Walgreens Fiasco

You'd think that by now I should be used to things not working right at WAGS. Doing the perfect transaction is definitely Hit or Miss at their stores. I hate shopping at WAGS, because of all the problems (especially with coupons) and complicated rewards, but they often have good deals.

So last week I decided to do some deals, because there were some bonus points offers and Ibotta had a $3 Valentines bonus for buying 4 items. So I figured I'd double dip.

Trans 1

3 x Crest t/p $9.00
Less DQ (1.00)
Less BR (5.00)
Tax 0.54
OOP : $3.54

The crap already started here. I had a $1/1 and $3/3 Crest DQs. Now it should've deducted the $3 q, since I purchased 3 items, but in true WAGS fashion it deducted the lowest value q. Now I'm already ticked off

Trans 2

2 x Axe Shampoo B1G50%  off  $7.48
4 x Old Spice b/w B1G50% off  $17.96
Pringles Wavy $1.99
Less Axe DQ (1.00)
Less Old Spice DQ (9.00)
Less BR (5.00)
Tax 1.53
OOP $13.96

Earned 6980 BR points + 220 Everyday points (around $7). $5 Old Spice and $2 Bonus (I think it's the 20X reward)

Earned $4.35 ($4 Axe, $0.35 Pringles)

It was at this point that I realised that the Crest CAT from the first transaction didn't print. My whole plan was to roll the CAT into the 2nd transaction to lower my OOP. So I asked the girl if the CAT machine was working, because others have reported getting bonus points CATs WYS $20/25. Hence my high value transaction. She called over a manager, who said he'd try a different register. j

So off to another register we went to return the Crest. And whaddya know, a CAT for $7 bonus points spits out when the return was done. So anyhoo, my return value was $9.54. $5 on a gc (for the points I used) and the rest in cash. So happily I made an extra $1 on my return. Then he rang up the Crest again and my $3 DQ deducted. Yay! So clever me (lol) decided to hold on to the gc (since it doesn't expire) and use more points instead.

Trans 3 (this is what Trans 1 should've looked like)

3 x Crest t/p $9.00
Less DQ (3.00)
Less BR (5.00)
Tax 0.54
OOP $1.54

Earned $5 CAT

Also, my account had 2 x Axe qs - $1/1 and $2/2. Do you see how WAGS is gypping us?

My store was out of Advil, so I stopped at another store to get a box.

Trans 4 

Advil Multisymptom $5.99
Less DQ (3.00)
Tax : 0.36
Less BR (3.00)
OOP $0.35

Earned $2 Ibotta & $3 Savingstar, so a nice MM

Then I stopped at Walmart to add the last item for my Ibotta bonus. This was not my regular Walmart and I couldn't find the freebie Yo+ yogurt, so I settled for Noosa instead. I was in a sugar coma just reading the label. 36g Sugar! Yikes! I follow a low sugar diet, so this was insane to me.

OOP was $1.97

Earned $3.60 Ibotta ($3 Bonus, $0.50 Noosa, $0.10 any item)

So to recap

I started out with 19150 points (about $20)

Total OOP $17.82 (this includes Walmart)
Less Crest DQ credit (1.00)
Less Ibotta Earnings (9.95)
Less Savingstar Earnings (3.00)

Total $3.87

I also have a balance of 11570 points (approx $10), $5 CAT, $5 gc. So I'm basically back to where I started with WAGS points/rewards.

I am, however upset that the CAT machine didn't work, cause I could've earned an additional $7 rewards for Trans 2. I can't call CS, cause the reward wouldn't work since I used points to pay (silly WAGS rules). 

Some shopping deals

Boy was I happy to get out of the house after the Polar Vortex. That 15 degrees felt warm to me after the cold spell...lol.

First stop Ollie's. I had a 15% off coupon and needed some new reading material. I now only look for my favorite authors at Ollies and Dollar Tree. I found 2 books at $3.99 each ($3.39 after q)

Boy did I have fun in the food section. The bacon chips is my favorite and I can only find it at Ollies. The Old Bay is DH's favorite (another Ollies exclusive). So I grabbed 4 Bacon and 2 Old Bay. Yep, there's a bag missing. I was so hungry after being out half the day, that I dug into one bag when I got home. Too tired to even think of fixing something to eat.

A funny story. I don't eat seafood. Now I know that DH loves to use Old Bay seasoning whenever he cooks seafood. So in my little mind I always assumed that the Old Bay chips would have a seafood flavor. Then during my shopping trip a little lightbulb finally turned on and I realised that it's just a seasoning that can be used on seafood. However, I wasn't taking any chances, so I asked DH about it when I got home. Here I've been depriving myself of those yummy chips cause I thought it would taste like seafood...lol. So a week afterwards I tried the chips. When I opened the bag, all I could smell was seafood. It reminded me of when we visited the east coast and the guys stuff themselves on fresh crab. So I took one bite and that was it. DH had tricked me. Yuck!...lol.

I was so happy to find a new pizza cutter. My old one broke years ago and the new one is completely stainless steal and works great.

I was really happy to find the Fiber one at such a great price. I now carry a bar and a banana or other fruit with me whenever I go out for hours. No feeling hungry and no wasting money on junk food.

My total OOP at Ollies was $27.10 after the 15% coupon.

Made my monthly trip to the produce market. DH thinks I'm nuts, cause I always leave there with a full cart. I told him that it's easier for me to shop once, instead of running to the market every week, when I could be working. The market's prices are dirt cheap.You can see everything I bought on the receipt.

The peppers are always a great deal. I got 25 peppers for under $10 (excl green peppers) I always stock up this way, cause we love our peppers. As you can see, I made 12 bags of mixed peppers to freeze. Yes they freeze fine in the sandwich bags. I've done it before when I ran out of freezer bags. I didn't get much green peppers, because they were individually priced, unlike the rest that were by the pound. The bagged peppers usually last us a month or 2.

The $1 item was a bag of clearance limes (there were 8 limes in the bag)

We will just fill in the gaps with bagged salad, bananas and carrots throughout the month.

I made 6 jars of pickled beets. That's how I grew up eating it. I love beets and usually order imported beets from the SA food shop. However, they don't always have beets in stock, so I decided to make my own with the items I got at the market and it tastes exactly like home.

I also used some produce to make pizza and a salad for dinner one night.

Then on Monday I hit up Dollar Tree for some newspapers. I like to browse through the store, cause you never know what surprises you might find. Boy was I happy to find our favorite bread brand. I know that they normally get bread delivered on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so I was over the moon to find bread on a Monday, because we were on our last loaf from my previous DT purchase. I bought 4 loaves. BTW, I'm an expiration date junkie, but I've eaten this bread way past it's expiration date (without freezing) and it was still super fresh. I think that having it double bag (the inner bag is sealed), helps keep it fresh for longer.

Then at CVS I grabbed 2 bottles of detergent on sale for $1.99. Used $1 Digital q and $3 EBs that expired that day. Paid 6c OOP. I had a whole different shopping trip planned, but they didn't have the items I wanted

Silly me didn't think to run out to my car to clip 2 qs so I could grab 3 bottles for the same price. Duh!

I swear that the more I try to spend down my WAGS points, the more I earn. So I'll just grab the good deals, because they sometimes have some great DQs.

Trans 1

1 x A&H detergent $1.99
2 x Carmex supercran $6.34
Less AH DQ (1.00)
Less Carmex DQ (1.00)
Less Carmex q (1.00)
Less 5000 points (5.00)
Tax : 0.48
OOP $0.45
Earned $1 BR Carmex and $2 Ibotta Carmex + 10c Ibotta any item


Trans 2

4 x HE Shampoo $12.00
2 x Lindt minis 2.00
2 x AH detergent 3.98
1 x Heinz mustard 2.79
1 x Bic Razors 6.79
Less HE DQ (8.00)
Less Lindt DQ (1.00)
Less Lindt q (1.00)
Less AH qs (2.00)
Less Bic DQ (4.00)
Tax 1.37
OOP $12.93

Earned $7 BR ($5 bonus WYS $25, $2 mustard)

My plan was to get more AH detergent, but they were out of pods. That's the only qs I had left. So I improvised and got razor and mustard instead, which made my OOP higher than expected

Total drugstore OOP this week : $13.44
Drugtore rewards earned : $8.00 (there's also smaller everyday points that I don't include. too complicated)
Ibotta earned : $2.10

That was my shopping for last week. As you can see, this post is late. I wrote it on Sunday, but then still needed to take some pics.

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Stockpiling items Week 1/20

Boy, last week sure has been a fun week. Between a snowstorm and Polar Vortex, we were stuck indoors for 4 days. However, I prepared for this when I saw that forecast. I did all my grocery shopping the week before, to make sure we won't need anything.

I also combined some qs and sales to stockpile some items.

Meijer had the Loreal items Spend $15+ save $5 instantly. I've used this moisturiser since college and I can only find this item at the grocery store. They also had digital qs for the moisturiser and shampoo/conditioner, which came in handy since we don't get the RMN inserts.

Another big surprise was the $13 ($5 & $8) off anything qs on DH's mperks account. I'm guessing it's cause I haven't used that account in a long time. I used the $5 on groceries before.

Trans 1

1 x Loreal Moisturiser $11.49 (darn, this item was $9.49 just a little while ago)
2 x Loreal Shampoo  $8.38
2 x Stayfree maxi pads $5.42 (B1G30% off 2nd)
Less instant discount (5.00)
Less Loreal skincare q (2.00)
Less Loreal shampoo q (3.00)
Less 2 Stayfree qs (2.00)
Less MPerks q (8.00)
Tax 1.52
OOP $5.29
Received $3 Ibotta for Stayfree

Trans 2 - my account

1 x Loreal Moisturiser $11.49 (darn, this item was $9.49 just a little while ago)
2 x Loreal Conditioner $8.38
3 x Dannon light & fit singles 3.00
Less instant discount (5.00)
Less Loreal skincare q (2.00)
Less Loreal shampoo q (3.00)
Less MPerks q (2.00)
Tax 1.19
OOP $9.06
Received $1 Ibotta for Dannon

Trans 3 - I was out of Stayfree qs, but had another Mperks q that I earned

2 x Stayfree maxi pads $5.42
3 x Dannon L&F singles 3.00
Less Mperks q (3.00)
Tax : 0.33
OOP : $5.75
Received $5.00 Ibotta ($3 Stayfree, $1 Dannon, $1 bonus)

Total OOP for everything after rewards = $11.10

Slightly less than I would pay for one moisturiser. I now have enough moisturiser to last the rest of the year. I still have one sealed bottle from a Target deal I did in December.