Better than Free at CVS!

I had fun at CVS this week, though I'm going to admit it: I didn't need any of these items.  I got them (1) because I made money on them and (2) I know people who want (most) of them.  CVS sent me a $4/$20 coupon (which is like printed gold) this week.  I waited until Thursday to be sure there was nothing I wanted in NEXT week's ad, and then used it for stuff to give away/make Extra Bucks.  It was an ego boost to make money on Pantene because it doesn't normally go under $1.50 in it's low price cycle.  I took some BOGO coupons I had from the beginning of the month and a $3/2 coupon from Sunday to bring the price of 4 bottles down to $2.  I also used some free item coupons that were about to expire to get my pre-coupon price up over $20.  So, here's what I did:

(4) Pantene shampoo/conditioner $13.94
-(2) B1G1 coupons ($3.48 ea.)
-$3/2 coupon (the two I paid for)
(2) Starbucks Refreshers (apparently yucky...at least it was free to try) $3.98
-(2) FREE Starbucks Refreshers (in the Pepsico Moments to Save insert) ($1.99 ea.)
(1) CVS vanilla body wash $2.37
-FREE body wash (CVS gave them out for Mother's Day) ($2.37)
-$4 off a $20 purchase (adjusted down to $3.98)
+$0.84 in tax
=$0.84

ECBs received: 2 (for the Pantene)

So, I paid $1 in tax for $26 worth of products and got 2 ExtraCare Bucks back!  I also got $15 in my beauty bucks account, so I'll be getting $1.50 back later.  All in all, I saved 113% on my purchase!  I think that may be my best savings quotient yet!

Diapers and Groceries at CVS

It was certainly fun this week.  The best part was cheap diapers in quantity!  I was actually able to do the diaper deal twice because my mother-in-law gave me her ExtraBucks and card to use =D.  This lady knows the way to my heart: give me coupons and I'll love you forever (really though, my mil is one of the most awesome ladies I know).  I did a total of 4 transactions between our cards and saved 75%!  Here's how:


(With my mil's card)
Transaction #1

(3) Huggies jumbo packs $30
-(3)$3/1 Huggies
-$3/15 baby care purchase
(1) Coke 12 pack $0.99
(with in-ad coupon)
-$1.50 ECBs
+tax
=$19.29
ECBs received: 10

Transaction #2

(2) Cottonelle wipe tubs $3.98
(3) Cottonelle wipe refills $5.97
-10 ECBs
+tax
=$0.60


(With my card now)
Transaction #1

(3) Huggies jumbo packs $30
-(2) $2/1 Huggies
-$3/1 Huggies
(1) Coke 12 pack $0.99
(with in-ad coupon)
(2) Dove chocolate bars $1.50
-$0.50/2 Dove bars
-$3/$15 (for sharing my pharmacist story)
-21.97 ECBs (from previous weeks)
+tax
=$1.49
ECBs received: 10 (Huggies), 0.75 (Dove)

Transaction #2

(1) 24 pack of water $2.44
(4) Bumble Bee Tuna $3.08
-(2)$1/2 Bumble Bee product
(1) Kotex $3.99
-$1/1 Kotex
(1) Children's Allegra $9.99
-$5/1 Allegra
-11 ECBs
+tax
=$0.64
ECBs received: 3 (Kotex), 4.99 (Allegra)


Including the 14 ExtraBucks I "lost" in the process, I spent $36.25 for $140.07 worth of groceries and diapers!  I was pretty excited that the diapers ended up averaging $3.50 for each pack!  I also got pretty excited over the $1 Cokes and free Kotex.  =D  Ah, I love saving money in the morning...or afternoon...or the middle of the night...

Cheap Diapers at CVS!

I got some fun coupons from the magic coupon machine yesterday, so I did a little better than I thought I would!  Timothy was running low on diapers, so with the $3 coupon in the Reinventing Beauty magazine and a 25% off your regularly priced purchase, I can get a jumbo pack for $6, which is a good price in a pinch.  Profit on my other purchases helped get my total even lower.  Here's what I did:


Transaction #1

(3) Hallmark cards $2.97
-B2G1 CRT from red coupon box ($0.99)
-$2/3 tearpad coupon (from Walmart)
-25% off  full-priced purchase (adjusted) $0.70

(1) RIB magazine $0.99
-25% off $0.23

(1) Colgate Maxfresh $2.99
-$1/1 toothpaste any CRT
-$1/1 Colgate Maxfresh (from the RIB magazine)

(1) Huggies jumbo pack $11.99
-$3/1 Huggies (from the RIB magazine)
-25% off coupon ($2.85)

-7 ECBs  (I think this is what "messed up" my 25% off, but I was able to lower my oop without too much loss)
+tax
=$1.03

ECBs received: 2.49 (for the toothpaste), 1 (green bag tag)

So, I spent $1.03 and 7 ECBs and got back 3.49 in ECBs, so it's like I paid $4.54 for $20.80 in products!  For diapers alone, $4.50 is a great price, so I'm pretty happy!

Made more money at CVS!

This week, I was focused on minimizing my total cost--not my out of pocket expense.  So, I ended up spending a little more cash, but with the reimbursement from rebates, I'll have made money in the end!  Here's what I did:

Transaction #1

(1) Physician's Formula mascara $10.49

-$1/1 Manu. q

-$3/1 CVS q

-$2.10 20% off purchase q

(2) Head & Shoulder's large bottles $15.98 total

-$7.99 BOGO q

-$3.20 20% off purchase q

(1) Reinventing Beauty magazine $0.99

-$0.20 20% of purchase q

+tax

=$11.29

ECBs received: 7 (Physician's Formula)

Transaction #2

(4) Head & Shoulder's small bottles $18.67

-(2) BOGO manu. q's ($9.34)

(1) Skintimate shave gel $2.50

-$2/1 peelie (!)

(1) Blink tears $8.99

-$1/1 manu. q

(4) Hallmark cards $6.99

-$3/3 coupon

-B3G1 coupon ($0.99)

-19.49 ECBs

+tax

=$2.39

ECBs received: 4 (H&S), 8.99 (Blink), 3 (cards)

So, I spent $13.68 out of pocket, but ended up with 8 more Extracare Bucks than I had started with (including BeautyBucks) and I'll be getting $7.50 back (for all those H&S shampoos) in a rebate, so it's like I made $1.82 on over $75 worth of stuff!!

Making money at CVS!

Jenny from Southern Savers (my favorite coupon-matching blog) once asked if there was anything we wouldn't buy to make a profit (she had posted about a money making deal on personal lubricant).  The answer from us couponers was a resounding "no."  My rule when buying stuff is that it has to be a good deal AND I need it OR I can make money on it.  Also, I like to know where things are "going" if I don't want them.  Today, I got some herbal pain reliever that I won't use myself (I don't trust herbals at all), but I've got a friend who's into that stuff.  I also made $1.50 on Depend's men's underwear which I plan on donating to a nursing home.  Now, this stuff does sometimes accumulate in my house between "buying" and "donating," but hubby's pretty good about policing "coupon clutter," even when I'm not.  =D  So, I ended up making a few cents at CVS today!  Here's how:

Transaction #1

(1) Depend men's underwear $3.99
-$2/1 CVS q
-$1.50/1 manu. q
(2) Right Guard body wash $6
-$2/2 manu. q
(1) ACT sensitive mouthwash $3.99
-$2/1 ACT sensitive
(1) Naturelief pain reliever $8.49
-$1/1 naturelief
-13.99 in ECBs
+tax
=$0.34

ECBs received: 2, 2, 1, 8.49 (plus an extra 1)


Transaction #2

(2) Colgate Total toothpaste $5.98
-(2) $1/1 Colgate total
-4 ECBs
+tax
=$0.34

ECBs received: 4

If you account for 10% back in beauty bucks, I got $37.77 in products for -$0.41!  And that, my friends, is why I don't feel bad buying Depend's.  =)

Cheap Groceries at CVS!

So I messed up my transactions a little this week, and "wasted" $1 in ExtraBucks, but I got some groceries for a great price, so I'm satisfied with my trip (though I'm still kicking myself over it...).  Here's what I got:

Transaction #1

(4) Snickers Eggs $2
-$1/2 Mars Easter Candy (I only had one)
-(2) $0.25/2 Mars Easter singles CVS CRTs
(1) Revlon Nail polish $1.57 (clearance)
-$1/1 Revlon color product
(1) Revlon eyeshadow $1.24 ("gold"--not the prettiest, but a big mm)
-$3/1 (off total order wyb product) Revlon eye or lip product CVS CRT
-$1/1 Revlon color product
(1) CVS Jelly beans $0.99 (these were gone within an hour of getting home...uhhh... =D)
(2) Cheezit crackers $3.98 (6 week low price here)
-$1/2 Cheezit crackers
(2) Colgate toothbrushes $5.98
-(2) $1/1 Colgate toothbrush
(1) Reinventing Beauty Magazine $0.99 ($3 q in there for Huggies--that coupon alone makes it a good buy!)
-8 ECBs--I'd only needed 7 =(
+tax
=$0.54

ECBs received: 1 Green Bag Tag, 2 Snickers eggs, 0.99 Jelly Beans, 4 Colgate


Transaction #2

(3) Dole Pineapple $2.64 (fresh produce is still dying in my house)
-$1/3 Dole Pineapple
(2) Cheezit crackers $3.98 (it's killing me to buy groceries at CVS b/c I can't get them 95% off ;D)
-$1/2 Cheezit crackers
-4 ECBs
=$0.62


So, including the 4 ECBs I burned, I spent $5.17 on $47.73 worth of groceries, make-up and candy.  All total, I saved 89%.  I blame it on the Cheezits. =D

My CVS trip!

I had a good trip to CVS this week.  I got a few things I wanted for a great price!  In and out, it took maybe 20 minutes!  Here's what I got:

(3) Garnier haircare (shampoo, conditioner, hairspray) $10

-(3) $1/1 Garnier manu q's

-$2/2 Garnier shampoo and styler (otherwise I would've just gotten more shampoo--do you know how often I style my hair? Almost never.)

(1) Biore Strip $7.99 (I've been wanting to try these for a while, so I was excited about the sale and coupons matching up!)

(1) Biore Cleanser $8.29

-FREE cleanser wyb strips (7.99--should have been $8.29, but I didn't feel like fighting for $0.30)

-$4/$20 Beauty purchase (from last week, but it was still good until Monday)

-5 ECBs from last week

+tax

=$5.63

Got back : 3 ECBs for Garnier, 5 ECBs for Biore, 2.63 in Beauty Bucks (I have 5 ECBs waiting for me now)

So, including the extrabucks I gained, everything I got was exactly FREE!!!  Wow, I didn't realize I had done so well!  Yeah!  I'm awesome!

Back on Track at CVS!

I told you last week how I got caught up in the coupon game and bought a whole bunch of things I didn't need.  Well, I'm happy to say that I'm back on the wagon!  This week, I got stuff I (or someone I knew) actually needed/wanted at pretty good prices!  Here's what I got:

Transaction #1:

(1) Planter's peanuts $3
(2) Reach 3 pack brushes $3.69 ea. (I was out of toothbrushes--how crazy is that?!?)
-$2/2 reach brushes (says 1 ct. ...I didn't have a problem using it on larger sizes...)
(1) Zyrtec 5 ct. $5.99 (doc just suggested I switch antihistamines, so this money maker was awesome!)
-$2/1 Zyrtec (excludes trial size--3 ct.)
(1) Gold Emblem peanuts in shell (hubby likes peanuts nearly as much as Coke) $1.59 (50% off clearance)
-$2/1 Gold Emblem nuts CVS coupon
not pictured:
(1) Huggies overnight diapers (b/c the regular ones simply won't do anymore) $12.49
-20% off ($2.45) CVS coupon
-$2/1 Huggies coupon
-15.99 ECBs
+ tax
= $6.96

ECBs received: 4 (Reach), 5.99 (Zyrtec)


Transaction #2

(1) Pediacare cough syrup $5.99
-$1/1 Pediacare
(4) Coke 12 pk (SOO excited about this deal!) $3 each.
-(2) FREE Coke 12 packs (bought with points from My Coke Rewards)
-11.99 ECBs
+ tax
= $1.72

ECBs received: 5 (Coke/Planter's deal), 5 (Pediacare)


Transaction #3

(1) Wireless air 60 (like a Kinect--no controller or anything) $4.99
-5 ECBs
+ tax
=$0.30

So, all total, I spent $8.98 and 10.99 in ECBs for $117.05 in products!  That's 92% off.  Nice!

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 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!

Back in Action!

Well, it certainly has been a while, hasn't it?  Since we last talked, I've been chasing after my one year old like crazy and trying to keep food down to feed this little baby in my tummy.  Needless to say, I haven't been couponing like I used to.  Two weeks ago I paid full price for dish soap!  That's sacrilege in the coupon world.  But, yesterday, I think I made up for that waste of $2...I got $135 worth of stuff for $25 (after rebates and ExtraBucks) and the only things that actually cost money were the diapers and wipes!  The diapers and wipes are actually for my sister-in-law, who's going to give birth any day now.  My mother-in-law asked me to get some when they were on a good sale--it's so much fun to shop with other people's money! ;-)  Here's what I got:

Transaction with my card:

(3) Pampers Diapers $9.50 ea.

-(1) $1.50/1 pampers

-(2) $1/1 Pampers (all from inside old packs)

(1) Pamper's wipes $3

-$0.20/1 wipes

-$5/30 coupon (from my online account)

+tax

=$24.39

ECBs received: 10

I saved these ExtraBucks for next week, and used my mother-in-law's card for the rest of the transactions because she had some ExtraBucks she didn't want (ECBs are non-transferable, so you have to use the card with which they were printed when redeeming them).

Transaction #1 with my mother-in-law's card

(3) Pampers Diapers $9.50 ea.

-(3) $1.50/1 Pampers from Sunday's Paper

(1) Pamper's wipes $3

-$0.20/1 wipes

-3 ECBs

+tax

=$25.52

ECBs received: 10

Transaction #2 (now I'm trying--and failing--to get rid of those ExtraBucks)

(3) Thermacare Heatwraps $6.99 ea.
-(3) $3/1 Thermacare printable (need 3 different e-mails/computers)
(1) Hallmark card $0.99
-10 ECBs
+tax
=$0.06

ECBs received: 4

Mail-In Rebate on 3 Thermacare: $10 (that's means I make a dollar on 3 Thermacare--super free!)




Transaction #3

(4) Lady Speed Stick $1.99 ea.
-(2) BOGO coupons (the first rang up $3.99, so she corrected the second to $1.99)
(2) Irish Spring bar soap $3 ea.
-$1/2 Irish Spring (from Sunday's paper)
-4 ECBs
+tax
=$3.82

ECBs received: 6

Mail-In Rebate: $5



Transaction #4

(2) Hallmark cards $0.99 ea.
(1) Skintimate shave cream (I was testing this unadvertised deal) $3.99
-6 ECBs
+tax
=$0.36

ECBs received: 3 (hallmark), 4 (Skintimate)

So, I've got 7 bucks leftover, which means I failed in spending away my m.i.l.'s bucks, but succeeded in saving lots of money! 

I've submitted 2 rebates so I'll get $15 back eventually.  If you combine that with the 14 "extra" ExtraBucks for the day, it's like I only spent $25.15 for $134.96 worth of stuff!  Nice!!

Black Friday Success!!

Well, I was pretty proud of my Black Friday deals.  I actually did go out to the mall to get a new (much-needed) wallet.  The best part of this wallet is the integrated coupon organizer (awesome!)...oh, and the price.  =D  Here's what I got at JC Penney:

'Big Spender' tab clutch $13.99 (60% off)

-$10/10+ purchase JC Penney coupon (mailed a month ago)

Total: $4.23

Saved: $33.93, or 89%!!


Of course, I had to go to CVS because there were so many great ExtraBuck deals!  I used the money makers to pay for peanuts, Advil, and a few small gifts.  I'll be spending the rest of my "profit" this week on super cheap necessities.  I went Friday afternoon and it wasn't too busy at all (I guess most people went Thursday).  I got most of what I wanted and picked up rain checks for the rest of the items on my list (so I'll have  few freebies later!).  Here's what I got:

Transaction #1:

(2) M&M packages $1.50 (I haven't bought baking chips in a year--I just use free candy =D)
(1) Zantac 30 tab $8.99
-$5/1 Zantac manu. q, -$5/1 Zantac CVS q (both registered at face value)
(2) Colgate Toothpaste $5.74
-(2) $1/1 Colgate manu. q's, -(1) $1/1 CVS q
(1) Pepto Bismol $2.99
(1) Kleenex Cool Touch $1.50
-$0.40/1 Kleenex cool touch
(1) Finish Quantum $2.99
-$1/1 Finish
(1) Breathe Right Strips $5.99
-$1.50/1 Manu. q, -$1.50/1 CVS q
(1) Cepacol losenge $4.99
-$1/1 Cepacol
(2) CVS Ibuprofen $2.99 (BOGO)
(1) Carmex lip balm $1
-$0.30/1 Carmex
-$6/$30 Health care purchase
-$5/25 purchase (the computer didn't like this...oops)
-9 ECBs (from last week)

Total: $0.61 (negative subtotal)

ECBs received: 1 (greenbag tag), 1.50, 2, 5.94, 2.99, 1.50, 2.99, 5.99, 4.99, 1 (28.90 total)


Transaction #2:
(2) Planter's Peanuts $6
(2) Listerine Pocket Paks $5.98
(1) Irish Spring Deodorant $2.77
-$1/1 Irish Spring
(3) Revlon nail polish $14.97
-(3) $1/1 Revlon nail polish
(1) CVS flosser package $1.99
(2) GUM 2 pk. toothbrushes $5.98
(-$1/2 into my saving star account)
(1) York king size bar $0.99
-$5/25 coupon
-28.90 in ECBs

Total: $1.66 (all tax)

ECBs received: 3, 5.98, 2, 12, 1.99, 5.98, 0.99 (31.94 total)


Transaction #3:
(2) M&Ms $1.50
(1) CVS AAA batteries $3.65
(1) Essence of Beauty Spa set $9.88
(3) Revlon nail polish $14.97
-(3) $1/1 Revlon
(1) York King size $0.99
(1) Matchbox car $0.50
-28.94 in ECBs

Total: $2.29 ($0.35)

ECBs received: 1.50, 3.99, 5, 12, 0.99

So I started with 9 extrabucks, got $150 in products, and ended with 26.48 in extrabucks!  Including the $5 I spent in tax, I made 12.92!  That's a savings of 109%!!  Woohoo!  All told, I earned $8.69 getting nearly $200 of products on Black Friday!  Very nice.  How did y'all make out this weekend?

My First Coupon Teaching Trip

People often say they want to shop with me sometime.  Seeing as no one actually has shopped with me, I figured they were just saying that.  Well today, one of my MOPS friends and her husband actually went to CVS with me!  I was so excited because they had a number of things they needed that were actually a good sale this week!  They got 2 bottles of laundry detergent, a large package of toilet paper, and a large package of paper towels for $16 (retail value $36!).  Saving 56% on paper products your first time out is great, guys!  Way to go!  As a bonus, I was able to make some money with my purchases!  Here's what I got:

Transaction #1:

(2) Aveeno trail size lotions $1.49 ea.
(2) Smucker's preserves $2.50 ea.

-$1/2 Smucker's preserves
-7 ECBs

Total: $0.18 (only tax!)
ECBs received: 7 (for Aveeno--raincheck), 3 (for Smucker's)

Transaction #2:

(1) Holloween glowsticks $0.49 (Jesse likes to keep these in the car)
(3) Hallmark cards $0.99 ea.

-3 ECBs

Total: $0.67 (I used the rest of my giftcard)
ECBs recieved: 3 (for Hallmark)

Transaction #3 (now I know why I usually keep it to 2 transactions...)

(2) Schick Quattro 3 ct. $10.99 ea.

-BOGO Schick disposable razor ($10.99)
-10 ECBs

Total: $1.89
ECBs recieved: 10

Alright!  I paid $2.05 in cash and have 3 more bucks to spend next week--it's like they paid me $1 to take $40 in merchandise off their hands!!  Sounds like a good deal to me!


Oh, and I MUST brag about my shoe purchase today!  I wear a size 12, so finding any shoes--much less a deal--is a miracle.  6pm.com is having an 11eleven11 sale for the day and had thousands of pairs marked down to $11 each with free shipping!  They even had a solid 2 dozen pairs that were my size!!! So, I got a new pair of dress shoes and a pair of "eco" sneakers for $22 shipped!!  I was EXstatic for a good two hours over this deal!  I do have to pay for return shipping if they don't fit.  Since that would probably cost $11+, they're basically non-refundable.  But for that price, I'll take the chance for shoes I really love!

Back on Track!

Ahh!  I'm back on track with a 55% savings at Food Lion yesterday (which is no small feat for that store).  They almost rejected my high value Schick coupons (printable).  This is why couponers don't shop at Food Lion...they aren't at all "coupon friendly."  I hope to go back to my new flame--Martin's--soon.  They never even blink at my coupon stack.  =D  I didn't get a pic of my trip, but I did get a pic of my awesome CVS trips!  Here's what I got:

(2) Jif Peanut Butter $1.67 ea.
(1) Thermacare 1 ct. (rain check) $3.69
(1) Schick Quattro Women's refill $8.99

-$5/1 Schick razor/refill
-(2) $0.55/1 Jif printable
-4.99 Extrabucks

Total: $5.57 (on gift card)
ECBs: 4 (for Thermacare), 1 (green bag tag), 4 (for Schick)


Trip #2:

(2) Thermacare 2 ct. $5.99 ea.
(1) Listerine $3.99
-$2/1 Listerine
-$2/1 Thermacare (peelie--an extra from a while back)
-$1/1 Thermacare (inside an old package)
-9 ECBs
Total: $2.14 (on gift card)
ECBs: 5 (for Thermacare), 2 (for Listerine)


All told, I paid $0 out of pocket for $45.64 in products!  I only have $0.64 left on my gift card, so I'm gonna have to pay cash next week =(  Oh well, time to contribute to society, I guess.  =)  Have a great weekend, y'all!

I had a small meltdown in the parking lot...

I went to Weis Markets to get a great deal on paper products, but they were all out.  So, what was gonna be a "super savin' maven" trip turned essentially into a milk run...a really expensive milk run...  You remember that milk and cereal deal I did 2 weeks ago?  The one where I got 8 boxes of cereal for super-cheap?  Yeah, all that cereal is gone.  Two people went through 8+ boxes in 2 weeks!  So, I had that dreaded four-letter word on my hands (N-E-E-D) on more than one front.  Here's what I got:

(2) Tostitos BOGO @ $4.99

(3) Eggo waffles @ 3/$5 (trying to cut our cereal addiction)

(2) GM cereal $2.50 ea. (:O)

-$0.75/1 Cinn. Toast Crunch (doubles to $1.50)

(2) O.S. cranberry juice with calcium $1.79 (clearance!)

(1) Pillidelphia cooking cream $2

-$1/1 cooking cream

(1) A&W Root Beer 2 Liter (Coke prices were sooo high, so I subbed root beer) $1

(1) dozen eggs $1.89

Clementines $3.99

(1) gal. milk $3.29

(2) Freschetta pizzas $5.50 ea.

-$1/1 Freschetta pizza

(1) Newspaper $2

Total: $42.41

Aaaaand here's where I nearly cried.  Look at my cart again.  It looks like nothing to me--a few pizzas, some chips...  I was a little encouraged to see on my receipt that I had saved 35% ($23.60), but I still had to call my sister for some talk therapy.  She told me about her latest trip where she spent $150 and saved 8%.  I felt a little better.  She also commented, "I've created a monster!," and it is so true.  I'm pretty sure I'm "addicted to saving;" hopefully, I'll get over that soon (dad did say not to take up gambling).  In the meantime, I'll focus on the CVS run I did on Saturday.  I was pretty excited.  Here's what I got:

(2) Fun-sized bags M&M's $2.50 ea.

-(2) $1.50/1 Mars candy (9oz.+) coupons

(2) Fun-Sized bags Hershey's milk chocolate bars $2.50 ea.

-(2) $1/1 Hershey's candy (any, 9 oz. +) coupons

-4 ECBs

Total: $1.60 (on CVS gift card)

ECBs received: 3

Credit in Savings Star account: $1 (for buying M&Ms)

It's like I paid $1.60 for 4 bags of candy!!!  I saved 90% off retail price ($4 ea.)!!  I was purdy excited!!  See, I AM a "super savin' maven"!

More grocery shoppping at CVS this week

Though I hadn't planned on it, I did the gift card deal again this week. It included Gatorade and paper towels (we were out of both), so it was a perfect sale for me.  Here's what I got:

Bought:

(4) Starburst stick $0.50 ea.
(2) Scott Mega Paper Towels $6 ea.
(2) Bumble Bee tuna $0.77 ea.
(4) Cheez-it $1.99 ea.
(10) Gatorade $1 ea.
(1) Candy Corn $0.99
(20) Kodak prints $0.29 ea. (not pictured)


-(2) $1/1 Scott paper towel
-(2) BOGO starburst manu. q's ($0.50)
-BOGO starburst CVS q ($1.19) (I had only planned on using 2 BOGO q's total, but my cashier and I had a miscommunication)
-$1/2 BumbleBee tuna (recyclebank)
- 20 FREE Kodak prints (facebook)
-9 ECBs, $10 gift card (from last week)

Subtotal: $10.25
Total: $11.17
ECBs: 1 (starburst), 0.99 (candy corn), $10 gift card (for buying $30 in select merchandise)
Total saved: $53.48

Considering the ExtraBucks I burned on the transaction, I spent $18.17 on $64.65 in groceries!  I saved 72%!!!

Can I get one more post in before the weekend?

I have no more than 1/2 hour... let's see...

After a cleaning day marathon on Tuesday, I took a day off with the other Trelindas (Becky and Laurie).  Yesterday, I got back in the grocery game.  I actually split my grocery shopping between Wal-Mart and CVS (I DID use ExtraBucks to buy groceries this week!).  Between the two trips, I saved 59%.  Which seems a little low for me, but I didn't "save" anything at Wal-Mart (it was probably 40% off grocery store prices).  I had to go to the dreaded 'mart to get some pharmaceuticals.  I did the math and their "everyday" prices on generic meds were lower than CVS's sale price this week.  So I picked up some other things we were out of: brown sugar, bread (we can't fit a 2 months supply of bread in the freezer), Pam (with free-bate), and bananas (we're on a banana kick lately) for $8.32 (with a rebate for $2.86).  We didn't need any milk or eggs (also things I can't fit in my stockpile) because of the great deals last week, so here's all I got:

All of the rest of the items, I got from CVS.  I had to go to 2 stores because the first store was out of Freshmates (no rain checks on the gift card deal).  Here's what I got:

Store #1

Bought:

(6) Puffs + lotion (these are bigger boxes) $1.50 ea.

(2) Goldfish crackers $1.50 ea.

(1) Wisk HE 50 oz $4.99 (orig. $8.99??)

(1) Almay eyeshadow $5.99 (I just wanted this and I figured for <$1, I was worth it ;D)

(1) Pamper's jumbo pack $8.99 (for new baby niece coming!)

-22 ECBs

-$1/1 Pamper's

-$2/1 Pamper's CVS q

-$1/1 Almay

-$2/1 Wisk

-$1/6 Puffs (stupid low value coupon...)

Subtotal: $2.97

Tax: $1.64

Total: $4.61

ECBs: 4

Store #2

(They had the freshmates that I wanted here, and also the eyeliner I was hoping to exchange from earlier in the week)

Bought:

(2) Charmin Freshmates $2.50 ea.

(1) Almay eyeliner $5.99 (exchange)

-(2) $1/1 Charmin

-$6.35 (exchange)

Subtotal: $2.64

Tax: $0.66

Total: $3.30

ECBs: 4 (from the Almay exchange--this was actually a duplicate since it was an exchange.  I explained that to the cashier, though, and she said to keep it--Yay!!), $10 CVS gift card (now I won't have to pay tax!)

So, all total, I spent $7.91 at CVS for $49.68 in products.  I used 22 ECBs, got back 8 ECB and a $10 gift card.  So, I saved 81% for groceries!!  So far this week, I have spent $20.93 from my grocery budget!  I love staying under budget!!

I was wondering what to do with the unused freshmate containers and had an awesome idea: turn them into Cheerio dispensers!  This is Timothy's new favorite thing!  He can even push the button to open it (Jesse taught him that ;D)!

Oh yeah...and I missed my deadline =D

LOVE this eyeliner!

Yesterday, I forewent a big shopping trip to CVS.  I did stop in and make some money on eyeliner, but I'm saving my "big trip" for after Wednesday (b/c I figured I'd be out of money in my envelope--I was right).  Here's what I got:

I bought:

(1) Intense I-color liquid eyeliner Purple (for brown eyes) $5.99
(1) Intense I-color liquid eyeliner Raisin (pictured) (for green eyes) $5.99

-$3/$10 make-up purchase CVS coupon
This printed from the coupon machine on Saturday (when I stopped in to make $4 on haircolor!) and it expired Sunday, hence the Sunday make-up run.
-(2) $1/1 Almay product manu. coupon
-7 ECBs from last week (I don't even know when I got these anymore--I've got 27 to my name right now...)

Subtotal: $0.00
Total: $0.30 (on my rebate card)
ECBs received: 8 (from Almay), 1 (green bag tag)

I tried the "Raisin" and loved LOVED it so much, I'm not going to even try the purple.  I'm actually planning on exchanging the purple for another raisin for my sister.  Even though CVS has a no questions asked guarantee on make-up, I don't usually like returning make-up that was free (just doesn't seem right...).  I'm okay making an exception in this case because it's unopened and CVS can still sell the purple eyeliner.

My Coupon Story

Jenny at Southern Savers prompted us to share why we use coupons and I thought it would be nice to post here also.

 

My husband and I used to fight about money all the time. He set a budget based on how much money we had left after bills, savings, etc. I felt like it was waay too low ($50 for 2 people for a week), so I would just go and get what we needed and let him deal with "making it work." It sounds horrible now, but the way I felt was that we NEEDED food, but the other things, like saving for retirement, were not as important for a pair of twenty-somethings. I would always look at the circular and set up my menu around the sales and I would almost always buy generic. I thought I was a savvy shopper and if I couldn't make $50 a week work, then it must be impossible. I would regularly spend $100-$150 dollars per week and it would inevitably lead to a fight.  While I was complaining to my sister one day, she told me..again…to try couponing.  She had been following Jenny’s blog for a while, but I thought it was too complicated for me.  Finally, I decided to try CVS/pharmacy.  I watched all the tutorials and read all the “getting started” information and then I waited for a week that Jenny was excited about to try my hand at it.  It only took 2 weeks of free stuff for me to get hooked on using coupons.  Now, a year later, we have added a baby and I have a comfortable grocery budget of $75 per week.  For that, we get all the essentials and even have money left for non-essentials, like body wash and ice cream.  I really feel like I’m “living the life” and I feel that coupons make our lifestyle comfortable.  It’s funny because I live better “in this recession” than I ever did before.  I have more in my pantry and more in my wallet than I had a year or two ago; I feel like a complete coupon success story.

I took the week off (yeah right...)

I really wasn't going to go to CVS this week.  really.  They didn't have any interesting sales.  Well, they did have Q-tips at their 6 week low price...okay, I'll just go for Q-tips...gah!  They got me in the door and look at me now?!? 

When I walked in, my very favorite manager was on duty.  I commented on how they got their new Reinventing Beauty magazine in (it costs a dollar, but has lots of great coupons) and she was like, "oh, I have something you may want."  She then went to the back and brought me the insert with all the magazine's coupons!  She says something like, "Yeah, they send these for the employees with the magazines I thought maybe you could use them..."  Are you kidding me?!?  Coupons!!  There was a $5 off a $10 Glaxo-Smith-Kline purchase in there, which I stacked with 2 printable coupons and a sale to make $1.50 on sensitive toothpaste!  My sister asked me to pick these up for her when deals come along and I was happy to oblige.  Free toothpaste is the cornerstone of the coupon game: you should never pay for toothpaste.  Actually, I have to pay ~$1 for toothpaste because I can only have cinnamon flavor, but if you don't mind mint, you're golden. 

So, here's what I got on my week off:

(3) Hallmark cards $0.99 ea.
(2) Softsoap foaming hand soap $3 ea. (rain check)
(1) Q-tip 300 ct $1.99
(1) Sensodyne Pronamel $4.49
(1) Sensodyne Iso-Active $5.99

-$0.60/1 Q-tip (recyclebank)
-(2) $0.70/1 Softsoap
-(1) $1/1 Pronamel
-$1/1 Iso-Active
-$5/10 GSK oral care purchase
-12 ECBs (from last week)

Subtotal: $0.44
Tax: $1.29
Total: $1.73
ECBs received: 3 (Hallmark), 4 (Softsoap--rain check), 5 (Sensodyne)

So, I went in for $1.50 Q-tips and walked out with nearly $30 in products for the same price...so much for my week off... =D

ETA: I realized since this post that I prabably was not supposed to use the $5/10 coupon and the two $1/1 coupons because they were all labeled "manufacturer coupon." (I thought the reinventing beauty magazine coupon was different)  It just goes to show, I sitll have stuff to learn...