Rite Aid & Ace Hardware score!

I went to Rite Aid today to take advantage of the deals mentioned in this post, and I had an interesting/confusing but rewarding experience.

One of the deals I wanted to take advantage of was the 2/$7 Pantene shampoo and conditioner, especially since I had a $2 off coupon from a sample I got a little while ago. When I got there, there were sales tags on the shelves, but it was a bit confusing. The tags were in front of the larger 25.4 oz bottles so I grabbed those figuring it would be a better value. Now had I actually read the ad and didn't have my kids with me, I would've known the deal was on the smaller, 12.6 oz bottles. Of course, my kids distracted me during check out and I didn't see the shampoo ringing up as $7.49 each instead of 2/$7 as advertised. I didn't realize this until I got home. Thank goodness I don't live far so I had to run back to Rite Aid to exchange them. Problem was, I used a $2 manufacturer coupon that I got with a Pantene sample for my purchase, and that complicates the return since I want to get credit for the $2 manny, and not lose it. Thankfully I got an awesome cashier who just gave me full credit for my return without subtracting the $2 manny out of it so I got credit for it. Then when I went to pay for the correct size of Pantene, the cashier saw the coupons I got from my last purchase on my receipt and just went tear happy with them, yanking out 2 coupons from the end and rang them up. I honestly didn't think those coupons would work because I hadn't bought enough, but they rang up, so I got an extra $2 off my Pantenes. So my return trip back saved me another $2 making my error a money saving one. Woot! :D

In the end, after it was all said and done, for the 2 bottles of Pantene that are advertised as 2/$7, I paid $3 for them....basically $1.50 each for a bottle of shampoo and conditioner. I'll take it! ;D

I also took advantage of other deals while I was there too including the Dawn dish soap. I had 4 coupons from Home Made Simple: two $1 off and two .25 off. I got 4 bottles (small bottles) of Dawn for $1.48. I also cashed in a free Suave Professionals shampoo coupon and made a bit of money with that one too. The shampoo itself rang up $2.79, but the coupon rang up as $3 off. I also had a $5 off $20 coupon from watching Rite Aid ads on AdPerk.

I also took advantage of the Compound W SCR (Single Check Rebates) Kendall bandages deal and the t-shirts sale as well. (Great for arts project smocks for the kids! In fact one of my kids need one for school as part of their school supplies.) I should get a good chunk back in SCR. Not factoring SCR my savings at Rite Aid today between Wellness card and coupons came to $27 and I only paid $30 after tax...so close to a 50% savings. Plus, $20 is reimbursable by FSA. If I factor in the $9 SCR I should be getting back, I really only paid $1 out of pocket for my purchases at Rite Aid today. My return trip to Rite Aid scored me more Up rewards (they are coupons that print out at the end of your receipt for buying specific promo items.) I got yet another $1 off $10 hair care coupon, $1 off $10 pain relief coupon (I now have 2 of these since I got one my first trip there), and a $2 off non prescription purchase w/minimum $2 purchase. I guess if you factor in those coupons, my Rite Aid score was a $4 money maker!

I will admit, I don't associate Rite Aid with value since drugstore prices for every day items can be pretty high.  I kept reading about all these awesome deals with Rite Aid, CVS, Walgreens, etc but I was intimidated by them, not to mention, I don't subscribe to the Sunday paper anymore and I doubt I ever will again (long story) so I don't get the necessary coupons to score awesome deals. I'm not sure if this time was luck or what.  Maybe it's because I got the coupons already from the samples I request. I'm not sure if I'd have as much luck without manufacturer coupons from the paper, but I'm willing to try again.


I also made a trip to Ace Hardware to take advantage of their 4th of July sale. They had car wash soap on sale for $3.49, free after rebate. They also had caulk for 99 cents, and Jobe's plant food sticks on sale for $1.19, also free after rebate.

I got 2 bonus packages for Jobe's plant foods for free after rebate, car wash for free after rebate (savings of $5.87) along with 2 car wash sponges for 99 cents each on sale, the 99 cents caulk, and we all got free popcorn. :D After all the rebates, I only spent $3.