Sunday, June 19, 2011

Todays CVS haul

I went to CVS first thing this morning.  I had to wait for like 15 minutes for them to open up, but that is okay by me.  :)

I bought:

3 Stride Spark gums $1.00 each
2 Wet & Wild nailpolishes (on clearance)  .99 each
1 Irish Spring Bodywash $2.99
1 Colgate Total toothpaste $2.79
1 Sally Hansen Instant Dry nailpolish $5.49
1 Hershey's Bliss candy $5.99

Subtotal: 22.24 (I had already saved $6.17 because of sale prices at this point by using my store card)

Coupons used:

$5 ECB
$4 ECB
$1/1 Hershey's Bliss
$1/1 CVS coupon for Irish Spring
$1/1 CVS coupon for Colgate
$1/1 Colgate
30% off CVS coupon
$1/3 Stride gum

New Subtotal: $5.83
Total OOP: $6.67
Total savings after coupons and sale: $22.58

I also got back:
$5.99 ECB from Bliss
$2.00 ECB from Sally Hansen
$2.00 ECB from Irish Spring
$2.00 ECB from Coglate
$1.00 ECB from green bag tag usage

I will have to go back to CVS on Wednesday after the truck delivers on Tuesday to get the Schick Hydro 5 cartridge refills for BOGO because they were out and the People Style Watch and People magazines.  (They were out of Style Watch and don't give rainchecks for them, although I did get the raincheck for the cartridges just in case!).  I will get a $2 ECB when I buy both magazines.  Basically, I will be getting my refill cratridges for free thanks to the ECBs and still have some ECBs left over. :)

My Walmart Haul yesterday evening

Okay.  So I needed to go by bread and Walmart has the cheapest price on the kinds I will actually eat.  I also had some wonderful $1/1 NYC coupons (seven of them to be exact) and one $5/$10 NYC purchase.

So the breakdown of this trips is as follows:

Bread $2.88
Renuzit Crystal Refill (clearance) $2
Renuzit Crystal Refill (clearance) $2
NYC Brow liner $1.86
NYC Brow liner $1.86
NYC nailpolish $1.72
NYC nailpolish $1.72
NYC mascara $3.57
Tic Tacs $1.04
Tic Tacs $1.04

Subtotal: $19.69

Coupons used:
2  of the .75/1 Tic Tac
5 $1/$1.72 NYC purchase
$5/$10 NYC purchase
2 of the $3/1 18 oz Renuzit Crystals (making them each $1 MM toward rest of purchase)

New subtotal: $2.19
OOP: $3.55

Friday, June 17, 2011

Wow. It has been a while but I am couponing now.

Here I am.  Back again.  It has been a long time since I last posted anything on my blog!  So what I have I been up too?  Couponing.  What?  Yep.  Couponing.  My hubby and I are in a bad financial way and so couponing has become a way of life for me.

I use coupons at Bi-Lo so I can take advantage of their double coupons and fuelperks program.  I coupon at Food Lion, Dollar General, Family Dollar, Target (when I am in the town it is in), and anywhere else that takes coupons!  I am getting good at it, but I am ready to learn more.  I have entered a contest on youtube and am hoping and praying that I am one of the winners.  I would love to learn how one lady does her couponing and finds the best deals.  She was on TLC's "Extreme Couponing" and is a master couponer.

I haunt all the blogs, forums, coupon websites, store websites, etc. for the best deals and freebies.  I price match at Walmart.  I do separate transactions at CVS and Rite Aid to save money using ECBs and Up Rewards.  (No Walgreens nearby unless I drive two towns over.)  I have the local paper on Sunday delivered to the house and then walk to the "corner store" and try and buy a Charlotte Observer for even more coupons.  I have friends who save their coupons for me.  I trade coupons with my best friend.  I save coupons for my oldest daughter and another friend.  I send coupons to my mom.  I would even be willing to teach a coupon class and show others how to use coupons and get some great savings.

I look for clearance items that I can pair a coupon with for even greater savings along with stacking coupons on other sales.  I have become quite adept at stockpiling.  It is almost and addiction with me now.  I find I "need" to go that free item even if I can't use it because I know that I can donate to the school I drive bus at because there are kids there who need a leg up and need to know that someone cares enough to see that their basic needs are met when the parents can't.  I can't stockpile too much because I just don't have the room for it, but I like knowing that I don't have to go out and buy toothpaste, deodorant, shampoo/conditioner, toilet paper, paper towels, bodywash, etc. for a while.  I am able to save money by not buying those items for at least 6 months to a year.

Oh yeah.  And lets not forget about the first aid supplies.  Bandaids galore, a brand new first aid kit, Bayer aspirin (five for free and one which I had to .25 for), and a few other things.  I have stocked my oldest daughter up with the first aid kit and a few other things that kids always have need of!

I even have a small food stockpile.  Nothing too major, but it is enough to last me through the summer on most things, maybe even longer on others.  (Two bottles of ketchup, two bottles of mustard, and about 6 bottles of bbq sauce will last me a very long time!!)

My husband has not yet seen my stockpile as he has been out on the road for several weeks now.  He saw it before, but it has grown since then. :)  Go figure.  Of course, part of my stockpile is things my hubby has brought home that was damaged goods (even though nothing is wrong with it).  Okay, so a box got squished a little bit and a company decided they couldn't sell the toilet paper.  Well by golly, I will use it.  So the roll is a bit lopsided.  Do I look like I care?  I am going to wipe my but with it.  I don't care if it is squished or not.  Oops.  One bottle of pine cleaner broke open?  The other bottles are just fine and dandy.  Reject!  Not by me.  I will take all I can get.  After all, there is an old saying, If it is free, it's for me.  I will use it and share it.  I have no qualms with that.

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