Day 26 - Trip 1

Sadly, the store didn't have two bottles of the Olay (they only had one) and I couldn't come up with a great deal on the fly so I will go to the other CVS later in the week and either use my overage for some stuff I need/want or just get 4 bottles for free (if they have 4 bottles!). Also there were no DVD coupons and the store manager (who works the photo section) didn't know what I was talking about.

Transaction 1:

4 bags of Lifesavers - on sale BOGO at $2.19 so $4.38
2 big bags of M&Ms - $5
2 small bags of M&Ms - $1
1 box of Tums QuikPak - $3.69
1 pack of makeup removing wipes - $2.99

Used $2 skincare coupon, $2.25 Tums coupon, $2 Tums CRT, 2 BOGO Lifesavers coupons* ($4.38), $5 ECBs. Paid $1.64 (21 cents tax). Got back $6 ($5 for candy, $1 for wipes).

*The Lifesaver coupons beeped. I'm not the first person to report this problem. Beware. My store's manager let me use them (they're legit! I have no idea why they beep!) but you may have trouble.

Transaction 2:

1 double paper - $2.50

Used $1 from wipes, paid $1.50.



Total OOP: $41.04
Total merchandise: 5 boxes of Excedrin, 5 boxes of CVS pain relief, 2 rolls of CVS TP, 5 12 oz. Softsoap SPA bodywashes, 1 diabetes monitor (donated), 1 EOB gift bag, 2 EOB lip butters, 2 bottles Herbal Essences shampoo, 2 bottles Herbal Essences conditioner, 5 18 oz. Softsoap SPA bodywashes, 5 Colgate toothbrushes, 3 Aquafresh toothpastes, 1 pair of CVS pantyhose, 4 Johnsons Buddies soaps, 4 travel tissue packs, 1 Dawn dish detergent, 8 double Sunday papers, 3 Tums Quik Paks, 3 boxes of CVS Loratadine, 1 spray sunblock [returned], 1 small tube sunblock, 2 boxes of cereal, 3 Colgate toothpastes, 1 box of 3 Intuition razor refills, 3 Adidas deodorants, 4 Brut deodorants, 5 Dove deodorants, 3 boxes of CVS band aids, 2 packs of CVS cotton swabs, 3 Listerine Smart Rinses, 3 bottles Powerade, 3 Nivea shave gels, 1 Benefiber, 1 bottle Dove shampoo, 1 bottle Dove conditioner, 2 tubes Nutritioniste cleanser, 3 bottles Dove body wash, 2 Oral B power toothbrushes, 2 sets of 2 Oral B power replacement heads, 1 bottle Palmolive Oxy, 12 SoyJoy bars, 3 boxes of Breathe Right strips, 5 boxes of cookies, 2-pack of Oral B toothbrushes, 24-pack Gold Emblem bottled water, 1 tube Physician's Formula mascara, 1 small jar CVS petroleum jelly, 3 photobooks, 2 packs of CVS panty liners, 8 tubs of baby wipes, 2 packs of makeup removing wipes, 4 packs of Trident gum, 1 pack of Thank You notes, 1 tube of Banana Boat sunblock, 2 travel-size bottles of Renu, 2 12oz bottles of Renu, 4 bags of Lifesavers, 2 big bags of M&Ms, 2 small bags of M&Ms.

Current ECB status: $5

CVS Scenario for 7/27

"Other" Card:
2 bottles of Olay Ribbons - $5 (clearance price on 10 oz)
1 double paper - $2.50
-$4 coupons for Olay
-$3/2 bodywash CRT from CVS (woohoo)
= 50 cents for all that

[If they don't have the bodywash, I have another idea for another store - but I'll be paying full price for the paper.]

"Experiment" Card:
4 bags of lifesavers (BOGO) - $4.38
2 bags of M&Ms - $5
2 small bags of M&Ms - $1
1 bottle of Powerade -$1
1 Tums Quik Pak - $3.69
1 Dove deodorant - $1.99
[brand of choice - this is the cheapest its ever been I think]
2 Johnsons Buddies soap - $1.98 [a test to see if these qualify for a bigger deal - if they do I will do part 2 later in the week. If they don't, nothing lost.]

- 2 BOGO Lifesavers coupons - $4.38
- $1 Powerade coupon
- $1.98 Johnsons Buddies coupons
- $1 Dove coupon
- $2.25 Tums coupon
- $2 Tums CRT
- $5 ECBs

My total should be around $1.50, and I'll get $5 back for the candy.

PLUS I am hoping to find the $5 coupons for the Kodak DVD - if so, I will either use the $5 from above to make one and get back $9.99, then make 2 and use 2 coupons to get back $19.98 (if it will let me use 2 coupons in one transaction) or use three coupons one at a time to make one and get back $9.99, then make one and get $5 worth of candy, get back $9.99, make another and get $5 worth of candy, get back $14.99.

I hope all of this works out! I did read someone had a problem with the BOGO lifesaver coupon. If that happens, I'll skip the entire candy deal the first time around and hope for the Kodak coupons!

Day 25 - Trip 1

Bought:
1 bottle Renu
1 tub baby wipes

Used $2.50 Renu coupon, $2 skincare coupon. Paid $4.98, got back $5 ECBs (yay!)

Then I used my other card to buy 2 bottles of Olay Ribbons - the small size is on clearance for $2.50. I used 2 $2 coupons and $1 ECBs and only paid 27 cents sales tax. I also used the scanner and that card got a $3/2 bodywash coupon - that will give me overage on the Ribbons next time because I have 2 more $2 coupons - and 2 $1.50 coupons too! I plan on using all that in a deal on Sunday to get the newspaper for cheap (there are a lot of IFs to that deal though - so watch this space).





Total OOP: $37.90
Total merchandise: 5 boxes of Excedrin, 5 boxes of CVS pain relief, 2 rolls of CVS TP, 5 12 oz. Softsoap SPA bodywashes, 1 diabetes monitor (donated), 1 EOB gift bag, 2 EOB lip butters, 2 bottles Herbal Essences shampoo, 2 bottles Herbal Essences conditioner, 5 18 oz. Softsoap SPA bodywashes, 5 Colgate toothbrushes, 3 Aquafresh toothpastes, 1 pair of CVS pantyhose, 4 Johnsons Buddies soaps, 4 travel tissue packs, 1 Dawn dish detergent, 7 double Sunday papers, 2 Tums Quik Paks, 3 boxes of CVS Loratadine, 1 spray sunblock [returned], 1 small tube sunblock, 2 boxes of cereal, 3 Colgate toothpastes, 1 box of 3 Intuition razor refills, 3 Adidas deodorants, 4 Brut deodorants, 5 Dove deodorants, 3 boxes of CVS band aids, 2 packs of CVS cotton swabs, 3 Listerine Smart Rinses, 3 bottles Powerade, 3 Nivea shave gels, 1 Benefiber, 1 bottle Dove shampoo, 1 bottle Dove conditioner, 2 tubes Nutritioniste cleanser, 3 bottles Dove body wash, 2 Oral B power toothbrushes, 2 sets of 2 Oral B power replacement heads, 1 bottle Palmolive Oxy, 12 SoyJoy bars, 3 boxes of Breathe Right strips, 5 boxes of cookies, 2-pack of Oral B toothbrushes, 24-pack Gold Emblem bottled water, 1 tube Physician's Formula mascara, 1 small jar CVS petroleum jelly, 3 photobooks, 2 packs of CVS panty liners, 8 tubs of baby wipes, 1 pack of makeup removing wipes, 4 packs of Trident gum, 1 pack of Thank You notes, 1 tube of Banana Boat sunblock, 2 travel-size bottles of Renu, 2 12oz bottles of Renu

Current ECB status: $5

Day 24 - Trip 2

Transaction 1:
1 tub baby wipes - $2
1 travel-size bottle of Renu - $1.99
Used $2 skincare coupon, $1 Renu printable (www.renucares.com - they will donate $1 to the Susan Komen foundation for every coupon redeemed!), 99 cents in ECBs (yep, down to zero again!). Paid 7 cents (tax).

Opened the travel-size bottle to confirm that yes, there is a $2.50 coupon in there - hooray!

Transaction 2:
1 tub baby wipes - $2
1 travel-size bottle of Renu - $1.99
1 12 oz bottle of Renu - $6.99
Used $2 skincare coupon, $1 Renu printable, $2.50 Renu coupon. Paid $6.11 (63 cents tax).

Next up - buy 1 more bottle of Renu and one more tub of baby wipes to complete the baby deal. [Just noticed that my receipt didn't update with the last baby wipes - hopefully it will fix itself today.]



Total OOP: $32.92
Total merchandise: 5 boxes of Excedrin, 5 boxes of CVS pain relief, 2 rolls of CVS TP, 5 12 oz. Softsoap SPA bodywashes, 1 diabetes monitor (donated), 1 EOB gift bag, 2 EOB lip butters, 2 bottles Herbal Essences shampoo, 2 bottles Herbal Essences conditioner, 5 18 oz. Softsoap SPA bodywashes, 5 Colgate toothbrushes, 3 Aquafresh toothpastes, 1 pair of CVS pantyhose, 4 Johnsons Buddies soaps, 4 travel tissue packs, 1 Dawn dish detergent, 7 double Sunday papers, 2 Tums Quik Paks, 3 boxes of CVS Loratadine, 1 spray sunblock [returned], 1 small tube sunblock, 2 boxes of cereal, 3 Colgate toothpastes, 1 box of 3 Intuition razor refills, 3 Adidas deodorants, 4 Brut deodorants, 5 Dove deodorants, 3 boxes of CVS band aids, 2 packs of CVS cotton swabs, 3 Listerine Smart Rinses, 3 bottles Powerade, 3 Nivea shave gels, 1 Benefiber, 1 bottle Dove shampoo, 1 bottle Dove conditioner, 2 tubes Nutritioniste cleanser, 3 bottles Dove body wash, 2 Oral B power toothbrushes, 2 sets of 2 Oral B power replacement heads, 1 bottle Palmolive Oxy, 12 SoyJoy bars, 3 boxes of Breathe Right strips, 5 boxes of cookies, 2-pack of Oral B toothbrushes, 24-pack Gold Emblem bottled water, 1 tube Physician's Formula mascara, 1 small jar CVS petroleum jelly, 3 photobooks, 2 packs of CVS panty liners, 7 tubs of baby wipes, 1 pack of makeup removing wipes, 4 packs of Trident gum, 1 pack of Thank You notes, 1 tube of Banana Boat sunblock, 2 travel-size bottles of Renu. 1 12oz bottle of Renu

Current ECB status: ZERO

Day 24 - Trip 1

So I'm starting with zero ECBs now and trying to build them back up. :)

Bought:
1 tube of baby sunblock (needed this!) - $6.99
2 tubs of baby wipes - $4
1 pack of panty liners - 99 cents

Used $1 off sunblock (Banana Boat), $2 skincare coupon, paid $9.68 cash (WHOA) (including 70 cents tax). Got back 99 cents ECBs.

Because I don't have the time nor energy to go to CVS 5 times this week (or to do multiple transactions in order to use the $2 skincare coupon more than once - I like to stay under the radar), I planned to buy 2 tubs of wipes on two visits (thus paying for one and getting one free), and then one tub on one visit (I may switch this with the CVS-brand Aquaphor - not positive). I bought the liners realizing that by spending 99 cents now (and getting something I'll use), I'll save 99 cents on the wipes later. I should wind up spending $3.01 OOP for the baby deal and getting back $5 ECBs, unless somehow I find the time to go to the store more often.



Total OOP: $26.74
Total merchandise: 5 boxes of Excedrin, 5 boxes of CVS pain relief, 2 rolls of CVS TP, 5 12 oz. Softsoap SPA bodywashes, 1 diabetes monitor (donated), 1 EOB gift bag, 2 EOB lip butters, 2 bottles Herbal Essences shampoo, 2 bottles Herbal Essences conditioner, 5 18 oz. Softsoap SPA bodywashes, 5 Colgate toothbrushes, 3 Aquafresh toothpastes, 1 pair of CVS pantyhose, 4 Johnsons Buddies soaps, 4 travel tissue packs, 1 Dawn dish detergent, 7 double Sunday papers, 2 Tums Quik Paks, 3 boxes of CVS Loratadine, 1 spray sunblock [returned], 1 small tube sunblock, 2 boxes of cereal, 3 Colgate toothpastes, 1 box of 3 Intuition razor refills, 3 Adidas deodorants, 4 Brut deodorants, 5 Dove deodorants, 3 boxes of CVS band aids, 2 packs of CVS cotton swabs, 3 Listerine Smart Rinses, 3 bottles Powerade, 3 Nivea shave gels, 1 Benefiber, 1 bottle Dove shampoo, 1 bottle Dove conditioner, 2 tubes Nutritioniste cleanser, 3 bottles Dove body wash, 2 Oral B power toothbrushes, 2 sets of 2 Oral B power replacement heads, 1 bottle Palmolive Oxy, 12 SoyJoy bars, 3 boxes of Breathe Right strips, 5 boxes of cookies, 2-pack of Oral B toothbrushes, 24-pack Gold Emblem bottled water, 1 tube Physician's Formula mascara, 1 small jar CVS petroleum jelly, 3 photobooks, 2 packs of CVS panty liners, 5 tubs of baby wipes, 1 pack of makeup removing wipes, 4 packs of Trident gum, 1 pack of Thank You notes, 1 tube of Banana Boat sunblock

Current ECB status: $0.99

Day 23 - Trip 1 (Down to Zero!)

Transaction 1:
1 double Sunday paper - $2.50
1 pack of makeup wipes - $2.99
1 pack of 10 cough drops - $.50

Used 1 $2 skincare coupon and $3.99 ECBs, paid zero OOP, got back $1 for the makeup wipes.

Transaction 2:
4 packs of Trident Xtra - $2.98 (on sale BOGO)
1 tub of CVS baby wipes - $2

Used 2 Trident BOGO coupons (taken out of the paper from Transaction 1), 1 $2 skincare coupon. Paid 6 cents OOP (tax!) and got back $2 for the Trident.

Transaction 3:
1 pack of Thank You notes - $5.99
1 pack of Breathe Right strips - $5.99
1 tub of CVS baby wipes - $2

Used 1 $2 skincare coupon and $11.98 in ECBs (as in, everything I had, including the $3 from above). Paid zero OOP. Got back - NOTHING!

Transaction 4:
1 tub of CVS baby wipes - $2
Used $2 skincare coupon, paid nothing.

But I have $6 toward the Buy-$15-get-$5 baby deal and plan to get more wipes and may e some lotion later in the week. And I paid SIX CENTS for this:



Total OOP: $17.06
Total merchandise: 5 boxes of Excedrin, 5 boxes of CVS pain relief, 2 rolls of CVS TP, 5 12 oz. Softsoap SPA bodywashes, 1 diabetes monitor (donated), 1 EOB gift bag, 2 EOB lip butters, 2 bottles Herbal Essences shampoo, 2 bottles Herbal Essences conditioner, 5 18 oz. Softsoap SPA bodywashes, 5 Colgate toothbrushes, 3 Aquafresh toothpastes, 1 pair of CVS pantyhose, 4 Johnsons Buddies soaps, 4 travel tissue packs, 1 Dawn dish detergent, 7 double Sunday papers, 2 Tums Quik Paks, 3 boxes of CVS Loratadine, 1 spray sunblock [returned], 1 small tube sunblock, 2 boxes of cereal, 3 Colgate toothpastes, 1 box of 3 Intuition razor refills, 3 Adidas deodorants, 4 Brut deodorants, 5 Dove deodorants, 3 boxes of CVS band aids, 2 packs of CVS cotton swabs, 3 Listerine Smart Rinses, 3 bottles Powerade, 3 Nivea shave gels, 1 Benefiber, 1 bottle Dove shampoo, 1 bottle Dove conditioner, 2 tubes Nutritioniste cleanser, 3 bottles Dove body wash, 2 Oral B power toothbrushes, 2 sets of 2 Oral B power replacement heads, 1 bottle Palmolive Oxy, 12 SoyJoy bars, 3 boxes of Breathe Right strips, 5 boxes of cookies, 2-pack of Oral B toothbrushes, 24-pack Gold Emblem bottled water, 1 tube Physician's Formula mascara, 1 small jar CVS petroleum jelly, 3 photobooks, 1 pack of CVS panty liners, 3 tubs of baby wipes, 1 pack of makeup removing wipes, 4 packs of Trident gum, 1 pack of Thank You notes

Current ECB status: ZERO

Kroger!

OK, so I don't really plan to use this blog for anything other than CVS updates, and I regularly save 25-35% at the grocery store and don't post here, but I had to share what I got for free free FREE at Kroger this week:

4 boxes of Nature's Way Pasta Roni
2 half gallons of Turkey Hill iced tea
2 bottles of Powerade

Plus I paid 39 cents for a box of organic pasta. I would've also gotten a roll of paper towels for free but sadly my local Kroger didn't have them.

And just FYI, the Pasta Roni is $1.07 on a regular day (it's on sale until tonight for $1) so it would only be 7 cents with the printable I used anyway (from smartsource.com). And the Powerade APPEARED to be on sale for $1 until mid-August - I haven't seen this in circulars, and I am in the Southeast region for Kroger, but you may want to check since there were $1 coupons last Sunday.

OK back to CVS! (I am still debating one last run for the week to get the Airwick - I have 2 coupons - and the nail polish, which I SWORE I wouldn't get, but when it comes to free I must admit a certain weakness...)

Scenario for CVS - July 20

Here's what I think I'm going to do - I really want to take advantage of the Buy $15 worth of baby products, get $5 back deal. I actually use cloth diapers and wipes, but I can think of some other uses for the CVS wipes - especially if they're free or nearly free!

1 panty liners .99 [I am so sorry I bought one of these last week instead of using the makeup wipes to fill in a deal. Oh well.]
2 tampons - 2.98 [I have a funny feeling my store will be out of these, but we'll see - I'm going to come up with a plan B just in case.]
2 diaper wipes - 4
1 makeup wipes - 2.99
1 double paper
= 13.46

-2/10 CVS
-2 skincare

8.85 [I believe you can only use 1 skincare coupon per transaction. I may see if my favorite cashier will push an extra one through here, but I will likely err on the side of caution as I always do and only use the one.] I'm looking at it as one wipes is free and one makeup wipes is free-after-ECBs.

Pay with $7.99, .99, 48 cents + tax
Get back .99 [liners], 2.98 [tampons], 1 [makeup wipes]

Have $4 toward the $15 deal.

Then fish out the BOGO Trident coupons if my market gets them - I've never tried a BOGO coupon with a BOGO sale and this one is pretty low risk to test it out. Buy 2 All Free&Clear (use 2 $1 coupons), Trident (free if the BOGO/BOGO works) and 1 pack of wipes (free with the $2 skincare coupon). Pay with cash (!!! - or take an ECB loss, not sure but this is a good sale). Get back $1 for the Trident.

My Other Card

I made 3 more photobooks:

1 big - $7.99
1 small - $3.99
Used $10 ECB, paid around $2, got back $7.99 and $3.99.
Then used that $7.99 to pay for the other big one.

I actually need one more small one and so will use the $3.99 from this card to pay for it and get it free (but not get anything back).

I am skipping the free nail polish. Why? I never do my nails - never! And while free is free, I just don't need it. I am eyeing the cheap cereal and Suave body wash though - stay tuned!

[Hey, if you are in my family and saw these entries, pretend to be surprised... ;) ]

Edited to add - returned to CVS today, bought 1 more small photobook ($3.99), 2 boxes of Cinnamon Toast Crunch ($4.29), and a pack of the makeup removing wipes ($2.99). Used $1/2 cereal boxes coupon, $2/CVS skincare, $7.99 ECBs, 27 cents. Got back $1. I hate taking a loss but I love getting things I NEED for nearly free!

Day 22 - Trip 1

Oh fun! One note - number your pictures if you're doing the photo books, and do 01, 02, 03... (I made the mistake of doing 1, 2, 3 so it took longer to make the books).

First transaction:
1 5x8 Photobook - $7.99
1 4x6 Photobook - $3.99

Used $3 coupon and $7.99 in ECBs, paid $1.27 OOP (28 cents tax), got back $7.99, $3.99.

Second transaction:
1 5x8 Photobook - $7.99
1 double Sunday paper - $2.50
1 pack of CVS panty liners - 99 cents

Used $3 coupon and $7.99 ECBs, paid 73 cents (24 cents tax), got back $7.99, 99 cents.



Total OOP: $17
Total merchandise: 5 boxes of Excedrin, 5 boxes of CVS pain relief, 2 rolls of CVS TP, 5 12 oz. Softsoap SPA bodywashes, 1 diabetes monitor (donated), 1 EOB gift bag, 2 EOB lip butters, 2 bottles Herbal Essences shampoo, 2 bottles Herbal Essences conditioner, 5 18 oz. Softsoap SPA bodywashes, 5 Colgate toothbrushes, 3 Aquafresh toothpastes, 1 pair of CVS pantyhose, 4 Johnsons Buddies soaps, 4 travel tissue packs, 1 Dawn dish detergent, 6 double Sunday papers, 2 Tums Quik Paks, 3 boxes of CVS Loratadine, 1 spray sunblock [returned], 1 small tube sunblock, 2 boxes of cereal, 3 Colgate toothpastes, 1 box of 3 Intuition razor refills, 3 Adidas deodorants, 4 Brut deodorants, 5 Dove deodorants, 3 boxes of CVS band aids, 2 packs of CVS cotton swabs, 3 Listerine Smart Rinses, 3 bottles Powerade, 3 Nivea shave gels, 1 Benefiber, 1 bottle Dove shampoo, 1 bottle Dove conditioner, 2 tubes Nutritioniste cleanser, 3 bottles Dove body wash, 2 Oral B power toothbrushes, 2 sets of 2 Oral B power replacement heads, 1 bottle Palmolive Oxy, 12 SoyJoy bars, 2 boxes of Breathe Right strips, 5 boxes of cookies, 2-pack of Oral B toothbrushes, 24-pack Gold Emblem bottled water, 1 tube Physician's Formula mascara, 1 small jar CVS petroleum jelly, 3 photobooks, 1 pack of CVS panty liners

Current ECB status: $12.97

Other card again

I swear I'll get back to the experiment soon. But "my" card had more ECBs than "his" card so I did this deal with mine.

Thanks to a RAOK on Hot Coupon World I got my $3/Regenerist coupons. Plus it turns out there were some in a circular a few weeks ago. So I went and got 4 Regenerist face washes, paid $4.02 OOP, and got back $10. Would've been better if I'd skipped buying two papers on Sunday (sigh) but oh well.

I may go back and do this deal on the experiment card and get some Olay Ribbons bodywash, but...I kind of have a lot of bodywash from all the Softsoap SPA and Dove, so I may not. ;)

My Other Card

The good part: I paid 2 cents OOP and got 1 ECB back for 2 papers (since it is a holiday with just one insert, they didn't package the double paper today so I paid $4 instead of $2.50) and 1 pack of makeup removing towelettes. I used the $2.99 from the brief period of free towelettes and the $1.98 (which was profit) from the panty liners.

The bad part: I read in two different places that there would be a $3 Olay Regenerist coupon in the P&G circular today. Instead, it was $3 off Definity moisturizer, messing up the deal I had planned for the week. I really could've just bought one paper today and been perfectly happy and used the other ECB to get the paper cheaper *next* week when there are more coupons. So I'm kind of annoyed but I am going to try to make the best of it and use the other P&G coupons to the extreme.

Also I had a lovely chat with the manager about the free photobooks for next week - and even he knew there had been coupons a few weeks ago - so free plus overage! I can't wait! My daughter turns one on Tuesday (ah, a personal tidbit for you) and so I plan on making these books for various relatives.

ETA: Here's my plan to salvage my mistake (there's not much in the P&G flier that I even want/need - ARGH):

Olay Ribbons x 4 (5.99x4 = 23.96)
-$2 off Ribbons x 4 ($8)
-$8.99 ECBs
=$6.97 OOP plus tax, get back $10 ECBs

Not that I *need* more body wash, but this isn't a bad price for this stuff either.

I also am going to use at least one of the Cascade coupons (50 cents off 2-in-1 pacs) at the grocery store where it will be doubled...

Heads Up

The July towelette deal is now back to what it's supposed to be - buy one for $2.99 (or $3.49, depending on style) and get back $1. With a $2 coupon it will be free, but not a money maker. I still probably will get more as I think I will use them - and I'm glad i got in on the deal before it vanished!

My Other Card

I love the July towelette deal! First I used my 50 cents in quarterly ECBs (my experiment card didn't get any because my OOP was so low!) plus the $2 skincare coupon to pay 52 cents and get $2.99 back (plus the towelettes, which I will use!). THEN I went back (yes I went to CVS twice today - long story) and bought another pack of towelettes plus two pantiliners, used the $2 coupon and the $2.99 ECB (adjusted to $2.97), paid nothing OOP and got back $2.99 and $1.98. NICE! I plan to use the $1.98 toward the newspaper on Sunday. I think. But I also can do exactly the same deal from today with my experiment card (with a slightly higher OOP - $1.07 I think it would be for the first pack of towelettes).

And as long as this deal continues all month (I'm worried they'll adjust it back to $1 next week - but who knows?), I can buy 3 more packs on each card and each time use a coupon to get $2 in, well, whatever I want (the double paper is my personal best bet). However, I only have 2 coupons left - I hope my usual CVS has more! (The store I walk to didn't have any and while I know about the printable ones, I feel funny - can anyone confirm that they are legit?)

And I thought July was going to be an eh month - I'm VERY excited about the free photobooks that are coming up in 2 weeks! (All details about all upcoming deals can be found via the links to the right...)

You Can't Win 'Em All (AKA Day 21 - Trip 1)

I read on one of the various CVS-y message boards that you could get a small size of CVS petroleum jelly for $1.99, use one of the $2 skincare coupons, and then get $1.99 in ECBs back. Exciting! Yeah, no. Either the deal was June-only and nobody realized it until it was too late or it never was a deal. I did get the free jelly though (didn't even pay tax) so it wasn't a huge problem.

The other rumor is that the towelettes that are listed in the July ECB book are giving the full amount ($2.99 back) and that the $2 skincare coupon works on those too. I plan to try that this Sunday.

AND I have gotten the following rebate checks this week: $3.49 for the Smart Rinse, $4.29 for the Tums Quik Pak, and $2.99 for Pert Plus (bought at Publix, paid 99 cents for the shampoo OOP). I also got a free bowl from Smart Source cereal (and I got the cereal for free with ECBs). So one could say that these offset my OOP spending at CVS. I won't add them into the calculations, but I did want to toss that out there.

So. Bought 1 jar of CVS brand petroleum jelly - $1.99
Used $2 skincare coupon.
Paid nothing, got nothing.

(And got no quarterly ECBs because my OOP was so low - hooray! My other card got 50 cents.)

Total OOP: $15
Total merchandise: 5 boxes of Excedrin, 5 boxes of CVS pain relief, 2 rolls of CVS TP, 5 12 oz. Softsoap SPA bodywashes, 1 diabetes monitor (donated), 1 EOB gift bag, 2 EOB lip butters, 2 bottles Herbal Essences shampoo, 2 bottles Herbal Essences conditioner, 5 18 oz. Softsoap SPA bodywashes, 5 Colgate toothbrushes, 3 Aquafresh toothpastes, 1 pair of CVS pantyhose, 4 Johnsons Buddies soaps, 4 travel tissue packs, 1 Dawn dish detergent, 5 double Sunday papers, 2 Tums Quik Paks, 3 boxes of CVS Loratadine, 1 spray sunblock [returned], 1 small tube sunblock, 2 boxes of cereal, 3 Colgate toothpastes, 1 box of 3 Intuition razor refills, 3 Adidas deodorants, 4 Brut deodorants, 5 Dove deodorants, 3 boxes of CVS band aids, 2 packs of CVS cotton swabs, 3 Listerine Smart Rinses, 3 bottles Powerade, 3 Nivea shave gels, 1 Benefiber, 1 bottle Dove shampoo, 1 bottle Dove conditioner, 2 tubes Nutritioniste cleanser, 3 bottles Dove body wash, 2 Oral B power toothbrushes, 2 sets of 2 Oral B power replacement heads, 1 bottle Palmolive Oxy, 12 SoyJoy bars, 2 boxes of Breathe Right strips, 5 boxes of cookies, 2-pack of Oral B toothbrushes, 24-pack Gold Emblem bottled water, 1 tube Physician's Formula mascara, 1 small jar CVS petroleum jelly

Current ECB status: $7.99