Saturday, January 31, 2009

CVS - Scenario for 2/1/09

My plan is definitely this:

2xL'Oreal - $11.98
Double paper - $2.50
-2x$2/L'Oreal
Pay with $9.98 and 50 cents + tax, get back $10.

But I also want to do:

2x Stayfree = $7.98
-BOGO Stayfree ($3.99)
Get back $4.

And:

Excedrin - $2.49
Use $1 CRT.
Get back $2.49

And:
L'Oreal BOGO - Find two things for $6, use 2x$3 coupon, get both free.

And maybe the Ear Rinse ($7.99). Maybe.

And I still have the $10/$50!

I am also looking for the last of the Kotex bonus packs...and I *think* I used all my Gillette coupons, but I want to double check.

So I have to check my ECBs and see what I can finagle for a low OOP. Stay tuned!

Edit: 2xEar Rinse, 1xEnergy Drink, 2xsomething $6 L'Oreal? [this is unlikely if prices match CVS.com], 2x L'Oreal face wipes, 2xStayfree, 1xnewspaper, 1xExcedrin = I could use the 10/50! After all coupons and 10/50, I'd have to spend 26.93. I have $25.56 in ECBs so I'd spend about $1.50 OOP plus tax and get back $37.46 if my math is right. What are the odds my store will have everything in stock? Cross your fingers and stay tuned? (Oh and I'd substitute the Kotex pack for the energy drink if they have it...)

CVS - Gillette Gamer

I bought 2 Gillette Gamer razors - $15.98

Used 2x$4 coupons, $8 ECBs adjusted down to $7.98. The adjustment totally confused the cashier and in retrospect I should've tried to give the ECBs first and the coupons second to lower my OOP and not have to adjust anything, but I didn't, and he did get help from another cashier (who seemed annoyed and I think she muttered "you're not supposed to do this" but she also was having trouble with a different customer so who knows). Paid 56 cents in tax. Got back $8 - a wash.

The store was out of the Kotex bonus packs, sadly, because I have the CVS and the manufacturer coupon for that, but maybe my Sunday store will have one left...

I have one $9.98 ECB that I need to roll soon - it expires 2/6/09. I didn't see anything wonderful next week, but the February "free" deals do start up so maybe I can make something out of those plus the free Excedrin or something...watch this blog for a scenario. ;)

(I also went back to Kroger and picked up 6 more bottles of Suave shampoo and conditioner and paid $2 for it all.)

Photobucket

Total OOP: $2.52 ($1.98 tax)
Total merchandise: 3 double Sunday papers, 4 boxes Throat Coolers, 1 Garnier 2-in-1 shampoo/conditioner, 4 packs of Stayfree maxi pads, 1 box of sheer Band Aids, 4 boxes of Soy Joy bars, 1 pack of Nutra Trim gum, 2 bottles Dawn, 1 travel pack of tissues, 3 greeting cards, 2 boxes 5 ct. allergy meds, 3-pack of CVS brand paper towels, 1 box of CVS cold medicine (Dayquil-ish), 1 Gillette shampoo, 1 Gillette conditioner, 1 box of 30 Breathe Right strips, 2 Gillette Gamer razors.

Current ECB status: $25.56

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Fascinating

A look at the lifecycle of a coupon:

http://southernsavers.com/2009/01/extreme-couponer-101-coupon-redemption/

The part about how store coupons work was the most interesting part for me. I had no idea.

Monday, January 26, 2009

Kroger - January 26, 2009

2 bags of Chex mix
2 bags Goldfish crackers
2 tubs Daisy light sour cream
2 bottles Ken's salad dressing
1 bottle Heinz ketchup
1 bottle French's mustard
[all of the above part of the "Mega Sale"]
3 bottles Suave shampoo or conditioner
2 avocados
2 tubs o'tofu

$14.66 including tax! My receipt says this is a 62% savings - not bad. The only thing I don't buy regularly was the Chex Mix - and that was free + overage thanks to coupons + e-coupons + the Mega Deal or whatever they call it. (My husband likes it too.)

The Suave is a good deal, particularly if you want to donate things. The hair products are on sale 10/$10, and there was a recent coupon for $2/3. That makes them 33 cents each! I may go back for more since I have at least one more coupon...

Sunday, January 25, 2009

CVS Trip - January 25, 2009

This week we actually needed things - imagine that! And I had a few larger ECBs expiring soon and nothing really exciting jumping out at me in the next few weeks. Plus, honestly, isn't part of this game to get the things I need for next to nothing? (But I hate spending my ECBs and not getting some in return...)

So.

2 Gillette shampoo/conditioners - $9.98
1 double paper - $2.50
1 3-pack of paper towels - $2.49
1 CVS cold and flu medicine - $5.29
1 Breathe Right strips 30 pack - $13.99

Used 2x$2/Gillette, $3 CRT for Breathe Right, $26.97 ECBs. Paid 40 cents (12 cents tax). Got back $6 for the Gillette.

(I got a 10/50 from the scanner, but the store was out of the monthly free-after-ECB items and I couldn't think of anything else I needed and was out of the Gillette coupons...darn...)

Photobucket

Total OOP: $1.96 ($1.42 tax)
Total merchandise: 3 double Sunday papers, 4 boxes Throat Coolers, 1 Garnier 2-in-1 shampoo/conditioner, 4 packs of Stayfree maxi pads, 1 box of sheer Band Aids, 4 boxes of Soy Joy bars, 1 pack of Nutra Trim gum, 2 bottles Dawn, 1 travel pack of tissues, 3 greeting cards, 2 boxes 5 ct. allergy meds, 3-pack of CVS brand paper towels, 1 box of CVS cold medicine (Dayquil-ish), 1 Gillette shampoo, 1 Gillette conditioner, 1 box of 30 Breathe Right strips.

Current ECB status: $25.56

Saturday, January 24, 2009

Scenario for CVS - January 25, 2009

This week isn't particularly exciting but here's what I'll probably do:

2x - Gillette shampoo - $9.98
1 double Sunday paper - $2.50
- 2x $2/Gillette

$8.48 (and get back $6 for the Gillette)

I can either add a 50 cent filler here and spend a $3.99, $3, and $2, or add a $1.50 filler (we do need paper towels) and spend a $9.98. I don't mind taking a loss - I kind of feel like the deals are slim right now and I have a LOT of bucks to spend.

But we'll see.

Friday, January 23, 2009

Publix - January 23

Some more good deals at Publix this week!

Free Halls cough drops plus overage (about 6 cents) with coupon.
Free Jolly Time popcorn (still - until February 6) with printable.
Very cheap Ro-Tel tomatoes - from what I can tell, this isn't in the circular, but it absolutely is on sale BOGO at the store. They are 65 cents and there was a 30 cent coupon in a recent insert. There also is a $1/2 coupon in the Advantage Buy flyer. (Some people may want to combine these two coupons - I personally did not do that.)
Juicy Juice 100% Juice for $1.25 after coupon. (Not really a necessary item but nice to have as a treat.)
Bertolli sauce for $1.35 - no coupons that I could find, but still a good price for this sauce.
Laughing Cow cheese wedges are $2.50 (advantage buy) and there were 55 cent coupons in recent inserts. I wish I instead had some 50 cent or $1 coupons, but this is still a decent price.

And hey, Tofutti better-than-cream-cheese is on sale for 40 cents off, but probably 99% of my readers won't be interested in that. It's for vegan cream cheese frosting for my vegan red velvet cupcakes!

Happy shopping!

Monday, January 19, 2009

Publix - January 19

There are some great deals to be had at Publix this week (in my area their sales end Wednesday). Not all of it is particularly HEALTHY or anything, but it's not the worst things you could eat...

Jolly Time Popcorn is free after coupon - there were 50 cent coupons in the January 11 inserts, and there is a printable here for $1 off. Either way, that's free popcorn. The 100 calorie packs do not have trans fat but the rest do. (And even the 100 calorie packs have a "trace" amount of it, but it claims it's not dietarily significant...). I believe this sale goes on for a while as it's an advantage buy vs. a weekly item. Oh and with three UPCs you can get a free reusable bag!

Eggo waffles are 45 cents a box. Sadly, the Nutrigrain ones didn't seem to be a part of the sale. Look carefully - it looked like only the $2.39 boxes are on sale, and not the $2.59 boxes.

Del Monte vegetables are on sale (BOGO) for 65 cents, and there is a printable HERE for 75 cents off the 50%-less-salt variety. 10 cent overage! I printed two and now I am wishing I'd printed more (it has a limit of two per computer, but I have access to several computers). Make sure you get the 50% less salt - the peas and the green beans both worked for the sale.

Green Giant vegetables are 10/$10, and there are coupons for $1/2 and 50 cents/2, making them 50 cents. I get the no-sauce spinach and corn when I see these sales.

Smuckers products are also pretty inexpensive after coupon, but it appeared to me that the ones that are on sale all have high fructose corn syrup and I do my best to avoid that, particularly in products my daughter will eat. (The Jolly Time popcorn may have it, I am not sure, but that's not for her! ;) )

I saved about $45 and spent about $100. Not as fabulous as some people's savings that you'll see, but we also got fresh vegetables, real maple syrup, Morningstar Farms products (those always drive up our bill - I love finding coupons!) and a few other things. Also I apparently grabbed the wrong Frosted Flakes - they were supposed to be $2.29 with a $1 coupon, making them a really good deal, but my receipt shows $3.99 - $2.99 after coupon. That's too much to spend on a box of cereal in my opinion, particularly a sugary one, but for various reasons I couldn't get back into the store to fix it so I'm just chalking it up to experience.

Sunday, January 18, 2009

CVS trip - January 18, 2009

I bought:

2 bottles Dawn ($1.99 at my store, not $1.49 as reported elsewhere)
2 allergy meds - $7.58
3 greeting cards (American Greetings) - $2.98
1 travel pack of tissues - 50 cents

Used 2x 50 cents/Dawn, $12 ECBs. Paid 11 cents (6 cents tax), got back $10.58. The greeting card deal is really nice - I got three cards for future use. Then I realized that I need more cards - and another CVS nearby has Hallmark, which has a higher limit (I definitely reached my American Greetings card limit per my receipt) so I'll be going back. I bought the newspaper with my other card, using the $2 ECB I had that was about to expire and paying 50 cents.

Photobucket

Oh...sorry...

Photobucket

And I baked these (and made the frosting):

Photobucket

And they are VEGAN! Even the "buttercream" frosting! (I know it has nothing to do with saving, but I was so proud I had to share...)

Total OOP: $1.56 ($1.30 tax)
Total merchandise: 2 double Sunday papers, 4 boxes Throat Coolers, 1 Garnier 2-in-1 shampoo/conditioner, 4 packs of Stayfree maxi pads, 1 box of sheer Band Aids, 4 boxes of Soy Joy bars, 1 pack of Nutra Trim gum, 2 bottles Dawn, 1 travel pack of tissues, 3 greeting cards, 2 boxes 5 ct. allergy meds.

Current ECB status: $46.53

Some Scenarios for CVS - January 18, 2009

I have a few ideas for today - it all depends on what's in stock...

1 box of Soy Joy bars - $6
2 bottles of Dawn - $1.49 minus two 50 cent coupons, 49 cents.
2 boxes of CVS allergy medicine - $7.58
3 greeting cards - $2.98
99 cent filler - diaper wipes
$18.04
Use $12, $2, $3.99. Get back $6, $7.58, $3

But what are the odds my store still has Soy Joys? And it seems that the American Greetings limit (what my store carries) is one.

I also could throw in a Throat Coolers - I have already bought 4 on this card, and I have a 50 cent coupon so it would be a small money maker. That would mean I would need to pay with a $10 and $12 and add a filler. But again, odds aren't very good that my store will have these.

In the end, I really want to get the cards and the Dawn - and probably the allergy meds too. We'll see how I do.

I also have a $2 ECB set to expire in a few days on my other card, so I'll probably use that to buy the paper. I'm going late, so I don't know if they'll have any double papers left, and I may need to go elsewhere and pay cash for that this week.

We'll see!

I also wanted to plug Swagbucks again:


Search & Win


I've earned about $25 in Amazon gift cards just for doing a few searches every day. Not bad! Please use my referral if you sign up.

And also I highly recommend signing up for www.youdata.com. I get no referral for this - but all you do is click on a few ads (and the ads are targeted specifically to you - I've actually ENJOYED the websites they send me to and have bookmarked several! - and you get a few cents. The money is deposited every week into your PayPal account, with no minimum. Sure, it's around $1 most weeks, but I just leave that in my PayPal account and look at it as a coupon toward an ebay purchase or something else I use PayPal for. Not bad at all!

Sunday, January 11, 2009

CVS - January 11, 2009

Transaction 1:
2 boxes of Soy Joy bars - $12
1 pack of Nutra Trim gum - $3.99
1 double Sunday paper - $2.50

Used $11.96, $3.99, $2.59 (adjusted to $2.54). Zero OOP.

Transaction 2:
2 boxes of Soy Joy bars - $12
Used $12 ECB, got back $12 ECB. Zero OOP.

Photobucket

(Gum not shown, I gave it to a friend.)

Total OOP: $1.45 ($1.24 tax)
Total merchandise: 2 double Sunday papers, 4 boxes Throat Coolers, 1 Garnier 2-in-1 shampoo/conditioner, 4 packs of Stayfree maxi pads, 1 box of sheer Band Aids, 4 boxes of Soy Joy bars, 1 pack of Nutra Trim gum.

Current ECB status: $47.95

Friday, January 9, 2009

My Other Card Again

I rolled an $11.98 ECB (and 2 pennies) into two boxes of Soy Joy bars and a $12 ECB.

I plan on using this awesome deal to roll some more ECBs on both cards.

I actually like these! Go figure!

Thursday, January 8, 2009

My Other Card

I had a prescription to fill (sadly, no coupon for it - and it's not a transfer or I would've used a Rite Aid or Walgreens printable...) so I went to CVS tonight. Since I was there, I bought 1 Garnier 2 in 1 and then noticed that they still had Christmas clearance for 75% off. I found the one-handed Scotch pop up tape thing for 49 cents, grabbed 3 refills for 49 cents each. Used the $1 Garnier coupon and a $3.99 ECB adjusted down to $3.95 (confused the cashier briefly). Paid 7 cents, got back $2. Yay!

Also I scoped out the SoyJoy boxes. I won't be maxing out 10 on each card - I just don't need that much STUFF - but they will help me roll an $11.98 on this card and another big one on my other card.

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

CVS - Maxi Pads, Throat Coolers, Band Aids

Bought:

4 packs of Stayfree Maxi Pads - $18
1 box of 40 sheer Band Aids - $3
2 Throat Coolers - $9.98

Used 2 BOGO Stayfree coupons, 1 BOGO Throat Coolers coupon, $16.97 in ECBs. Paid $1 (98 cents tax), got back $19.98 in ECBs. Yay!

Photobucket

Total OOP: $1.45 ($1.24 tax)
Total merchandise: 1 double Sunday paper, 4 boxes Throat Coolers, 1 Garnier 2-in-1 shampoo/conditioner, 4 packs of Stayfree maxi pads, 1 box of sheer Band Aids.

Current ECB status: $50.50

Sunday, January 4, 2009

Happy New Year! - First Trip of 2009

Hi everyone - I hope you had a fun New Year's Eve! I think I've decided that I'm going to start a few things from zero in the new year - the long list of what I've gotten and the OOP spending. It just will make things cleaner. If you ever want to see what I got in 2008, I tagged the final post so you can always find it. Also I think I'm going to drop the "Trip #" headers, although I may go back to them, not sure. And I think I'm going to keep track of what I spend toward sales tax vs. actual spending. Also, if you use my spreadsheet (link to the right), I've started a new tab for 2009.

So. First trip of 2009:

2 Throat Coolers - $9.98
1 Garnier 2-in-1 shampoo/conditioner - $2.99
1 double paper that I hope has all of the coupon inserts in it - $2.50

Used BOGO Throat Coolers, $1/Garnier, $8.29 in ECBs. Paid 45 cents (26 cents tax). Got back $11.98 - $3.69 profit!

Photobucket

Total OOP: 45 cents (26 cents tax)
Total merchandise: 1 double Sunday paper, 2 boxes Throat Coolers, 1 Garnier 2-in-1 shampoo/conditioner.

Current ECB status: $47.49 [my math was off by $1 somewhere along the line, but I just redid it all, and this is now accurate - I must've spent the $1 ECB and not noted it...]