Day 13 - Trip One

First transaction:

Bought:
Two CVS sheer band aids ($1.99 each)
Two 500 packs of CVS cotton swabs ($3.19 each - one flexible, one regular with a bonus travel pack attached)
Two Brut deodorants ($3.19 each)

Used two $1/Brut coupons, $3/$10 CVS purchase (got another one at the scanner, yay!), $3.99 ECBs, $4.99 ECBs, $2 ECBs.

Paid 95 cents OOP (19 cents tax).
Got back $6 (for the Brut), $3.98 (for the band aids), $4 (for the swabs) (Up $3)

Second transaction:
One CVS sheer band aids ($1.99) (Note: I've bought 3 now and my receipt now says limit reached)
Two Dove deodorants (as noted before, I love these) ($4.49 each)
One travel pack of tissues (50 cents)

Used two 75 cents/Dove coupons, $6 ECBs and $4 ECBs (the ones I just earned) (long story short, the cashier and I both messed up and I wound up losing 10 cents of my ECBs - I just can't get worked up over 10 cents though).

Paid 29 cents OOP (12 cents tax).
Got back $1.99 (for the band aids) but also now have $8.98 toward the Dove deal (spend $10, get $3 ECBs - more coupons for the deodorant are coming out this weekend so I will get one more, yay!)



Current tally:
Total OOP: $6.32
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, 2 travel tissue packs, 1 Dawn dish detergent, 2 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, 2 Brut deodorants, 2 Dove deodorants, 3 boxes of CVS band aids, 2 packs of CVS cotton swabs

Current ECB status: $5.97

My Other Card...

I think I did my only CVS trip for the week this morning, and I used my other card because I wanted to do some profit-making deals and I'd already maxed them out on the experiment card. In the end, I bought 2 Tums Quik Paks, 2 CVS Loratadines, 1 travel pack of tissues, 2 Colgate toothbrushes, and the double paper. I walked in with $11.77 in ECBs and I walked out with $13.17 in ECBs, and I paid the sales tax with the money card (which began its life as ECBs). Not bad. :)

Now on both cards I've maxed out the Tums (the best deal of the month - I made $3 in profit from that and there is a mail in rebate in today's paper as well - the coupon I requested because I couldn't print it arrived, and it was the wrong coupon unfortunately - $1 off a large bottle of Tums rather than $2.25 off the Quik Pak, which was kind of disappointing). I can get 2 more toothbrushes (and use the $1/2 coupon) and one more Loratadine. In theory I could get a bunch of Adidas deodorants and some tooth pick things, but I am not really interested in either and will likely skip those deals this month unless I find that I need filler, which is unlikely at this stage of the game.

Next week there is no paper to buy (no coupons for Memorial Day), but there are some nifty freebies (Sierra Mist soda and nail polish). Looking forward to it!

Two Scenarios for the Week

I'm putting these here so I don't forget!

With experiment-card, I have one more ECB to roll because it expires on June 1. It's $8.97 - so 1 Adidas deodorant ($4.99) plus 2 Colgate toothpastes ($2.99 each minus $1 coupon for each) is $8.97 with $8.97 back. Roll away! I'll probably do this later in the week, watch this space!

For the other card, my main goals are to get more Intuition razors and more Smart Start, so I have this planned:

2 toothbrushes ($3.99)
1 toothpaste (2.99)
Intuition refills ($9.99)
2 Smart Start Cereals ($5)

-$1/2 toothbrushes
-$1.50 toothpaste
-$4 razors
-$3/2 cereal

$16.46

Pay with 5.98, $3.99, $5 ECBs, plus $1.49 cash (plus tax)
Get back 7.98 , 2, 6 = $15.98

(If I skipped the cereal I could either get a tissue pack for 50 cents and ask the cashier to adjust the ECB 1 cent - but I still have drama with that sometimes and prefer to avoid it - or more toilet paper and pay a small OOP. But I try not to pay more than $1/box of cereal - so this is a great deal - and Smart Start happens to be one of my favorites...and we need cereal!)

A tip for you - getting your Sunday paper for free!

This just came up in a comment someone left me, so I thought I'd share!

Since starting all this saving fun, I simply hate to pay for anything out of pocket at CVS. Yet every week I buy the double paper for $2.50 - and there aren't coupons/deals for that! (Well, at the end of last year the early edition of the Sunday paper was $1, so I could get two papers for $2, but that's unusual.) So I try to roll my paper into my ECB deals to get it for free or at least for as little as possible.

It's simple - at the most basic level, I just pay for the paper with ECBs. Nothing out of pocket - but I "lose" the $2.50 in ECBs at the same time. If I can, I'll pay for the paper with coupons instead. How? Here's an example using current deals:

Buy 1 Tums Quik Pak, use a $2.25 coupon (As a side note, this coupon is no longer available to print, but I emailed the company and requested a coupon be mailed to me - if I get it, you'll see me use it soon!)
Buy 1 Colgate toothbrush, use a $1 coupon
Buy the $2.50 paper

In this scenario, you'll get the paper for free AND come out ahead by 75 cents!

This isn't possible every week, but I usually manage to get the paper for at least a discount using this method. And considering that the paper is the doorway to more savings, this is always a great deal!

And of course, if the Sunday paper in your area costs less than mine, you can work this to an even bigger advantage!

[Shameless request - if this tip helped you, 1) please comment and 2) please consider signing up for Revolution Money Exchange through me. The link is in an earlier entry, and you will get $25 for signing up while I will get $10 for the referral. It's totally legit! The offer ends May 15 but if you sign up, then you get your own unique referral code that you can use for the rest of the promotion.]

Day Six - Trip One

(I think I need to label these entries differently.)

Bought:
1 18 oz. Softsoap SPA bodywash
3 Colgate 360 toothbrushes
3 Aquafresh toothpastes
4 Johnson's Buddies soaps
1 pair of pantyhose
1 toilet paper

Used 3x $1 off the toothpaste, 3x $1 off the toothbrushes, 4x $1 off the Buddies soap, the $3/$15 that CVS emailed to this card (not the newspaper version), $15.96 ECBs, $5 ECBs

Paid $1.07 (.72 tax), got back $11.97, $8.97, $5.49

THEN, went back and bought 4 more bodywashes, 1 at a time.

Each time, paid with the $5.49 ECB. Ended with the $5.49 ECB and nothing out of pocket.



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Current tally:
Total OOP: $3.27
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, 3 Colgate toothbrushes, 3 Aquafresh toothpastes, 1 pair of CVS pantyhose, 4 Johnsons Buddies soaps

Current ECB status: $26.43

(On my other card I turned $11.97 into $13.97 but missed a grand opportunity to have nothing out of pocket and instead paid $2.74 for 4 more of the bodywashes, a toothpaste, and a Gatorade for my husband, so the ECBs are a wash. If I'd done the math in my head more quickly, I would've added in one 50 cent item, used the $3/$15 from the newspaper, and paid zero or at least close to zero. Oh well.)

Options for CVS May Deals

I popped into one of my CVS stores (I can walk to it) to scope out the inventory but I'm waiting until Sunday to do any deals because I want to get the newspaper (or papers, as you'll see) for free.

I have come up with two scenarios - one makes more money, but one includes things that I actually need. ;) It all depends on what's in stock on Sunday and how I feel that day, I suppose. Remember, I have $20.96 in ECBs right now.

Plan A

3x toothbrush = 11.97
2x toothpaste = 5.98
1x deodorant = $4.99
1x Orapik Traveler = $2.79
1x toilet paper = $0.89
1x Newspaper = $2.50
- $3/$15
- $3 (toothbrushes)
- $2 (toothpaste)
About $21 - low OOP.
Get back $25.73.
This would work all month - and just so you know, the $2.50 is for the double Sunday paper - 2x the coupons! I buy that every week.

Plan B (more likely- updated...)

3x toothbrush = 11.97
3x toothpaste = 8.97
1x pantyhose (need for an event on May 10) - $3.75 (approx.)
1x tissues - 50 cents (may not need, depending on hose price)
1x deodorant - $4.99 (if in stock - otherwise 2x newspaper)
- $3/$15
- $3 (toothbrushes)
- $3 (toothpaste)
About $21 again. ($20.98 if my calculations are exact, but the hose might be a bit more.)
If getting the deodorant, get back $25.93, use $4.99 from deodorant to buy 2x newspaper - I can try this on Friday or Saturday and then do the $4.99/newspaper on Sunday.
This deal also would work all month, but this week I really want the extra coupons as there are a few I'd use for sure.

I also have a Plan C for my other card that has a higher OOP but is the best money maker I came up with... (This would have to be for this weekend since the $5/$30 is only good until Sunday. It was sent directly to me to use with this card, and it has my name on it. :) )

3x toothbrush = 11.97
2x toothpaste = 5.98
2x newspaper = 5
4 Johnsons Bath Buddies = 3.96
CVS Non-Drowsy - $3.79*
= $30.70

- 4 (Johnsons - each soap is 99 cents, the coupons are for $1, I could have problems if the cashier doesn't know how to deal with this)
- 3 (toothbrushes)
- 2 (toothpaste)
- 5 (5/30 - this is the reason this deal is so good - this + the Bath Buddies...)
= $16.70

-12 ECBs
$4.70 OOP plus tax
Get back $21.74

*I am reluctant to do this as I could instead buy 3 of these at once, use a $2/$10 CVS coupon, and make a separate profit later in the month when I need to roll things - so we'll see. I am still trying to keep my OOP low and I don't really need the deodorant - wish I had that free coupon for it! - but I could get one of those instead for higher OOP/higher ECB return.

...My other card...

I liked this deal, so I'm sharing it here.

I started out with $11.97 in ECBs (one big one).

I bought 2 lipsticks, a box of Alavert (the bonus box with 18 pills), and a Speed Stick deodorant.

I used $1 off the Speed Stick, 2 $2 off the lipstick coupons, and $4 off the Alavert. Those plus the $11.97 = 64 cents out of pocket (63 cents of which was sales tax) and $13.99 back in ECBs, broken up into a $6, a $4, and a $3.99.

THEN I went back and got a tube of fancy Skin Effects face scrub and 2 bottles of dishwashing liquid. I used the CVS $2 off Skin Effects coupon (beware - this has been reported to ADD $2 to your total rather than take it off, and that's what happened to me but luckily the cashier and I both caught it and she fixed it - seems like faulty programming to me and it's a PAIN) and 2 25 cents off the dishwashing liquid coupons. I handed over the $6 in ECBs and 11 cents. Got back $5 in ECBs.

Net gain in ECBs, $1-ish, plus all that stuff for free! My YTD savings on that card = $835.96, and I've spent approx. $40 out of pocket to get there. (My spreadsheet, linked on the right, isn't complete because I can't find the receipts for the first few trips of the year.)

Back to the experiment!

Day Five - Trip One

(Technically trip two - my usual CVS didn't have anything I was looking for sale-wise so I used my other card to get some things I needed, then went to another store.)

Bought:
2 bottles of Herbal Essences shampoo (BOGO - $4.29)
2 bottles of Herbal Essences conditioner (BOGO - $4.29)
4 boxes of CVS rapid release pain pills ($3.99 each - see, I got them after all)
1 24/7 Speed Stick deodorant ($3.99)
1 EOB gift bag ($1.49)

Used 2 coupons for $3 off 2 Herbal Essences, 1 coupon for $1 off Speed Stick, 1 CRT for $2.50 off a $10 CVS brand purchase, $14.99 ECBs, $4.99 ECBs.
Paid $1.07 OOP (53 cents tax).
Received $15.96 and $3.99 ECBs ($19.95 total)

THEN, went back and got 2 EOB lip butters - 2 for $5

Paid with $3.99 ECBs and $1 ECBs.
Paid nothing OOP.
Got back $5 in ECBs (lip butters + gift bag from earlier)



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Current tally:
Total OOP: $2.20
Total merchandise: 5 boxes of Excedrin, 5 boxes of CVS pain relief, 1 roll of CVS TP, 5 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
Current ECB status: $20.96

Day Two - Trip Two

Bought 1 Excedrin (Migraine). On sale for $1.99. (Maxed out this deal.)
Bought 1 CVS brand pain relief rapid release gelcaps. $3.99.
Bought 1 CVS brand toilet paper (filler/way to spend the 50 cent ECBs*). 89 cents.

Used $3.99 ECBs, 50 cents ECBs, $2 Excedrin coupon. Paid 54 cents (37 cents for the TP and 17 cents tax).

Received $3.99 ECBs and $1 ECBs.

*Yes, there are other ways I could have worked this, but yesterday I went to a different CVS and tried to just buy the CVS pain relief ($3.99) and the cashier couldn't figure out how to adjust my ECBs by a whole penny. Today I went to a different CVS and wanted the trip to go smoothly (although I suspect the cashier could've handled it - she handled the $2 coupon for the $1.99 Excedrin!) - AND wanted to turn that 50 cents - which were sort of skewing my experiment - into something else anyway. And who doesn't need TP? ;)



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Current tally:
Total OOP: $1.06
Total merchandise: 5 boxes of Excedrin, 1 box of CVS pain relief, 1 roll of CVS TP
Current ECB status: $4.99

CVS CVS oh how I love CVS

Hello.

I'm a new stay at home mom (to a 9 month old) and a freelance writer - so of course I REALLY like to save money these days (though who doesn't?). I've actually been doing the CVS thing (buying things with Extracare Bucks - or ECBs - and then getting more ECBs in return..rolling those, and using them for both essentials and fun things) for several months (started it while I still was working full time, I'd go to CVS on Sundays and buy the paper and then scoop up the deals) - and I've blogged about it elsewhere. So why blog here?

It turns out that I have access to a second card - my husband's. So here, I am going to chronicle using HIS card to see just how far I can go spending as little out of pocket as possible (sales tax only would be nifty).

I will be starting out with 50 cents in ECBs, his Winter 08 earnings. And I have a plan for my first few purchases as well.

I may also mention the deals I get with my other card, but this isn't really about that as I use that card for non-deals too (the Sunday paper, things on sale without an ECB return, things that come up that I need to buy that aren't on sale, etc.). This is going to be a chronicle of how much I actually pay out of pocket over time and what I get in return.

Watch this space.