fault that the coupons didn't ring up and I didn't want to pay full-price for something that I clearly came here for to get on sale WITH my coupons! Then, the nosy older lady behind me decided to chime in - "Buying it would have been better than letting it go to waste.". I wanted to punch her in the nosy head!

So as you can see, I did NOT have a pleasant experience at my beloved Target. After I have cooled down (doesn't it seem like I've cooled down?), I did realize that I am due for a hard time every once in a while. I've had such good luck and such wonderful, helpful cashiers, and I should be so grateful that I have been able to save money the way I have. I will be trying it out again at my favorite Target, but I will ASK if they'll take my coupons and I guess I'll get someone to scan my coupons before I waste any food. Ah - I feel better now. Aren't you glad you decided to read my blog today. I've been hanging out with Chris too long. (I mean that in the nicest, most loving way possible. You know what I mean honey).

Harris Teeter Triple Coupons!

There are a lot of things that make me happy in life, but two words really bring a smile to my face - Triple Coupons! I get so excited when I see that a grocery store I like, especially Harris Teeter, is having a sale. It started yesterday and I've already been and racked up. Of course there are things that aren't really necessary, but make it worth it when the prices are so cheap. Here's a brief overview of some items I got for FREE or close to it:

• 3 bags - Mahatma White Rice - FREE
• 3 bags - Grande Tortilla Chips - FREE
• 1 - McCormick Garlic Salt - FREE
• 2 jars - Ortega Salsa - .37 cents each
• 4 boxes - Ortega Hard Taco shells - FREE
• 1 - McCormick Cinnamon Sugar - .14 cents
• 4 boxes - Mueller Macaroni - .11 cents each
• 1 - Glade Carpet Deodorizer - .24 cents
• 3 bags - Flipz Chocolate covered pretzels - .89 cents each

And a bunch more! Also, when I bought two bags of the Grande Tortilla Chips, there was a $2 off ground beef coupon. So I got 2 lbs. of ground beef for $1.50/lb. Not too shabby! If you're so lucky to have a HT, go today!

K-Mart Dollar Days

OMG - I am totally loving these K-Mart double dollar days! I never ever shop at K-Mart. Not for any particular reason or another, but I usually do Wally World and Bi-Lo, and occasionally other stores if there are good deals, like Walgreen's. But K-Mart has double coupons this week only for up to $1 in Rock Hill, but $2 in Charlotte. I stopped at Pineville store on my way to pick up E yesterday. All the stuff I really wanted was totally out, but I was able to snag a few good deals. But today, I took a lunch break and headed to another one here in Charlotte and really got some sweet deals. Here's what I was able to get:

• 2 - Revlon single eye shadow - 1 at 49 cents and 1 at 15 cents!
• 3 - Band Aid 60 count - 99 cents each
• 2 - Ziplock containers - $1 each
• 1 - Scrubbing Bubble Flushable Bathroom wipes - 99 cents
• 2 - Arm & Hammer Lavender dryer sheets (my favorite!) - 99 cents each
• 2 - Glade candles - 99 cents each
• 1 - Coffee mate - $1.79 (not the best deal ever, but decent)
• 2 - Dove Go Fresh body wash, blue bottle (again, my favorite!) - $1.50 each
• 2 - Secret Flawless deodorant - 79 cents each - AWESOME DEAL!
• 6 - Suave shampoos and conditioners - FREE!
• 2 - Bic Soleil disposable razors (4) - $1.79 each
• 2 - Glade twin pack scented oil refills AND warmers - FREE (It would have be total of $5, but the lady accidentally rung up everything as free because I had a BOGO coupon - her bad, my good! Hee hee - I didn't know until I looked at my receipt - promise!
• 1 - Glade carpet deodorizer - 19 cents

All this was a total of $25.90 and saving $56.02! I was SO pumped! I just wish I would have brought along that $5 off $50 (before coupons) coupon and it would have made the deal even sweeter! Oh well - I'll get em' next time. I'm still learning how to do this whole thing. This is so much fun! Tomorrow, Harris Teeter starts their TRIPLE COUPON sale, so I've already got a few deals lined up that will be FREE or very low!