Sunday, June 21, 2009

CVS - Soy Joy Soy Joy SOY JOY (and Thermacare)

So I had a plan if I got a $5/$30 from the scanner, as I'd heard people were getting them. And then I got one - and the store was out of the diabetes monitors I needed to make it work. (I also could've done everything you see below as one big transaction, but I didn't want a $20 SoyJoy ECB so I didn't do it.)

Transaction 1:
10 Soy Joys - $10
1 double paper - $2.50
1 Thermacare wrap - $2.49

Used $2/$10 SoyJoy, $1/Thermacare, $10.98 in ECBs. Paid $1.09 (8 cents tax). Got back $10.49 in ECBs.

Transaction 2:
5 Soy Joys - $5
1 Thermacare wrap - $2.49

Used $1/$5 SoyJoy, $6.49 in ECBs. Paid 2 cents (tax) Got back $6.49 ECBs.

Transaction 3:
5 Soy Joys - $5
3 Powerades - $3.75

Used $1/$5 SoyJoy, 3 free Powerade coupons from My Coke Rewards. Paid 10 cents tax, got back $8 ECBs for the SoyJoys but not the $1 for the Powerades. (I was talking to a fellow CVS shopper and got distracted, will call CS on Monday.)

UPDATE: Called CS, my $1 ECB will print in 48 hours, I'm adding it to my running total now.

Then the other CVS shopper said she didn't like SoyJoy bars, so she gave me most of hers. ;)

Next up, grab two pints of free Starbucks ice cream from Publix (on sale for $1.90, $2 coupon in today's paper). Yay!

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Total OOP: $22.43 ($8.50 tax)
Total merchandise: 13 double Sunday papers, 3 single Sunday papers, 4 boxes Throat Coolers, 1 Garnier 2-in-1 shampoo/conditioner, 6 packs of Stayfree maxi pads, 1 box of sheer Band Aids, 4 boxes of Soy Joy bars, 20 Soy Joy bars, 1 pack of Nutra Trim gum, 6 bottles Dawn, 4 travel packs of tissues, 7 greeting cards, 2 boxes 5 ct. allergy meds, 2 3-packs of CVS brand paper towels, 1 box of CVS cold medicine (Dayquil-ish), 1 Gillette shampoo, 1 Gillette conditioner, 1 Gillette shampoo+conditioner, 1 box of 30 Breathe Right strips, 4 Gillette Gamer razors, 2 L'Oreal towelettes, 1 KY product, 1 CVS toilet paper, 1 10-count Excedrin, 1 chewable aspirin, 2 Johnson's Buddies soaps, 1 20 oz. Dr. Pepper, 1 small CVS mouthwash, 10 25-count CVS cotton rounds, 4 small boxes of Wheat Thins, 1 Boost Kid Essentials, 2 Cascade Action Pacs, 2 bags of Halls cough drops, 2 Energy Shots 2 pack, 5 Colgate toothpastes, 1 small box Breathe Right strips, 5 bottles Suave body wash, 2 bottles Herbal Essences shampoo, 2 bottles Herbal Essences conditioner, 1 Snickers heart candy, 2 bottles Mylanta Mint, 1 Fruitopia shampoo, 2 Venus Spa Breeze razors, 1 Renuzit Tri-Scent starter kit, 1 box 10-count Carnation Instant Breakfast, 2 single-serving Pringles, 1 bottle Vaseline lotion, 1 tube Crest toothpaste, 1 bottle Irish Spring body wash, 5 Dry Idea roll on deodorants, 1 Colgate Max White, 2 Colgate Max Fresh, 1 Crest Pro-Health Enamel, 2 Hylands teething tablets, 2 Skintimate shave gels, 1 pack Juicyfruit gum, 1 Softsoap coconut scrub, 2 Colgate sensitive toothpastes, 1 Zantrex 2-pack, 1 Adidas deodorant, 3 Contour monitors, 1 Bayer quick-release aspirin, 1 tub CVS-brand baby wipes, 2 bags Purina dog treats, 1 box of Playtex tampons, 2 boxes of Hello Kitty bandaids, 1 Clearasil face wash, 2 Speed Stick pro deodorants, 1 diet Dr. Pepper, 1 Gillette Fusion razor, 3 Powerades, 2 Thermacare wraps.

Current ECB status: $28.49

Sunday, June 7, 2009

CVS - Moneymaking monitor and free razor

I messed up my math, resulting in a higher OOP than I really would've liked, but on the other hand I made a nice profit today.

First transaction:

1 Contour monitor - $14.99
1 double Sunday paper - $2.50
1 travel pack of tissues - 50 cents

Used $14.99 coupon (it beeped, needed a manager override, that took a bit of extra time since the manager was wandering around), $3 ECBs. Paid zero OOP, got back $5 ECBs. Yay.

Second transaction:

2 bottles of Dawn - $2 (in my head this was $1 total, I wasn't thinking about the fact that I'd get the other $1 *back* in ECBs later and this actually goes against my whole thing about low OOP - sure I got the $1 OOP back in Extrabucks, but I had to spend money to make money, which I hate, and I actually had ECBs in an amount that would've made my OOP far lower)
1 Gillette Fusion razor - $7.99

Used 25 cent Dawn coupon from today's paper, 50 cent Dawn coupon from some P&G thing I got in the mail, $4 Gillette coupon from today's paper, $3.99 ECBs. Paid $1.67 OOP (42 cents tax) - that extra dollar there that I didn't count on, sigh. Got back $5 ECBs.

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Total OOP: $21.22 ($8.30 tax)
Total merchandise: 12 double Sunday papers, 3 single Sunday papers, 4 boxes Throat Coolers, 1 Garnier 2-in-1 shampoo/conditioner, 6 packs of Stayfree maxi pads, 1 box of sheer Band Aids, 4 boxes of Soy Joy bars, 1 pack of Nutra Trim gum, 6 bottles Dawn, 4 travel packs of tissues, 7 greeting cards, 2 boxes 5 ct. allergy meds, 2 3-packs of CVS brand paper towels, 1 box of CVS cold medicine (Dayquil-ish), 1 Gillette shampoo, 1 Gillette conditioner, 1 Gillette shampoo+conditioner, 1 box of 30 Breathe Right strips, 4 Gillette Gamer razors, 2 L'Oreal towelettes, 1 KY product, 1 CVS toilet paper, 1 10-count Excedrin, 1 chewable aspirin, 2 Johnson's Buddies soaps, 1 20 oz. Dr. Pepper, 1 small CVS mouthwash, 10 25-count CVS cotton rounds, 4 small boxes of Wheat Thins, 1 Boost Kid Essentials, 2 Cascade Action Pacs, 2 bags of Halls cough drops, 2 Energy Shots 2 pack, 5 Colgate toothpastes, 1 small box Breathe Right strips, 5 bottles Suave body wash, 2 bottles Herbal Essences shampoo, 2 bottles Herbal Essences conditioner, 1 Snickers heart candy, 2 bottles Mylanta Mint, 1 Fruitopia shampoo, 2 Venus Spa Breeze razors, 1 Renuzit Tri-Scent starter kit, 1 box 10-count Carnation Instant Breakfast, 2 single-serving Pringles, 1 bottle Vaseline lotion, 1 tube Crest toothpaste, 1 bottle Irish Spring body wash, 5 Dry Idea roll on deodorants, 1 Colgate Max White, 2 Colgate Max Fresh, 1 Crest Pro-Health Enamel, 2 Hylands teething tablets, 2 Skintimate shave gels, 1 pack Juicyfruit gum, 1 Softsoap coconut scrub, 2 Colgate sensitive toothpastes, 1 Zantrex 2-pack, 1 Adidas deodorant, 3 Contour monitors, 1 Bayer quick-release aspirin, 1 tub CVS-brand baby wipes, 2 bags Purina dog treats, 1 box of Playtex tampons, 2 boxes of Hello Kitty bandaids, 1 Clearasil face wash, 2 Speed Stick pro deodorants, 1 diet Dr. Pepper, 1 Gillette Fusion razor.

Current ECB status: $23.98

Friday, June 5, 2009

Publix - Big savings, but it took a while...

Lately at Publix I've had several cashiers scrutinize each and every coupon I hand over. Like, read the fine print, look at the back, really really study each one. And I often hand over several coupons...maybe 15 or more...so this really adds time AND it makes me blush. Yes indeed, I turn red because I feel like I'm being accused of something. Oh and I hand over my coupons *first* and I try to put the freebies on top so that the cashier can write down the amounts easily. But today I accidentally put two freebie coupons (free Johnsons Buddies and BOGO Goldfish, both from the Baby Club) in the middle of the pile and the cashier looked SO put out when she had to find the prices (which are pretty easy to look up). She also pulled out one of my coupons and said "I think you only bought one of these" and I had to say "Um, no, I bought two" and even recited the flavors. The bag guy was on my side too.

ANYWAY it was worth it because I spent $92.62 OOP and saved $42.78. Highlights included the BOGO Goldfish (I was torn - wait for a sale and hold onto the coupon or just use it today? But we were there...so....), the 70 cent Whole Fruit sorbet, the 75 cent Bertolli sauce, the 99 cent Newman's Own sauce, the deal where I paid $1.75 and got a box of Ritz crackers and a box of whole grain Wheat Thins, the $1 Fresh Express salad...

Still, after today I'm pretty convinced that I'm better off shopping at Your Dekalb Farmer's Market, Trader Joe's, and Aldi for most of my stuff and only hitting Publix when I need specifics. I save more at the other stores, I think. I need to keep better track.

If you've read this far, would you do me a favor and click over on the right on the Atlanta Budget Grocery Examiner link? It would mean a lot and I think you'll learn a bit from my articles. :)

(If you're wondering, I skipped CVS this week and bought the double paper at Kroger. Next week I plan on getting the money making diabetes monitor and not much else, but there are some great deals coming up at the end of June that I'm looking forward to.)