Frugal Breeni

You thought I was finished for today, didn't you?

noreply@blogger.com (Breeni Books) — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 22:38:00 +0000

Alrighty, I wanted to pick up some more Diet Pepsi 2 liters while they were on sale, plus open up some ECBs on my other card for the May freebies when they start on Thursday, so I ran back out to CVS.

$2.50 3M Utensil Holder

$2.50 Post It Flags

$5.99 Bic Soleil Razor

$7.99 Just For Men

$1.69 2 Pepsi 2 Liters (BOGO)

$0.99 Bath Buddies Soap

-$1.00 off any Command product (utensil holder, printable online)

-$1.89 was a $2 off two J&J products, but the Bath Buddies were less than $2, so the cashier took off the actual cost)

-$2.00 off Bic Soleil Razor (printable online, manufacturer's site)

-$2.00 off Just For Men (printable online, sign up at manufacturer's site)

-$3.00 off 2 Post It Flags (printable online)

-$3.00 off any $15 purchase at CVS from Washington Post

Total $15.56

$3 ECB earned for Bic razor, $7.99 ECB earned for Just for Men

I forgot to mention in the previous post that I have rebate forms for the Just for Men, so I'll be getting back a full refund of $7.99 on those. So after the rebate, I spent $7.57 for all of this and have $10.99 ECB for May freebies. No more CVS trips until Thursday, I swear!

I was also able to print out another Honey Bunches of Oats coupon and Malt O'Meal coupon, so I'll be stopping at Wal-Mart on the way home from work tomorrow. But not CVS, I swear!

You may be wondering about the 7Up in the picture. I threw that one in just because I ran by Food Lion to use a coupon while I was out. For whatever reason, at some point when I purchased my Diet Pepsi earlier this month, I received a $1 off 7Up coupon at the register. Every single time I have redeemed this coupon, I've received another one! So I am racking up on the 7Ups for a total of $0.42 each, including tax. As long as the coupons keep printing, I'll keep buying!

Look what you can buy for $1.66!

noreply@blogger.com (Breeni Books) — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 19:49:00 +0000

While Mark was at the doctor this morning, I took the opportunity to make a RiteAid/CVS run. This was my first visit to RiteAid, and I mainly went to pick up items that were free after single-check rebate. The car wash that was featured in the sale paper as free after rebate isn't carried at my local store, so I wasn't able to pick up everything I wanted, but I did pretty well.

RiteAid

$4.99 Charles Worthington Big Hair Conditioner

$5.99 Salon Grafix Mousse

$3.99 Citre Shine Colour Prism Conditioner

$0.99 Spongebob BandAids

$2.99 Listerine Smart Rinse Mouthwash

-$1.00 off Listerine Smart Rinse coupon (from Sunday paper)

-$0.50 off BandAids coupon (from Sunday paper)

Total $18.73

Total I will be receiving back in the form of single-check rebate: $17.96

Total cost of RiteAid purchases $0.77

CVS

$2.50 Post It Flags (Post Its on sale 2/$5)

$2.50 Post It Flags

$2.50 Post It Memos

$2.50 Post It Page Markers

$5.99 Bic Soleil Razor

$2.25 Lumene Men's Aftershave Splash (on clearance)

$0.13 Pencil (on clearance, I only threw it in to make sure I could use all my coupons)

-$3.00 off two Post It Flags (printable online coupon)

-$2.00 off Bic Soleil coupon (printable online coupon)

-$2.00 off full size Lumene product (coupon found in basket in beauty section)

-$3.00 off any $15 purchase at CVS coupon from Washington Post

-$5.00 ECB from previous transaction

-$3.00 ECB from previous transaction

Total $0.89

Received $5 ECB from completing Post It promotion, received $3 ECB from Bic Soleil purchase

I'll also be using the UPCs from the Post Its for a rebate of $5 in McDonald's gift certificates.

Look what you can buy for $6.15!

noreply@blogger.com (Breeni Books) — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 02:41:00 +0000

I've been busy lately and unable to post, but I had to share the AMAZING deals I came home with today.

First stop, Wal-Mart. I had to do two transactions because two of my coupons were identical, and I remember the last time I had identical coupons, the manager forced me to ring up separate transactions to use them all. That was at a different Wal-Mart, but I decided to be safe anyway. My total cost today at Wal-Mart was $0.89.

Transaction #1
$2.00 1 Kashi Cereal

-$2 off Kashi product from Kashi site (must join)

Total after tax $0.04

Transaction #2
$2.00 1 Kashi Cereal
$1.98 1 Honey Bunches of Oats Chocolate Clusters
$4.54 1 Scotch Brite Toilet Scrubber Starter Kit
$2.00 2 Malt O'Meal Cereals (were on sale 2/$2)

$0.88 1 Extra Gum
-$2 off Kashi product from Kashi site (must join)

-$2 off Honey Bunches Chocolate Clusters from manufacturer's site
-$4.54 Try it Free Scotch Brite Toilet Scrubber (I can't remember where this one came from, but it's an internet coupon)

-$1.00 Any Malt O'Meal cereal (another one I can't remember...might have been SmartSource)

-$1.50 Select Malt O'Meal cereals (same here)

Total after tax $0.85

CVS

Transaction #1

$10.00 2 Stayfree Products (on sale 2/$10, $2 ECB)

$5.99 1 Bic Soleil Razor ($3 ECB)

$7.99 1 Just For Men ($7.99 ECB)

$3.38 4 Diet Pepsi 2-Liters (BOGO, limit 4)

$6.49 2 All Small & Mighty detergent (BOGO)

$4.47 3 Essence of Beauty Gift Bags ($5 ECB)

-$2.00 on two Stayfree products from today's newspaper

-$2.00 Bic Soleil Razor (online)

-$2.00 Just for Men (printable from manufacturer's site)

-$1.50 All detergent (newspaper coupon, not sure if it was today or older)

-$3.00 on $15 purchase at CVS from paper

-$24.95 Extra Care Bucks from Softsoap Spa Radiance promotion

Total $3.57

ECB $17.99

Transaction #2

$5.00 2 Post It Flags 5pk

$0.97 1 Softsoap Antibacterial Handsoap

$1.39 2 Palmolive Dish Soaps (BOGO)

$8.98 2 CVS Antibacterial Ointments ($5 ECB)

$3.79 1 LA Looks Hair Gel

$1.75 1 Nivea Men's Gel (clearance)

-$0.25 Softsoap (in today's paper)

-$0.35 Palmolive

-$1.00 Nivea Men's (was actually a coupon I found in a basket of samples in the beauty department at another CVS)

-$3.00 any 2 Post It Flags (printable from 3M)

-$3.00 on $15 purchase at CVS from paper

-$12.99 ECB from transaction #1

Total $1.69

ECB $5

I left CVS with $10 ECB to spend next time, and the total spent was $5.26. So total out of pocket at both locations was $6.15 for this carload of goodies. CVS was almost out of the Post It Flags and had no lint brushes (for which I have coupons), and I need to spend $15 for the 3M promo to get $5 ECB, so I'll check another one tomorrow to see if they have more.

Coupons

noreply@blogger.com (Breeni Books) — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 06:05:00 +0000

$2 Off Febreze Laundry Odor Eliminater

$1 Off Downy Wrinkle Releaser

$4 Off Dryel Starter Kit or Refill Cloths

$1 Off Any Tylenol Product

$2 Off Excedrin Migraine

CVS Day 2

noreply@blogger.com (Breeni Books) — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 04:33:00 +0000

I returned to CVS today to redeem my second Glucerna coupon. I was on my way to work, so I was in a hurry, and didn't get a chance to see if they had restocked the SPA Radiance I have a raincheck for.

$4.89 1 Box Glucerna Snackbars
$5.49 1 Box Glucerna Snackbars
$2.99 2 Colgate Total Whitening Toothpaste, 6 oz. (Buy one get one free)

Total before coupons: $13.37

Used $10 off Glucerna product coupon (register, check email for coupon, can print twice)
Used $1 off Colgate Total toothpaste coupon
Used $2 Extra Care Bucks

Total after coupons $0.37

With tax, I spent a whopping $0.65 and received another $2 in Extra Care Bucks from the Glucerna promotion. I can't wait until tomorrow's sale paper comes out!

Michelina's Coupons

noreply@blogger.com (Breeni Books) — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 04:26:00 +0000

Save $1 on five Michelina's Authentico or Lean Gourment Entrees
Select varieties of Michelina's Entrees are 10/$10 at Food Lion through April 8th

The Loot Arrives!

noreply@blogger.com (Breeni Books) — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 00:41:00 +0000

First CVS investment:

$2.50 1 CVS brand mouthwash (regular $3.99)
$3.34 1 12Pk Diet Coke (regular $4.99)
$3.99 1 8pk CVS brand paper towels (regular $5.99)
$2.75 1 Axe Body Spray (regular $5.49)
$2.99 2 Colgate 360 toothbrushes ($3.99 (BOGO), used $1 off coupon, individual price $1.49)
$1.99 2 Colgate Total toothpastes ($2.99 (BOGO), used $1 off coupon, individual price $0.99)
$0.49 1 six pack Glucerma shakes ($10.49, used $10 off coupon-register here for the weight loss plan and check your email for the coupon, can print twice)
$1.00 1 Penley 1000 count toothpicks (clearance)
$2.00 2 pairs of trouser socks (clearance)
$1.00 1 8Pk CVS brand toothbrush caddy with cup (clearance)

Subtotal before tax: $22.05

Used $4 off $20 purchase coupon from signing up for CVS email list
Used $0.50 Extra Care Bucks previously earned

Total before tax: $17.55

Grand total $19.05

According to the receipt, we saved $31.36 with sale items, clearance, and coupons.

Additionally, they were out of the Softsoap Spa Radiance Body Wash I had put on the list. It was $4.99, and would generate $4.99 in Extra Care Bucks upon purchase, but hubby got a raincheck for the item, indicating it will be free upon purchase due to the fact they can't override the ECBs when it comes in after the offer date. So we can add another $4.99 in savings, bringing the savings total to $36.35.

Hubby didn't bring a calculator, and he wanted to make sure he would have the full $20 needed to use the $4 coupon, so the clearance items were impulse buys to bring up the total. Even so, they are items that will definitely be used, and at $1 each, not a bad buy at all.

And here are the Extra Care offers our purchase generated:

$2 Extra Care Bucks (for the Glucerma purchase)
$5 off $30 exclusively at CVS.com (probably won't use this unless I can find a way to get free shipping)
$1 off One a Day or Flinstones Vitamins

Additionally, I printed a second coupon for the Glucerma offer (you could print 2), so when I return to redeem it, I'll generate another $2 in Extra Care Bucks.

Hubby doesn't really know how much things cost, so he's staring in awe at what he considers to be a minimal amount of goods for his $20. Obviously, I need to make sure he does the shopping more often so he has a realistic view of the cost of living.

Some of the deals are okay and not phenomenal, but we needed somewhere to start. I'll be paying much more attention to ECB buys and couponing from here on out.

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The CVS Launch

noreply@blogger.com (Breeni Books) — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 23:20:00 +0000

I might as well christen Frugal Breeni today and get this party started.

For those that follow my original blog, Breeni Books, you know that I have a crazy book obsession.

But what you might not realize is that I have another passion, and that's saving money. I love making frugality into a fun game.

I've already got quite a few Frugal gurus in my Reader, which I'll be adding to a blogroll soon. Please don't hesitate to let me know if you have a frugal blog or know of a great one I should add.

The reason why I chose today to launch Frugal Breeni is simple: CVS. I've been drooling over all of the great deals I'm reading about people using their Extra Care Bucks to finagle, so I am taking the plunge.

I've sent my husband out the door with a shopping list, an Extra Care card, and a handful of coupons. Let's see what he comes back with, shall we?

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