Sunday, July 31, 2011

CVS Run 7/31

I just got back from my weekly CVS run. Even though I ended up with a lesser subtotal than last week, I didn't bring home as many ECB's as last week. I have tons of coupons, but not many that matched up with the ECB deals.



Here are the details:
-Shelf price $62.60
-Sale price $53.70
-CVS coupons/ECB's $43.99
-Manfacturer Coupons $9.74

Subtotal $-.03
Total with tax $2.71
ECB's printed $15.99

Today's shopping trip wasn't as smooth as last week. For one thing, I accidentally picked up the wrong razor for the ECB deal. When I realized it, I immediately needed to do an exchange. The razor I first picked out was 54 cents more, so I got that back in cash along with my ECB printout.

I also had to justify several of my coupons. I bought just over $15 worth of Maybelline makeup. I used a $5 off $15 CVS coupon that I printed out at the red box last week. The coupon also said Garnier, so that was what the cashier pointed out. I told her it said Maybelline OR Garnier. I pick Maybelline.

I handed her three coupons for my three boxes of Band Aids. She thought I only bought two boxes. The last thing that had me rattled was the cashier wanting to take my whole stack of coupons at once. I'm weird and I like to hand them over one by one so I can check them as they beep through. I was going to argue, but I didn't. Once she had my whole stack, she separated them all out to HER liking before scanning them. Grrrr.

Then after making the razor mistake, I was a bit frazzled.

Anyhow, I can't complain too much because I still got over $60 worth of products for no money out of pocket besides tax. Can't beat that.

Sunday, July 24, 2011

5 Cents at CVS

Today I had my best CVS shopping trip to date!





The stats-
Shelf price: $60.07
Sale price: $51.59
Coupons and ECB's: $51.54
Subtotal: $.05!!!!!
Price after taxes: $3.21
% Savings: 99.9%

Here's how I did it.

I bought the following items and used the following coupons.

-Edge shaving gel/used $.55 coupon
-(4) Skintimate shave gels/used (4) $1 coupons
-Playtex Tampons/used $1 coupon
-U Kotex pads/used $1 coupon
-Renu contact solution/used $2 couon
-Bengay/used $5 coupon
-Almay blush/used $3 coupon
-Pack of Papermate pens/no coupon

I had a $10/$50 CVS coupon as well as $24.99 in ECB's from last week.

I earned $25.99 in ECB's to be used next week.

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Short Haircuts

The boys now have VERY short hair. They wanted to be like their dad. I'm getting used to their new do's. I like rubbing their heads and calling them "Q-tip."


Hudson went with Evan and me to Summer School yesterday because his daycare provider was on vacation. He took his number writing quite seriously.


Q-Tip head.


With the boys having their hair so short and being so tan, it's harder to tell them apart. I took this picture of Evan and texted it to Eric this morning, and he thought it was Hudson!

More Savings

I'm not sure what got into me, but I agreed to take Evan with me for my CVS run tonight. Then Hudson wanted to go. I said I'd only take Hudson if Eric went. So...the whole family headed off to CVS. Ugh.

My plan didn't work out the way I wanted it to because they were out of the contact solution that will give me back a certain amount of Extra Care Bucks (ECBs).

However, I still got some good deals.


I got all this plus four more Diet Cokes for $12.85. Plus I earned $12.69 in ECB's. The other four Diet Cokes didn't make it into the photo shoot. They got put away in the garage before I could get everyone lined up for the picture.

Here's what I got: 6 Diet Cokes, 2 Garnier Fructis conditioners, 1 Garnier Fructis shampoo, 1 Garnier Fructis face lotion, 2 boxes of Apple Jacks cereal, 1 Loreal face powder makeup, 1 Balance Bar, and 1 CVS brand Benadryl.

The only items not on sale were the Benadryl and the face makeup. However, I had a $2 off coupon for the makeup.

If I had bought all these items without sales or coupons, I would have paid $69.03. Sale prices brought the total down to $51.01. I had $41 in coupons and ECBs. That brought the subtotal down to $10.01. Taxes brought my total up to $12.85. I saved 85% off of retail price. If you factor in the $12.69 of ECBs that I earned, I only paid 16 cents for today's spree.

Yay me!

Oh, and I love my family, but they aren't allowed to come back with me. At least not the children.

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Tooth Fairy

Bad Mom: I didn't blog about Evan losing his first tooth when it happened. Now I can't even remember exactly when he lost it, and he has since lost a second tooth!

I know the first tooth came out when we were still in school. So the time frame is late May or early June.

Evan was one of the last kids in his class to lose his first tooth. Needless to say, he was extremely excited to have Dad pull that tooth out. As always, I was proud of how brave he was in letting his dad use a paper towel to pull the tooth. It was plenty loose, but still, I've seen kids refuse to let anyone touch a tooth even if when it is literally hanging by a thread.


Tooth is out! Stopping the blood with a paper towel.


Baby teeth are so little!


He is so proud of that hole in his mouth!


Evan was super excited for the Tooth Fairy to visit, but he also wanted to take his tooth to school to show his teacher. I suggested he write a note to the Tooth Fairy asking if it was possible for him to keep his tooth...just this once.

The Tooth Fairy must be very kind, because she not only gave Evan $5 and Trident bubblegum, but she let him keep his tooth. She wrote: I will leave your tooth this one time! Love, The Tooth Fairy.

I also told Evan that only first teeth are worth $5. All others are only worth $1. That first tooth is special, so it is worth more!


Evan and his haul for the first tooth.

Like I said, Evan has also lost his second tooth. He's got an even bigger gap on his bottom row of teeth. He likes to keep his teeth locked together and shove little corn kernels through the space! In fact, that's how the second tooth was ready to come out...Evan was trying to eat corn on the cob. The effort left the tooth bleeding and hanging. Once again, Dad yanked it out. True to form, the TF left a dollar and gum. (Luckily the TF had both items on hand without having to make an extra trip to the store!)

Now we are hoping that Evan will stop sucking his thumb so his teeth grow in straight.

Monday, July 4, 2011

More Coupon Savings

I am really getting back into the swing of things with my coupons this summer. Here is this weekend's CVS trip.



I bought these items for $17.86. I saved 79% off my bill. The items originally totaled over $80! I also earned $12 in Extra Care Bucks. Hopefully there will be good deals next week.

I'm slowly building my stockpile up so we can shop in our own cabinets! Right now, I have enough conditioner and mouthwash to last me for months!