Free Skinny Cow single-serving cups at CVS, free ECBs too!

Today I used one of my $1-off-any-Skinny-Cow coupons (I have three - two for liking Skinny Cow on Facebook and one from their site - should've been able to print two from the site but couldn't) at CVS and voila, scored a single-serving cup of chocolate brownie for 2 cents. However, the cashier was all concerned about the coupon, gave me the third degree, and called over a manager. They both indicated there had been memos about "Internet coupons" but this one wasn't on the memo (because, you know, it's LEGIT) so they let it go. I only used one because I was at the CVS that I walk to and it's 90 degrees out (I ate the cup when I got home, it was only slightly melty) but I'm glad I didn't use more anyway. I'll try to get to a CVS before Saturday to get two more - if not, no big, these are a nice treat but I don't NEED them. The store also didn't have the Gillette pack that includes a razor AND extra stuff, and my husband says he's a "Schick guy" so I skipped doing that deal a second time. Oh and I got my Green Bag Tag dollar.

Also I scored the much-discussed-elsewhere free $2 ECB from the scanner. Mine's good until Sunday, so I'm going to use that plus the GBT dollar plus my $3 coupon from BzzAgent to get free CoverGirl lip gloss on Sunday. Hooray! (It's on sale for $5.99, get back $3, next week.)

I'm also currently obsessed with Hungry Girl - granted, a lot of her recipes call for name-brand food (and non-food, sorry HG but it's true), and she LOVES Splenda and I will not touch the stuff, but she also has some very cool and cute ideas. I just got one of her cookbooks from the library (her first book). Best tip I've learned so far? That Laughing Cow wedges MELT. They MELT! I've been eating Laughing Cow cheese for years ("the little cheeses in the red knit bag") and I got addicted to the French Onion wedges a while back (they remind me of onion dip). But I never thought to melt one - so I threw some leftover whole wheat pasta and blanched broccoli in the microwave with a Swiss LC wedge and voila - cheesey, low cal snack. YAY. AND they are launching three new flavors and I am dyyyying to try them. Yum.

CVS - Free Rolaids, free Gillette razor, free Dawn dishwashing liquid plus other freebies!

Today I got the following for free:
Goat cheese (basil and roasted garlic) using coupon from Chevrie
Kraft Mac and Cheese "cheesy explosion" using coupon from Kraft
Kraft Homestyle Mac and Cheese (which appears to be regular m&c with breadcrumbs, in a fancier bag) using coupon from Kraft

At CVS, I spent less than $2 out of pocket and got 2 bags of Rolaids, a Gillette Fusion razor, and a bottle of Dawn Hand Renewal dishwashing liquid. I handed over $4 in ECBs as well, plus a $5-off-$15 coupon (only available through the register - my new favorite cashier hooked me up with it without my needing to make an initial purchase), $4-off-two Rolaids coupon, $4 off Gillette coupon, and $1 off Dawn coupon (which got adjusted down to 97 cents), and I got back $9 in ECBs. Apparently the Gillette deal is more than one, despite what it says in the flyer (my receipt says I haven't completed it yet), so I'll go do that again - ECBs + coupon = razor for $1, but I will get $1 extra back from my Green Bag Tag so it will come out even.

Also I got Shout stain treater for 42 cents and two t-shirts for $10 ($5 each) at Target.

Freebies galore!

Recent freebies:

Coupon for free goat cheese!
Coupon for free Butterfinger candy bar
Coupon for free half-gallon of Hood Simply Smart milk
Coupon for free bottle of non-alcoholic Baileys coffee creamer
Free Nozema bikini razors plus 50 cents overage from Publix (I may try to do this deal a few more times before it ends on June 11 as I have a few more coupons)

Still can't find the Kraft products for which I have free coupons. Same with the yogurt I was supposed to be a BzzAgent for. Maybe in a few months (the coupons have a while to go).

CVS - Profit-making Gillette bodywash + outlet shopping

First, I went to CVS, where I used $4.99 ECBs + $1 ECBs (my green bag tag ECBs) and a BOGO coupon to get two bottles of Gillette bodywash plus the double Sunday paper ($3). I paid about $1 OOP and got back $8. Nice.

Then yesterday we hit the outlet stores. I had a 25% off any purchase coupon from Carters so I got:
4 pairs of socks
2 pajama onesies
1 pajama shirt/pant set
3 onesies
1 "Birthday Girl" shirt
2 outfits (onesie/top plus pants)
1 pair jean shorts

for $58 plus tax. I also bought a non-stick-pot-usable spatula ($3.99), an electric tart warmer ($14), and two pairs of Stride Rite sneakers for my daughter ($35-ish - one pair lights up!). Oh and one book at the awesome closeout bookstore that always has many things I want.

And my friend who thrifts like nobody's business hooked me up with tons of books including three beautiful giant cookbooks - Babbo, Nigella Eats, and The Naked Chef Takes Off. I suspect she paid around $6 for them, total. They are lovely.

And today's mail brought a coupon for a free carton of Simply Smart milk and a free bottle of non-alcoholic Baileys creamer. Yum yum. I still have two free Kraft coupons for products I cannot find in stores, sadly. At least those expire in October, so there's time...

Free stuff at Publix!

Publix was great for free stuff this week! I got a free Schick razor, free Schick shave gel (and realized after we left the store I had coupons for a second - ah well), free Fisher snack mix, and free Kraft olive oil mayo (that was from a sample box Kraft sent me - I also have two other Kraft freebie coupons but the store didn't carry the products). I also got organic bread for $1.25 thanks to sale + Kroger coupon and inexpensive bagged salad thanks to sale + coupon from Publix Family Style magazine.

PLUS the cashier was awesome. Yay!

CVS - Free Herbal Essences shampoo - plus the mailed freebies I've gotten lately

First, CVS was nice this week. I had a $4 ECB and I used that plus 40 cents (my pre-tax total was negative 2 cents) to get a bottle of shampoo and a bottle of conditioner from Herbal Essences aka the brand I use anyway. Got my $4 back plus $1 for my Green Bag Tag (I LOVE THAT THING). Since I have a $4, $4.99 (or is it $4.50? I forget), and $1, I skipped the razor this week - I would've only gotten it if it were free-with-tax or a brand my husband loves.

Then, in the past few days I've gotten in the mail:
A sample of fancy Suave shampoo
A sample of Pantene shampoo and conditioner
A sample of Philosophy's anti-aging moisturizer
A coupon for a free box of Kraft mac and cheese
A coupon for a free bag of fancy Kraft mac and cheese something or other
A coupon for a free thing of Kraft mayo with olive oil
3 little bags of Wheat Thins (sun-dried tomato I think?)
3 little sample packs of instant coffee with vanilla and stuff - International Cafe or something?
2 Cascade action packs (we use these in the dishwasher)
A sample of Metamucil (I keep getting these and not using them...)

Plus we went to the Alive! Expo in Atlanta thanks to Half Off Green - I got two tickets for $10 (and brought a can of beans as a donation) to this organic/natural expo. It was totally worth it - we got several reusable bags, some samples of Omega-3 supplements, and a bunch of food samples (including Cascadian Farms organic granola and granola bars and some gluten-free chips), and we also snacked our way through. Apparently we should've gotten a free loaf of bread too, but ah well, we missed that. Oh and I got a free 5 minute massage that really helped get the kinks out after I spent almost 11 hours on my feet on Saturday selling my wares at a craft show. Heavenly.

CVS plan for Mother's Day 2010 - 5-9-10

I have a $2.50 ECB (from quarterly spending) and a $5 (from doing the Nivea deal last week - I used 2x$4, 2x$1, $2-2-body-wash-CRT, and did the deal).

First, I have to buy the paper (not at CVS, at Kroger, where they always have the double paper available). That will be $3 cash.

Then I'll fish out the $5 Schick coupon.

Next: Crest - $3.50 (I actually want/need the mouthwash, so I won't use the coupon that's for the toothpaste) plus Schick - $8.99 minus $5 coupon = $3.99. I'll be a penny short of my ECBs, so I'll see if the cashier will take them first. I'll break even, ECB-wise.

Then a second Crest, because I need it - use $3.50, get back $3.50.

Then 2 Right Guard deodorants - $5.98, minus $3-2 coupon, so $2.98 - and Kotex $4.99 - here's where it gets tricky, as I have the regular coupons.com printable AND the CVS-only printable. If the cashier will let me use both (and she should), I'll need $1.50 in filler stuff (paper towels or toilet paper, most likely). If not, just 50 cents in filler, which is a travel tissue pack. I'll get back $4 and $4.99 - profit!

We'll see....

Update:

Done! Not pictured, 12-pack of Cottonelle toilet paper. Total OOP: about $4. And I now have $9.50 in ECBs.