Showing posts with label CVS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label CVS. Show all posts

July 8, 2009

CVS Love

It's been a long while since I last shared some CVS love. That's primarily due to the fact that CVS hasn't graced its customers with many new and exciting deals to employ the mind. Ad after ad has been a bit of a bore... I think all I've really snagged there in the last few months have been diapers.

But then there was today. And I am once again a CVS believer... you should join in, too. :-)

Today we scored $63.19 worth of household goods for only $3.27! (A total that even could've been lower, if I had been paying attention instead of ogling a candy bar.) You can do it, too!

Transaction One
1 - CVS Pantiliners $0.89
2 - Febreeze Noticables Starter Kits $6.50 each
1- CVS Tape $1.49

Used: 2 - $4 off Febreeze; $6.99 in ExtraCare Bucks (ECBs)

Total: $0.81
Got back $5ecb for Febreeze, $0.89ecb for liners and $1.49ecb for the tape


Transaction Two
3 - Post Cereal $3/10
2 - CVS Tape $1.49 each
1 - Glucose Moniter $19.99

Used: 3-$2 off Post Trail Mix; $19.99 off monitor; $5ecb

Total: $2.32 (Could've had it lower by using one of my other ecbs... oh well.)
Got back $5ecb for cereal, $5ecb for monitor and $2.98ecb for the tape

Transaction Three
5 - Theater Candies $1 each
4 - CVS Paper towels $1.29 each
3 - CVS Tissues $1.99 each

Used: 2-$1 CVS paper products; $13.99ecbs


Total: $0.14 (Was back to paying attention :-))


So that was that. And I left with $11 ecbs in my pocket. Yay! If you want to try your hand at CVS-ing, this post has some great scenarios at the bottom for this week's specials.

November 9, 2008

What I Did on Sunday Morning...

Why, CVS of course! I rarely drag myself out of bed in time to arrive at CVS at opening time, but this morning was different. And boy was I glad I did.

Maybe it was the fact I was sleep deprived (didn't get to bed until 2am due to a caffeinated beverage mistake and a hungry, teething, child... and then up again at 5am for a comforting session), but I arrived at CVS early this morning and was the first customer thru the doors.

Here's what I scored...

(1) Jumbo pack of Huggies Supreme diapers - $2/18.99
(2) Crest Pro-Health Toothpastes - $3.49 each
(2) Palmolive Dish Soap - $1.49 each
(1) Fructis Hair Mousse - $2.99
(1) St. Ives Body Wash - $3.99
(1) L'Oreal Skin Revitalizer - $11.99
(1) Glageau Smart Water - $1.59
(1) Chapstick Shimmer - $2.99
(2) Stayfree MaxiPads - $3.89 each
(1) Starbucks Chocolate bar - $2.99

Here are the coupons I used:

$1 Huggies
2 - $1 Crest toothpastes
$1/2 Palmolive
$1 Fructis
expired $1 St. Ives (I was so elated to find that my store excepts expired coupons!)
$1 L'Oreal
$2/2 Stayfree
$1.50 Starbucks chocolate

The total came to just over $56. I used my $10 off $50 CVS coupon pluse the $28+ in ExtraCare bucks from last time.

Total OOP: $5.29

And I also have a manufacturer rebate for the chapstick... so in reality I only paid $2.30 for all of it. In my mind, that's $2.30 for diapers! Whoo hoo!

And I have over $30 in ExtraCare bucks for my next trip.

If you weren't a CVS believer before... maybe you are now?

October 27, 2008

In a Given Day

It was so nice to have a weekend. Matt took baby duty for most of Sunday and I felt like a free woman again. We spent time pulling out the horrid ornamental grass from our front landscaping. Matt figured he got in a good workout. And when I wasn't outside enjoying the beautiful day, I was inside tinkering around with my newest hobby: digital scrapbooking. It's got me hooked.

I'm not really into super complex scrapbooking pages, but I certainly appreciate the simple stuff. And it's a good thing, too, because I'm not as creative as I'd like to be. :-) But anyway, I digress.

It was so refreshing and I was more than ready to pack up Morenna and descend upon the great and mighty CVS for our weekly visit. We didn't fair too badly, I might add.


One transaction afforded us:

- (1) mega-pack of Huggies Diapers
- (1) Always Infinity Pads
- (1) Bayer Breeze 2 Glucose Monitor (great donation for a pregnancy care center or just to sell in a garage sale!)
- (4) SoyJoy bars

I used:
- $10 off purchase of $50 CVS coupon
- $1 mnf. coupon for Huggies / $2 CVS coupon for Huggies
- $2 mnf. coupon for Always + $4.99 rain check from two weeks ago for a free box
- $buy-one-get-one for SoyJoy (= $1)
- $30 mnf. coupon for Bayer Monitor (in this week's RedPlum)
- $1.67 ExtraCare buck

I spent: $1.71

In return: I got another $5 in ExtraCare bucks, bringing my current total up to $29. Holy cow. Need anything from CVS?

Ahh, I heart CVS. Not to mention there is also a manufacture mail-in rebate on the monitor box. Should they affort a full price-paid refund, it would be a $30 money-maker! Yeah, I heart CVS.

October 12, 2008

CVS for Newbies

Lately a couple of you have mentioned your interest in bargain shopping at CVS. You go girls!

The deals are amazing, the bargains, endless (well, we wish they were)... and overall, it's really not a complicated way to save hundreds of dollars. I thought about doing a little "how-to" post for getting started CVS-ing, but then I noticed that the frugal blogger, Thrifty Mama, is actually doing a great informative series for beginners. Feel free to follow her along, here.

One thing worth mentioning: as a new shopper, you can either sign up for CVS' extracare program online or in the store. Should you decide to try your hand at the sales this week (following Thrifty Mama's program), you'll definitely need to sign up in the store so that your card is activated immediately.


And not to steal the spotlight from CVS by any means, but RiteAid pharmacy has some incredible deals on over-the-counter medications this week. The October monthly rebate offers line up perfectly with many of the cold/flu items on sale this week.

All of the items in the picture at right, I got for free after rebate. Not only that, but for the Children's Advil and the Excedrin, I was able to use $3 in coupons, plus the Sucrets came with a manufacture $1.50 mail-in-rebate! It's pretty nice to be paid $4.50 to stock up on medication for the winter season! :-) Check out MoneySavingMom for a listing of the 30 items that are free after rebate for this week.

October 5, 2008

CVS 10/5-10/11

So my CVS posts have been a bit absent of late - my apologies. Here was my run for this week, and what a great week it was!

Transaction One
  • Bic Soleil Razor $5.99
  • Tylenol Gels $6.00
  • Vitamin Water $2.29
  • Always Infinity $4.98
  • Colgate Toothpaste $2.99
Total + tax: $22.31

Used:
$2 off Bic, available here
$2 off Tylenol (9/14 Red Plum)
$1 off Colgate Max (9/28 SmartSource) + $1 CVS Register Coupon for Colgate

$14.99 in ExtraCare bucks

Total Out-of-Pocket: $1.32
ECB's Earned: $13.27


Transaction Two
  • Tylenol PM Gelcaps $6.00
  • (2) Children's Tylenol $6.00 each
  • CVS Kid's Hand Sanitizer $1.99
Total: $19.99

Used:
$2 off Tylenol PM (9/7 RedPlum)
$2 off (2) Children's Tylenol (9/14 SmartSource)

$13.27 in ECBs

Total Out-of-Pocket: $2.72
ECBs earned: $11.00

I was pretty pleased with these deals, but my savings could've been better. I bought the kids sanitizer because I thought I needed a filler item (so that my total was enough that I could use all my ECBs earned in the previous transaction), but I didn't need it after all. So if I hadn't bought that, I would've only paid $0.72 for the second transaction, and would have earned $10 in ECBs instead of $11. But as I reminded myself on the trip home, it's still only $4 for all those items. :-)

August 24, 2008

CVS 8/24-8/30

Pretty good run for CVS this week. There were a couple different ways to organize my purchases for this week; a good reminder of the value in playing around with the different transaction combinations for your purchases in order to score the best deal. The list below includes all the items I bought, but is organized for the buyer to pay the least out of pocket (OOP). However, though cheaper, doing the transactions in the order below will leave you with no leftover ExtraCare Bucks (ECBs). And to me, that is a sad thing. So at the end I'll tell you how I did things a little differently.

Transaction One
  • Zipfizz Sports Drink(my husband adores this stuff so I was super excided when it was on sale!) - $5.99
  • Kotex Liners $1.49
  • (2) CVS hand sanitizers - $2.99 each
Total: $13.46 + tax

Used:
- $2/$10 CVS coupon (available here, page 30)
- $1 Kotex coupon (7/20 SmartSource) and also here.
- (2) $2 CVS Skincare, available here.
- $5 ECB (from last week)

Total OOP: $1.46 + Tax

Received:
$5.99 ECB for Zipfizz
$1.49 ECB for Kotex
$1.00 ECB for hand sanitizer


Transaction Two

Zipfizz Sports Drink - $5.99

Total: $5.99 + tax
Use: $5.99 ECB from transaction one
Total OOP: Tax

Receive: $5.99 for Zipfizz

Transaction Three

Huggies Mega diapers - $13.99

Total: $13.99 + tax
Used:
- $2/$10 CVS coupon (available here, page 30)
- $2 CVS coupon for Huggies (received as printout for scanning my card at the ExtraCare box)
- $1 manufacturer coupon
- $5.99 ECB; $1.49ECB; $1.00ECB

Total OOP: $0.51 + tax

Overall, a terrific deal for diapers! However, since I wanted to have ECBs left over for next week, I actually did only two transactions.

Transaction One
included (1) Zipfizz; (1) Kotex; (1) CVS hand sanitizer; = Total OOP: $1.49.

Transaction Two
included (1) Huggies Mega pack; (1) Zipfizz; (1) CVS hand sanitizer; = Total OOP: $9.19.

Still not a bad deal considering the diapers. And now I have a $5.99 ECB (Zipfiz) and a $1.00 ECB (hand sanitizer) left over for next week. Sound complicated? It really isn't... :-)

August 21, 2008

CVS 8/17-8/23

Here's the CVS tally from this week:

Transaction One

1 Infant's Advil - $5.79
3 Puffs Tissues - (3) $0.88
2 Glade Air Fresheners - (2) $0.88
2 CVS Gold Emblem Candies - (2) $0.88

Used:
$2/$10 CVS coupon (available here, page 30)
$1 off Advil
$1 off 3 Puffs Tissues (8/3 P&G)
BYGO Free Glade (8/3 SmartSource)
$1 Gold Emblem (CVS coupon)

$5 Extra Care Buck (ECB) from last week

Total OOP: $0.24
Received: $5.79 ECB for Advil (monthly CVS deal)


Transaction Two

2 Johnson & Johnson First Aid Tape
1 box of Band-Aid Ultra Strips

Used:
$2/$10 CVS coupon (available here, page 30)
$1 Johnson & Johnson First Aid (8/10 SmartSource)
$1 Band-Aid Ultra (6/22 RedPlum)

$5.79 ECB

Total OOP: $0.81
Received: $5.00 ECB for buying $10 worth of Johnson & Johnson products (CVS weekly deal)

I was really happy with this transaction, but kinda wish I could have done it all for one measly dollar. :-) I know, I know... don't push it. :-)

August 8, 2008

CVS 8/3-8/9 -- Stop #2

With all the good deals this week, I just couldn't help but going a second time. Little did I know that the candy deal from three weeks ago was still going on (under the wire, I might add) so I decided two more transactions wouldn't break the bank even if they might tip the scale. :-)
















Transaction One

  • (2) Dove Bags Dark Chocolate - $4.49 each
  • (1) Dove Chocolate Bar - $2.49
Used
  • Buy one Dove bag get one free
  • $2/$10 CVS coupon
  • $5 ECBs
Total OOP (out of pocket): $0.11 with $5 ECBs

Transaction Two
  • Scott 12pk Toilet Paper - $6.49
  • (2) Pert Plus Shampoo/Conditioner B1G1 - $3.99
  • CVS Mouthwash - $2.39
  • Colgate Toothpaste - $2.99
Used
  • $2/$10 coupon
  • (2) $2 off Pert Plus
  • Free CVS mouthwash from earlier this week
  • $1 Colgate
  • $1 Scott
  • $5 ECBs
Total OOP (out of pocket): $0.48 with $2 ECBs to spare

And we're on to next week...

August 3, 2008

CVS 8/3-8/9

Back by popular demand, here are my CVS wheelings and dealings for this week! Not another huge week for me, but I obtained some good deals, including a couple of things we needed.

Did I mention a brand new CVS store opened up a mere two miles from our house? As an announcement of their grand opening, the store sent around some great coupon fliers, including a $5/$15 coupon! I was very grateful.

Transaction One

Bought:
  • (2) Dawn Dishsoaps - $0.88 each
  • (1) Crest Toothpaste - $2.49 each
  • (1) Oral-B Toothbrush - $2.49 each
  • (1) Colgate Toothpaste - $2.99 each
  • (1) Infant Advil - $5.79 each
Total: $15.52
Used:
  • $1.00 Crest Toothpaste coupon
  • $1.00 Colgate Toothpaste coupon
  • $1.00 Children's Advil coupon
  • $1.00 (2) Dawn coupon
  • $1.00 Oral-B coupon
  • $5/$15 coupon
  • $4.00 in ExtraCare bucks (ECBs) *ECBs are basically paper money that you can use at CVS on any future purchase
Total Out of Pocket (OOP) expense: $1.56
Earned: $10.79 in ECBs

Transaction Two

Bought:
  • (1) Almay Eyeliner - $8.99
  • (1) CVS Cotton Pads - $2.99
  • (1) L'oreal Styling Gel - $4.99
Total: $16.97
Used:
  • $1.00 Almay coupon
  • $3.00 CVS product coupon
  • $1.00 L'oreal coupon
  • $10.97 ECBs
Total OOP: $1.34
Earned: $5.oo in ECBs; (1) free CVS mouthwash

All in all, not a shabby deal. I was a little disappointed that I wasn't able to score any of the Pert Plus that they had on sale this week (it was buy one at $3.99 get one free and I had two $2.00 coupons, making the deal a $0.01 moneymaker). According to the manager they sold out of all the bottles early this afternoon, but she graciously offered me a raincheck for them, so I guess I'll just pick those up next week. :-)

July 28, 2008

I'm Alive!!!

Yes, I'm still alive - contrary to the recent state of my blog. As I mentioned before, my writing time has been channeled towards composing a newsletter once a week on all our recent household happenings as well as updates about our baby girl for our family and friends. (It's easier for me to write the e-newsletter than to post on my blog, for some reason. If you want to receive a copy of the newsletter just shoot me off an email at first initial, M, last name at gmail dot com).

But things have been hopping here for us. My mother-in-law paid us a two-week visit in the middle July. It was a real treat to have her here (hey, live-in babysitter!) and I know she appreciated getting some quality time with her first grandchild. Morenna certainly loves her Nana.

M's been really busy at work and has been forced to work some crazy hours, much to our disappointment. He's actually in the process of considering a new job with a large consulting firm near our home. Feel free to keep that in your prayers! I think he's enjoying fatherhood on the whole. I remember back in our college days I often wondered what M would look like as a dad. He always told me he didn't want to have children (a little white lie at the time) and I figured I could see why - he never seemed like the daddy sort. But boy could I ever be more wrong. He is so great with Morenna and seems to enjoy her more and more everyday!


Morenna herself is, well, just amazing. She continues to surprise us with her developmental growth. She's starting to teeth now, but so far it hasn't been too traumatic for baby or mommy. She rolls from tummy to back and back to tummy.

She likes to sleep on her side (at least I think she does since I put her to bed on her tummy and she's always on her side when I go to get her in the morning). She's sleeping through the night like a champ (8-9pm to 6-7:30am) and she loves to scoot around and knaw on her toys. Sitting up is also a new activity.

I have to say her favorite place is probably either outside or on her Mommy and Daddy's bed. We're keeping my parent's golden retriever for a couple of weeks and she's enjoying the presence of another slobbery companion.



And me... well, I'm just loving life. What a joy it is to be a wife and a mother. A challenge, yes, but what life-endeavers aren't? I'm really enjoying my new hobby of bargain shopping. Since we've gone down to one income, I'm gripping my wallet a little tighter these days, but the resulting effect has been terrific. I'm loving all the deals I am able to score each week at places like CVS.

My most recent trip was just yesterday. It wasn't one of my most glorious trips ever, but I was pretty excited to obtain the following items for just over $2:

  • 1 package of make-up remover pads
  • 1 16 oz bag Skittles
  • 1 package of Bandaids
  • 2 bars of Dove dark chocolate
  • 3 packages of Mentos
  • 1 Revlon lip gloss
  • 1 package of M&M Premium candies
  • 1 Clairol Natural Instincts hair color (and no, I don't color my hair... it was for a friend :-))
What's even better is that I have $4 in CVS money to spend on my next visit. Whoo hoo! I'm loving it! And to make things even better, my local grocery had triple coupon day last week. In all I spent over $90 just in coupons alone... and some items the store actually "paid" me $0.10. $0.25 or $0.90 cents to buy. Tee hee :-)

And one other money-saving activity has been our little garden: two tomatoes and one pepper plant. Somehow or another, our little pepper plant has become the fertile king of the land, popping out eight peppers so far and leaving 40 blooms to go. Very interesting.

So that's a little glimpse into our lives. Hope all is well with you!