Economic Endeavors

My CVS Loot for the Week of 7/11/10!

noreply@blogger.com (Lavonne) — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 14:38:00 +0000

Other than the Futuro deal not panning out like I had planned, this week was a pretty smooth week. I didn't need the wrist supports, anyways, so I wasn't too disappointed.

Altogether I spent $15.02 oop, which is more than I planned, but you'll notice a few extra items in my photo that weren't in my scenarios for this week. My husband has been having heel pain due to plantar fascitis, so I needed to pick up some sports tape and gel inserts for him, and I also needed diapers again. I paid my oldest daughter $5 ECBs to babysit our two youngest daughters while I slept in a bit yesterday, so the Doritos, Warheads, facial mud mask, and some of the M&Ms pictured were her purchases, unplanned for. So all things considered, I was perfectly happy with only spending $15 oop for everything I got this week.

My CVS Scenarios for the Week of 7/11/10

noreply@blogger.com (Lavonne) — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 14:13:00 +0000

**If you're new to the CVS game this post won't make much sense to you. Go here first to read my Beginner's Guide to CVS and learn everything you need to know. Then read the rest of this post for tips on how to make the game work for you, too!

It's looking like a good week at CVS this week! Here are the scenarios I put together:

Transaction 1:

$10, 2 John Frieda Haircare (earns $5 ECBs)
$10, 4 Oral-B Pulsar toothbrushes (on sale for $2.50 each, no ECBs)

$20 before coupons

-$4/$20

-$3 ECBs from last week
-$5, 2 $2.50/1 John Frieda prints
-$8, 4 $2/1 Oral-B Pulsar (from 7/4 P&G)

$0+tax after coupons, earns $5 ECBs

__________________

**See notes below**

~~Transaction 2:~~

$18.76, 4 Futuro Wrist supports (earns 5 ECBs)
$0.99 Caliber scissors (earns $0.99 ECBs) 3 days only- Sun, Mon, Tues!
$0.99 Paper-Mate pens (earns $0.99 ECBs) 3 days only- Sun, Mon, Tues!

$20.74 before coupons

-$4/$20
-$5 ECBs from previous order
-$12, 4 $3/1 Futuro prints

-$0.26+tax after coupons, earns $6.98 ECBs

___________________

Transaction 3:

$10 John Frieda haircare (earns $5 ECBs)
$10 4 Oral-B Pulsar toothbrushes

$20 before coupons

-$4/$20

-$1.98 ECBs from previous order
-$5, 2 John Frieda prints
-$8, 4 $2 Oral-B Pulsar (from 7/4 P&G)

$1.02+tax after coupons, earns $5 ECBs

___________________

Transaction 4:

$10, 2 John Frieda haircare (earns $5 ECBs)
$9.97 Gilette ProGlide Razor (earns $5 ECBs)
$1 filler item

$21.97 before coupons

-$4/$20
-$10 ECB from previous orders
-$5, 2 $2.50 John Frieda prints
-$2, Gilette ProGlide (from 7/4 P&G)

-$0.03+tax after coupons, earns $10 ECBs

____________________

Transaction 4:

$3.75, 3 Suave deodorant
$3.32, 2 Suave Body Wash
$3.32, 2 Suave Hair Care (Earns $3 ECBs wys $10)
$7.99, Complete contact lens solution (earns $7.99 ECBs)
$1.54, 2 Sobe Lifewaters

$19.92 before coupons

-$4/$20
-$10.00 ECBs from previous orders
-$1.50, 3 $0.50/1 Suave Deodorant (from 7/11 RP)
-$1, 2 $0.50/1 Suave Body Wash printable
-$1/2 Suave Professionals (from 7/11 RP)
-$0.77 Sobe BOGO print

$1.70+tax after coupons, earns $10.99 ECBs

_____________________

**EDIT**

I wasn't able to find the Futuro wrist supports for $4.xx like I had planned, the cheapest ones my store had were $7.xx, so I didn't end up doing that transaction at all. I just added the FAECB pens and scissors on to my Transaction 1, and did the other transactions as planned.

To see a photo of what I bought this week, go to my post here!

~~~~~~~~~~

**All of the above transactions utilize the $4/$20 CVS coupon that you get when you register a CVS card number for the email list. These coupons aren't hard to get multiples of, but I'm not going to tell you how to do it. :) Mainly because I don't want CVS catching on and canceling the email offers. But if I figured it out, you can too. It doesn't take much thinking or much time (and no tech-smarts or coupon-altering is necessary).

My CVS Loot for the Week of 7/4/10!

noreply@blogger.com (Lavonne) — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 15:43:00 +0000

This was a great week at CVS for me! I did 4 transactions (you can see my scenarios with coupon match-ups here) on one card. I may go back and do them again on my husband's card later this week, because I was able to print up so many unique Sobe coupons. I just need to find room in my fridge for more bottles!

Edit**

I went back two more times to CVS in the past two days. I think I'm addicted. haha

Here's what I bought:

The above order was $7.93, but would have been less if I hadn't accidentally grabbed 2 Carefree liners when I meant to grab 2 CVS liners. Oh well, sometimes that happens, I'm definitely not complaining!

The above order was $5.98. My fridge is officially full of Sobe Lifewaters. But my kids are thrilled! I think I'm done playing the Heads or Tails game on the Sobe website. I think. Free coupons are so hard to turn down, especially when they equal free products that my family loves!

My CVS Scenarios for the Week of 7/4/10

noreply@blogger.com (Lavonne) — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 15:15:00 +0000

At first glance I thought this was going to be a pretty weak week. But it turned out I was able to come up with some decent scenarios. The Sobe BOGO sale saved me. :)

$10, 3 Post Grape Nuts cereal (earns $5 ECBs wyb 3, limit 1)

Gilette Fusion $9.97 (earns $5 ECBs, limit 1)

$19.97 before coupons

-$4/$20 CVS coupon*

-$6, 3 $2/1 Grape Nuts prints

-$4 Fusion (from 6/6 P&G)

$5.97+tax, earns $10 ECBs

___________________

$6 2 Tampax (earns $1 ECB wyb 2, limit 1)

$2.99 Bausch and Lomb Biotrue Multi-purpose solution (earns $2.99 ECBs, limit ?)

$4.98, 2 Crest Whitening (earns $1 ECB wyb 2)

$6.36, 8 Sobe Lifewaters (BOGO)

$20.33 before coupons

-$4/$20

-$4, 2 $2/1 Tampax (from 6/6 P&G)

-$1, 2 $0.50/1 Crest from 6/27 RP

-$6.36, 4 Sobe BOGO prints

$4.97 after coupons, earns $4.99 ECBs

____________________

$8, Covergirl Lashblast mascara

$5.49 Covergirl Eye Enhancer-4 shades

$3.49 Covergirl Eye Shadow- 1 shade (earns $5 ECBs wyb $15 Covergirl, limit 1)

$3.18, 4 Sobe Lifewaters (BOGO)

$20.16 before coupons

-$4/$20 CVS coupon*

-$5.49, Covergirl "Buy mascara get eye free" coupon from 7/4 P&G)

-$1 Covergirl (from 6/6 P&G)

-$2 Lashblast (from 6.6 P&G)

-$3.18, 2 Sobe BOGO prints

$4.49+tax after coupons, earns $5 ECBs

________________________

$13.98, 2 ThermaCare heatwraps (earns $4 ECB wby 2, limit 1)

$4.77, 6 Sobe Lifewaters (BOGO, free after coupons)

$1.00 2 CVS pantiliners (Earns $1 ECB wyb 2, limit ?), monthly deal, not in the weekly ad

$19.75+tax before coupons

-$4/$20 CVS coupon*

-$6, 2 $3/1 Thermacare prints

-$4.77, 3 Sobe BOGO prints

$4.98 after coupons, earns $5 ECBs

Totals:

Spent (on all 4 transactions): $20.41+tax

ECBs earned: $24.99

$4.58 money maker if you pay for your transactions using ECBs!

My CVS Scenarios for the Week of 6/27/10!

noreply@blogger.com (Lavonne) — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 14:32:00 +0000

Looking like a great week at CVS this week! I am especially excited about cheap laundry soap, tons of free maxi pads, and free M&Ms for the kiddos! The Scrubbing Bubbles toilet gel kits will be nice, too, since I usually don't buy stuff like that, I just clean our 2 toilets the old fashioned way. So when I can get things like this for free, it's a nice little luxury. :)

Transaction 1:

$17.98 2 Schick Hydro 3 razors @ $8.99/ea
$3.49 Shick Hydro shaving gel
(earns $10 ECBs wys $20, limit 1)

$21.47 before coupons

-$4/$20 CVS coupon*
-$10, two $5/1 Schick Hydro (from 6/13 SS)
-$1/1 Schick Hydro shave gel (from 6/13 SS)

$6.47 after coupons, earns $10 ECBs
_____________________________

$10, 2 John Frieda shampoo or conditioner (earns $3 ECBs wys $10, limit 5 for the month)
$3.79 2 Stayfree BOGO
$3.79 2 Stayfree BOGO
$3, 2 Xtra Laundry Detergents

$20.58 before coupons

-$4/$20 CVS coupon*
-$2 John Frieda hair care (from 6/6 SS)
-$2 John Frieda hair care (from 6/6 SS)
-$3.79 BOGO Stayfree (from 6/27 SS)
-$3.79 BOGO Stayfree (from 6/27 SS)
-$2, two $1/1 Xtra Detergent (from 6/6 SS)

$3 after coupons, earns $3 ECBs
(If you still have some $3 John Frieda coupons from 6/6 P&G, or the $2.50/1 printables, this would take $1 or $2 off your total!)
______________________________

$9.99 Kodak Picture Movie DVD (earns $9.99 ECBs, limit 1)
$10, 4 Scrubbing Bubbles toilet cleaning gel kit 2/$5 (earns $5 ECBs wys $10, limit 1)

$19.99 before coupons

-$4/$20 CVS print*
-$4, four $1/1 Scrubbing Bubbles Toilet Cleaning product (from 6/6 SS)
Buy one toilet cleaning gel, get Fresh Brush 2-in-1 Starter or refill free (If your CVS carries these, throw 2 of them onto your order and get them free with this coupon)

$11.99 after coupons, earns $14.99 ECBs

________________________________
If you get 4 papers this weekend, like me, you'll have 2 more coupons for the BOGO Stayfree, so you can add 4 more packages (2 per coupon) to any of your transactions and get them free.

Also, single size packs of Pretzel M&Ms are BOGO this week @ $0.88 for 2. There will be a BOGO coupon in this weekend's Red Plum insert which is valid up to $0.79, so it will take $0.79 off, making it only $0.10 for every 2 packs you buy. So you can throw 8 packages onto your transactions and use 4 BOGO coupons to get all 8 packs for $0.40. :)

*All of the above transactions utilize the $4/$20 CVS coupon that you get when you register a CVS card number for the email list. These coupons aren't hard to get multiples of, but I'm not going to tell you how to do it. :) Mainly because I don't want CVS catching on and canceling the email offers. But if I figured it out, you can too. It doesn't take much thinking or much time (and no tech-smarts or coupon-altering is necessary).

What I Got at CVS This Week!

noreply@blogger.com (Lavonne) — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 13:56:00 +0000

It's been a busy week for me this week, so I didn't get around to posting my CVS scenarios here. Sorry about that! I made up my scenarios early in the week, but because my week was so busy, I decided to skip the deals this week to save me the stress of having to work a CVS trip into my already busy schedule, especially considering I have quite a stockpile of Body Wash and toothpaste already.

But last night I realized I was low on diapers, and needed to pick up some more, and remembered the deal on Huggies boxes at CVS this week, so I decided if I had to go for diapers anyways, I might as well get the rest of my deals too.

I paid $8.64 total for everything pictured above.

I bought the 6 packages of Pampers baby wipes and the 2 Skinny Cow ice cream cups at Walmart. The wipes are regularly priced at $1.97, making the six packages free after 6 $2/1 coupons from the 6/6 newspaper. The Skinny Cow cups are regularly prices at $1.22, making them only $0.22 each after 2 of the $1/1 printables that were available online recently.

Everything else pictured was bought in 3 transactions at CVS. AND, I went in to the store with NO ECBs to spend towards my scenarios, so I was very pleased at my low total for everything I bought, and I left the store with $11 ECBs for next week!

First thing I did when I got to the store was scan my card for coupons at the Coupon Center machine. I was very happy to receive a free $2 ECB for recently joining the ExtraCare Advantage program. If you haven't signed your card up for this program yet, you should! It's quick and easy to do online, and you may get rewarded with extra ECB rewards from time to time!

Ok, so, here are the scenarios I did at CVS this week:

Transaction 1:

$7, Olay Total Effects Body Wash*

$7, Olay Total Effects Body Wash* (will earn ECBs in next order)

$1.49 Dove bar soap

$2.99, Colgate Total Advanced Whitening (earns $2 ECBs, limit 2)

$2.97 3 Powerbar Pure and Simple bars ($0.99 each, earns $2.97ECBs)

$22.94 before coupons

-$5/$15 CVS coupon (I got this Grand Opening coupon in the mail)

-$8, two $4/1 Olay TE Body Wash (from 6/6 P&G)

-$2.98, two "Buy Olay TE Body Wash, get Dove soap free" (from 6/6 P&G)

-$0.75/1 Colgate Total Advanced printable

-$1/1 Colgate Total Advanced CVS printable

-$2 ECB from coupon printer

$3.21 +tax after coupons, earns $4.97 ECBs

______________________

Transaction 2

$7, Olay Total Effects Body Wash*

$7, Olay Total Effects Body Wash* (earns $7 ECBs wys $27)

$1.49 Dove bar soap

$2.99 Colgate Total Advanced (earns $2 ECBs)

$3 Gold Emblem cookies

$22.97 before coupons

-$4/$20 CVS print

-$2.97 ECBs (from last order)

-$8, two $4/1 Olay TE Body Wash (from 6/6 P&G)

-$2.98, two "Buy Olay TE Body Wash, get Dove soap free" (from 6/6 P&G)

-$0.75/1 Colgate Total Advanced printable

-$1/1 Colgate Total Advanced CVS printable

-$3, Free CVS Brand product, max value $3 (got this in a Grand Opening mailer, used for the Gold Emblem cookies)

$0.27+tax, earns $9 ECBs

________________________

Transaction 3

$19.99 Huggies diaper box

-$4/$20 CVS coupon

-$3/1 Huggies print

-$1/1 Huggies CVS print (this is no longer available, but I printed a bunch of them earlier this month because they had a long expiration date)

-$11 ECBs from previous order

$0.99 oop, earns $10 ECBs

_________________

*You'll notice in my picture that I didn't get the Total Effects body wash as planned, because they were out of stock at my store. The manager let me substitute the Age Defying and Moisture varieties, because they were the same price. The $4/1 coupons scanned fine for these, but no ECBs printed. The manager manually printed my $7 ECBs, since I had spent the required $27 to earn the ECBs, and since they were out of stock of the Total Effects variety! :)

MY CVS Deal Scenarios for the Week of 6/13

noreply@blogger.com (Lavonne) — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 16:44:00 +0000

The week of 6/13 looks like another good week at CVS! It looks like some of the same deals from the 6/6 week are repeating (the Gillette Pro-Glide, Pantene, Jergens), and I noticed that this week (6/6) my receipt doesn't say "offer limit reached" for those offers, so I'm assuming they're actually monthly deals.

Here are the scenarios I put together for this week. They all utilize the $4/$20 CVS coupon that you get when you register a CVS card number for the email list. These coupons aren't hard to get multiples of, but I'm not going to tell you how to do it. :) Mainly because I don't want CVS catching on and canceling the email offers. But if I figured it out, you can too. It doesn't take much thinking or much time (and no tech-smarts or coupon-altering is necessary).

There are 3 transactions that I'll be doing this week, on both my card and my husband's. I need diapers, so I worked them into one of my scenarios. But I also have an alternate scenario for those of you who don't need to buy diapers.

Transaction 1

$4 Gilette or Old Spice Body Wash (earns $4 ECBs, limit 1)

$4 Gilette or Old Spice Body wash (no ECBs, but free with coupon)

$8.97 Schick Hydro 3 or Hydro 5 razor system or cartridges (earns $4 ECBs, limit 1)

$3.29/2 BOGO Right Guard Total Defense or Sport deodorant

$20.26 before coupons

-$4/$20 CVS email coupon

-$4 B1G1 Gilette or Old Spice Body Wash (from 6/6 P&G)

-$5/1 Schick Hydro (from upcoming 6/13 SS)

-$3/2 Right Guard Total Defense printable (use zip code 01089)

$4.26+tax, earns $8 ECBs

____________________________

Transaction 2

$9.97 Gillette Pro-Glide razor (earns $4 ECBs, limit 1)

2/$10, John Frieda shampoo or conditioner (earns $3 ECBs wys $10, limit 1)

$1 filler item

$20.97+tax before coupons

-$4/$20 CVS email coupon

-$4/1 Gillette Pro-Glide (from 6/6 P&G)

-$6 two $3/1 John Frieda (from the 6/6 P&G) - or the $2.50/1 printable (will make your total $1 more)

$6.97 after coupons, earns $7 ECBs

________________________________

Transaction 3 (if you need diapers)

$4.99 Covergirl Wetslicks Amazemint (earns $3 ECBs, limit 1)
$3.99 Colgate Pro Clinical toothpaste (earns $2 ECBs, limit 2)
$3.99 Colgate Pro Clinical toothpaste (earns $2 ECBs, limit 2)
$8.49 Huggies

$21.46 before coupons

-$4/$20 CVS email coupon
-$1/1 any Covergirl product (from 6/6 P&G)
-$2, two $1/1 Colgate Pro Clinical (from upcoming 6/13 SS)
-$3 Huggies manu print
-$1 Huggies CVS print

$10.46+ tax, earns $7 ECBs

____________________________

Alternate Transaction 3 (if you don't need diapers)

$4.99 Covergirl Wetslicks Amazemint (earns $3 ECBs, limit 1)

$3.99 Colgate Pro Clinical toothpaste (earns $2 ECBs, limit 2)

$3.29/2 BOGO Right Guard Total Defense

$5.99 Family Size Aussie, Pantene, Herbal Essences or Head & Shoulders (earns $2 ECBs)

$22.25 before coupons

-$4/$20 CVS email coupon

-$1/1 any Covergirl product (from 6/6 P&G)

-$2, two $1/1 Colgate Pro Clinical (from upcoming 6/13 SS)

-$3/2 Right Guard Total Defense printable (use zip code 01089)

$12.25 after coupons

Earns $9 ECBs

________________________________

Totals:

Three transactions (with diaper deal):

Spend: $21.69

Earns: $22 ECBs!

Three transactions (with alternate no-diaper deal):

Spend: $23.58

Earns: $24.00 ECBs!

So if you use ECBs to pay for these transactions, you'll get all of your items for free (just pay tax!) and have as many ECBs when you're done as you did when you started! :)

________________________________

My CVS Loot for the Week of 6/6!

noreply@blogger.com (Lavonne) — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 23:11:00 +0000

This was a great week at CVS. You can see my four transactions here, and coupons I used. I did the four transactions on both my card and my husbands, in 3 separate trips to the store. I had a bit of a problem with the Glade Plug-ins deal, but worked it out (the cashier let me substitute the Scented Oil Candles and use the Plug-Ins Scented Oil coupons, because they didn't have the Plug-In warmers in stock). I didn't get a picture of my first trip to the store, in which I did Transaction 1 on both cards. But below are pictures of my last 2 trips to CVS this week, doing Transaction 2 and 3 in the first picture, and 4 (plus the 5th transaction I worked last minute to use the $2 ECBs that printed for each card at the card scanner machine and expired in 3 days!).

This trip cost me $8.22 cash oop ($5 of that was tax!)

This trip cost me $5.90 cash oop (almost $4 of that was tax!)

My CVS scenarios for next week (6/16) are already posted, go here to check them out!

My CVS Loot for the Week of 5/30!

noreply@blogger.com (Lavonne) — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 17:27:00 +0000

Here's what I scored at CVS this week! You can see my shopping plan here, with a list of what I bought and what coupons I used!

(Click images to see them larger)

Spent $3.81 out of pocket, used $10 ECBs, and earned back $12 ECBs. I still have $16 ECBs from last week, so my new ECB total is $28!

My scenarios for next week (6/6/10) are already posted here!! Go see how I'm planning to get around $90 worth of items for only $1.97 out of pocket, and GROW my ECBs! :)

My CVS Scenarios for the Week of 6/6/10!

noreply@blogger.com (Lavonne) — Mon, 31 May 2010 17:58:00 +0000

Ok, I already have my CVS scenarios ready for next week, super early! I couldn't help myself, there were so many possibilities, I wanted to get them down on paper and play with them and see how low I could get my total and how much stuff I could score for free!

I am SOOO excited about this coming week! So much great stuff, and rolling some ECBs, and also growing them!

I have 4 transactions planned (you'll need to pick up one newspaper on 6/6 before doing these deals!):

Transaction 1:

$5, 2 Glade Scented Oil refills (on sale $2/5)
$5, 2 Glade Scented Oil holders (on sale $2/5, earns $5 ECBs wys $10, limit 2)
$10, 2 John Frieda shampoo, conditioner, or styler ($5 each, earns $3 ECBs wyb 2, limit 1)
$1 filler item (anthing you want)

$21+tax before coupons

$4/$20 CVS coupon
-$5, 2 printables, Buy Glade scented oil refill and get holder free
-$4, 2 $2/1 John Frieda printables

$8+tax after coupons, earns $8 ECBs

(I only put the $1 filler item in because I have an $8 ECB to use from last week. If you don't have that, take off the filler and your total will be $7).
_____________________________

Transaction 2:

$15, 6 Degree deodorants (2/$5. earns $5 ECBs wys $15, limit 1)
$6.97, 2 Pantene Pro-V shampoo, conditioner, or styler (earns $2 ECBs wyb 2, limit 1)

$21.97 before coupons

-$4/$20 CVS printable
-$9, 3 $3/2 Degree printables
-$1/2 Pantene from 6/6 P&G (newspaper coupon)

$7.97 after coupons

Use your $8 ECB from previous order, adjusted down.

$0+tax after coupons, earns $7 ECBs!

_________________________________

Transaction 3:

$10, 3 Special K Low Fat Granola (earns $5 ECBs wyb 3, limit 1)
$9.97 Gilette Fusion ProGlide (Earns $5 ECBs, limit 1)

$19.97 +tax before coupons

-$4/$20 CVS coupon
-$7 ECBs from previous order
-$3, 3 $1/1 Special K printables
-$4 Gilette Fusion razor (from Sunday's newspaper- 6/6)

$1.97 after coupons, earns $10 ECBs.

(if you have a $2 ECB from last week- Ban or Suave- use that at the end of this order, adjusted down, to make your total $0+tax!)

_____________________________

Transaction 4:

$7.98, 2 - Rolaids 100-150ct., softchews 24-36ct. Mylanta chewables 24ct, or liquid 12oz (earns $4 ECBs wyb 2, limit 1)
$5, 2 Glade Scented Oil refills (on sale $2/5)
$5, 2 Glade Scented Oil holders (on sale $2/5, earns $5 ECBs wys $10, limit 2)
$8.99, 1 Venus embrace razor (earns $4 ECBs, limit 1)

$26.97+tax before coupons

-$4/$20 CVS coupon
-$10 ECB from previous order
-$4/2 one Rolaids/Mylanta coupon from 6/6 V (newspaper coupon)
-$2/1 Venus Embrace (newspaper coupon, from 6/6 P&G)
-$5, 2 printables, Buy Glade scented oil refill and get holder free

$1.97 after coupons, earns $13 ECBs!

(if you have a $2 ECB from last week- Ban or Suave- use that at the end of this order, adjusted down, to make your total $0+tax!)

_______________________

When you're done, you'll have spent $12 in ECBs (or $11 cash if you don't have ECBs to use) and you'll have earned $13 ECBs for next week (one for $5 and two for $4)!!

**EDIT** Like a lot of other people are reporting, the card scanner machine gave me a $2 ECB this week on each of my two cards. These ECBs were only good for 3 days, so I wanted to rework my 4th transaction to use those and because I had 8 of the $1/1 coupons for the skinny cow ice cream to use! Here's what I bought in my new Transaction 4, and a 5th transaction I put together as well. :)

Transaction 4:

$7.98, 2 - Rolaids 100-150ct., softchews 24-36ct. Mylanta chewables 24ct, or liquid 12oz (earns $4 ECBs wyb 2, limit 1)

$5, 2 Glade Scented Oil refills (on sale $2/5)

$5, 2 Glade Scented Oil holders (on sale $2/5, earns $5 ECBs wys $10, limit 2)

$4 Skinny Cow Cups

$21.98+tax before coupons

-$4/$20 CVS

-$5 ECB from previous order

-$4/2 one Rolaids/Mylanta coupon from 6/6 V (newspaper coupon)

-$5, 2 printables, Buy Glade scented oil refill and get holder free

-$4 4 Skinny Cow coupons

earns $9 ECBs!

________________________________

$13.98 L'Oreal EverPure or Everstrong shampoo, conditioner (earns $5 wyb 2)

$8.99, 1 Venus embrace razor (earns $4 ECBs, limit 1)

$22.97

-$4/$20

Use $5 from previous order, plus $5 from previous trip, and $2 from card scanner

-$2/1 Venus Embrace (newspaper coupon, from 6/6 P&G)

-$4 2 $2/1 L'Oreal (from 6/6 RP)

$0.97+tax, earns $9 ECBs

____________________

I'm ending the week with $15 ECBs on my card, and $18 on my husband's card!

Go here to see pictures of what I bought this week!!

My CVS Scenarios for the Week of 5/30/10

noreply@blogger.com (Lavonne) — Sat, 29 May 2010 15:28:00 +0000

When I first looked at the CVS ad for this week, I wasn't too excited. No "free after ECB" deals! But I did a little deeper digging, and I have to say that now I'm pretty excited about the scenario I put together! Free shampoo and conditioner are two of my favorite freebies!

Because I only just got started CVSing again after more than a year, I don't have any newspaper insert coupons, so I was happy to have been able to work a pretty great scenario using only internet printable coupons.

I'm starting this week with $13 ECBs (earned last week) on each of my 2 CVS cards. So I'll be doing the following scenario twice, once on my husband's card, and once on mine.

Here's my scenario for this week:

$6, 3 Suave shampoo, conditioner, styler, or body wash (earns $2 ECBs wyb 3, limit 2)
$6, 3 Suave shampoo, conditioner, styler, or body wash (earns $2 ECBs wyb 3, limit 2)

$2.99, 1 Ban Invisible Solid deodorant (earns $2, limit 1)
$5.99, 1 Airwick Ultra Freshmatic (on sale, no ECBs)

$20.98 before coupons

-$4/$20 CVS printable
-$5 ECBs from last week (giving the ECBs before man. coupons reduces the amount of tax you pay)
-$6 six $1/1 Suave printables
-$0.75 one Ban printable
-$4 one Airwick Freshmatic printable

$1.13+tax after coupons
Earns $6 ECBs! And I'll still have an $8 ECB from last week, leaving me $14 for next week. :)

New $4/$20 CVS coupon available!

noreply@blogger.com (Lavonne) — Fri, 28 May 2010 00:26:00 +0000

CVS is again offering a coupon for $4 off of a $20 purchase when you register your ExtraCare Card and sign up for email offers! That's like FREE MONEY to those of us who play the CVS game!

My CVS Scenario For This Week, With Pics!

noreply@blogger.com (Lavonne) — Thu, 27 May 2010 04:00:00 +0000

I wasn't too excited about the deals at CVS this week, mainly because I spent all my ECBs last week on diapers. I remember fondly the days when I had diapers stockpiled in my closet, enough to last at least a couple of months. But since I have only just begun CVSing again after a long time without, I am in the process of getting stocked up again. Slowly but surely! :)

So imagine my delight when CVS emailed me today to request that I take a survey, rewarded by $15 ECBs, printable immediately upon completion of the survey. I also had that same request in the email address that is attached to my husband's CVS card, so that meant $30 free ECBs for me to play with, on 2 different CVS cards.

Here's the scenario I came up with (I needed diapers again...)

$9.99 Huggies Little Movers Jeans diapers (sale price)

$4 Old Spice Body Wash (earns $4 ECBs, limit 2)

$$11.98 Two ThermaCare 3pk Heating Pads at $5.99 each (earns $5 ECBs wyb 2, limit 1)

$4.77 Six bottles of Sobe Lifewater, on sale B1G1 at $1.59

$1 Green Bag Tag (have been meaning to pick one up)

$35.74 before coupons

-$5/$30 CVS printable

-$15 ECBs, printable reward for taking survey

-$3/1 Huggies printable

-$1/1 CVS Huggies Little Movers Jeans store printable

-$3/1 ThermaCare 2ct+ printable

-$4.77 B1G1 Sobe Lifewater printables

$0.97 +tax after coupons, earns $13 ECBs!

I did this exact same scenario twice, once on my husband's card, and once on mine. Here's the loot:

My McNuggets/Shrek House Party!

noreply@blogger.com (Lavonne) — Tue, 18 May 2010 19:02:00 +0000

Are you familiar with HouseParty.com? I was chosen to host my second party for them this weekend.

House Party is a website that organizes party packs that are supplied by companies that want to promote their products to the public. You can apply to host a party, agreeing to plan a party and invite a minimum number of guests, and if you are chosen, House Party ships you a package filled with fun supplies for the party, sent to you for free and provided by the companies that the party is themed around.

For example, I blogged about the first House Party I was chosen to host a while back. It was a Fisher Price party, and it included some pretty awesome free Fisher Price toys. I hosted a "playdate" party for my toddler daughter and her friends, and it was a blast. And all of the larger Fisher Price toys were ours to keep. The package also included smaller toys for our guests to take home as well.

This week, I received the supplies for the second House Party that I will be hosting this weekend: A Shrek Forever After/ McDonald's McNuggets party. This party package is FULL of some pretty awesome freebies, and my 3 daughters were so excited to open the FedEx box with me when it arrived. Included in the package was:

1 $75 McDonalds Gift Card
1 Shrek the Third DVD
1 McDonald’s Stage M CD
1 Shrek Forever After Movie Poster
1 Shrek-themed Happy Meal box
2 Shrek collectible glasses (We got "Donkey" and "Shrek")
2 sets Shrek-themed plates (each set includes 8 pieces)
2 sets Shrek-themed napkins (each set includes 8 pieces)
2 sets Shrek-themed cups (each set includes 8 pieces)
2 sets Shrek-themed invites (each set includes 8 pieces)
20 McNuggets of Fun Coin Booklets
2 full sets Shrek Happy Meal toys (each set includes 8 toys)
15 Shrek Happy Meal watches (four varieties of watches)
15 Free Snack Size McFlurry coupons
15 Free Minute Maid Apple Juice coupons.

We'll be throwing our "Shrek/McNuggets" themed party this Saturday, and we are so excited.

If you haven't applied to host your own House Party yet, take a look at the website and see if there are any available to apply for that interest you. There's no selling involved, and it's a great way to get together with friends and score some pretty nice (free!) stuff!

Coupon from CVS coupon printer = Cheap m&m's!

noreply@blogger.com (Lavonne) — Wed, 12 May 2010 19:33:00 +0000

Today, I went to do my CVS deal scenarios for this week, and I scanned my card at the coupon printer and here are the coupons I received:

On my husband's card I got

Save $1 on any 2 CVS/pharmacy first aid items
Save $1 on any CVS/pharmacy Hair Care items, excludes Trial Sizes

On my card I got

$5 off any purchase of $40 or more (woot!)
$1 off any CVS/pharmacy Brand Facial Skin Care
Save $2 on any $6 purchase of Gift Bags, Wrap or Bows
$3 orr Borghese Nail Color
Save $3 off of 2 Snickers, M&M's, or Dove bags, 8,5oz or larger

Always make sure to scan your card until the machine tells you there are no more prints available for you that day. I scanned my card and got coupons twice, not getting the "no more coupons" until the 3rd scan!

The Medium bags of m&m's (9oz) are on sale this week, 2/$4. I used the $3/2 coupon to make them $0.50 a bag. The new pretzel variety were included in the sale, and these are sooo good, I was thrilled to get them at such a low price!

Free Cacique Panty at Lane Bryant through May 19

noreply@blogger.com (Lavonne) — Wed, 12 May 2010 16:37:00 +0000

Stop into any Lane Bryant store before May 19 and get a free Cacique panty in black or white, no coupon needed! More details available here.

Free Redbox Code from Stouffers

noreply@blogger.com (Lavonne) — Wed, 12 May 2010 16:31:00 +0000

Become a Stouffers Dinner Club member and instantly you'll receive 100 points in your account. You can then click on "Earn Points", and take a quick survey to earn another 100 points.

You can redeem 160 points for a free Redbox Rental!

Free 50 Subway points = free 6" sub!

noreply@blogger.com (Lavonne) — Tue, 11 May 2010 23:50:00 +0000

Right now, you can get 50 points added to your Subway Customer Loyalty card on your next purchase (enough for a free 6" sub!) by texting your card number to 35562 on your cell phone.

Doing this subscribes you to weekly texts, but you can unsubscribe easily by texting STOP to the same number.

You can pick up a Customer Loyalty Card at any Subway location!

Menu Plan Monday

noreply@blogger.com (Lavonne) — Mon, 10 May 2010 04:00:00 +0000

I typically do my menu plan for 2 weeks' meals, and I do a major grocery shopping trip every 2 weeks. I do coupon-based shopping each week at Publix and CVS, and stock up on as many items as I have coupons for that are free or nearly free. Then, when I plan my menu, I try to focus on using as many items that I already have on hand as possible, and buy the rest of what I need at Aldi.

My current grocery budget for our family of 5 is $125/2 weeks, including diapers, personal care products, paper goods, detergent.. basically, anything the grocery store sells. I try to keep under $100/2 weeks, so that I have some money left over to play with if a great coupon deal comes up, or we want to splurge on some unplanned snacks during our 2 weeks between shopping trips.

This week, my family is driving to Virginia to see my mother-in-law graduate and receive her bachelors degree, so we'll only be home for 9 days. I made my menu based on those 9 days, and made my grocery list accordingly.

When I plan my grocery list, it helps me to use the Aldi Price Sheet I created. This way I have an idea of how much I'm going to be spending before I leave the house. Knowing this amount helps keep me from throwing unplanned items into my cart at the store, and lets me know how much I have remaining in the budget so that if I see an item at the store that I need but didn't plan on buying, I know if the money is available to purchase it.

This week's meals aren't very exciting, because I was trying to keep the costs low so we can use the extra money for our trip. And there are a few repeats because we're going out of town in the middle of the two week period, so we'll have some of the same meals before we leave, and then again after we get back.

Here's this week's menu (keep reading to see the shopping list with Aldi prices)

Breakfasts:

Cereal
Toaster Strudel (stocked up 2 weeks ago for nearly free at Publix)
Pancakes with fruit sauce (made with frozen organic fruit stocked up on 2 weeks ago for nearly free at Publix)

Lunches:

Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches
Lunchables Subs (stocked up on for free at Publix last week)
Ramen cups (my 12 year old daughter's favorite)

Dinners:

Spaghetti and Meatballs: one pound of spaghetti noodles, one jar of pasta sauce, and a bag of frozen precooked italian style meatballs.
Meatball Stroganoff: 4 packets of brown gravy mix, prepared as directed and simmered with 8oz of sour cream, a package of original style frozen precooked meatballs, and a can of sliced mushrooms; served over a bag and a half of cooked egg noodles, with a side of canned peas.
Salsa Chicken: 3 large boneless/skinless chicken breasts, a jar of salsa, a cup of shredded cheddar, and 8 oz of sour cream; cooked in the crockpot and served over a pound of cooked elbow macaroni, and a side of canned corn.
Pineapple Brown Sugar Ham: A $4 turkey ham, cooked in the crockpot with a can of chunk pineapple and juice, and 1 cup of brown sugar. Served with white rice and a side of canned green beans.
Taco Pasta (recipe below)
Spaghetti and Meatballs (see above)
Meatball Stroganoff (see above)
2 packages of frozen Salisbury Steaks with gravy, cooked as directed and served over white rice with a side of canned peas.
Frozen DiGiorno pizza and breadsticks (stocked up for free last week at Publix).

Some of the items for these meals (other than the ones I've already indicated above) I already have on hand: all the canned vegetables, elbow noodles, brown sugar, and canned tomato sauce and taco seasoning and ground beef for the Taco Pasta.

Here is my shopping list for the meals above (I always estimate up on the prices, and guess a little high for the items I don't know the price of):

$2, 2 sour cream

$5, 2 shredded cheddar

$4, turkey ham (sold by the pound)

$2, 1 cereal

$4, peanut butter and jelly

$2, salsa

$2, 2 lbs spaghetti

$2, 2 spaghetti sauce

$4, 3 egg noodles

$3, 3 lbs white rice

$4, 8 packets brown gravy

$1, 2 cans mushrooms

$3, box of ramen noodle cups

$2, pineapples

$2, 1 bread

$8, 4 meatballs

$4, 2 salisbury steaks

$54 total, estimated high. I still need to buy Pull Ups, shampoo and conditioner, and snacks for the trip, but there's plenty of money left over in the budget for those things!

____________________

Taco Pasta Recipe

(I got this recipe from one of the bloggers who posted on last week's MPM, but I didn't plan to be blogging about it so I didn't keep the link. If it was you who posted this recipe, thank you and sorry for not being able to credit you! :)

Taco Pasta

1 pound ground beef
1 package (1-1/4 ounces) taco seasoning
1 can (15 ounces) tomato sauce
1 package (8 ounce) shell macaroni, cooked and drained (I'm using elbow macaroni)
1 can (4 ounces) chopped green chilies
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

In a skillet, brown ground beef over medium heat.
Drain and add taco seasoning, tomato sauce, and green chilies.
Stir in cooked macaroni.
Place in a 9×13 pan.
Top with cheese.
Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until heated through.

For more ideas on planning your own menus, or to see what many others in the blogosphere are eating this week, hop on over to Menu Plan Monday at OrgJunkie.com!

CVS deal scenarios for the week of May 9, 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Lavonne) — Sun, 09 May 2010 16:53:00 +0000

I haven't blogged in a while about CVS, because not long ago my family moved from Michigan to Florida, and sadly, there wasn't a CVS close enough to our new home that was reasonable to drive to to play the CVS game.

But to my extreme excitement, a CVS has been built about 2 miles away, and should be opening any day now!! So I am thrilled at the thoughts of rebuilding my future stockpile, and all the money I'll be saving in the future.

Because I'm starting all over, I planned some basic deals for this week, to build a little stash of ECBs to use next week. I'll be spending $3.48 oop, and I'll earn $8.99 ECBs, plus I'll have $17 worth of toothpaste, mouth wash, Kotex, and deodorant. What a great week to get back up on the horse!!

Here's are the 4 transactions I'll be doing this week. If you're new to CVSing, this would be a great week for you to get started, too! I'll be updating what I'll be buying each week, and you are welcome to do exactly what I do. It doesn't get any easier than that!!

Transaction 1:

$3.50, 1 Crest Pro-Health paste or rinse (earns $3.50 ECBs), limit 2

-$2 ECBs (I have these ECBs already from an online survey I took)

$1.50, earns $3.50 ECBs

_____________________________

Transaction 2:

$3.50, 1 Crest Pro-Health paste or rinse (earns $3.50 ECBs), limit 2

-$3.50 ECBs from previous order

$0.00, earns $3.50 ECBs

_____________________________

Transaction 3:

$4.99 1 U by Kotex pads, tampons, or liners (earns $4.99 ECBs), limit 1

$0.50 a candy bar or any other small filler item you want to throw in

-$1/1 U by Kotex printable

-$1/1 U by Kotex CVS printable

-$3.50 ECBs from previous order

$0.00, earns $4.99 ECBS

________________________

Transaction 4:

$4.98 2 Right Guard (earns $4), limit 2

-$3/2 Right Guard printable

$1.98, earns $4 ECBs

_______________________

Total spent on all 4 orders: $3.48 (If you're just starting this week, the total for you will be $5.48, because I had $2 ECBs to start with)

Earns: $8.99 ECBs for next week

The out-of-pocket costs ($5.48 for you) this week is higher than it will ever be in future weeks. That's because this is the first week and you have no ECBs to start with. But next week you'll have a $4.99 ECB and a $4 ECB coupon to use towards next week's deals, and you won't have to actually spend real money again. You can just keep rolling your ECBs!

I'm Back!

noreply@blogger.com (Lavonne) — Sun, 09 May 2010 16:39:00 +0000

It has been quite a while since I have blogged here. I got busy with 2 toddlers and a big move- from Michigan to Florida.

I had to get settled in to a new life in our new home, and sadly there was no CVS nearby or any of the grocery stores I was used to in MI, so I had to adjust to those too, so that I could continue to do my couponing and saving money for our family.

I finally feel settled, and the blogging bug has hit me again!

So keep checking back as I get back into my groove. I'll be continuing to post more regularly and I am eager to reconnect with my remaining readers and to welcome new readers as well!

Let's all go get those deals together!! :)

Free Glade Plugins Scented Gel Warmer + Refill

noreply@blogger.com (Lavonne) — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 20:58:00 +0000

The first 10,000 people to respond to this months Right at Home offer will receive a Glade Plugins Scented Gel Warmer and refill.

If you have received another Right at Home gift package in the past 180 days, you are not eligible for this month's offer.

Visit Right at Home here to sign up.

Free dog food at Target

noreply@blogger.com (Lavonne) — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 16:03:00 +0000

Chef Michael's 24oz bags of dog food are regularly priced at $4.49 at Target.
Use this manufacturers coupon for $3.50 off of any Purina dog food, combined with the Target printable coupon for $1.50 off Chef Michael's, and get the bag for free with possible overage after coupons!

Also a great deal: Target is having a sale where you get a $5 gift card when you buy two large bags of Chef Michael's dog food, priced at $10 each. Buy 2 for $20, use the above coupons and pay only $5 after gift card for 2 large bags of premium dog food. Roll the gift cards and repeat the deal as many times as you want to stock up!

Last day to get a free McCafe drink!

noreply@blogger.com (Lavonne) — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 15:55:00 +0000

Today is the last Monday of McDonald's summer promotion where you can get a free hot Mocha or Iced Mocha coffee drink. Go in before 7pm tonight to get yours!

Redbox free rental code

noreply@blogger.com (Lavonne) — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 14:53:00 +0000

Today's the first Monday of the month, so that means there's a new free rental code for Redbox!
Use this code to get one free movie rental: 27HZ4KT