Coupon Trip!

That's roughly $45 worth of product for under $13

I love CVS. Yesterday was an AWESOME trip! I'm going back tomorrow because they didn't have the Thermacare Heat Wraps I wanted (which are FREE after Extra Care Bucks).

I was the annoying person at the checkout that did 3 separate transactions so I could "roll" the Extra Care Bucks from one transaction to the next. I also had the plan change at the last minute because they were out of two products I wanted...

Anyway, here's what I did:

TRANSACTION #1

ReNu Sensitive Contact Solution  Priced at $8.99 ($1 off) and I printed a $2 off coupon. Final Price: $6.99 with $7.00 ECB

TRANSACTION #2

SoftSoap Body Wash Priced at $3.00 ($1.49 off) and used $1 off coupon Final Price: $2

SoftSoap Bar Soap Priced at $3.00 ($1.29 off) and used $.50 off coupon Final Price: $2.50

Schick Quattro for Women Priced at $8.99 ($1.50 off) and used $2 off coupon Final Price: $6.99

Use $7 in ECB from #1

Paid: $4.85

Receive $8 in ECB (4 from buying 2 SoftSoap products and 4 from the razor)

TRANSACTION #3

Pantene Conditioner Priced at $3.49 ($1.50 off)

Pantene Shampoo Priced at $3.48 ($1.51 off) and used $3 off 2 Pantene products 

Colgate Toothpaste Priced at $2.99 ($1 off) no coupon used (my bad...)

Pack of gum $1.49 (to boost it over $8 so I could use both ECB)

Paid: $.49 

Receive $2 in ECB ($1 each for 2 Pantene products and the toothpaste)

That was my trip! Now, if you don't wear contacts I'd recommend doing it like this: (assuming you have your coupons from yesterday only as well)

T#1

SoftSoap products with coupons

Pantene products with  coupons

Pay $8.50

$5 ECB

T#2

Razor (yes, men, you can use a "for women" razor...it's just pink)

 Use ECB and pay $1.99

Get $4 in ECB

T#3

Toothpaste

Thermacare (priced at $3.50)

Use ECB and pay $2.49

Get $4.49 in ECB for next week

Total out of pocket for THAT trip: $12.98 

What are you waiting for?? GO SHOP!!

Today's Coupon Haul

I've been watching Extreme Couponing. Yes, I know...ANOTHER reality type show! The big thing to remember with this show is that it's not totally realistic to everyone. Not everyone has stores that double (or triple) coupons. Not every store will let you use multiple coupons like they do. And not everyone needs 100 bottles of shampoo. I understand the importance of a stockpile...but eventually you have to say "enough is enough"...but that's just my opinion.

Anyway, with the current economy going the way it is (uhm, down the tubes) I decided to start couponing again and try to build a small "just in case" stockpile.

The KEY to coupons is to know how to combine things with sales. If you have a coupon for Item X but the Generic is cheaper THERE IS NO POINT TO THE COUPON unless you know for a fact that Item X is better. (And, as someone that uses a lot of generic products...that's not always the case. Rice is rice and even allergy tablets are quite similar)

So today I bought a Sunday Paper and spent at least 2 hours sifting through the inserts. I grabbed the sale papers for stores we use regularly (Target, CVS, Walgreens, and HEB) and then sorted the coupons into "will use" and "will not use" stacks. I used to use coupons just for the sake of using coupons, but that defeats the purpose.

Here's my haul: $135.57 worth of stuff. Saved with coupons and sales $42.37. Total spent was $93.20. That's 31% saved! It's not the 98% you see on the show...but 31% is pretty good.


- 1 package Allegra 24hr (30 count)
- 2 Boxes of Cheerios (one is the new cinnamon kind)
- 1 package Schick Quattro for Women (3 razors)
- Angel Soft Toilet Paper 12 double rolls
- Scott Naturals Paper Towels 6 rolls
- Med Spray Bottle (for vinegar)
- 2 Schick Shave Gel
- Listerine
- 1 Knorr Pasta Sides
- Eckrich smoked sausage
- 1 can Ranch Style Beans
- Finish Powerball (dishwasher detergent)
- Package Huggies Overnight Diapers
- Lysol Toilet Cleaner
- Finish Dishwasher Cleaner
- Batteries
- Jimmy Dean Sausage
- Head And Shoulders Shampoo
- Head and Shoulders Conditioner


The BIG times I really saved was with the Cheerios and the Shave Gel. The stores had them for Buy One Get One Free and I had a coupon for the item. So, I got the first one discounted AND got one for free!

I also got a CVS card. Basically, they put money on the card that you can redeem toward purchases at a later date. So, the razors were $8.99...I got $4 back on my card...AND I had a $2 coupon. Technically, I paid $3 for a $9 razor. See?