Month of March Review

Here is the breakdown and final numbers for the month of March for CVS:

Value of Merchandise: $436.47
Coupon Total: $226.52
Tax Paid: $11.39
Total Cost: $221.34
ECBs Used: $140.37
ECBs Earned: $179.85
Total OOP: $41.49

I'll be starting out the month of April with $35.49 ECBs

The April Charity Challenge will take place the week of April 6-10! I hope you'll participate!

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Paper Anyone??

Thanks goes to frugalsuz for posting this awesome deal! I went to Staples today and picked up 23 reams of paper. Think of all the coupons I can print out - hahaha!! Here is the breakdown:

23 reams of paper (item #554638) $6.99 each

=$170.42 OOP

-Submit for Staples easy saver rebate: 23x$5.99 = $137.99

-signed up for Staples rewards: save 10% = $17.04

-used Discover card with cash back program to pay : 1% back = $1.70

Total OOP = less than $15 for all that paper!!

I'm hoping to sell some of it to family/friends and even sell some at my garage sales that I'll be having this summer. What do you think would be a good price to sell them for?

The April Charity Challenge will take place the week of April 6-10! I hope you'll participate!

Do you like what you're reading? If you do please consider grabbing my button, becoming a follower, or subscribing in a reader :)

CVS, Target, and KMart

Noah and I were busy this morning!! We dropped Logan off at daycare at 9 am and were out running around until we picked him up at 12:30. He only had one little meltdown which caused me to forget why I really went to Kmart. That will teach me not to organize/go through my coupons before I go there when they're having double coupon days! I got all of the items pictured (didn't include the pop in the Kmart picture - too tired to carry it in the house) for only $10.97!!

Our first stop was CVS:
1 Crest Pro-Health toothpaste $3.49, get $3.49
2 Softsoap hand soap refills $3.99 each, $4 ECBs wyb 2
1 CVS reusable tote $.99
-use (1) $.75 Crest coupon
-use (2) $2 off Softsoap coupons
-use (1) free CVS tote coupon
-use $5 ECBs
=$2.11 OOP, received $7.49 ECBs

Second stop was at Target:

4 packs of Mott's applesauce $1.69

1 Cascade rinse $3.14

3 GE CFL light bulbs (raincheck item $1 each)

-use (4) $1 off Mott's coupons (Target printable)

-use (2) $.55 off Mott's coupons (Mott's website)

-use (1) Try me free Cascade coupon (Right at home booklet)

-use (3) $1 off GE energy light bulb coupons

=$1.79 OOP!!!

Third stop was at Kmart:

3 12 pks. Dr. Pepper $4.69 each

1 12 pk. Mt. Dew $4.49

2 Gillette body washes $4.49 each

1 Veet bladeless cream $4.49

1 Aquafresh toothbrush $3.79

-use (4) $2 off pepsi product coupons (Pepsi/Frito Lay mail offer)

-use (2) $2 off Gillette body wash coupons

-use (1) $2 off Veet coupon (Reinventing Beauty mag)

-use (1) $1 off Aquafresh toothbrush coupon

=$7.07 OOP

I had originally gone to Kmart to return something for Mike and pick up the item in a different size. I also knew I wanted to pick up the Pepsi products since I knew I would pay less than $1 for a 12 pk. of pop but then I got distracted because I knew they were doubling coupons. Before I knew it I was trying to sort my coupons and Noah wanted out of the carseat! I rushed through and found the pop and some other items and completely forgot about picking up the things for Mike. Oh well, I'm sure we'll want to get out of the house tomorrow so we can go up there then :)

I also found a try me free mail-in rebate for the Aquafresh toothbrush so I will mail in for that. I should get $3.79 back for that. I found them up by the customer service desk at Kmart. I only had one $1 off coupon, otherwise I would have bought more.

The April Charity Challenge will take place the week of April 6-10! I hope you'll participate!

Do you like what you're reading? If you do please consider grabbing my button, becoming a follower, or subscribing in a reader :)

CVS 3/26

Me and the boys ran to CVS this morning. I needed to get out of the house and I also wanted to see if the water was actually going down. There has been some flooding in our town and yesterday was pretty stressful. My Mom & Dad put sandbags around their house. We live less than a mile from them but we didn't sandbag but some of our neighbors did. You can visit my other blog HERE to see some pictures of our area. Here is what we got this morning at CVS: 1 Bayer Contour 2 $14.99
1 Dry Idea Clinical $7.99, get $5
1 Crest Pro-Health $3.49, get $3.49
-use (1) $14.99 Bayer coupon
-use (1) $2 off Dry Idea coupon
-use (1) $.75 off Crest coupon
-use $5/$25 CVS coupon
-use $3 ECBs
=$.94 OOP, received $8.49 ECBs

1 Bayer Contour 2 $14.99
2 Softsoap Hand soap refills $3.99 each, $4 ECBs wyb 2
1 Playskool wash & toss cups $3.99 (filler item)
-use (1) $14.99 Bayer coupon
-use (2) $2 off Softsoap coupons
-use $5/$25 CVS coupon
=$3.39 OOP, received $4 ECBs

I LOVE the Bayer coupons!! They really help me get to the $25 total so that I'm able to use the $/$$ coupons :) When I got home this morning I checked my email and saw that I had an email from CVS to receive a free shopping bag. I'll probably go out on Saturday to get those. I plan on picking up some more of the Softsoap refills since they're such a great deal.

The April Charity Challenge will take place the week of April 6-10! I hope you'll participate!

Do you like what you're reading? If you do please consider grabbing my button, becoming a follower, or subscribing in a reader :)

CVS 3/23 *Update*

I'm a bad, bad wife. I made Mike come to CVS with me again tonight. And of course I gave him a coupon that he couldn't use (it was for the wrong card), so he now swears he will never CVS with me again :( Here is what we got:

Schick Intuition razor $8.99, get $3
Dry Idea clinical $7.99, get $5
Crest Pro-Health $3.49, get $3.49
St. Ives lotion $5.29
St. Ives facial scrub $5.49, get $5 wyb $10 of St. Ives
-use (1) $4 off Schick coupon
-use (1) $2 Dry Idea coupon
-use (1) $.75 Crest coupon
-use (2) $2 St. Ives Elements coupon
-use $5/$30 CVS coupon (from magic machine!!)
-use $11.99 ECBs
=$4.37 OOP, receive $16.49 ECBs

I did the same transaction for my card except I picked up another one of the Reinventing Beauty magazine. Once I got home I looked at my receipt and realized they must have changed the quantity for the Dry Idea! In the ad it says "limit 1" but on the receipt it doesn't say "limit reached", so I'll be going back to pick up another one. One other bonus - inside the Dry Idea boxes are $2 off coupons so I'll be picking up 2 more and only paying $.99 each!! Score!

*They have raised the limit on the Crest now also!!

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A Great Morning For Saving!

This morning I decided to give Walmart another shot. Some of you might remember THIS post from the beginning of February. I had not gone to Walmart since that incident. Mike had told some of his co-workers about what had happened and they told him to avoid the south one (which is closer to my house) if at all possible. The one up north is much better. So I figured since I was going up north anyways to see if they were right. I went through my coupons last night to find my high dollar ones and wrote down the items I was hoping to score for almost free or free. Here is what I got:

2 Ken's salad dressing $2.24 each

4 Danimals yogurt drinks $2.58 each

2 100 cal. pack oreo cakesters $2 each

4 McCormick seasoning packs $1, $1.50, $1.56, $.82

1 pack infant socks $4 (needed)

3 Huggies natural baby wipes $2.28 each

3 baby cotton swabs $1.38 each

2 boxes Crystal Light to-go boxes $1.97 each

2 Crystal Light mixes $2.98 each

3 boxes of Pocky $1.08 each

5 J&J buddies soaps $.97 each

10 boxes Kotex liners $1 each

1 Danactive $2.28 each

1 Dannon yogurt 6 pack $2.54

2 pkgs. Luden cough drops $1.22 each

1 can Delmonte peaches $.98

1 can Muir Glen tomatoes $1.62

8 jars baby food $.48 each

12 boxes Mentos gum $1.28 each

-use (2) $2 off Ken's salad dressing coupons

-use (4) Danimals $1 off coupons

-use (1) $2 off cakesters coupon

-use (1) try me free cakesters coupon

-use (4) $1 off McCormick spices coupons

-use (3) $3 off Huggies Natural diaper coupons

-use (3) $2/2 J&J baby products coupons

-use (5) $1 off J&J buddies products coupons

-use (2) $1/2 Crystal light coupons

-use (5) $1 off Kotex coupons

-use (5) $.75 off Kotex coupons

-use (1) $1 Dannon yogurt coupon

-use (1) $1 Danactive coupon

-use (2) $1 off Luden drops coupons

-use (1) try me free Delmonte fruit coupon

-use (1) $.75 Muir Glen tomatoes coupon

-use (12) $1 off Mentos gum coupons

=$37.26 OOP

This was a great shopping trip! I purchased 68 items total. If I would not have bought some impulse items (socks and baby food), my total would have been even less! I had a great cashier who scanned my coupons with no problem! If I would have known I was going to have such a nice one I would have bought more wipes with the $3 coupons :)

Before my Walmart trip I had to stop at my #1 store - CVS! My Mom had told me about a great Hershey's deal and I couldn't pass up getting some chocolate :) Pictured above is what I got.

1 Hershey's bliss $3.50

1 Jolly rancher $2

1 Hershey's eggs $2

1 Cadbury mini eggs $2

3 Hershey's kisses $1.88 each

2 gold emblem $.88 each

1 dry idea deodorant $2.99

1 bic soleil refill cartridges $6.99

1 Reinventing Beauty magazine $.99

-use (1) $1 off Hershey's Bliss coupon

-use (2) $1.50/3 bags of Hershey's coupons

-use (1) $1/2 gold emblem candy coupon

-use (1) $2 off Bic Soleil

-use $5/$25 CVS coupon

-use $13.98 ECBs

= $3.86 OOP, received $10 ECBs

I'll be returning the Dry Idea. For some reason it rang up $3.47, the cashier then adjusted it to $2.99. She then refused to use the $2 off coupon because she said I would be getting $2 in ECBs. I was so confused by the whole thing! For some reason I thought she had price adjusted it to $.99 but realized once I got home that she p.a. it for $2.99. So I'll be returning it. Other than that I got some yummy candy that will be perfect for Easter baskets for really cheap. I also found the coveted Reinventing magazine. There are some awesome coupons in there!! I think I'll be picking up a couple more of those magazines since there are quite a few coupons for $1.50 or more and the mag was only $.99!!

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Go check out Sarah's blog to find out how to get a really cute bag. Thanks for posting this Sarah!

Great Deals at Target!

There are some really great deals at Target this week! I paid $1.50 (after $5 gift card) for all of those boxes of Quaker granola bars. And the applesauce cost me $.14 (after $1 Target coupon + $.55 Mott's coupon). I'll be picking up 2 more packs of the applesauce sine I was able to print out some more Mott's coupons. The strawberry one did have 6 but Logan ate them before I was able to snap the picture :)


Target also has the GE lightbulbs on sale for $1. Pair that with the GE $1 off coupon and you can pick up some bulbs for free! Unfortunately my Target was out of them but I did get a raincheck. I'm hoping to pick up at least 10 of these at that great price and replace most of the bulbs in our home. Did you find any other great deals at Target this week? Let me know!

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I ran to CVS after work today to get some of the great deals! Here is what I got:
3 ziploc zip 'n steam bags $.59 each
1 irish spring body wash $4.99, get $4.99
1 colgate toothpaste $2.99, get $2.99
1 bic soleil razor $6.99, get $3
1 dry idea deodorant $2.99, get $2
1 band-aid product $3.29
1 neosporin product $5.79, get $3
-use (1) $1.50 ziploc coupon
-use (1) $1 irish spring coupon
-use (1) $1.50 colgate coupon
-use (1) $2 bic coupon
-use (1) $2 dry idea coupon
-use (1) $1 band-aid coupon
-use (1) $1 neosporin coupon
-use $5/$25 CVS coupon
-use $11 ECBs
=$4.08 OOP, get $13.98 ECBs

I've gotten asked quite a few times how/where I get the $5/$25 CVS coupon (I use them in almost all my scenarios). For some reason almost every time I make a purchase with my card one of those prints out. And if I don't have one that way when I scan my card at the magic machine I usually get one then. I currently have 3 of those coupons waiting to be used! Some weeks it is hard to make my total come to that high of a dollar amount and to keep my OOP low, but I can always buy diapers, formula or baby food and that is a sure way to break that $25 mark!!

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Another great mail day!

I guess when you don't grab the mail for a couple days there are bound to be nice surprises huh? I got some great coupons - over $24 worth! The Pepsi ones will come in handy the next time CVS has it for a good price! I also got my little travel bag filled with trial sized products. Does anyone remember what promotion this was from? And last but not least we got some thank-you's. One from the Ronald McDonald house and one from a family member. I love these types of mail days!!


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CVS 3/11

I made quite a few trips to CVS this week. I'm hoping to make one more on Saturday night so I can get the Sunday deals done and to pick up the Coke products :) Here is what I got earlier this week:

Mike's Card:
5 bottle Vaseline $3.69 each, get $2 ECBs each
1 gerber baby food
-use (4) $1.50 Vaseline coupons
-use (1) $1.25 Vaseline coupon
-use $4/$20 CVS coupon
-use $4 ECBs
=$5.52 OOP, received $10 ECBs

Tanya's Card:
3 boxes Fiber one granola bars $10, get $5
1 pack Huggies $9.88
1 jar Gerber baby food $.89
3 candy bars $1.50 (fillers)
-use (3) $1.35 off Fiber One coupons
-use (1) $5 off Huggies coupon
-use (1) $3/$15 CVS coupon
-use $10 ECBs
=$.22 OOP, received $5 ECBs


So the reason I bought the 3 candy bars is because I didn't want to waste my ECBs. I had $10 ECBs and I would have wasted $1.78 if I hadn't bought them. I should have double checked my list because I did put 3 jars of baby food on there. Oh well, that will teach me to second guess myself!

Charity Challenge

Welcome! Welcome! Welcome!

I want to say thank you for joining me in what I hope is the first of many Charity Challenges. I don't have all the "rules" thought up for this challenge so the first couple will be learning experience for all of us :) The only "rule" I have is that you help promote the challenge by linking back here to my blog - that's it! Here is what I will be dropping off this week:

-2 bottles Gillette shampoo
-2 Children's throat coolers
-2 Bayer contour meters
-3 bottles Vaseline lotion
-10 tubes of Colgate toothpaste
-2 tubes of Crest toothpaste
-2 bags of cotton balls
-1 bottle of mouth rinse
-1 bottle of Pedialyte
-1 bottle of earinse
=26 items total

I didn't clean out my entire stockpile but I did make some extra room! I plan on dropping off the items on Wednesday this week. I'm not sure if I'll take them to the same shelter I've been dropping stuff off at or if I will go to a new one.

OK - now it's your turn! Show me how generous you've been :) Leave your link back to your specific Charity Challenge post. Thanks for participating!!

CVS 3/8

I ran to CVS today before I had to go to work. I got some great deals! Most of the items that I bought I will be donating this week as part of my Charity Challenge. Read below the post to see how you can participate!

Trans. #1:

2 Palmolive dish soaps $1.49 each, get $1

1 Crest toothpaste $2.99, get $2

5 Vaseline lotions $3.69 each, get $2

1 Q-tips $2.99 (needed item)

-use (1) Crest $1 off coupon

-use (5) Vaseline $1.50 off coupons

-use (1) Q-tips $.30 off coupon

-use $5/$25 CVS coupon

-use $11.96 ECBs

=$2.28 OOP, received $14 ECBs

Trans. #2:

2 Palmolive dish soaps $1.49 each, get $1

1 Crest toothpaste $2.99, get $2

2 candle/reed diffuser gift sets $14.99 reg. clearanced to $1.49!

-use (1) Crest $1 off coupon

-use $4.97 ECBs

=$3.22 OOP, received $4 ECBs

The candle/reed diffuser sets were an impulse buy but I couldn't pass them up they were so cheap! I will be going back later this week to get some Coke products and probably buy at least 1 container of formula since it's on sale.

My first Mr. Linky charity post is going to be happening the week of March 9-13. If you would like to participate just stop back here on March 9th to add your link!

(I'm hoping to make this a montly event - we'll see how it goes! You don't have to donate your items during the week that I'm hosting this, just take a picture of the items you are donating. Come back here on Monday to add your link.)

A Great Day for Mail!

Today was a great day to pick up the mail! I received 2 gift cards in the mail - each for $15. I got them from purchasing Olay Regenerist and Olay Definity products. I should also have a $20 one coming from Olay too. I also received my bakeware. I decided to order the collapsible measuring cups. They aren't as sturdy as some of the ones I've seen in the stores but for only $1 I can't complain!! What fun surprises have you found in your mail box lately?

My first Mr. Linky charity post is going to be happening the week of March 9-13. If you would like to participate just stop back here on March 9th to add your link!

(I'm hoping to make this a montly event - we'll see how it goes! You don't have to donate your items during the week that I'm hosting this, just take a picture of the items you are donating. Come back here on Monday to add your link.)

$5.23 For All This

Many thanks go to Trish @ My Frugal Ways for telling me to look for this deal! Many CVS stores have quite a few things on clearance right now. I noticed a lot of things marked 75% off! If you're lucky, your store might have some super cheap perfume knock-offs marked down 90%!! My Mom & I picked some up tonight. I got all of this for only $5.23 OOP. I'm going to keep the Cool Ocean (smells like Cool Waters for women) but I'm not sure what I'll do with the others.

My first Mr. Linky charity post is going to be happening the week of March 9-13. If you would like to participate just stop back here on March 9th to add your link!

(I'm hoping to make this a montly event - we'll see how it goes! You don't have to donate your items during the week that I'm hosting this, just take a picture of the items you are donating. Come back here on Monday to add your link.)

220 Diapers For Only $1.03!!

**For new customers only**

Someone please tell me if I'm doing this right. Because if I'm right this is, without a doubt, the best deal on diapers!! This deal is through Diapers.com.

1. Go to Diapers.com and set up a new account.
2. Mail in 5 of the $5 off Huggies printable coupons. You are limited to print 2 from each computer, luckily we have two at our house and my Mom printed out the other one for me to send in. (You'll need to wait 7-10 days to finish the other steps. You can view your coupons by logging in to diapers.com and going to "My Account" and then clicking on "My Manufacturer Coupons." On the shopping cart screen, your coupons will automatically be applied to eligible purchases.)
3. Go to Ebates and sign up or sign in (If you are a new customer I would love it if you put me in as a referral - my email is mtcw78@hotmail.com). Search for Diapers.com and click on the link to go to their website. By going through ebates you'll receive 1% back on your purchase.
4. Search for Huggies diapers.
5. Add 5 packages of the Huggies gentle care diapers into your cart. (They are currently on sale for $10.99/pack - I called them to see how long this sale is going on. The CS rep said for at least another week. Regular price is $12.99.)
6. Once you are on the checkout screen find the box that says promotions and referrals. Enter promo code BABY9544 - this will take $10 off your order.
7. Complete your order. It should be either $19.95 or $29.95 (if $12.99/pack). If the diapers are no longer on sale you could choose to just buy 4 packs of them, which would bring your total to $21.96.
8. Once you receive your shipment submit for this rebate to receive another $14.97 back.
9. Go to Caregiver's Marketplace and sign up with their company. Fill out the rebate to receive $.75 back per pack of diapers.

Here is the breakdown of the order:
$54.95 - beginning total
-$.20 - Ebates reward
-$10.00 - new customer discount on order over $49
-$25.00 - Huggies coupons applied to order
-$14.97 - Rebate mailed in by choosing not to subscribe to Parenting
-$3.75 - Rebate received from Caregiver's Marketplace
=$1.03!!

I am going to be mailing in 5 Huggies coupons to jump on this deal. Of course I won't get 220 diapers (Noah is in size 3 currently) but I will get at least 125 of them.

This is an awesome deal! Please share this with all the other diaper buyers that you know!

My first Mr. Linky charity post is going to be happening the week of March 9-13. If you would like to participate just stop back here on March 9th to add your link!

(I'm hoping to make this a montly event - we'll see how it goes! You don't have to donate your items during the week that I'm hosting this, just take a picture of the items you are donating. Come back here on Monday to add your link.)

Coupon Fraud?!?!

Since Logan was at daycare this morning I decided to get some of my errands done for the week. I went up to the new CVS store. I was hoping to find the $3/$15 coupon near the pharmacy that I've been hearing about. Sadly, I did not see any. Here is what I got today. My total came to -$.04 - that is by far the best I've ever done!!

4 Reese's Whips candy bars 2/$1

1 Nestle' crunch bar $.50 (filler item)

2 GE energy smart light bulbs $3.99 each (20 % off)

1 Lumene Vitamin-C cream $2.99

1 Lumene makeup removing cloths $2.99

1 CVS Vitamin D 100 ct. $2.99, get $2.99

1 Aveeno anti-itch cream $4.49, get $2

1 Aveeno shaving gel $4.99, get $2

-use (2) $1/2 Reese's whips coupons

-use (2) $1 off GE light bulb coupons

-use (2) $4 off any Lumene coupons (price adjusted to $2.99)

-use (2) $2 off any Aveeno coupons

-use $5/$25 CVS coupon

-use $9.99 ECBs

=$.77 OOP, received $6.99 ECBs

So the apparent "coupon fraud" happened at the second CVS store that I stopped at. I was going to pick up a couple more of the $2.99 Lumene products. The cashier scanned the first coupon, she then went to scan the second coupon and it beeped. She looked at the coupon and noticed that the coupon was for $4 off. She said she couldn't take it. I asked if she could adjust it down to $2.99 like the other store did. She called up the manager and the manager said they couldn't take it because that was considered coupon fraud. WHAT?!? I showed her on the coupon how it said it was for any Lumene product. Then she said that what I was buying was a trial size product (it wasn't) and because the coupon excluded trial sizes they could not take it. She then proceeded to call the other CVS in town and tell them not to accept these coupons for the lower priced objects :( I put back the two products and came home.

I decided to call the CVS customer service number when I got home. I just really didn't like the fact that she kept saying it was coupon fraud. I talked to a very nice lady on the phone and she assured me that it was not coupon fraud. She also said that if this ever happened again to just have the store call them at HQ. She did also inform me that the coupon was not intended to be used on the $2.99 items :( Oh well, it's all a learning experience right?