Deals and more deals!

I did all my shopping today. Usually I space them out during the week - especially during the school year when I can make a quick stop on the way home from school. But today was pay day, so I had to at least get my paycheck and go to the bank. We headed to our nearest CVS which is 25 miles away. I needed to roll most of my ECB's before I head out of town next week since they would have all expired while I was gone for two weeks. I was mostly successful I think - and it was a lot harder than I thought it would be. Mainly because the coupons matched the sales so well that I had to spend very little ECB's to begin with! So I threw in some random stuff to use some ECB's. It's fun to splurge sometimes. :)

First up - CVS. I did the bulk at one store, and then went to the 2nd store just because. I got everything I wanted at the first store and without any $/$$ coupons just did one transaction. Everything is pictured in one picture:

Store 1:
3 Pringles @ $1 ea
4 Dawn @ $1 ea
2 Febreze @ $3.99 ea
2 Febreze Air Effects @ $2.50 ea
1 Playtex @ $4.99
1 Diet Dr. Pepper (consumed :)) @ $1.39
1 Pepsi (consumed :)) @ $1.39
1 Secret Clinical Strength @ $9.99
1 CVS lotion @ $1.49
1 CVS Paper towels 3 pack @ $1.99
1 CVS Pen Spray hand sanitzer @ $1.79
2 Buddy Bars @ 99 cents ea
1 Starburst @ $1.99 (as a treat for my sister who patiently puts up with my deal shopping)

Total before coupons = $46.98

Coupons:
1 Pringles @ 30 cents
4 Dawn @ 50 cents ea - $2
2 Febreze @ 50 cents ea - $1
1 Platex @ $1
1 $2 CVS skin care coupon for lotion
1 $1 3 pack CVS paper towel
1 FREE pen spray @ $1.79
1 FREE Secret @ $9.99 (got for sending in 4 receipts for buying the clincial strength)
1 Buddy Soap @ $1.98 ($2/2 - adjusted down to $1.98 by cashier)
2 Buy 1 Febreze, Get 1 Air Effects FREE, cashier did the $3.99 price twice instead of $2.50 - I'll let them know when I go back next time - $7.98 instead of $5

Total after coupons = $17.94
ECB's used = $17.94
Paid TAX ONLY on a gift card I received from mypoints.com = $1.70

ECB's received back:
$5 Febreze
$2 Dawn
$2 Secret
$1 Pringles
$3 Playtex
= $13

Store #2

2 CVS facial cleansing wipes @ $2.99 ea
1 package of straws @ $1 (just because :))
= $6.98

Used 2 $2 skin care coupons
Paid $2.50 ECB's
Paid the last 8 cents on my gift card
Paid 43 cents OOP

Received $2 ECB's for the wipes

SO - $53.96 worth of product (sale prices!) for 43 cents of my money! Spent $20.44 in ECB's and received back $15

On to RiteAid (not near as exciting!)

2 Herbal Essence Shampoos @ $2.50 ea
1 Infusium @ $4.99
2 Oral B toothbrushes @ $5.99 ea
1 Venus Vibrance @ $7.99
= $23.97

Coupons:
1 Herbal Essence $3/2
1 Infusium - $3
B1G1 Oral B - $5.99
1 Venus - $2
=$18.07 OOP (with tax)

Rebates:
Herbal Essence $2
Infusium $1.99
Venus $5
Oral B $4
= $12.99 total rebates for a cost of $5.08 for everything pictured

Final stop - Walgreens (I also call this my PMS special - the irony of pads and chocolate hit me after I got home :))


2 Stayfree @ $2.50 ea
1 Herberts Loaded candy bar @ 99 cents
2 M&M's @ $2.00 ea
= $10.99

Coupons:
1 Stayfree @ $1
B1G1 Stayfree @ $2.50
1 Walgreens IVC M&M @ $1
2 M&M @ 75 cents each

Paid $2.59 on my rebate gift card, $2.10 cash. I'll receive back $1.09 (99 cents + 10%) for the candy bar.

Summary:

$88.92 worth of stuff
for $20.60 OOP today
but will get back $14.08
making it $6.52 OOP

I did spend about $13 in gas today though.

For more great deals, check out SuperSavingsSaturday, CVS Superstars, and Drugstore Divas!

June Summary

In June, I got $623.82 worth of stuff for just $104.41 after rebates ($170ish before). I spent more at Wal-Mart this month than I have in a long time - $81 worth (for $117 worth of merchandise) - but it was mostly household/wedding (my sister Eunice's) stuff that you really can't get cheaper and is not an every month type of thing. (And I have at least $6 worth to return.)

So, remove WM, and I got $506 worth of stuff (personal care items, groceries, etc.) for just $23 after rebates ($89 before rebates).

I saved $210 in regular coupons (newspapers, printable), $7.85 in doubled coupons at Kroger, and $5.50 in ecoupons at Kroger.

Since I started using coupons, I've started buying the bulk of our groceries and other needs. I used to have Heather (my sister who lives with me) buy her own food, shampoo, etc. and take turns buying things like laundry soap, TP, etc. (Much like a roommate situation.) Now I "buy" most of the stuff we use - she only buys the occasional TV dinners for lunches or any other special snacks she wants. Before coupons, I was easily spending at least $100 a month at WM for just my stuff - Heather was spending at least $50 a month. I think most months we were both spending quite a bit more than that. Before coupons, Heather used to run out of money by the last week of the month - which meant I had to buy anything she needed and buy hers if we ate out. Now she usually has close to $100 left over at the end of the month! So she's getting to buy more fun stuff now. I spend at most $25 a week at Kroger on groceries. I sometimes get some groceries at CVS or Walgreens as well as the bulk of our cleaning supplies, paper products, and things like shampoo, body wash, etc. Of course we also have a nice stockpile so we can just "shop" at home when we run out of something.

Now if we'd just quit eating out so often I could send more money to debt. ;) Little by little. (And with it being summer we want to get out of the house so we go shopping and then eat out. So our eating out has gone up lately. I justify it because I saved so much money at the store. haha Once schools resumes and I get back on a normal schedule, I think we'll stop eating out so much.)

I'm also updating my refunds on the right........ check it out! :)