FALL-WINTER 2023 Shopping Fun and Frustrations!!!!

I last shopped at Rite Aid in early June and congratulated myself for getting out at the right time. That store is still there, but in a part of town I have no other reason to visit and not much stock, so I've had enough of trying not to let my BC expire. Even when everybody else got cats, I didn't. Very rarely got some kind of a coupon, but never the $x/$x everybody else was getting, so even if I'd been there lately, I wouldn't be much help on that score. I think all Rite Aids are pretty sadly stocked.

I almost got sucked back in. Got $2 from BCC that finally paid out. I called CS, and I think they did straighten out the problem with pick-up orders. Involved deleting a duplicate account, so when I next visited the website, it gave me $10BC for completing my profile. Then they gave me 3000 points for a survey. If they'd had the $10/$30 or a good pick up code before the BC expired, I may not have been able to resist, but they didn't. I have family that lives where there is still a convenient (but pretty empty) Rite Aid, and my youngest sister was definitely the right person for the job of spending my bonus cash and thinking she's having a lot of silly fun spending it wisely. She's not really a Rite Aid shopper--thinks coming up with a $50 deal is way beyond her--but she's a shopper who looks for a deal. We've still got $4 worth of points left that will be good almost until Christmas, so we're holding off on converting it in hopes they'll restock the store.

There's a good chance I'll be moving over there in a year or so, so if Rite Aid survives, I'll likely shop there again, but otherwise, I'm done.

I hear that everything is my area is under lock and key. If you want a bag of chips, they have to unlock the case. This doesn't seem like a good way for RA to stay in business.

Stock still isn't great, but not locked up at my store.
This week there's $10bc wys $30, so it's a good time to shop
and if any of your cards are Senior, Wed. is sneior day (1st wed. of the month). I haven't confirmed senor day 5x pts is still a thing though

BCC are back, too

The best deal I've seen reported is Certin Dri deo, about $10 ea, b2get 12bc

I was thinking Nature's Truth. I wasn't excited by Ravi's deals but I worked out something that would make me want to go but today is my only day and I don't think that I'll have the time. Since all of my local stores closed, going to RA is now a project. The last 2 ads have been such a bummer for Dove Whole Body deodorant at CVS. Last week, the $5/2 didn't stack with the $10/2 on the men's and this week, the $4/2 didn't stack with the10/2 on the women's. On the plus side, Shea Whole Body deodorant is only $2 after dq and ecb's (or maybe cheaper at your store, it's $11.99 here). Shea and Dove are the same deal in case you want to do both. Dove works out to $2.75 after the dq and ecb's. It's not a bad deal considering the $12.99 price. I really like the men's roll on. It does a very good job on my long walks. When the ad for the men's first broke, there was a $5 coupon that stacked with the 10/2 making it 25 cents but if you didn't clip it in the middle of the night it was gone by morning. It sucks that I now have to be on the computer clipping coupons at 1am every Sunday morning.

I'm a little confused- is Dove deo a CVS deal?
I don't CVS right now, so I'd have to spend cash.
Is that a non-aluminum deodorant?
I'm not quite out but the spray has worked better than Native. I use both and pray.
Nose is getting old, not always sure if I'm Sure, kwim?

Don't get a paper but lately have been getting insert with Wed. ads (I think the one yesterday is for next week - has Covergirl), and MIL saves hers for me. She must get the mail one, too, since she's been sending 2 inserts for each week - but I only get hers once a month or so.when DH goes to her house to do chores. Often expired by the time I get them.

Dove is a CVS deal. Whole Body women's is a stick or tube (no spray). Yes, non-aluminum. I've only used the men's but I feel confident in saying that you can be Sure that you'll be smelling fresh all day. I've road tested it in 110 degree heat. I don't know anything about the Sheamoisture other than $2 is a great price to pay for a whole body deodorant and it's also non-aluminum. Covergirl is a nice mm on 2 twins with two $3 mq's and the $4 crt. Same deal next week. You can get a great deal on Dove if you use your $5 ecb's from Covergirl on it although you will still have to pay some oop and you'll end up with $4 ecb's. Your total cost for 2 Dove deodorants and 2 Covergirl twins (my price is $5.79) is $2 + whatever the tax is. For me, that's a buy. There's always the possibility that CVS fixes the $4/2 Dove dq on any women's product but I wouldn't hold my breath.

There's something going on...

Going to bed now. TYSM for CVS info- too tired to understand it but will read when I wake up!!

Dove is a CVS deal. Whole Body women's is a stick or tube (no spray). Yes, non-aluminum. I've only used the men's but I feel confident in saying that you can be Sure that you'll be smelling fresh all day. I've road tested it in 110 degree heat. I don't know anything about the Sheamoisture other than $2 is a great price to pay for a whole body deodorant and it's also non-aluminum. Covergirl is a nice mm on 2 twins with two $3 mq's and the $4 crt. Same deal next week. You can get a great deal on Dove if you use your $5 ecb's from Covergirl on it although you will still have to pay some oop. The Dove deal is $12.99 bogo 50% with a $10/2 dq and earn $4 ecb's. Covergirl is a $3.50 mm. For me, that's a buy. There's always the possibility that CVS fixes the $4/2 Dove dq on any women's product but I wouldn't hold my breath.

tysm for the breakdown!

One of the qualifying items doesn't look like it it's specifically for men so I may give it a try.
I only have one CG mQ, so might just pay the $10+oop if I do the deal.

Could spend the $4ecb on cereal, 2.49 ea - 2 x $1/2dQs but they don't list Cheerios? Last time, when they were 1.99, yellow box Cheerios were OOS everywhere around me. Now they don't even list hem. Only high sugar stuff.
Wow

RA was somewhat amusing. Was going to bump up BC by getting Panera GCs, $100 get 10bc. But they only had $30 packs - 3 x $10gcs. Which are not only a pain to use, but I'd have to spend $120....The deodorant aisle was BARE except for 4 Certin Dri
So I got 2, ricola (2/$6, get 3bc) and the biotin I was after at WAGs. No "GO" for the BOGO sale, I ended up trying RA brand gummies - not a great flavor IMHO, Hope they're okay. Nature's truth vitamins bother my stomach.
I prefer Nature Made or Nature's Bounty

Were you around when NM vitamins were a huge MM due to misprogrammed QR codes?
I think I still have zinc but not sure biotin was even one of their items back then...

With this heat, I've been up all night - not even sure what time I went to sleep yesterday (Wed) but I woke up around 6pm. the AC kicked on while I was in the shower, and we have it set at 80. by the time I made dinner, etc, I had 1hr before RA closed. I try to do several stores per errand run but most close at 10pm. Adding CVS into my list might not work, esp. since it's not really near anyplace else I want to go. But they closest IS open til midnight.

Are you talking about the RA sale where NT was bogo free with $20 BC, there was a $10 RA coupon and $10 cat, and after you got your $20 BC you'd get another $20 BC on your next transaction if you bought a 33 cent caramel? That NT sale? OMG, that was as good as it gets. I think back then there was also a way to get $20 off a $50 RA gift card that was totally legit but then they figured it out and killed it. In that same time period, there was a Tresemme sale that was a gigantic mm but I don't remember what the details were. Did you do that one? I miss RA so much...

The Vons deal is now dead in SoCal. It wasn't as good as your deal. Here it was 2/$2.98 on the Hormel turkey only. It lasted longer than your deal did but when I checked it just now it was back to the $3.99 sale price. I never actually did the deal in the store. I was burned out on turkey from last week at Ralphs.

It was awful here yesterday. I was very close to getting sunstroke even though I was driving not walking. I'm still not feeling great. I wonder why yesterday got to me so much. It's been much hotter (113) but I was fine walking in it. It's supposed to be 112 today so I'm not going anywhere.

Biotin in NT was around back then. I think it was $12.99. I had a friend who always asked me to get it for her. I don't take vitamins but I should. I'm deficient in B-6, B-12, Zinc, Iron, and a couple more that I forget (one probably has to do with memory). The big one is Potassium. I'm dangerously low in that but if I take it I get chest pains. When I go into the hospital they usually freak out and give me a potassium shot. You never want to have that. It's one of the most painful things I've ever experienced. It felt like my blood vessels were going to explode. If they ever give it to you, make sure they run the IV slow. And the potassium drink is another thing to avoid especially the red one (it might be mixed with Magnesium). It tastes awful. It's like drinking clay.

No, this was RA days when we had +UP rewards, and QR codes were a new thing. I don't think apps were created yet.
I wish I could remember the name of our hero who decoded the QR codes.
We could add them as SQs to our card
$10 one for NM (Nature Made) COQ10 would apply to any NM
There were other, lower value ones for specific vitamins so with a 4/20 I'd pay nothing and earn $10 +UP for buying $30.
THEN we could submit a code on the bottle on NM website for $7 check to use at Costco or $7 MQ mailed to us.

Deals didn't track in those days, and IIRC, I could only load one $10 but there were also MQs all the time.

I know 4/20 were just about unlimited.
There were a few times when RA tried a new thing that were such an opportunity. They did a test market before +UP went nationwide and had SQs in the system that worked everywhere..
We could print and use unlimited - like $2 off lotion, so I'd load 2 carts with the cheapest items that qualified. I think Single Check Rebates was still going on at that time and I'd get about $100/mo. check.
Some idiots decided to return the rebate stuff after they'd gotten their checks, which killed it. Somebody always had to take it too far...

I cannot imagine your heat and hope you take care of yourself so ER doesn't have to do it for you. The shorter days help us - my attic holds the heat and in summer, 6=8pm is the worst inside. But now the sun is down at that time so it doesn't add to the trapped heat.
I've been asking for years for an attic fan for years, but DH is afraid it will mess with the roof soffits or something.