This afternoon I decided to do a quick trip to CVS because one of my coupons was expiring on Monday and I wanted to take advantage of the deal before it expired. Also, I should point out that I have a CVS card and so does my husband. We got two cards accidentally, but I have consulted several respectable bloggers and they say that the rule is one per person. So, I shop on both cards. The ECBs that print are specific to the card that earned them. Meaning...if my card earns an ECB, my card has to be the one to redeem the ECB.
* Buy Renu Multipurpose Contact Solution Get $3 ECB. (Or you can buy a twin pack of the rewetting drops.)
* Buy Clairol Loving Care Hair Color Get $2 ECB Limit 1
* Buy Glade Fragrance Collection candles or reed diffusers Get $6.99 ECB (These are free after ECB) Limit 1
Here are the Transactions:
1 Clairol Loving Care Natural Instincts hair color $4.99
1 Renu Multipurpose Contact Solution $7.99
1 Glade Fragrance Collection reed diffuser $6.99
Total: 19.97
Coupons:
- $4.00 off Clairol Natural Instincts hair color (found in the P&G newspaper insert on 8/2 EXPIRES 8/31)
-$2.00 Glade Fragrance Collection candles or reed diffusers
Total After Coupons: 13.97
- $10 ECB from Aveeno Deal I did on Friday
-$4 ECB (The cashier adjusted the ECB down to $3.97 because I forgot to put a filler item in my cart to make up the difference. Some cashiers do this and some do not.)
Total OOP: $0.00 plus tax. (I put the $1.28 in tax on the gift card that I have from transferring a prescription.)
Got $11.99 ECB ($6.99 ECB, $3 ECB, $2 ECB)
1 Clairol Loving Care Natural Instincts hair color $4.99
1 Glade Fragrance Collection soy candle (10 oz) $6.99
1 Warhead Sour Spray candy $1.19 (The Boy has been begging to try this spray candy.)
Total: $13.17
Coupons:
-$4 Clairol Natural Instincts coupon from above
-$2 Glade Fragrance Collection coupon from above
Total After coupons: $7.17
-$6.99 ECB
Total OOP: $0.18 plus tax ( I put the $1.23 on the gift card. I still have $7.54 left on the gift card and I have had it since the beginning of the summer.)
Got $8.99 ECB ($6.99 ECB, $2 ECB)
Grand Totals for the Trip:
OOP: $2.51 on a gift card
ECB Spent: $20.99
ECB Received: $20.98
Lost a penny in ECBs. I don't think I am going to cry over it.
Do you shop at CVS? Do you love it? Do you hate it? Or does it just make your head hurt to think about?
2 boxes Kellogg's Fruit Loops
5 boxes Kellogg's Rice Krispies and Cocoa Krispies
1 box Kellogg's Rice Krispies (largest box available on the Buy 4, Save$4 event)
4 boxes of Eggo Nutragrain Low Fat waffles
1 gallon of milk
1 small bag of Purina Dog Food (on sale $2.99)
1 bar Bounce 4month Fabric Softener bar
Now for the totals:
Total After Sales and Coupons: 17.16
Total Saved: 39.09 (69%)
How I did it? I had a Free Box of Rice Krispies coupon, so I wanted to get the most bang for my coupon and chose to get one of the big boxes. I had some other cereal coupons so I used those on the smaller boxes. I had a coupon for Purina dog food for $3.50. Kroger gives overage so that gave me $.51 to help pay for my milk.I don't use the Rice Krispies for cereal. I use them to make Rice Krispies Treats for when I have to take a quick snack to Sunday School, a playdate, or other social activity. I like to use half Cocoa Krispies and half regular Rice Krispies. They look pretty and taste super yummy.
Now for the totals.
Total Before Sales and Coupons: $98.70
Total After Sales and Coupons: $26.12
Total Savings: 72.58 (74%)
I spent less than $30 (including tax) and am well set with my cereal and yogurt needs for the foreseeable future. Plus, every item that I bought carries at least one Box Tops for Education on it. I counted my box tops and from just this one shopping trip my son's school will earn over $5.00 from the Box Tops program.
How did I do it? I used coupons for the items on the Mega Event sale. I did not buy a single item that did not have a coupon for it. I also did not buy anything that was not on the Mega Event. I bought 40 items, so $20 was taken off of my total at the end of the transaction. Kroger allows you to use paper coupons, internet printable coupons, and e-coupons. My Kroger also doubles all coupons $.50 and less. (Some areas double up to $.99. So check your local store!)
Last November, I started couponing. I saved our family about $40 - 50/month with just coupons. I thought I was something. :) Then I found many sites and blogs that helped me and that frankly made me nervous. Could I ever reach the point where I was paying nearly nothing for items my family needed? Beginning in January, I decided to really focus on figuring out how to manage all the different stores programs and reward systems. I started with CVS. After a few months, I realized...it is true, I may never pay for shampoo again.
Right now, I regularly shop at CVS, Walgreens, Kroger, and at times Target. I love shopping for the best deal. It takes time and space (to put everything until you need it), but it has saved us so much money.
I am going to post the best of my deals here so you can see how they work and how you too can never have to pay for shampoo again.