Exactly what you shouldn't do...

Say to yourself: "Hm, I got a $5/$30 purchase in my CVS account, let's see what's on sale..." after you've already "passed over" the sales this week.  I'll let you in on a little secret: if you check your ExtraCare account on Monday, you'll see any extra coupons for that week, but you don't have to use them that week.  Just note the expiration date--this is your "print by" date, and you'll still be able use that coupon the following Sunday or Monday.  I don't know where my head was this week, but I decided that $5/$30 is the same as "thus saith the Lord."  Never mind the fact that I was planning on getting a lot of stuff next week and could have really used that coupon!  So, I wrote down all the "great deals" people were talking about and used some cherished rain checks (from Thanksgiving) to bump my total up to $30...when all I really wanted was nail polish and jellybeans...  So, here's what I got:

(2) Softsoap body wash $7 (like I need more body wash...and it wasn't even free...)
(1) Olay facial cleanser $4.49 (full-price and probably the best purchase of the trip...)
(1) Olay body wash $6.99
-B1G1 FREE body wash wyb an Olay facial cleanser (even though the cleanser cost less)
(1) CVS jelly beans $0.99
(2) Revlon nail polish (for my little niece--she's gonna be 1 soon!) $9.58
-(2) $1/1 Revlon color cosmetic (yes, this counts)
(1) Softlips vanilla $2 (rain check)
+tax
=$18.63 (my oop is so high b/c I didn't have any ECBs to roll into my transaction, but that doesn't really bother me ECBs=cash in my mind)

ECBs recieved: 15.99 (from the olay body wash, softsoap, jelly beans....everything except the facial cleanser)

So, it's like I paid $2.64 for all of it, or $0.33 each...it's not like it cost that much...but this is how people end up with 24 bottles of mustard.  The goal is to have what you'll need until the next sale, while keeping clutter to a bare minimum.  I'm not going to use 3 bottles of body wash in the next year, and they're bound to be free before then.  I've already promised away 2 bottles, and watered down body wash works really great in your puffy soap dispensers, so, hopefully I can minimize the damage of my shopping spree gone wrong.

Cheap Cereal and Milk

I went to Weis this morning with some nice high value coupons in hand!  Here's what I got:

Transaction #1

(2) Apple Jacks $2.99 ea.
(2) Froot Loops $2.99 ea.
(1) Corn Pops $2.99
(1) Gal. Milk $3.99

-$5/5 Kellogg's cereal (NLA)
-$3.99 Free milk wyb 3 breakfast items
-$3.79 Free milk wyb 4 Kellogg's cereal sale

Total: $6.16


Transaction #2

(2) Corn Pops $2.99 ea.
(1) Froot Loops $2.99
(2) Special K Red Berries $2.99 ea.
(1) Special K Protein Bars $6.79
(1) Gal. Milk $4.19

-$5/5 Kellogg's Cereal (NLA)
-$3.79 Free milk wyb 4 Kellogg's cereal sale
-$6.79 Free Special K protein item wyb 2 cereal peelie (on Special K)

Total: $10.35


Total spent: $16.51
Total value purchased: $62.57 (saved 74%)

So, I got 10 boxes of cereal, 2 gallons of milk, and 1 box of meal bars for $16!!  That's about $1.25 each!

Btw, this is my first blog with a pic from my NEW camera!  Isn't it a puurdy picture?  =D

Cheap diapers and wipes!

I surprised myself at the checkout this afternoon!  I got diapers and wipes even cheaper than I was expecting!  I had a few nice coupons, including a $5/$30 and a free $5 gift card when you "have a heart to heart with your pharmacist" in the mail today.  I'm not sure what a heart-to-heart entails, but they just gave me one (though it took 10 minutes and a manager to figure it out).  Here's what I got:



Transaction #1:

(3) Snickers Eggs $1.50
-$1.50/2 Mars Seasonal Items (since they were $0.50 ea., I got 3 of them for free)
-$0.25/2 Mars chocolate CVS coupon
(1) CVS cough drops (hubby's sick) $0.99
(1) Fiber One brownie bars (apparently, they aren't that bad)  $3.99
-$1/1 Fiber One bars (inside specially marked cereal)

=$3.82 (on the $5 gc from the pharmacy)
ECBs: 4 (a rain check  for the brownies from Black Friday--they never expire!)


Transaction #2:

(1) Huggies wipe 3 pk.  $5.99
(1) Huggies Box $19.99
-$2/1 from Sunday's paper
(2) Trim nail clippers (the cool ones with the nail "catchers" on them) $5.93

-$5/$30
-4 ECBs (from previous transaction)
-10 ECBs (from last week)
-$1.18 (gift card)

=$11.11
CVS cash card: $10

Then I got enticed by the clearance bin...

Transaction #3:

(1) CVS heat pack (it's a reusable Thermacare--so awesome!!) $3.37
(1) Bioluxe trial hair spray (since I use hair spray about twice a year...) $0.80

=$4.22 (on CVS cash card)

So, I paid $11.11 out of pocket for $66.25 in products!  Considering I would have paid that for the diapers alone, I'd say it was a good trip!

Man cannot Live on Mustard Alone

Free mustard is great, but at some point you have to eat real food!  As I was packing up my leftover steak dinner, I realized that nearly everything in the container had been bought on super sale, so I wanted to show you a picture of what we couponers are "going for."  I'll admit, I felt pretty snazzy serving hubby (BOGO) steak (top sirloin?...can't remember the actual cut), but when I realized how little I paid for the dinner, I was even prouder.  =)  Since I didn't think of sharing until after dinner, you're only getting a glimpse at my leftovers. 

Here's how I got steak and potatoes for a mere $2 per serving:

18 oz. steak  (this is 4 servings in our house--maybe less at yours)
SALE:  BOGO @ Weis 2 weeks ago => $5.75

1 packet Lipton onion soup mix (onion roasted potatoes are just plain yummy)
SALE: $0.67 per box at Food Lion last week with a $1/2 coupon => $0.09

Potatoes (the box said 2 pounds made four servings, but we've got a LOT of leftovers)
SALE:  $1.50 for a 5 lb. bag @Wal-Mart a month ago => $0.60

Carrots: 1/4 lb.
I BELIEVE this was $1 for 1 pound at Weis at least a month ago => $0.25

Steak Seasoning, oil, butter: about =>$0.25

Green Beans
SALE: $10/10 at Weis with a $1/2 coupon => $0.50

Steak Sauce (I didn't buy this on super sale.  I am ashamed.)
Generic $2.54 at Food Lion =>$0.70

Grand Total: $8.34/4 servings=$2.09 per serving

So, there you go.  Having bought most of my components on sale, I could feed a family of eight for less than a single entree in a restaurant.  I rock (and you can too!).