K-Mart Trip!

Score! My total was initially $58. After coupons (and one small return), my total came to $11! Here's what I bought:

• 1 box Hefty garbage bags
• 2 boxes Ziplock (new environmental ones) sandwich bags
• 2 small packs of Infant Tylenol
• 2 Degree men's deodorant
• 1 Visene for contacts drops
• 1 big box Lipton tea bags
• 1 box Huggies wipes
• 1 bottle Flintstone vitamins
• 2 Oral B toothbrushes (I returned these after coupon snafu)

How did I manage the deal? I made sure my total was just above $50 (without any of the tempting home fragrance items since they aren't included in the coupon deal) to use the $5/$50 coupon that came in the Sunday insert. I gathered all the high dollar coupons I had and prioritized my needs. I made sure I had a few more than the 10 coupon limit just to make sure I had enough to reach my limit.

• $1 off Hefty bags
• $1.50/2 Ziplock
• $2 off Infant Tylenol (2 Q's)
• $1 off Degree
• $2 off Visene
• $1.50 off Huggies Diaper product
• $1 off Flintstones
• BOGO free Oral B toothbrushes
• Free box Lipton tea coupon that arrived in the mail.

Where did I get these coupons? Most of them were printed from coupons.com. I got the Tylenol Q's from the doctor's office - there was a tearpad right at the sign-in clipboard! I signed up for some sort of Lipton freebie earlier this year and received this coupon in the mail. The Visene is from All You magazine and the Degree and Oral B were from newspaper inserts.

So, what was the snafu? There were rumors that BOGO free Q's doubled by making both items free. I was curious. We needed some manual toothbrushes for when our electric ones didn't work or we were traveling. I had a BOGO free Q. The problem? The Q didn't work at all. Why? I got the wrong toothbrushes! Rather than have them fish the Q out of the drawer after everything was paid for, I simply returned them and got $6 in cash handed to me.

Now, can YOU score a deal like this at K-Mart? You sure can! First make sure your K-Mart accepts printed coupons. Go to coupons.com. Print the coupons for items you need and print coupons that are high dollar value (not OVER $2 though). Clip your newspaper coupons. Pull out the high dollar coupons. Set aside a good hour to spend at K-Mart. Clip the $5/$50 Q from the circular (I found one in the store since I forgot to take mine).

Match the coupons with the smallest size item you can for the greatest savings. Remember the 10 coupon limit per day (not all stores enforce this). I keep a little notebook with me where I write down the cost of each item plus the expected savings. This way I can track when I am close to my desired dollar amount and can keep myself from impulse buys.

When you check out, hand over the $5/$50 coupon FIRST otherwise you will not get the savings. Then hand over the rest of the coupons. After checking out, double check your receipt. Fix any errors at customer service before you leave the store. I got a catalina coupon at checkout for ANOTHER $5/$50!

Now, get out there and SHOP! This should be the last super double event of the YEAR!