Aldi for the win & Wags grrrrr!

Hi everyone

It's been another crazy week! I've had 2 days of back to back errands. Yesterday included the dreaded dentist & errands. I only managed to make myself a cup of coffee at 3 pm. I only drink one cup a day and I like to savor it. Last month was a very expensive month and I now have to go back to the dentist in 2 weeks. More bills. I have a tooth that's laying sideways. It doesn't bother me, but it's gotten worse and I decided to just have it extracted. Then they told me I need a filling too. Ugh. So just hit me with everything at once and let me pay that bill and get it out the way. I've had lots of health problems due to stress.

On to the shopping. Meijer has lots of good deals this week that I wasn't even aware of. You know I'm not myself when I forget to check the store ads. I hate feeling behind, because I like to have all my ducks in a row. 

Well, Aldi was the clear winner (in my book) this week. I just stopped there for bread on Wednesday (they have my favorite bread, since Milton bread was discontinued). I like to check the aisle where they add new things (don't even know if this aisle has a name), because they sometimes have some yummy Thai curry chips that I love. Well, I found something even Better!.... German muesli! (not to be confused with granola) I'm so excited to try this. Muesli is very common in South Africa. Contrary to popular belief, we eat lots of European food, because we have a strong European heritage (predominantly Dutch, lots of British & some French & German). I'm not a big Aldi fan, but I love all the German goodies they carry (I know, it's a German store 😂, but it feels like getting a taste of 'home'). I wanted to order muesli from the SA food shops here, but they were OOS. No problemo, cause Aldi saved the day and I don't have to pay shipping. I bet it's gonna be good. 

Now for my favorite (sarcasm) store 

Wednesday

Trans 1 & 2 - I did the same deal twice

2 x Garnier shampoo $8.00

 Less DQ (3.00)

Less WC (5.00)

Tax 0.48

OOP $0.48

Earn $4 RR

I did this deal so I could earn paper boosters to combine with my digital boosters to earn more cash back. 

Well, the whole RR didn't print after the first transaction, because the machine was out of paper. So the cashier was all concerned about refilling the machine and and forgot to give me 52c change. After trans 2, I told him to just deduct my total from the 52c he owed me. I told him that I didn't even need the 4c back, I just wanted him to be aware that I've already paid for both transactions. He then proceeded to give me 52c change after trans 2. I gave him 50c back and explained that I didn't want him to be short at the end of his shift. He insisted I take the cash (he's a really nice young man. always polite and does his job well) and I insisted that he take the 50c. I told him that he can thank me next time. I'm guessing the math didn't make sense to him, but he would get it once he cashed out at the end of the shift. So I ran a bunch of other errands on Wednesday and then proceeded to work on a transaction to use my boosters. Of course I didn't have all the Qs that were listed on my Wags group, so I made a slightly different plan for a MM transaction.

After I got back from the dentist on Thursday, I grabbed my list and headed to Wags and other places. 

Trans 3

2 x Nivea men b/w B1G2nd 50% off $10.48

2 x Dove conditioner B1G2nd 50% off 7.48

2 x Garnier whole blend shampoo 8.00

2 x Colgate t/p 9.0

2 x Crest t/p 8.00

2 x Reeses candy 2.00

Less Garnier DQ (3.00)

Less Colgate DQ (4.00)

Less Crest DQ (3.00)

Less RRs from last week (32.00)

Tax 2.58

OOP $5.54

Earned $16 RR ($5 Dove, $4 Garnier, $4 Colgate, $3 Crest ) + $15 WC ($10 WYS $30, $5 Nivea) + $2 Ibotta (Crest)

Total earned $33.00

Ugh 😡 Wags has been working too well for too long. This was not my regular store, but I shop there from time to time, cause they always have inventory. Firstly, the cashier hit total before scanning my Qs. The pharmacy techs don't understand how Qs work and do this every time they work the front register. If they do that, the register will reject all Qs. Ughhhhhhhhhhh!!! So I had to explain things to her (Wags really should start paying me for having to constantly train their staff how to do their jobs), she called over a manager and I asked if we could just void the transaction and start over. He agreed, because he knew it's the only way to fix it. So we did that again & I told her to scan my booster Q (7 WYS $40) first so it wouldn't get rejected. No, she's gonna scan the other Qs first. #$%&^%^ Bloody hell!!!!!😡 So the register says '$6 RR not accepted'. @*&%%$)@# Come friggin on. I knew this was gonna happen. Scan the Qs in the order I asked you to. I don't know what keys she hit, but the register finally displayed my total. Phew! Then holding my breath waiting for the RRs to print. RRs printed fine. Another phew! Left the store and ran my next errand. I eventually remembered to check my receipt. WTH? I didn't earn my $7 WYS $40 points. Double ugh!! It's cause she didn't scan the damn Qs like I asked her to 😡The register reads my total as being below $40, because she scanned some RRs first. So I contacted CS and they told me they can't help with paper Qs and gave me an email address to write to for my points. Again, Wags isn't paying me for my time. I might or might not send that email. I'm not going to jump through hoops. The Reese's were used as fillers, so I could use all my RRs. 

Well, the good news (I'm trying to look on the bright side here 😂) is that I basically broke even on rewards used & earned in that transaction (okay, it's a $1 MM after Ibotta 😊), so the items basically cost me my OOP. 

Breakdown for the week:

Number of items purchased: 16

Total Qs used : $16.00

Total Rewards used : $42.00

Total Rewards earned (RR, WC, Ibotta, Fetch): $43.00

Total OOP : $6.50 ($0.41 per item - this includes sales tax)

Total Retail value : $82.44

A stressful, but low spend week at Wags. I really can't complain 😊

Have a wonderful weekend peeps!

This week's Wags fun!

Hi everyone

I apologise for my lack of posts. The days seem to pass by in a blur. I've been really busy getting rid of my Ebay inventory. I'm ready for the next chapter in my life & don't want this albatross around my neck. It's a big job, but I'm making progress and it feels good!

Thank you Jackie for checking on me. It's much appreciated.

Well, Monday turned out to be a Blessing Day (that's what I called it😊). I first went to Kroger to get Mission Tortilla Chips before the sale ends. I decided to get parsley too, so I can make more potato salad. I walked into the store and there's a huge sign for blueberries pint on sale for $1.99. I was so happy to see this, because I paid $4.29/pint at Aldi the week before and decided to just get more at Aldi (lowest price around here). Had I not needed parsley, I would've missed the blueberry sale. I must be getting old, cause I get excited about grocery sale prices (I know y'all will understand) 😂 So I got my chips, blueberries and parsley and then someone left 32c change at the self checkout. Then I went to Wags, got out of my car and found a penny right next to my car. Got to checkout and saw a $5 WYS $20 Booster Q hanging from the Catalina machine (I'm too proud to ask the cashier for the Q). Did my first transaction and she handed me the 5/20 Q and the register printed a $7 WYS $40 booster for my transaction (which I expected). Happy Dance! (see more below)  Then at 2nd Wags, I actually checked to see if there was any change on the ground (cause I was on a roll 😂), but nope, nothing nada. Did my shopping, got back to my car and there's a penny right next to my car. How did I miss it in the first place? All I could think was 'Sluggy's gonna be jealous' 😂, cause I never keep an eye out for change. Sometimes I just get lucky and find some. Okay, on to the shopping.

Clip your DQs and head to Wags. It's another good week to shop. I still had $10 RRs (2 x $5) to use, so here's what I did. 

Store 1

Trans 1

3 x Dial b/w $10.50

Less DQ (2.00)

Less RR (5.00)

Less WC (4.00)

Tax 0.63

OOP $0.13

Earn $5 RR

I expected to use $3 WC, but sometimes WC will help cover the cost of tax. I don't know what % applies, but I'm happy to use WC cause I need to spend it down. 

This was when I received the $5 off $20 booster. My plan was to use the 7/40 (I always get this amount, so I already know what to expect) and had over $40 worth of items, so I had to make a plan B because I'm all for a lower OOP. I also had $7 WYS $30 DQ, so I was ready for a triple dip 

Trans 2

3 x Crest t/p $12.00

3 x Head & Shoulders shampoo 18.00

Less Crest DQ (5.00)

Less H&S DQ (3.00)

Tax 1.80

OOP $23.80

Earned $11 RR ($6 Crest, $5 H&S) + $12 WC ($5 WYS 20, $7 WYS $3) + $6.50 Ibotta (Crest - $2 each +50c bonus)

Total earned : $29.50

&^$#$^*&% WAGS 😡😡😡 I was supposed to earn $5 WYS $20 P&G, but no points. Ugh! I contacted CS and they said I should contact Catalina company cause it's supposed to print a RR. WTH?! CS said you only earn points for online order. Huh?! That Q never said that, but in typical Wags fashion they changed the Q. I know this, because I did a P&G order last week and when I didn't receive my points, CS just added it to my account. Ugh, and I did this deal twice. Okay, I'm not all that mad, because both transactions were MMs, but an extra $10 would've been nice, especially since others earned it on Sunday. How about some consistency Wags?

Store 2

Trans 3

3 x Dial b/w $10.50

Less DQ (2.00)

Less RR (5.00)

Less WC (4.00)

Tax 0.63

OOP $0.13

Earn $5 RR

Trans 4

2 x Dove shampoo $8.00

3 x Crest t/p 12.00

3 x Head & Shoulders shampoo 18.00

3 x Dawn 2.91

Less Dove DQ (2.00)

Less Crest DQ (5.00)

Less H&S DQ (3.00)

Tax 2.45

OOP $33.36

Earned $16 RR ($5 Dove, $6 Crest, $5 H&S) + 14 WC (7 WYS $40 DQ, 7 WYS $40 Paper) + $6 Ibotta (Crest)

Total earned : $37.00

I added the Dawn to get my total to $40, but look at this new product. Notice the size difference? The bottle has now shrunk down to 5.5 oz. I still remember when the small bottles were 11 oz. Manufacturers constantly trying to force us to pay more for less product 😡 I would never buy the small bottles when I need soap. The bigger bottles cost far less per ounce, especially when there's a good sale. I just use them as fillers, because it's inexpensive.

My advice to anyone trying to save some $$$, get a foaming soap spray bottle. It doesn't have to be the Palmolive one (I love my bottles). I've seen other spray bottles at Dollar Tree. All you need is a  tablespoon of dish soap and water and it works perfectly. It also works great when you have food stuck to your dishes (sometimes happen with my casserole dishes). I just spray once or twice and a few minutes later, the food is easy to remove. 

Breakdown

Number of items purchased: 23

Total Qs used : $22.00

Total Rewards used : $18.00

Total Rewards earned (RR, WC, Ibotta, Fetch): $76.50

Total OOP : $57.42 ($2.50 per item - this includes sales tax)

Total Retail value : $119.51

Dove shampoo/conditioner is a great deal this week

2 x Dove $8.00

Less DQ (2.00)

OOP $6.00

Earn $5 RR

So 50c each after rewards. You can then turn around and buy 

3 Crest t/p $12.00 (check the ones that shows earning a $6 RR - there are 2 different promos)

Less DQ (5.00)

Less Dove RR (5.00)

OOP $2.00

Earn $6 RR + $6.50 Ibotta

Total earned $12.50

You might need a filler for the Dove RR. Wags is tricky. Sometimes you don't need fillers, but I try to avoid any snafus.

So you spend $8 OOP for 5 items and you'll still have another $6 to spend in the next 2 weeks and $6.50 cash through Ibotta. Sounds like a winner to me. Please be sure to clip your DQs before going shopping.

And if the register prints you a low amount booster (eg $5 WYS $20 - amounts vary by customer) do the following

5 x Crest @ $4.00 = $20.00

Less DQ (5.00)

Less Dove RR (5.00) - no filler needed

OOP $10.00

Earn $11 RR ($6 Crest + $5 WYS $20 P&G) + $5 WC (for spending $20) + $10.50 Ibotta (limit 5, so you'll earn $2 per item)

Total earned : 26.50

Have a wonderful evening peeps!