Deals of the week!

This has been one of our best weeks since we started hyper-couponing about 8 months ago! We finally made it to Staples on the last day of their free 'backpack' special and were delighted to find some very nice selections. Choosing one was quite difficult, but we did narrow it down to two. Then our shopping pal volunteered to put one in his cart so we could have both! The black one was half price and the tie-dye 25% off. We also used a 20% off coupon for the black one, which brought it down to $23.99... and we're getting a $29.99 rebate on it! CHA-CHING!


We also bought several other items, using Staples Rewards, that offered a rebate. So we now have a total - including cash back, Staples Rewards, and gift cards - of around $87.50 coming. Add to that a $10 Publix gift card from the Publix/ConAgra offer, $10 from Aveeno, and $4.96 from the lunch tote we got at Target. Can't wait for these to start rolling in!

Another AbFab deal was at Publix. We did this one three times. Each time, using five $1/2 coupons and the $5/10 ConAgra products Q, 10 bottles of Hunt's Ketchup (BOGO) gave us an overage of $1.25 toward other items! Twice, we opted for the Sabra Hummus (can't stop eating that stuff!) that was on sale and paid exactly $1.75, the cost of one ketchup, for everything! And at the end of the month, each use of our credit union ATM card has earned us 15¢. That came to over $40 this month! CHA-CHING!


Last, but certainly not least, for the final of several Friends and Family deals at Walgreens, we used a $25 Walgreens 'check' from a prescription transfer. Missing from the picture below are 6 more Big Rolls and 8 gallons of distilled water. We bought the 2 vitamins - which our insurance/wellness account paid for! - earlier in the day. Each one cost $7.50 and returned a $10 RR! CHA-CHING! We used the RR from one, along with a couple other RR's we had on hand, to pay for the Complete, one of the razors, and three Huggies wipes. (Almost forgot, we used a $4 coupon on each of the razors and combined store and MC's on the Huggies). The other $10 RR went to Publix for a few last minute deals on the final day of their sale.

Our final deal at Walgreens filled a cart and cost us exactly 13¢! Remember, we get 15¢ for using the ATM card, so we actually made a 2¢ profit! CHA-CHING!

OOP between Publix and Walgreens: $3.63.
RR's in our wallet right now: $23! CHA-CHING!!!!!
Oh, and we found that the cashier made some mistakes, so they owe us 75¢.

Also, we didn't even get a chance to post our CVS deals, which gave us a chance to roll some ECB's with a mere pittance, mostly tax, OOP. This is WAY working for us! :)

Who'da thunk, a year ago, we'd actually be buying more and paying less?! One of the very best things about this new lifestyle is 'buying' so many things we don't need. We've been able to donate quite a few items to the local 'children's home'. They tell us it's a blessing, but we truly believe we are blessed even more. We always leave their office with huge smiles and singing hearts!

OO! OO! Edit: Almost forgot the 2 Alive! coupons, making the vitamins $6.50 each; with a $10 RR per, those 2 alone netted us a $7 profit! CHA -CHING!

God bless your budget!

Suave Naturals body wash coupon

Sign up here for a 50¢ coupon (print twice) on any one Suave Naturals Body Wash. You might use these at CVS, 11-17 July, with their buy $10 of applicable Suave products get $3 extra bucks deal.

More free chocolate from CVS

Another reason to love CVS! We scanned our card at the door and got a coupon for 50¢ off one Milky Way Simply Caramel, 3 Musketeers Truffle or Munch bar. The MW and 3M were on sale 2/$1, but they were out of 3M. We're not big MW fans, but the caramel was pretty nice. Even nicer since it was an actual money-maker for us! We paid 4¢ tax and got $1 ECB for our 4th green bag tag scan. AND we used our bank card, which will pay us another 15¢ come statement time! Pick up a candy bar, earn $1.11! That's our kinda shopping! 8-]

God bless your budget!

Duke's dandy drugstore deals!

The Duke made a last-minute run to CVS and Walgreens this afternoon and scored better than planned.

At Walgreens, he picked up one Re-nu contact solution ($7.49) and two Butterfingers (50¢ each) as fillers (coz he had 3 coupons). He used one $2 Re-nu coupon, two $2 RR's and an old Wags gc that had $1.69 left on it. Total OOP was $1.40 and he got a $7.50 RR. Plus, we get 15¢ back for every purchase using our bank's ATM card!

Next, at CVS... we decided to hold on to our ECB's till the new sale starts tomorrow. We started out with one CVS coupon for a free Dove bar or $2 off a larger amount and one free gift (choice of one 20-pk antibacterial wipes or shave cream ) coupon. The only other items on our list were 2 PowerBars @ 99¢, each of which gave us a 99¢ ECB. The Duke grabbed the shave cream ($1.49), 2 PowerBars ($1.98) and a Dove bar (89¢). The register took $2 off for the Dove and $1.79 for the shave cream, leaving a total of 57¢ and 10¢ tax. So, 67¢ OOP and we saved $3.79. AND we got $1.98 in ECB's. That, along with a $1 ECB for his 4th green bag tag* scan and the 15¢ ATM rebate, gives us a $2.46 profit!


Honestly, 6 months ago, we would have taken very little stock in the notion of saving money at CVS or Walgreens. But we're sitting here now with $46 in ECBs, a fistful of CVS coupons and a cupboard chock full of toiletries and paper products, most of which were dirt cheap if not free. The hardest part of the whole process is planning the best strategy to roll the ECB's/RR's. For beginners who might find that a challenge, just go back to our blog list (lower right) and you'll quickly find someone who has already posted some suggested scenarios. Go for it! Just think, once you're paying pennies on the dollar for all your toiletries, you'll have so much more in your budget for those pricey organics! 8-]

God bless your budget!

*'CVS/pharmacy will donate 5 cents to World Wildlife Fund for every Green Bag Tag™ sold between April 1, 2010 and March 31, 2011.'

Super Deal of the Week!

We've been shamefully neglecting this blog of late. Life has a way of sneaking up on one and, before you know it, a week has passed, then two.

This deal was definitely worth the wait, though. We headed for CVS with $11.49 in ECBs and a fistful of coupons. We have been going toward the end of the sale and they're out of most items on our list. So we thought the second day would be good. Wrong! The BumbleBee tuna was cleaned out and people were standing in line for rain checks. It looked like Saturday night in our normally sleepy little store. So we trekked up to the big city, making sure we had a plan B on which to fall back.

Ever have one of those days when God just blesses your socks off? When we got to CVS #2, we beelined for the BumbleBee. There were exactly 13 cans left - we wanted 10 - 3 of which had been decorticated... labels torn off. We gleefully tossed the tuna into the cart and made our way back to the SoftSoap, where we found big empty spaces above the 88¢ signs. Not a huge deal, but now we'd have to sub 2 rolls of CVS paper towels, for which we had no coupons. This was going to add $1 to our total. Still hopeful, we circled the store to complete our list, finding everything and scanning to make sure we had exactly the right items. We went back to the soap aisle to return a different variety that had scanned unacceptably and took one last look, just in case. Would you believe it? Someone had put back 2 bottles, on the wrong shelf, half hidden. YES! The right item, the right number... PTL! Go God!

OK, now are you ready for the punch line? Any guesses how much we spent for all the items pictured above? Ten cans of tuna, two Softsoaps, one Colgate MaxFresh, one Mennen Speed Stick, one EARinse, and one roll of CVS paper towels. The original total was over $22. Our OOP was exactly 2¢ plus 50¢ tax! AND we got back $11.99 in ECBs! The receipt says our total savings was $41.42.

How did we do it? It breaks down like this...
Bought:
10 cans tuna @$.49 each
2 Softsoap @ .88 each
1 Colgate MaxFresh - 2.99 - got $2 ECB
1 Mennen Speed Stick - 2.99 - got $2 ECB
1 EARinse - 7.99 - got $7.99 ECB
1 CVS paper towels - .88
Used:
Two $1/5 cans tuna
Two .50/1 Softsoap
One $1/1 Colgate MF
One $1/1 Mennen SS
One $5/$15 CVS purchase
One $6 ECB
One $5.49 ECB


So, have you been wheeling and dealing and super-saving? Hop over to Fiddledeedee's blog and link up your super deal of the week.

Coulda, shoulda, woulda

Another lesson learned tonight. We had planned on going to CVS tomorrow, but Little Lord Parsimony needs the car all day. So we gathered all the coupons and ECBs we needed and headed out with a plan. Memo to us: never go on Friday night. Our quiet, sleepy little store was jumpin'! People kept getting in line behind us with one or two items, so we kept letting them go ahead. Finally, we took our turn. Transaction ONE (of 3 planned) was fast and flawless. Transaction TWO was interrupted by a worried heir-to-the-throne who had been waiting far too long in the royal carriage. About the same time, the cashier informed us we needed a filler. We had the heir grab a candy bar, but Lady Cashier had forgotten to factor in the $1.50 coupon, so we needed more. The people behind were getting antsy. All this was simultaneous and our brain short-circuited. We put the paper towels on the counter and ended up with a $4.04 total, including tax. We stewed all the way home over the extra $2-3 we had just spent. Had we taken a minute to think, we could have grabbed 2 candy bars as filler, then used one of the ECBs from deal 2 to pay for the paper towels. We'd have bought more and spent less. >:\

We've decided the biggest lesson tonight is, 'forgive yourself '. We fumbled a deal. Move on. There will be another. Two months ago, we wouldn't have cared about such a small amount. Now we know just how much we can do with a few farthings. :-]

All in all, it was still a good trip. We went in with $11 in ECBs and came out with $11.49 (ECBs), a $4 off $20 purchase and a $3 off any Glade Fragrance collection Q. We can live with that.

God bless your budget!
Have a JESUS-filled day! ^i^

New CVS coupons

Well, they're new to us, anyhow. We found these on the pharmacy counter. Coupons included are:

• $1 0ff any one 5-oz or larger bag, box or pouch of Smartfood, Baked Stacy's, TrueNorth, or Sun Chips brand snacks
• $1 off any Wisk 50-oz or larger
• $1 off any Colgate Total Advanced Toothpaste 4-oz or larger
• $1 off any Lady Speed Stick 24/7 or Speed Stick 24/7 or Speed Stick Pro (excl trial size)
  
• $1 off any Gold Emblem Almond Product
• $1.50 off any 2 Colgate adult or kids powered toothbrushes
• $2 off any CVS/pharmacy skincare product
• $2 off any Fuel 2-pack
• $2 off any 2 Blade personal care products
• $2 off any full size Viologie purchase
• $2 off any full size Fruitopia purchase
• $2 off any Essence of Beauty purchase over $3.99

Have a JESUS-filled day! ^i^

CVS 1, Wags 0

Our Walgreens excursion this evening was a bust. Apparently, there was a mix-up concerning the L'Oreal hair colour coupon. We left empty-handed. Next stop, CVS. This turned out rather well. On scanning our CVS card, we received a coupon for a free Dove bar or $2 off a laydown bag. We opted for the single bar, on sale at 2/$1. We also found Suave body wash for $2.79. Normally, we'd have passed on that price, but there were 2 bottles with 50% extra and we had some ECB's we needed to use. What a nice surprise when the register took off the whole $2 for the Dove bar! Our grand total, including tax, was 50¢! We ARE amused! 8-]

Drop back and punt

Even though the last CVS trip didn't work out as planned, We're going to try one more round today, final day of this sale.

Here, in a nutshell, is our strategy...
BUY
four Glade products for $12
one Alteril - 1.99
one Listerine - 3.99
one Russell Stover chocolates - 4.99
two VO5 shampoos @ .77 - 1.54
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
subtotal $24.51

USE
$5 off $20 SQ
$3/2 Glade Q
3.50 Glade Q
.50 Glade Q
1.00 Listerine Q
1.00 Russell Stover Q
.55/2 VO5 Q
10.00 ECB
- - - - - - - - - -
total OOP -$0.04 (We'll have to find a small filler)
get back ECB's - 4.00, 3.00, 1.00, 1.99
not spectacular, but not too bad
Now let's just hope they're not out of Glade 8-}
* * * * * * * * * * *
Update: It was smooth sailing! Nothing was (completely) out of stock, the cashier had no problems or questions re our coupons, the register didn't beep at us... 8-]
They were out of the specific Glade items we wanted, but still had candles. We found a bundle of tootsie roll pops for 50¢, making our total OOP 46¢ plus tax.

Be the early bird!

Live and learn! We finally came up with the perfect game plan for CVS this week, but by the time we finally got there, they were cleaned out. Bummer drag! We actually went to three stores and every one had empty spaces where the Thermacare Heatwraps had been. And it was slim pickin's in the Glade section. Ya snooze, ya loose!

Here, for the sake of reminding me that procrastination costs, was our plan:
We had a $5 off $15 Q from the price scanner, one 10.00 ECB and a 1.00 ECB
BUY
four Glade products for $12
one Thermacare - 2.49
one Alteril - 1.99
one Listerine - 3.99
four VO5 shampoos @ .77 - 3.08
one travel-size item - .50
subtotal ------------- $24.05
USE
$5 off $15 CRT
$1 Thermacare Q
$1 Listerine Q
$3.00 Glade Q
$3.50 Glade Q
$.55 VO5 Q
10.00 ECB
-------------
$0.00 OOP!
well, plus any tax involved
We would have gotten back
4.00 ECB
3.00 ECB
1.99 ECB
2.49 ECB
and still have the 1.00 ECB we came in with
1.48 ECB profit

There would have been 2 more transactions which, for the sake of brevity, we'll just bottom line here.
#2 - using Q's and 4.00 & 2.49 ECB's from #1, total OOP - $.32 (plus applicable tax)
- get back 2.49 & 5.00 ECB
#3 - using Q's and 1.99 ECB from #1, total OOP - $0.00 (plus tax, if any)
- get back 2.49 Q
bottom line - started with 6.00 in ECB's - would have ended with 13.98
(maybe this will be a helpful example for someone else wotking on a game plan)

Since the $5 off $15 was only good for 3 days, we scrambled for an on the spot Plan B. We had to improvise a few times at the register, as some items weren't ringing up right. Here's how it finally worked out:
First, we got a rain check for the Thermacare, which was too good a deal to let go.
BOUGHT:
two Revlon lipsticks @ $6.99 (had two $2 Q's)
- these rang up at next week's price ($8.99/BOGO), so we could only use one Q
four VO5 shampoos @ .77 = 3.08
two Reese's PB cups @ .89 ...
- these also came up at next week's price, BIGI half price = 1.33
By now, the cashier was as frustrated as we, coz next week's prices were bringing us up short of the $15
We finally grabbed a couple fillers and the grand total, after Q's and ECB's, and including tax, was $1.62
We got back a 10.00 and a 1.00 (for a 4th green tag use) ECB