CVS 12/31

Since I had some coupons that expired today I thought I better go to CVS and find some deals.  Here is what I got today:

Bayer Contour meter $14.99, get $5
used $14.99 Bayer coupon
2 Olay Regenerist cloths $6.99 each
used (2) $3 Olay coupons
Colgate toothpaste $2.99, get $2
used $1 Colgate IP coupon
used $5/$30 CVS medicare quiz coupon
used $3.98 ECBs
=$1.85 OOP, received $7 ECBs

So even though it's not that great of a week at CVS I was still able to build my ECBs by over $3!  The Bayer meter (which I'll donate) helped get my total up over the $30 mark so that I could use my $5/$30 coupon and scored me an additional $5 ECBs.

The Olay cloths are part of a current $15 MIR so that will be a nice moneymaker for me!  You have until Jan. 24 to do this deal.  This week is a great deal to do it though :)

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December Charity Challenge

I cannot believe that Christmas is in just a couple of days!  Are you ready for it??  I have a couple of gifts left to get BUT I know what I'm getting so it's just a matter of making it to the stores.  Hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to.  I'm posting the Challenge late again this month.  I did drop the donations off almost two weeks ago, I've just been neglecting the blog so this is the first chance I've had to write up the post.

This month I donated to a different organization.  We had Noah baptized earlier this month and in the church's program it mentioned "Gifts of Love".  Every year our church puts together baskets for families in the area that might not be able to afford food/necessities.  I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to donate to my hometown.  I gathered the items (I think I had 5 or 6 bags all together) and sent them with my MIL.  Here are the items that I was able to donate:

Pictured above are:
-6 pkgs. pull-up wipes
-10 deodorants
-11 tubes of toothpaste
-5 shampoo/conditioners
-4 body wash/bars of soap
-3 lotions
-3 razors
-4 shaving creams
-2 facial wipes
-7 feminine products
-4 air fresheners
-1 tylenol
-2 bodi heat pads
-1 ear rinse

That is a total of 53 items.  The approximate retail value of everthing pictured is over $250!!  It still just blows my mind that by combining sales with coupons I'm able to accumulate this much to donate - and that is in addition to stocking my house with essentials :)  And for anyone wondering/questioning I DO NOT clear the shelves when I shop - some items pictured I bought from rainchecks that I had to get because the stores were out of the items at the time.

Now it's your turn!  How did you do this month?  Were you able to donate?  Please leave your link below.  Don't have a blog?  That's OK too - just leave a comment!

CVS Trip 12/21

This is a great week at CVS!  There are quite a few items that end up being free or even money makers - which means you can get some things that you really do need for very low OOP (in my case I'm getting diapers this week!)  I made two trips to CVS today and plan to go back for one more tomorrow.  The second trip I made I had both boys with me so I forgot to get a couple rainchecks.  Here is what I got:

My card:
Pampers $8.88
used $2 Pampers coupon
Russel Stover boxed chocolates $4.99, get $1
used $1 RS coupon
2 Revlon lipsticks $6.99 each, get $5 each
used (2) $2 Revlon coupons
Nivea body wash $5.99, get $5
used $2 Nivea coupon
used $5/$30 medicare coupon
used $18.98 ECBs
= $2.35 OOP, received $17 ECBs (got $1 from my green bag tag!!)

Mike's card:
Pampers $8.88
used $2 Pampers coupon
Russel Stover boxed chocolates $4.99, get $1
used $1 RS coupon
Revlon lipstick $6.99, get $5
used $2 Revlon coupon
Listerine mouthwash $3.99, get $3
used $1 Listerine coupon
used $1 CVS Listerine coupon (CVS flu booklet)
2 bags Lays chips BOGO
Huggies wipes $3.49
used $.50 Huggies coupon
used $2 Huggies CVS CRT
used $5/$30 CVS coupon
used $15.58 ECBs
=$3.69 OOP, received $9 ECBs

I LOVE weeks like this.  I think it is just GREAT when I can buy diapers and by using coupons and combining sales I'm able to get so many things for so little OOP.  This goes to show why CVS is a great store to shop at!!

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In Need of a Little Help

So KFYR TV is going to be coming over tomorrow afternoon to interview me (again!!).  They would like the interview to focus on ways to save on gifts/the holidays.  I need some ideas!  Any suggestions you have are greatly appreciated :)  Thanks!

(image courtesy of funmunch.com)

Target 12/9

I ran to Target this morning to do the Keebler deal ($5 GC wyb 5 qualifying products).  I found a couple of other deals along the way.  Here is what I got:

Glad ClingWrap $1.99
2 Toblerone bags $2.99 each
used (2) $1 Toblerone coupons
2 Swiss Miss hot chocolate $.97 each
used (2) $1 Target coupons (adjusted to $.97)
2 Gillette razors $7.94 each
used (2) $4 Gillette coupons
2 DanActives $1.99 each
used (2) $1 DanActive coupons
2 boxes Flipside crackers $2 each
used $1/2 Flipside coupon
3 boxes Cheez It crackers $2 each
used (2) $.75 Cheez It coupons
used (2) $5 Target gift cards
$.10 bag credit
=$14.36 OOP, received $10 in Target gift cards

I had hoped to do the Glade deal again but of course my store doesn't have the correct products so that I just pay tax on the items - grrr!!  I swear they have them in the back room or something!  I got a great deal on everything and it is all stuff that we needed (minus the razors but that deal was too good to pass up!)  You can even sweeten the deal on the Swiss Miss if you have the $.50/2 mannie to go with it.  I DO have that coupon but forgot until I was finished with the transaction.

My Charity Challenge will take place next week.  I can't believe it's almost the middle of December!!  I have my coupon class tomorrow night - wish me luck and that people show up :)  I'll be giving my donations to my MIL tomorrow night (I'm donating to our church this month) and I will post more about it next week.

Upcoming Coupon Class

I will be having another coupon class this Thursday (Dec. 10).  I am slowly getting ready for it.  I haven't had a lot of feedback for it yet so I'm not sure how many people are planning to come.  I need at least 6 to come for it to be worth my time and the rental fee of the facility.  If you live in the Bismarck area and would like to attend please let me know :) 

I will have coupons to look through along with a giveaway worth over $50!!

Join A Full Cup!

Have you joined A Full Cup?  If not, you really should!  It is a great website that helps you put together great scenarios for your upcoming shopping trips AND you can look up any coupon to see where it came from, if it's available online or if there is a coupon for the product you want to purchase!!  I use A Full Cup to locate hard to find coupons AND they have a Target coupon generator. 

Join A Full Cup today - you won't regret it
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November Month In Review

This month wasn't too bad.  I was able to build up my ECBs - I now have almost $100 in them!!  My savings percentage was kind of low though: only 82.99% but again I had to stock up on diapers and pull-ups so overall it was still a good month!  The Black Friday sales at CVS did not dissappoint - I built up my ECBs on my cards which is always a good thing.  Here are the final results:

Value of Merchandise:  $459.16
Coupon Total:  $150.99
Tax:  $25.55
Total Cost:  $333.72
ECB Used:  $239.39
OOP:  $78.09
ECB Earned:  $255.63

I will be starting out the month with $99.04 in ECBs :)  This makes me extremely happy!  The year is almost up and I am really happy with my CVS totals!  When I started the year out I didn't think it would be possible to get all of the items I have bought for so little OOP.  I'm hoping that I can keep my savings percentage above 90% for the entire year - do you think I can do it??

It's a new month - check out all the coupons available by clicking the link below!  Print them before they're gone.

Get Them Before They're Gone!

It's your last chance to print the November coupons on Coupons.com - click the link below to print the ones that you want before they reset!

CVS 11/30 - I messed up again!

I can finally sit down and do a proper update :)  I ran to CVS this morning after dropping Logan off at Preschool this morning (his first day - yay!!).  I don't know what I was thinking but I didn't use any ECBs on the first transaction.  I could not understand why my OOP was so high - as I was talking to my Mom though it dawned on me.  I didn't use ECBs!!  Arghhh!  Here is what I got:

First Transaction:
2 Nyquil products $4.99 each, get $4 wyb 2
used (2) $1.50 Nyquil coupons
used $2 Nyquil CRT
=$5.58 OOP, received $4 ECBs

Second Transaction:
3 Gillette deodorants $5.49 each
3 Gillette body washes $4.99 each, get $10 wyb $25 of Gillette
used (3) $1 Gillette deodorant coupons
used (3) buy body wash get deodorant free coupons
used $5/$30 CVS medicare coupon
used $8 ECB
=$2.36 OOP, received $10 ECBs

At least I made up for the first transaction - that second one rocked!!  Hahaha

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Busy, Busy, Busy!!

I feel like lately I cannot catch up!  And I don't really know what I've been busy with, I've just been busy!!  Like most of you know the boys & I went to the eastern part of the state for four days - ever since then I've been playing catch-up.  Not that I'm complaining though since there were 11 women who showed up for my two couponing classes.  That was great!  Now I'm trying to get one lined up in Bismarck - there have been a number of people interested in the area who would like to attend, including some who could not make it to my last class.  Mike's Great Uncle also passed away earlier this week so in addition to traveling on Thanksgiving we'll be traveling to attend the funeral also.  I've also been working at my other job so to say it's been crazy is an understatement :)

I haven't posted any CVS deals lately since they haven't been that great.  I did buy (of course) the Complete contact solution this week and I did the Huggies deal (spend $20, get $5 ecbs) since I was running low on diapers and pull-ups.

I ran to Walmart this morning to do the last of my Thanksgiving meal shopping (I'm making pumpkin pie, jell-o w/Cool whip and some sort of potatoes to take to my Mom & Dad's).  I did some coupon match-ups before going since I had some coupons expiring at the end of this month that I knew I could use while there.  My matching up coupons with sale prices and their low-prices I was able to save $55 with coupons!!  My total was over $127 and after scanning my coupons my total was just a little over $72!!  It had been quite a long time since I had shopped like that - usually I only go in for a couple of things to keep my OOP low, but because I had quite a few high dollar coupons expiring soon I wanted to make sure and use them.  I was proud of myself too - I didn't even stray off of my list and I avoided the toy and clothing areas (which are my two biggest impulse weaknesses!).  I got some really great deals.

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving and I'll be back to my regular posting soon.  I will be one of the crazies out on Black Friday so I'm sure I'll have pictures of my awesome CVS deals.

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MIA

I know I've been missing and not posting any deals that I've snagged, I apologize!  But I have a great reason!!  I was out of town this past weekend with my two boys.  I went to Hillsboro (Eastern ND) and taught two couponing classes.  They were a success!  I had 11 people come which was great.  I most likely will post some new stuff in the next day or two - thanks for understanding!

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I Got THE Deal!!

On Wednesday the whole family went to Target (hubby had the day off) - we wanted to try to do THE deal.  You know what I'm talking about right??  The best movie deal I think I have yet to see!  A HUGE thanks goes to hip2save for posting the initial deal.  Unfortunately our store was out of Monsters Inc.  But it turned out to be perfect since by Wednesday evening it was being posted all over the web and the forums that the Up! movie was ringing up (hehehe) at only $19.99!!  SCORE!  I didn't go to Target on Thursday but first thing Friday morning I ran there and guess what?  They had both movies!!  While I was there I did the Glade deal (again) and then headed to the registers.  One of my favorite cashiers was working (Yay!).  I double-checked to make sure I had to go to the customer service counter to price match (I did).  So after my Glade deal was done I headed over there.  Here is the deal I did:

Up! movie (marked $26.99 but ringing up $19.99)
Monsters Inc. $23.99
used $10 Up! internet coupon
used $8 Monsters Inc internet coupon
used $10 Target coupon
Best Buy ad (to price match Monsters Inc.)
=$10.98 + tax!! 

What a great deal!  But it gets even better - I plan on doing a couple of the MIR offers so that in the end I'll get both of the movies for under a buck :)

Did you do this great deal this week?  Let me know how your experience was!  This was the first time I had price matched at Target and let me just say it went smoothly :)

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My Only Trip to CVS This Week

I had some ECBs to roll this week.  The sales were pretty disappointing but I wanted to use the $5/$30 and the EaRinse that was free.  Here is my one and only transaction:

2 Crest Toothpastes $6.98, get $4
used (2) $.75 Crest coupons
2 Garnier cleansing towelettes $5.99 each, get $7 wyb 2 Garnier
used (2) $1 Garnier coupons
2 Gold Emblem nuts $.99 each
used $2 GE nuts CRT (adjusted to $1.98)
EaRinse $7.99, get $7.99
Huggies wipes $3.49
used $.50 Huggies coupon
used $2 Huggies CRT
used $15 ECBs
=$5.99 OOP, received $18.99 ECBs

I cannot wait until Black Friday :)  There will FINALLY be some really great deals at CVS that day!!  At least I was able to build my ECBs by almost $4!!

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UGH - Target - UGH

I swear I have the absolute worst luck at Target (well, except my poor hubby).  I ran there last night just to get out of the house for a bit.  I wasn't quite sure what I was going to pick up (I ended up going back today - more on that in a bit) so I kind of just wandered around and scoped out some deals. 

All of the above only cost me $6.99.  Here is the breakdown:

2 lbs. sliced American cheese $2.29 each

used $1.50 Target coupon

used $1.50 IP coupon from coupons.com (visit the link at the bottom of this post)

3 Up & Up wipes $1.47 each

used (3) $1 Target coupons

2 Yoplus Yoplait yogurts $2.09 each

used (2) $1 Yoplait coupons

5 Glade products $2.50 each, $5 Target G.C. wyb 5 products

used $1.50 Glade coupon

used (2) BOGO Glade coupons (available at Right@Home.com)

Get Well card for my Mom $.50

used $5 Target Gift card

=$6.99 OOP, received $5 Target G.C.

So where were the problems??  Well the first one was that they had a sign by the Yoplus that the product was being substituted for the Activia that they were out of so the price should have been $1.91.  Of course I didn't realize this until later.  The second thing was the BOGO coupons.  When the cashier scanned them I noticed it didn't take a $ amount off (or ask her to type the $ amount in).  At the end of the transaction I asked her if those coupons had been subtracted.  She said yes they were.  Hmmm, big surprise but when the receipt printed out the additional $5 had not been taken off.  She could not figure out how to fix the problem so I ended up going over to Customer Service where they gave me $5 cash.  I guess that works too.  This is the 3rd time that those coupons did not scan properly - of course the first two times I didn't notice until I got home. 

The other problem I constantly have at Target is the fact that they always forget to credit me for the reusable shopping bags.  Last night I remembered to ask her and she did give me the nickel credit.  I know this is common sense for most of you (but sometimes we can get distracted) but remember to watch and make sure the items are ringing up correctly and the correct amounts are being taken off for the coupons.  I'm so glad I realized the $5 had not been deducted right away.  How has your experience been at Target lately?

Today we ran there to do the Up!/Monsters Inc. deal.  And (big surprise) that didn't go smoothly either!  They were out of Monsters Inc. and because of that they will not price match (Best Buy has it for $18.99) on the raincheck.  So we didn't get it.  I did manage to find the Santa Spud (Mr. Potato Head) for $5.99 and used the $5 coupon from coupons.com so at the least the trip wasn't a total bust.

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November Charity Challenge

Welcome to the November Charity Challenge!  I'm excited to see what everyone was able to donate this month. 

I donated 47 items this month (over $165 retail value).  Pictured above are:

-14 Kotex products
-1 Poise product
-2 St. Ives face wash
-6 shampoos/conditioners
-3 deodorants
-1 toothpaste
-2 ready to use formula
-1 formula sample
-3 aspirin
-1 nasal spray
-1 ear rinse
-2 V-8 juice
-2 Glade sense & spray
-2 Glucose monitors
-2 razors
-3 toothbrushes
-1 wet ones wipes
-1 bag of cough drops

Now it's your turn!  Did you donate this month?  Show off what you were able to give away by linking to your post below.  Don't have a blog?  That's OK too - just leave a comment.




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Look! I'm on TV!!

So here is the news story that was done on me last Thursday.  Enjoy!  BTW - my name is not pronounced that way (even though it's spelled t-a-n-y-a it is pronounced like t-o-n-y-a).

http://www.kfyrtv.com/News_video.asp?news=35344

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