Category: CVS

I LOVE CVS!

This is by far one of my favorite stores to shop, and I also get a lot of great deals. I went on Sunday and got the freebies for the month of June plus a couple of deals for the week. Here is what I got:

5 packs of CVS Q-Tips (500 count)
2 packs of CVS Band-Aids
2 Listerine Smart Rinse Mouth Wash
3 Dove Deodorants
3 Colgate Brand Spongebob Toothbrushes
1 Colgate Advanced Whitening Toothpaste
1 Colgate Max Fresh Toothpaste
2 packs of Basic Paper Towels
2 packs of Duracell Batteries

I also did several transactions. I could have saved another $8 but I haven’t gotten any of those $4/20 or $5/25 coupons in months. I had a $3/10 CVS brand purchase plus got $10 ECB for the Q-tips and band-aids were free after ECB. I had $1 off coupons for the Dove, $1.50 for the toothpaste, 75 cents for the toothbrushes, $1 for the mouth wash, and $1 for the batteries. I paid a grand total of $18.67 in 4 transactions for everything. I also have a $3.49 Rebate for the Listerine plus $22.00 in ECB’s for the next trip. Once I get my rebate then I paid a little over $15 for almost $90 worth of items! I’m still very proud of my totals and most of them were $2 or cheaper. I also try to go in first thing in the morning so it’s pretty empty and I don’t have a huge line behind. The cashiers are so friendly and always shocked to see how well I do. One of them even asks for me tips. This is one of the many ways I help to stretch our dollars.

A Rebate & Coupon Chat

Clipping Coupons

We are all trying to save money in today’s economy. How do we stretch more of our dollars? I use coupons and rebates to S-T-R-E-T-C-H my dollars further, and I enjoy the thrill of the hunt. Below are great tips I have listed on how I save more money on this coupon chat.

Now granted buying store brands or using a homemade alternative (think cleaners) is cheaper, but there are many times I can get name brand for either Free or much cheaper than the store brands.I say why not if you are getting the items for free.

Another really great tip is not to be brand loyal. I do have certain brands I like more than others, but trying new brands can help save money. There are times that I liked the other brand more than my usual favorite brand. I don’t buy too much convenience food or condiments. They aren’t healthy and it’s usually cheaper to make your own  version from scratch. I can substitute healthier items such as whole wheat or extra vegetables into a meal.

I don’t have access to really great supermarkets like Kroger’s, Albertson’s or  Save-A-Center, but I still manage to find great deals with the stores I do have access to in my small town. I have 3 local family owned stores and a Super Wal-Mart. I am not fortunate enough to have a store with double coupons except for Fred’s Dollar Store. They only take coupons up to 65 cents and 1 coupon per item. I find I save more with CVS and Walgreens.

So where do I get all these coupons other than the Sunday paper? I buy certain coupons off ebay, I post on coupon forums, and other coupon clipping sites where you pay for their time to clip them. You can also trade them on these coupon/rebate sites. There are lots of sites but I have a few sites that I like to frequent and get coupon previews so I know if I should bother buying the paper or save my money. I also get coupon inserts from the paper recycling bin. It’s easy access (no digging in dumpsters or climbing) and free for anyone. I take a couple which are usually right on top when I’m dropping off my papers already. It’s right down the road from my house. I can’t always count on it, but I usually get extras each week. Some stores will even give you the coupon inserts on old papers if you ask. This will depend on the store and area. Another great place to get coupons is your local library. Many have coupon trading groups. If your library does not, then try to start one.

I don’t save hundreds of dollars off a single shopping trip, but I do save enough to make it worthwhile. To save the most is to combine a rebate with a coupon. Walgreens and CVS will allow you to use one manufacturer coupon along with one store coupon per item. I also shop at Rite-Aid and do their rebates each month. It’s a great way to earn some free stuff which I also use as presents or donate the extras.

Listed below are some great websites and just copy/paste the links into your browser. Enjoy! What are your favorite coupon sources?

<a href=”http://www.mycoupons.com/boards/”>My Coupons Board</a>

<a href=”http://www.hotcouponworld.com/forums/index.php”>Hot Coupon World</a>

<a href=”http://www.fatwallet.com”>Fat Wallet</a>

*This is a great coupon clipping service. They are fast and have a great variety.

<a href=”http://thecouponclippers.com”>The Coupon Clippers</a>

*This is an online site or you can also join to get a paper subscription but I am a member of the online only. Lots of great deals/info posted here.

<a href=”http://www.refundcents.com”>Refund Cents</a>

Friday was a Good Shopping Day

I love a great deal but I love freebies even more. I scour the sales papers each Sunday looking for good deals or ways for me to get the stuff we use anyway for free. Using coupons can stretch those savings more esp if you have store coupons and manufacturer coupons. CVS and Walgreens do allow both on a purchase. I LOVE CVS and it definitely pays to shop there if you have access to one or more. I also combine trips into one to save even more money but my Walgreens is across the intersection from CVS so it just makes sense to hit them both. I usually shop one day a week and do all the deals.

I printed out my $5/20 purchase coupon for Walgreens and bought the free after rebate items (toothbrush, kids mouthwash, and maxipads) and also bought the 3 boxes of TUFF kitchen trashbags that had the $4 rebate. So my total before coupon was $23.xx -$5 coupon for $18.xx and I’m getting back $15.97 in rebates! I spent $2.xx for all that stuff which was mainly sales tax.

Next I jumped over to CVS and bought the soft drinks on sale (yeah I know even cheaper if you don’t buy them but it’s a bad vice we have), 6 packs of the store brand toilet paper, and 2 toothbrushes. So total was about $45 with tax before my ECB’s (extra care bucks) & coupons and it was $15.xx after all my rewards and coupons. Plus I got $4 in new ECB’s so I was quite pleased. We have enough toilet paper stocked up for the rest of year. I also have lots of items stockpiled so we rarely ever run out of items. I get most of these items either FREE or almost FREE! I do take advantage of items that are completely free even if I don’t need it then I donate those items either to my church or the local women’s shelter. I can’t always afford to give charities/organizations cash but I can afford to give them stuff I get free or almost free. They seem to prefer the items over the cash so it’s a win/win for both of us. Anyway, I will try to post more about great deals I come across but all of these little things do add up to much bigger savings and allows us to help others. I feel like I’m saving us more money by not working since I have time to do all the shopping, search out the deals, and do the other programs to make money for the extras we enjoy.