Saturday, October 27, 2007

CVS update

Okay so I finally got to go to CVS. It's been a crazy week since I had my stepkids and got to help them do their homeschooling all week. We logged 42 hours for both of them! Whew! So anyway tonight I finally got to go to CVS and guess what...yup they were all out of the crest prohealth night toothpaste. That was the third time I've tried to get it and it is still sold out! UGH!!! Oh well, I still did pretty good. My total between the three transactions was $105.10 and I spent $20.52 out of pocket. Here's what I got:

Transaction #1: Dayquil 4.49 (-$1.50 coupon)
Tylenol under the buy $20 get $10: $26.97 ($15 in coupons)
Total: $31.46- $5 off of $30 order - coupons above - $6ECB = $5.24 + $10ECB

Transaction #2: 6 x Herbal Essences shampoo & conditioner sale 2/$8
- 2 x B2G1 free coupons = $26-8 = $16 get $6ECB
Tylenol deal again $26.97 - $15 in coupons
Total: $52.97 - $10 off of $50 order - coupons - $10ECB = $9.33 + $16 in ECBs

Transaction #3: Fructis Shampoo 7.79 (- $1 coupon) get $4ECB
4 gallons of milk at $3.29
Total: $20.95 - $4 off of $20 order - coupon - $10ECB = $5.95 + $4ECB

Grand Total: $105.10 but only spent $20.52 out of pocket! And I was so proud since when I organized this trip I was thrown for a loop by the crest prohealth not being there. But hey I did alright! I'm pretty proud of myself. It seems like I am finally starting to understand couponing a little. Oh and I did Walgreens last week as well. I spent about $29 and will recieve $19.76 back in rebates! Pretty good, huh? For that one I got the Fructis conditioner, the buy $20 get $10 for the capri suns, and the beano. I think that's all. I can't remember now. It's such a rush to be able to save so much money for my family. Now I just have to figure out how to do this coupon thing at a grocery store. It seems so much more complicated there, plus I'm nervous I'll spend more than I should since right now we only have about $165 a month for groceries for our big family. My dh is going to try to go hunting at the end of this month and God willing will bag a deer or two to help us out. Any tips on hunting would be great! Thanks.

Monday, October 22, 2007

CVS deals

Crystal at Biblicalwomanhood and her new website www.moneysavingmom.com is challenging us to show how we've done our CVS deals. I thought I'd start by what I did last week:

Transaction #1:
Energizer batteries spend $10 get $5 ECBs.
Palmolive Dish Soap $1.09 get $1 ECB
Beano $2.99 get $2.99 (I had a $1 off coupon)
Total $13.99 - $12 ECBs I had previously = $2 and I received $8.99 ECBs

Transaction #2:
Colgate Max Fresh 2.99 (I bought 3) get a total of $6 ECBs plus I had a $1.75 coupon
Lady's Speed Stick $1.99 get $1 ECB (I had a $1 off coupon)
Candy 88cents x2= $1.76 - 50 cent coupon
Total $9.50 - $8.99 ECBs I got from transaction #1 = 48 cents and I received $8.99 ECBs

Transaction #3:
Nature's Bounty Vitamins were B1G1 free. Thanks so Crystal I had 2x $2 coupons - $1 ECB from above = $2.49
I wanted to also get the Crest ProHealth Night toothpaste on this transaction but my CVS was sold out, so I've saved that for this week if they have it in.

This week I am hoping to get the Crest ProHealth, some more Nyquil as a filler (I have a $1.50 coupon), do the Tylenol spend $20 get $10 a few times (it has a limit of 5!), get the Herbal Essences shampoo and conditioner, a Garnier Fructis shampoo, and if I can get some of the coupons the Bic comfort 3 shavers. My hope is to only spend about $12 and end up with $24 in ECBs at the end of all this plus get 2 or 3 gallons of milk for practically free for fillers. Crystal has links on money saving mom that are for $10 off a purchase of $50 I hope to use. I figure I would spend about $11 buying the 3 gallons of milk anyway so anything I get on top of all this is just a huge bonus! I cannot thank Crystal enough for teaching me the skills to provide my family with medicine and other products for next to free. Her being so kind as to help all of us bloggers/readers with coupon links and such is such a huge blessing from God!

Friday, October 12, 2007

Frugal Fridays

I know this may sound really simple but when you are wondering what to do to get out of the house....go to the park. Within about 10 miles of my house there are at least 6 parks with hiking trails, playgrounds, a duck pond, even a vistor's center with an indoor playground. Pack a picnic or now that it's starting to get cold, a thermos of hot cocoa, and go outside and enjoy nature. My youngest and I did this on Wenesday and we had a blast discussing the canadian geese and their webbed feet. We took a blanket and sat and snuggled in the blanket. I know this is something special that I will remember for a long time. For more frugal friday tips go to Crystal at www.biblicalwomanhood.com/blog.htm