Sunday, July 27, 2008

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.

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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

Saturday, July 26, 2008

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!

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

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).

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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

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

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.]

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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

Monday, July 21, 2008

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.

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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

Sunday, July 20, 2008

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:

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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

Saturday, July 19, 2008

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...)

Friday, July 18, 2008

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.

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

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!

Sunday, July 13, 2008

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.

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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

Thursday, July 10, 2008

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. ;)

Sunday, July 6, 2008

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...

Thursday, July 3, 2008

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!

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

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...)

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

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