So I have to retype this. Again…because I lost it. To a backspace button. And I love this blog and this is why I’m retyping it at 12:44 A.M., otherwise I would type in gibberish out of frustration.

So yes, the Verizon ad, has anyone else gotten it? The government is trying to tax our internet. *cry*

I went to Walgreens with mom last weekend, and checked out the deals for Rite-Aid this week. I’ll just type the deals that I thought were good/decent:

Walgreens:

* 3/$6 Tropicana OJ (I wanted it to be $5 as it usually was.)

*Rimmel Renew & Lift Foundation – Free after $8.99 rebate

*Pantene ProV Hair Products – Free after $5.99 rebate

*Aquafresh Gel-Flex or Toothbrush – Free after $3.99 rebate

*Clear Care Pack Contact Sol. 4oz – Free after $6.99 rebate

*Zicam Cold & Flu - $4 rebate (Maismom only had to pay a nickel. LOL.) compared to Rite Aid’s $6.99.

*Scott Bath Tissue 4 roll - $3.19x2 – [$1 off for 2 + $1 off mnf. Cpn.] = $4.19/8rolls or $0.52/roll (Read on to Rite-Aid sort of hilarious with their ad.)

-Candy: Mars, Hershey’s, Fun Packs, Theathre Box
A lot of $0.99 deals but you have to buy 3
Cpns for a lot of candy, I don’t remember the unit price.
-Save $1 for 2 packs mostly.
-Buy $10 get $5 rebate on candy

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Rite-Aid:

*Pepsi & Pepsi Products 12pck. – 4/$12 with ad cpn.

*Scott Bath Tissue 20 roll - $11.99 or $0.5995/roll. Mom usually goes by $0.50 a roll as cheap. The funny thing was that the ad advertised “Less than 60 cents a roll” and it’s like $0.0005 from 60 cents. Ridiculous advertising.

*Candy: Hershey’s or Mars - 2/$4 after $1 off rebate.
-8 or 10 pack candies (Hershey’s, Baby Ruth, M&Ms) - $0.99
-Theatre-Style Boxed Candy (Mike & Ikes, Dots, Junior Mints, Milk Duds) - $0.88 (cheaper than Walgreens)

*Rite-Aid products, 50% regular retail. My new Rite Aid just opened so we have a coupon $2 for spending $10 on Rite-Aid products. I was planning on getting cotton swabs, $1.99 original I think, so half that is $1 for 300 pack. Not bad.

*Kotex 2/$4 after $1 off rebate plus $1.25 mnf. Cpn. = $1.75

*Halls Cough Drops - 2/$3 (We pay ridiculous amounts in the winter.)

*BC Brownie Mix - $0.99 (Maybe I have a coupon.)

*Poland Spring Water 24 pck. - $3.99 (Not sure if it’s a deal, I’ll check in with my mom tomorrow.)

*Palmolive Dishwashing Liquid - $0.99 - $0.40 mnf. Cpn. = $0.59. (I usually buy in huge gallons at BJs though.)

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Whew. So my mom found the Staples receipts. This is just for my reference. Color pencils and markers are Crayola. I don’t trust Roseart. I hate Roseart. =]
Bought during tax-free weekend: 8/12/07
*Staples 0.5MM mech 2/$3
*Avery Binder 1in – 4/$6
*Glue - $0.05
*Cap-Erasers - $0.99
*Westcott Shatterproof Ruler - $0.99 (Cheaper a few weeks ago, $0.69 or $0.79)
*12ct Color Pencils - $0.99
*10ct markers - $0.68
*Sharpie 5 pck black - $0.99
*Pens pck - $0.05
*See-thru Ruler- $1.49 (Sewing)
*Memo Cube - $0.50
*Soft-Cover Binders - $0.33 (25 cents last year.)
*2pt folders - $0.05 (Teachers can get it for a penny)
*Filler Paper - $0.69 (A Bummer this year.)
*6pk Staples notebooks - $0.54
*Sharpie Accent Highlighters - $0.99
*Staples Pencil Sharpener - $0.05

Yay I’m done. Mom is asking me to call T-Mobile to ask about our rebates. Mom had issues with the Post Office not doing their job either. And the deal is, they’re making her pay for the postage again, with no guarantee that’ll it’ll get delivered because the address isn’t verified. Lol. So yeah. Have a nice weekend. 1:19 A.M. Work tomorrow. 2 jobs as a High School Student. How fun.

Got that coupon for the Jumbo book sox. Bought ink with Staples rewards(unknown value):

35.99
+ 3.99
---------
- 3.99
---------
39.98
+ 1.80
---------
37.79

I didn't have enough so I had to dig into my pocket for an extra 5 bucks. I thought I didn't have enough. God I hate buying expensive stuff.

Organized my coupons and receipts into my school binder type thing. Now I don't have clutter on my desk. Which I wouldn't even call a desk. It has no space. For anything.

So I got accepted into that mentoring job. Yay. So I'll end up with 500 bucks by the end of the schoolyear if I don't screw up.
Really nice outcome.

I have finished a book on law and planning to do some more homework and reading. I wasted 30 hours or more this weekend. Stupid. You can tell I'm absolutely frustrated. Not alot of my supermarkets like printed coupons. *Cry*

The T-Mobile rebate. That was a pain in the insertwordofchoice. They gave an invalid mailing address to the rebate. So the rebate was sent BACK TO US. That insertedwordofchoice. Badly. We're waiting over $200 worth of rebates. You can tell my mom's pissed. I heard other T-Mobile customers didn't even get their rebate after 8 weeks. They're pulling my leg.

Edited.:
Walgreens trip, will update later.

You know how hard it is in school. I guess it's even harder in real life. I'm still a little child compared to some blogs I read. In case people haven't noticed, I'm a high schooler, with a life outside of blogging. I won't blog EVERYDAY, but I will make lengthy blogs to satisfy readers and friends. And thank you to commenters last entry. I feel more welcome and overjoyed =3 !!

I started researching about paid surveys the other day and it kept me up over my bedtime. (Stupid!) But I love researching, it's just my point of interest. And what I found out is that, it's super hard to find a reliable source. I registered at mysurvey but that seemed to be a toughie, so many points for so little money. I mean, I like surveys. I just want to earn something while I'm doing them - as they say - "Time is money." I also looked into the forums which didn't help much either. It was in fact, a disaster. I quote - "Surveys are a waste of your time." Some people don't even bother with them. Those that do pay well don't have many to offer. Such as those $5 ones.

I have found a couple of sites before that DO pay you, but you must pay them first. I mean, what's the point? You pay them and they essentially work the same way as the other guys. I doubt how people are making $1,000 on their first month doing surveys. Pshh. So much for free pocket money.

Then, I tried persuading my mother to verify paypal but she won't give her bank account number up. The bank people won't do anything either since they said it had nothing to do with them. I'm so frustrated though because most buyers won't even credit me since my paypal isn't verified, and THEY ONLY ACCEPT PAYPAL! You can tell I have a mad flame of frustration burning into the pits of my patience.

I want to earn money during school because mom is still looking for a job. So I was "interviewed" for a tutoring program.

That pays you to tutor.

And I DOUBT I'll get in because there were juniors and seniors that were much more experienced than me AND applying to the same workplace locations. (I'm a sophmore mind you.) How do I know that? It's because the dude interviewed people in groups. I'm SO frustrated.

I wasted 3 hours, it was agonizing, and I'm just waiting for that rejection email tomorrow. God I hate these types of programs. They should just put in "seniors and juniors only". Excuse my french but WTF. I bet like 50 other people are going to get rejected too. Some have been there until 7:30 P.M. For an interview?? COME ON!


Onto more news, (financially associated.) For Macy's cardholders, there's this card that got sent to you about a special 3 day to use that card, like a $5, $10, $20, or $500 "gift card" type of thing. Well mom got $10. And she got a pair of DKNY shorts with it. So it's basically free. Yeah. I still haven't redeemed my book sox. I need to buy ink. It'll be weird if I keep going there for freebies.

*Sigh* I haven't even wrote in my personal blog. Yes I own two blogs and I will own two sites. =3

Edit/ I got my paycheck from webdesigning. Yay. (3 months overdue) =___="

And I forgot to add in about my Utrecht deal. I'm freelance artist so I LOVE uber good deals. I got my Verithin Color Pencils for around $14 the other day. (Two weeks ago I think.) It was on sale already $21.99, 30% off coupon, original price would be around 25.99. Expensive art pencils. And I got an email today about it in my inbox. Just reminding myself for record keeping.

I think I'd like to start blogging today, though I haven't really spent much. I was also surprised at the unique hits, 97 on my first day. Wow? What I meant to say is, thanks alot, to visitors and to the people who commented.

$2 for a donation on Friday (Some mental disease that my friend asked to support her walk) - I think my aunt has that disease, a bit much when she first asked me...$5, I don't have that kind of money.
"Ask the teachers." - I said.
My mother: "Why didn't you say that you don't have a job?"
I was about to give her $1 because I thought of my mentally-ill aunt, then she saw me reaching for my wallet, so I gave her $2. (A $5 note was sticking out too - I only had around $10 for pocket money, I'm left with around $7 now.) Don't get me wrong! I'm not cheap, right now my mom's been out of work, she quit her job so money isn't really enough right now.

Onto more happier news:

And the prize I have been waiting for at the Staples Rock Your Locker website...A free Jumbo Book Sox! - Book Sox are $4.99, I think jumbo ones cost even more. I'm so glad because I have been reusing my book sox(s) for two years. I hate cutting book covers from shopping bags! I'll redeem it on Monday. I need to check the coupon policy for Staples too. *Makes note*

Now for the REAL entry. (What I was planning on blogging today.) I read some articles on the savingadvice website and because I'm a newbie to "real" couponing, I found it fascinating at how couponing has grown. I still feel a bit out of my age range because of the comments on my last entry. *Sorry* I guess it's good to start early!

Some of the articles were interesting, and a bit odd. I liked these articles, they kept me up until 3:00 A.M to finish:

http://www.savingadvice.com/blog/2007/01/31/101138_the-coupo...
The Coupon Lady - My mother does this also.

http://www.grocerycouponguide.com/
Grocery Coupon Guide - Wonderful tips.

http://www.savingadvice.com/blog/2006/08/04/10756_learning-f...
Learning From the Pro - Really helpful.

http://www.savingadvice.com/blog/2007/09/06/101747_how-nudis...
How Nudism Can Save you Money - Strange.

http://www.savingadvice.com/forums/grocery-articles/2575-exp...
Give Grocery Coupons To New Life - Very heartwarming.

And all those articles and more have inspired me to write my little own article. Usually when I shop, I usually know what the prices are and when it's cheap by asking my mom. She does 100% of the shopping of our groceries and other items.

I'm usually better in the school supply department. My mother does not really care how much we spend, because she said education's important, she doesn't mind. I wish I could find my Staples receipts so I could add up my savings but I don't think it's possible now.

For me, there is NOTHING like the smell of NEW paper, it's strange but I really like it. (Putting my Global Warming ethics aside for a bit,) there are a couple of guidelines that I follow when I shop for school supplies and they are:

1) Looking for Quality - This goes especially for paper, I hate cheap and wide-ruled paper that basically rips at the contact of your pencil or eraser. This goes for pencils and erasers as well, I remember purchasing school supplies at Walgreens and it was so cheap that I told mom to sample it before we buy in bulk - We bought it in bulk anyway and the quality was terrible, the lead was light and the erasers were better off as decora pencil toppers. - Lesson learned.
Now, I don't care HOW cheap those things are, quality is first. Of course, quality can come cheap. :]

2) Name of the Store - I usually go to Staples, I love this store, it's a one stop deal, and if I can't find what I'm looking for I'll try my convenience/drug store like Brooks/Rite-Aid and CVS. believe it or not, these overpriced dudes had good deals this year!

3) Shopping at least a week ahead - Usually, I get good deals at Staples DURING the first week of school weekend rush, but I found out that around a couple weeks before, there are some better deals, I got some Crayola (I hate Rose Art, it should DIE) color pencils and markers for around 30-69 cents this year. I also got a 6 pack of one subject notebooks for 54 cents. Regular folders for 5 cents (though I know teachers can get it for a penny...) Some sharpies (4 pack) and highlighters (8 pack I think) for 99 cents. Composition notebooks were 99 cents (2 pack). Avery 1 inch binders, 4 for 6 bucks.(unit price $1.50.)
33 cents (last year was 25 cents) for the soft cover binders. Paper wasn't as cheap, it was 54 cents a pack.
However, when the paper went on sale 15 cents a week before school, my mom was furious when it was advertised on TV. (It was tax-free weekend when I did my school shopping.)

Overall, I think they were pretty good deals. I spent around $28 for a cartload of school supplies. ...That was a bit of a tangent. Oh and, did I mention the benefit of avoiding hoards of people during back to school shopping week.

Basically that's all there is to it in terms of school shopping for me. I know some articles recommend buying in bulk, but I don't use that much and I have no space for it. I think it would be more beneficial to teachers.

AND might I add school bookbags had a HUGE price increase. I couldn't believe it when I saw a $50 backpack that wasn't even well-made for comfort and stability. Mom bought my first Jansport book bag this year. She said it was for around $35 at Macy's - Sale + Coupon, $50 originally.

Back to Rite-Aid and CVS, my mother got some of my favorite mechanical pencils with a buy one get one free deal. It's usually expensive ($7.99 at Staples,) but it was on sale for $5.99 round it to $6, with the buy one get one free deal it's $3 each. Same goes for the lead. Might I add lead to the quality too, I don't care if it's cheap at the dollar store for mechanical pencil lead, I can't stand when my pencils break and when the lead doesn't deliver. We stocked up. :]

I'm going to end it here. I think my friends will die from reading this. -Edited.

[My First Entry x3!!]

I have already done my school shopping, but I have some "coupons" for free stuff like a locker mirror and calculator. It's free because of the website:

http://rockyourlocker.com
It's like a raffle for a free prize everyday and you just go to the website, make an account and just pray that you will win something. It's a sweepstakes too. For kids.

So far I got:
free pens (4 pack, really good ones.)
free music download (1)
and today
free locker mirror
free calculator
two free pencil sharpeners

So anyways. First day of school, and I realized there was a Staples on my route home. Got in, and I was SO GLAD I did my early school shopping because the prices were STEEP. I was only interested in the 5 cent pencil sharpeners, so I took two, one for my brother and myself.

When I went to the cashier, by the stroke of luck, I got my pencil sharpeners and my prizes for FREE. Yes I know 11 cents isn't much but I like free stuff.

I asked the cashier if I was supposed to be paying for my pencil sharpeners and she didn't know either. The manager explained that the coupon was valued at $1.40 for the calc. The calc was $1.30. There was the ten cents that went into my pencil sharpeners. No taxes either!

So total:
Mirror + $3.99
Calc + $1.30
(2) Sharpeners + $0.10
----------------------
$5.39
Coupon for Mirror: -3.99
Coupon for Calc: -1.40
------------------------
$0.00

=DD Oh and, the cashier was also surprised herself. She made a comment: "Don't you just love Staples?" I smiled and was a happy camper. Today was my first day of school also, I'm glad it turned to be great other than my blistered feet.