CVS: $16 for $63 worth of stuff

I actually had 2 little trips this week at CVS.  I splurged a little on myself.  Why?  Because I'm worth it.

Trip 1

Total Before Savings:  $39.79

Total Coupons & ECBs Used:  $17.24

Cash OOP (on FREE gift card):  $14.88

ECBs Earned:  $8.00

Trip 2

Total Before Savings:  $23.26

Total Coupons & ECBs Used:  $14.00

Cash OOP:  $1.08

ECBs Earned:  $8.00

Trip 1

Pack of Gummy Worms - .99

1 Softsoap bar soap - $3.00 ($1/1 MFC from paper) Earned $2 ECBs 

2 Nyquils - $6 each ($3/2 MFC from paper) Earned $3 ECBs

1 Revlon Age Defying Concealer - $15.29 ($5/1 MFC from paper) Earned $5 ECBs

Trip 2

1 Softsoap bar soap - $3.00 ($1/1 MFC from paper) Earned $2 ECBs 

1 Welch's Grape Juice - $3 ($1/1 MFC from paper)

1 Schick Quattro Refill - $8.99 ($4/1 MFC from paper) Earned $4 ECBs

So in 9 weeks, I've gotten $510.79 worth of stuff for $41.22 cash out of pocket (and if you count the free gift card amount, that is $120.21).  That's either a savings of 91.93% or 76.46% depending on how you look at it by counting my "free $50 CVS gift cards from Discover". 

CVS: $22.13 becomes $1.33

Total Before Savings:  $22.13

Total Coupons & ECBs Used:  $13.50

Cash OOP:  $1.33 (used free gift card from Discover)

ECBs Earned:  $6.24

2 Sensodyne Toothpastes - $4.89 each (used a $2.50/2 MFC from paper)  Earned $2 ECBs for each.

1 Crest Pro-Health - $3.99 ($1/1 MFC from paper) Earned $1.25 ECB.

1 Candy Corn - .99 cents.  Earned .99 ECB

Quick little roll of the ECBs this week.  Getting a pretty good little stockpile going.  I should take a picture but I'm not all organized and whatnot like the women of Extreme Couponing.  It's all just piled into a shelving unit in my attic. 

So in 9 weeks, I've gotten $469.87 worth of stuff for $41.22 cash out of pocket (and if you count the free gift card amount, that is $105.58).  That's either a savings of 91.22% or 77.53% depending on how you look at it by counting my "free $50 CVS gift cards from Discover".  I still have a balance of $35.64 on my second free $50 CVS gift card.

One More CVS Trip Last Week - $51 becomes $13

No picture.  I did 2 quick CVS Trips last week to do the P&G Deal.  I couldn't get the Bounty paper towels so I doubled up on the Charmin.  I could have done the raincheck/ECB credit thing, but I didn't want to make it complicated for myself.  We'll use the extra butt paper.

Total Before Savings:  $50.97

Coupons & ECBs Used:  $19.79

Cash OOP:  $13.03

ECBs Earned:  $10.00

2 Charmin toilet papers - $9.99 each
4 Puffs Plus - $1.50 each

Spent $25.98, Earned $10 ECBs

2 Pretzel M&Ms - $3 each (2 $1/1 MFCs from paper) $2 each

-  I got my second $50 CVS gift card from my Discover Cashback Reward program. I still have enough rewards to score myself 2 more of these free gift cards. 

- When I scanned my CVS card at the Coupon Center, out popped a $5 ECB - because I hit another $50 threshold of spending $50 on Beauty products. They count this amount pre-coupon and pre-ECB so I didn't actually spend $100 in the past 2 months on beauty items.


So in 8 weeks, I've gotten $447.74 worth of stuff for $41.22 cash out of pocket (and if you count the free gift card amount, that is $104.25).  That's either a savings of 90.79% or 76.71% depending on how you look at it by counting my "free $50 CVS gift cards from Discover". 

Sometimes Love Outweighs a Bargain

My 5 year-old decided in August that he wanted me to make him a Halloween costume.  I said "okay" - not sure where he got that idea from.  I was actually kind of thrilled - my mother used to make me my costumes all the time as a kid.  Although I'm not super crafty, I like a challenge.  Thankfully, he picked something relatively easy:  A Vampire. 

Now this will be his 6th Halloween.  I've never let him pick his costume - why?  Well I always have just scored really nice costumes on the clearance racks in November for the next year.  And honestly - little babies & kids really don't have a huge opinion and can be easily persuaded.  I'm evil.  I know.  In fact, November 1st, 2005 was the day I first learned that I would be popping out a little boy come April 2006.  What did the husband and I do after our ultrasound appointment that day?  We went to Old Navy.  There, I found the cutest little pumpkin costume on Clearance for only $3.  I bought it.  It was my "yey!  I'm having a boy" gift and it made me happy to have that vision of a little guy dressed up as a pumpkin.  Pregnant women get giddy over little things like that.  Before long, that peanut was wearing that $3 pumpkin costume:

Of course a couple days after Halloween 2006, I found a great little lion costume on clearance for the next year - and I remember it was a whopping $2.  And my 18 month old didn't put up a fight wearing it:

After this Halloween, I nabbed a police and fireman costume at Target in November - I think they were both about $2 or $3 - and it was just pure luck that I found them in the sizes I would need for the following year.  The 2 1/2 year old was given a choice between a fireman and policeman - he chose the fireman:

Along the way, I popped out another baby.  He didn't mind one bit inheriting the lion costume for his 2nd Halloween:

I was "out of luck" the November following this Halloween with finding costumes for the next year.  But luck was on my side come Halloween time.  I found a local lady who traded me this lion costume for a bigger monkey costume.  That solved my costume dilemma for one kid.  As luck would have it, a few days before Halloween, Old Navy had a $2 costume sale - and it was a 50% off "Stuff a Bag" sale so the cashier just added the costumes to the 50% total - making them $1 each.  I picked up a tiger, lion and chicken costume.  So we once again were covered for Halloween pretty frugally:

So then it was last year - because of my awesome finds at Old Navy with the amazing sale the previous year (I buy "big"), the kids were all set:

My older son loved the tiger costume so much, he reused it and the little guy loved the chicken costume. 
So in the past 5 years, I've spent maybe $18 (if that) on 8 costumes.  And they weren't all nasty or junkie costumes either.  I've passed them on to others who have used them.  They were all well loved by the kids, myself and my wallet.

But this year - I made the 5 year-old's costume.  It's not as "good" as any of these store bought ones and it cost me between $50 - $60 to make (fabric can be expensive!  Especially when you are making a huge, draping cape!).  My son is more than happy with it.  He thinks it's "so cool" that I made it and it's exactly what he wanted - he loved picking out the colors and patterns for the fabric choices.  He thought it was so neat that I was able to make clothes - kind of a "wow!  YOU can make CLOTHES!"  He's happy.  I'm happy.  And sometimes, happiness outweighs any bargain out there. 

And for the inquiring minds, here's a really bad photo of said homemade costume:

Weight Watchers BOGO - Last Day!

Today's the last day to get 2 months at Weight Watchers for the price of one (it's $39.99 a month).  BONUS:  Sign up through Ebates, and you get $7 credited to your Ebates account.  So $33 for a $80 value at Weight Watchers!

All the Weight Watchers info can be found HERE.  But don't buy unless going through Ebates!

20% off Entire Purchase - Michael's This Afternoon

There is a Michael's now about 1.2 miles from my house.  It's going to make me go bankrupt. 

If you plan on going this afternoon, print out the coupon below for 20% off your entire purchase from 12pm-6pm.  Woot Woot!

CLICK HERE FOR THE COUPON

Papa Gino's: 50% Online Orders Today Only!

Score 50% off your online order at Papa Gino's today with code 3913.  Make the deal sweeter if you have Papa Gino's Loyalty Rewards to spend (I've got $5 to use in my account). 

Happy Pizza Eating Today!

CVS: $34 becomes .85 cents!

Total Before Savings:  $34.27

ECBs Used:  $15.99

Coupons Used:  $8.48

Cash OOP:  .85 cents

ECBs Earned:  $12.79

2 Dawn Hand Renewal 9.5 oz. - On sale for .99 cents this week.  Used 2 $1/1 MFCs from the paper, making both of these FREE!  Look at your coupons - you should have a .20/1 any Dawn Coupon and a $1/1 "Hand Renewal" Dawn coupon.  The "Hand Renewal" one DOES NOT specify a size.  It just has to be the "Hand Renewal" variety.  

2 Colgate Optic White - $3.99 each.  Used 2 $1.50/1 MFCs, making these $2.49 each, but I also earned $3 ECBs by purchasing 2 of these.

1 Rephresh Tampons - $6.79.  Earned $6.79 ECBs with this purchase.

1 Soft Soap - $2.99.  Had no coupons.  Boo.  Earned $2 ECBs for buying 1. 

1 Aussie Shampoo - $2.99.  Used a $1/1 MFC and earned $1 ECB.

1 Ritz Crackerful - $2.50.  Got a coupon at the Coupon Center for a FREE box, making this FREE! 

So in 8 weeks, I've gotten $396.77 worth of stuff for $41.22 cash out of pocket (and if you count the free $50 gift card amount, that is $91.22).  That's either a savings of 89.61% or 77% depending on how you look at it by counting my "free $50 CVS gift card".  I have $12.79 in ECBs to play around with - I will most likely go back and do the P&G deal because we are running low on toilet paper & paper towels.  It's "Spend $25, get $10 ECBs". 

Some notes/tips/other ramblings:

-  The "FREE" Ritz Crackerful coupon also said that I could get some Newton Fruit Thins too.  I couldn't find these in my store but they are in the ad.

-  Live in Weymouth or Hingham?  Well I've realized this a few months back.  I live near the CVS on Bridge Street in North Weymouth.  That's my "go-to" CVS store.  It's a 24 hour store.  A few months ago, they built a new CVS right over the bridge in Hingham at the Shipyard.  Ridiculous - since they are about 1/2 mile away from each other.  I kid you not if you aren't from around here - if you are driving down 3A it's like Dunkin' Donuts & CVS central.  I love both of those places though, so I'm not complaining.  The CVS in Hingham opens at 7am on Sunday and whenever I go there to do my ECB shopping - they are STOCKED with stuff.  North Weymouth, even if I go around 8am, is sometimes already sold out of the ECB items.  I don't know if it's because it's a 24 hour store so they have REAL crazies going at like 2 am to nab the ECB deals or what.  I have also done my CVSing at the Southern Artery Quincy store (which sells out of the sale items FAST) and the Rt. 18 CVS in Weymouth (kind of iffy on their sale/ECB stockage). 

-  If you are new to the "drug store sale shopping frenzy" - my personal opinion is to pick a store and run with it.  I personally love CVS.  So I work their deals every week (obviously).  You will also find great deals at Rite-Aid & Walgreens if you know what you are doing.  I tried doing the Register Rewards at Walgreens about 2 years ago and it was such a bother for me that once redeemed, I was done.  I have a "Wellness Card" on my key ring for Rite-Aid, but I've never worked their sales.  I don't even read the Walgreens or Rite-Aid ads because I don't want to be tempted with them.  Some people do work all three - but I just find that if you stick with the one chain of your choice (factors being:  close proximity to your home/work & personal preference), you can really understand their program and work the sales each week and be stocked up sufficiently enough, and then some, for your family with hygiene products.  I'm overly confident in my understanding of CVS and how to spot the good deals that it really doesn't take me much time at all to make up my list and pump it out each week.  So if you pick one store and just learn how their program works, you can easily stock up on stuff each week just by going to that store once and using just the coupons from the newspapers.  I rarely print out coupons for CVSing.  In fact, in the past 8 weeks, I don't think I printed out a single coupon for CVS.  Between the Patriot Ledger and The Boston Globe, I get enough to work the sales each week.  Getting just The Boston Globe delivered on Sundays costs me about $14 a month and I get the Patriot Ledger delivered every day - and that costs me $8 a month.  I think that's going up to $8.55 a month, but that's fine by me.  I read these papers too - so I'm not just buying the coupons.  I like to read all about the drama on the South Shore - and call me old fashioned, but I just can't do it online. 

Why Joining (rejoining) Weight Watchers Now Is Good.

It's September.  The kids are back at school (except mine - they don't start until the 12th for whatever reason).  The BBQs and Wienerfests have come to an end.  Have you thought, "Gee - I should get myself to/back to Weight Watchers?"  I'm going to give you some reasons why now is a good time (I don't work for them...).

1.  Are you feeling fat?  Well if you are, then chances are you are getting fat.  Go to Weight Watchers.

2.  Your routine is starting back up again.  What better way to compliment your routine with a weekly meeting and weigh-in?  Plus eating healthy will give you the energy to cart your kids all over.

3.  Weight Watchers is doing a killer promo right now - Buy one month (at $39.99), get a month free!  That's right.  Join today for $40, and your good until November 6th.

4.  Sweeten that BOGO deal with Ebates.  Purchase your monthly pass through them and get $7 cash back.  2 months for $33.  Can't beat that. 

5.  Lose the weight now to impress your family for the holidays - don't wait until after you gorge yourself on egg nog and pecan pie to start your journey (Pss...Weight Watchers doesn't have these membership deals in January because they know everyone is joining/rejoining then). 

I rejoined a week and a half ago.  I used to get free membership with the whole lifetime thing - but yeah, I let 10 pounds sneak back up on my junk in just 6 months.  Oops.  Down 1.6 this week so only 8 1/2 more to go.  If I work it good  - I should re-hit lifetime after these two months are up.  You'd think the whole "free" thing would be my motivation - but I'm a true slacker at heart.  Honestly, last year when I did drop the weight, I got rid of all my bigger jeans - on a cold night, I threw a pair of my jeans on and they were super tight.  Investing $33 for two months at Weight Watchers is cheaper then going out and buying all new pants! 

COINSTAR: Stop & Shop is there now!

I love Coinstar!  I was excited to see that they partnered with Shaw's a few months ago.  I just went on their site and saw that you can redeem your change for a Stop & Shop gift card now too! 

How it works?  Bring your change to a Coinstar kiosk.  Have the machine count your money.  If you opt to get a gift card, there is NO FEE.  If you opt for cash, there is a 7% charge or something like that. 

So go to Stop & Shop with your big old jar of change.  Cash it in for a Stop & Shop gift card.  Then you don't have to worry about the grocery bill charge on your credit card!

.99 cents for Kandoo Wipes at Stop & Shop

Kandoo sensitive wipes (42-count) are on sale at Stop & Shop this week for $1.99 (reg. $2.49).  Use the .50/1 MFC from the P&G insert (this will double at the register) - making the pack only .99 cents!

Don't get the newspaper coupons?  Sign up HERE to nab a $1/1 MFC!

Proof that generic isn't always cheaper...

Ever since I really got into couponing a few years back, I quickly learned that generic is not always the "cheapest" option.  In fact, most of the time, if a name brand is on sale AND you have a coupon for it, it's much cheaper than the generic option (which typically never has coupons out for them - unless your grocery store rocks at putting out store coupons). 

Here's proof that even with NO coupons - the generic option would be the most expensive:

So what am I showing you?  Sour Cream.  16 oz. Sour Cream to be exact.  This picture was taken at the Hingham Stop & Shop just yesterday.  Here's the price breakdown if you just walked in to buy some:

Stop & Shop brand - $1.79

Breakstone's - $1.67

Daisy - $1.50

Hood - $1.50

Now Hood has $1/2 MFCs out there right now from the paper - making it possible for you to score 2 16 oz. containers for only $1 each.  Daisy usually throws out some MFCs two times a year and Breakstone's usually does a campaign ad or two throughout the year - but it's typically more for their flavored cottage cheese treats and whatnot. 

Now is this always the case?  No.  But just throwing out the friendly reminder that if you typically just grab the generic brand of products (which has no shame at all!), you actually might not be saving the money you think you may be.  But for the average Joe walking into Stop & Shop this week - their best bet would be to grab the Hood or Daisy brands. 

Say none of the sour creams were on sale - but you still had your Hood $1/2 MFC.  Hood would actually be cheaper than the Stop & Shop brand because the coupon would bring it down to $1.50 per container.  But if you only needed one container - then obviously you'd grab the Stop & Shop brand. Why drop $3 on sour cream to just throw half of it away when you could only spend $1.79 for half the amount but actually use it all?

If, for example, no sour creams were on sale and there were no MFCs out there floating around in couponland, then yes, the generic would be cheapest option. 

Now go!  Buy cheap sour cream and eat tacos all week!

CVS: $33 becomes $15 (and earned $15.99 in ECBs)

Not a "great" week at CVS - I mean for the cheapskates.  I kind of liked it because I scored myself some new fancy eye shadow.  Now I'll look like a pageant queen.  I'm also ready to take on my period head on and have no excuse to not have extra fresh breath. 

Total Before Savings:  $33.01

Total Coupons & ECBs Used:  $13.23

Cash OOP:  $15.71 ($12.71 on gift card & $3 in cash)

ECBs Earned:  $15.99

When I scanned my card, I got a coupon for a free Milky Way.

2 Hershey's Air Delights - .99 (earn .99 ECBs WYB 1, Limit 1)  Had BOGO MFC, so paid .99 for 2, but earned .99 in ECBs.  It's like getting both for FREE!

2 Listerines - $2.99  (2 $1/1 MFCs from paper) $1.99 each, but earned $1 ECB a piece.

1 Physician's Formula Eye Shadow - $10.99 ($1/1 MFC from paper) $9.99, but I earned $7 ECBs for this purchase.

1 Carefree - $1.00 (.50/1 MFC from paper)  Paid .50 cents, but earned $1 ECB.

1 Excedrin Menstrual 20 ct (these are in the tampon isle) - $6.79 (.75/1 MFC from paper) Paid $6.04, but earned $5 ECBs.   

This purchase wiped out my free $50 gift card from redeeming my Discover Cashback Bonus.  But I'm not worried - I have another one on the way!  Free money is good money.

So in 7 weeks, I've gotten $362.50 worth of stuff for $40.37 cash out of pocket (and if you count the free $50 gift card amount, that is $90.37).  That's either a savings of 88.8% or 75% depending on how you look at it.  Hoping to boost those numbers up the next few weeks since I now have $16 ECBs to play around with.