The Week in Review

It's been a REALLY quiet shopping week around here. Have you noticed? Here's how the week went.

Kmart
I did score big at Kmart this week. I ended up with $43.43-worth of merchandise for just $5.13. You can see my coupon matchups HERE. This was a pretty good Kmart run for me. Here's the picture.

CVS
I truly tried to do a CVS deal this week. Really! I had a wondeful scenario figured out where I would spend less than $.50 out-of-pocket, use up my huge $15.16 ECBs from last week, and end up with $15.99 in ECBs for next week. But it hinged on my CVS store having the $6.99 Glade candles. No luck. Neither store had them. So I'm stuck with a couple of rainchecks and $15.16 in Extra Care Bucks. And a coupon good for a free candy bar. I guess it could be worse.

Kroger
I stopped by Kroger to pick up groceries for next week and for my mother-in-law's visit (see HERE). I ended up spending about $65. (Sorry for the lack of picture-taking on this one. I've been feeling icky and just didn't have it in me!) That's what I usually spend at Kroger each week, so that's not bad. It's a far cry from the old days when I would spend that much on company coming and still have no regular groceries left in the house! I'm pretty proud of that!

And that's it! Truth be told, I spent half the week sick. I didn't go anywhere at all. I guess that's one way to save money, but I truly prefer clipping coupons and finding deals to being stuck home with the sniffles.

How did you do this week? Did you stick to your budget? To see the deals that other snagged this week, stop by Southern Saver's Friday Finals or Super Savings Saturday hosted by Money Saving Mom.

Weekly Savings Summary

It's been a whirlwind week around here! I did manage to squeeze in a few shopping trips throughout the week. Here's the summary of my savings. I'll be sure to give you the link to the detailed transactions in case you find a scenario you'd like to try.

Kroger (See HERE)
Spent $43.75 plus tax
Saved $65.26 (59%)

CVS Trip #1 (See HERE)
Spent $.28 plus tax
Saved: $12.29 (98%)

Rite Aid (See HERE)
Spent: $9.68 plus tax
Single Check Reward Submitted: $2.49
Saved: $20.64 (74%)

CVS Trip #2 (See HERE)
Spent: $6.47 plus tax
Extra Care Bucks Earned: $14.00 ($4 more than I started with)
Savings: $27.99 (92%)

Total Spent: $60.18 plus tax
Total Saved: $126.18

Overall, a very successful week! How did you do this week? Did you stick to your plan?

For more saving summaries, stop by Super Savings Saturday hosted by Money Saving Mom or The Grocery Cart Challenge.

A Few Kroger Steals

I'm planning to cook mostly from my pantry and freezer next week. I've noticed that I seem to keep the same stockpiled items hanging around, and I need to use some of them and make room for new things. (And would someone PLEASE remind me to not buy any more frozen veggies for a while? My freezer is stuffed with them! I can't seem to pass up the $1 bags at Kroger.)

Since my whole family is coming for dinner tomorrow night and we're headed to my grandma's for a Memorial Day cookout, a grocery store run was inevitable. Emma and I (along with everyone else in town) stopped by Kroger today to pick up what we needed for our family gatherings.

We did find a few excellent deals that I wanted to share with you.

7 Country Time Lemonades for $1.00 (14 cents each)
I had 3 of the $1.50 off 2 Country Time coupons from HERE.
Plus I had 1 $1.50 off 1 Country Time catalina from Kroger. They don't usually do overage on coupons, but this time they did.

4 Kool-Aids for $2.00 (50 cents each)
I had 2 of the $1.00 off 2 Kool-Aid coupons from HERE.

4 Kraft Naturals shredded cheddar cheese for $5.16 ($1.29 each)
I had 2 $1.00 off 2 Kraft Naturals coupons from HERE.
I had planned to get the Kroger brand cheese for $1.79, but this was an even better deal!

4 four-packs of Energizer Max AA Batteries for $4.00 ($1.00 each pack)
Kroger has these for $2.00 per pack this week.
I had 4 $1 off any Energizer coupons from recent newspaper inserts.
I actually had these put away before I realized I forgot to take my picture. But how could I post this deal without them in the picture, right?

Over 6 pounds of bananas for $2.55 (39 cents a pound)
I was going to get some for eating and this bag for baking until I noticed that many of the bananas in the bag were still partially green! They must have had too many loose ones or something.

2 Kraft BBQ Sauces for FREE
Kroger has these for $1 this week.
I had 2 $1 off Kraft BBQ Sauce coupons from HERE.

Emma also insisted on getting number candles for my dad's birthday cake. Good thing he's a good sport! It would be terribly hard for a four-year-old to understand why grown-ups don't really care to be reminded of their age.

The picture doesn't show everything we bought. In fact, we ended up spending about $80.... EEKS! Fortunately, I was anticipating this. But I may try to do two weeks of using what we have at home. I'll have a better idea about this possibility after we're part-way through this week.

Reminder: Don't forget to register for my $155+ coupon giveaway! You can sign up HERE. The winner will be chosen at 8:30 p.m. on Monday 5/25.

To see more great deals, visit Super Savings Saturday sponsored by Money Saving Mom.

Super Savings Saturday: The No Shopping Edition

In case you haven't noticed, I haven't posted any pictures about shopping trips this week. That's because....

**GASP**

I didn't go shopping at all this week!

I had done our grocery shopping last Sunday, and I had too many other commitments to go to CVS or Rite Aid this week. Plus, with all the Kmart shopping I did last week, I was kind of shopped out! I actually had a little bit of trouble finding places to stash all the great deals I got during last week's Kmart super double coupon event (pictures HERE and HERE). No need to cause the cupboards to burst.

My wonderful husband did swing by Kroger for a handful of fresh items that we needed for this week's menu. He spent a whopping $7.50 on that trip.

You know, it can be refreshing to not make lists, match coupons, and scour sale ads. But I'm getting kind of anxious to snag a good deal. I'm on the hunt this coming week for travel snacks and other items that would be helpful as we go visit my mother-in-law for Mother's Day. I'll be back to shopping next week, so watch for those deal posts!

If you need a good dose of deals, you can stop by Super Savings Saturday at Money Saving Mom's site. Lots of bloggers have posted their best deals from this past week. It's always fun to see everyone's great deals!

CVS Deals - Week of 9/21

Today's CVS run was a quick one. I needed to pick up my prescription, and we were out of heat wraps (for hubby) and toddler toothpaste (for Emma). These two things couldn't wait for me to really pore over the ad and my coupon stash, so these aren't my best deals ever. I also had NO ECBs to start the week with.

Sorry that I don't have pictures. After the fender-bender, I wasn't up for laying it all out for a photo shoot!

I had planned to get the Crest rinse as part of my deals. This would've helped me build up my ECB stash again. But... as usual... my podunk little CVS didn't have it! So I went with my plan B. Here's how it went:

Transaction #1:
3 Johnson's Buddies soaps $1.19 each
1 Orajel toddler toothpaste $3.99
1 Skin Effects cleanser $6.99
1 3-pack ThermaCare heat wraps $6.99

-$4 off a $20 purchase from previous receipt
-$0.55 ThermaCare coupon from recent newspaper insert
-$3.00 Johnson's coupon from recent newspaper insert
-$5.00 Skin Effects coupon - printable but expired today

Total: $8.99 plus tax OOP (I have a gift card, so technically $0 OOP)

Transaction #2:

1 Johnson's Buddies soap $1.19
1 Skin Effects scrub $6.99
1 3-pack ThermaCare heat wraps $6.99

-$2 off any $10 purchase (here)
-$0.55 ThermaCare coupon from recent newspaper insert
-$1.00 Johnson's coupon (here)
-$5.00 Skin Effects coupon - printable but expired today

Total: $6.62 plus tax OOP (I have a gift card, so technically $0 OOP)

I still have no ECBs! But I'll probably work through the ad in more detail later in the week to see what I can do about that!

Target Deal - 8/12/08

When we dropped our daughter off at preschool this morning, my husband and I decided to head to Target to take advantage of the Kashi deal. Kashi cereal is usually a little pricey, but this deal helped bring that cost down, even when you figure in a gallon of gas for the trip.

While we were at Target, I browsed through their other granola bar/cereal deals and found that several matched coupons that I had. I ended up spending $31.70 on everything pictured above. Here's how it broke down:

Transaction #1:
12 Kashi GoLean Crunch cereals $2.75 each

-$1 x 5 Kashi coupons received in the mail from VocalPoint

Total: $28.54 OOP
Received: 3 $5 gift cards (special Target deal this week)

Transaction #2:
2 Fiber One toaster pastries $1.99 each
1 Fiber One bars $2.54
2 Quaker Chewy Granola Bars $2.04 each
2 Malt-o-Meal cereals $1.99 each
1 Millstone coffee $7.99
1 Pencil box from clearance area $0.48

-$1.00 x 2 Fiber One toaster pastries
-$0.60 Fiber One bars
-$1.00/2 Quaker
-$1.00 x 2 Malt-o-Meal
-$5 x 3 Gift Cards from Transaction #1

Total: $3.16 OOP

If you tried to do the math on that one but couldn't get the totals to add up, it's because our Target store is across the river in Wheeling, WV. Believe it or not, they charge sales tax on food!

The lady in line behind me heard the total and said, "You're good!" I told her that the Kashi deal was fantastic. I didn't want to get into all the details. The cashier was very knowledgeable, so I knew she could explain it if the customer asked.

I'm not much for stockpiling this much cereal at one time, but my husband eats at least one bowl of Kashi GoLean Crunch each day. I know for sure that this will all be eaten before we know it! So this is a great stock-up for our family.

Always Have a Plan B for CVS

When I was doing my CVSing today, I found out that the Schick Quattros are $7.99 at my store. Others had found them for $5.99... not the first time prices in our area have been higher. I didn't want to spend the extra $2. I'd rather do one more transaction later this week and figure out a way to use ECBs to pay for the razors. So I moved to Plan B. Fortunately I had taken my coupon binder with me.

The photo above shows all three transactions that I did today. Please ignore the fact that the Chex Mix is partially eaten... sometimes a girl just has the munchies on the way home from shopping.

My first two transactions (found in my post CVS Deals - Week of 9/7) remained the same. However, I eliminated the Quattros and did this instead:

Transaction #3:
Hefty trash bags $7.49
Skin Genesis cloths $5.99
Renuzit TriScents $7.99

-$4 off $20 purchase from previous receipt
-$1.00 Skin Genesis coupon (here)
-$4.00 Renuzit coupon from this Sunday's newspaper insert
-$8 ECBs from previous transaction

Total: 4.47 plus tax OOP
Earned: $8.99 ECBs ($3 Renuzit/$5.99 Skin Genesis)

I used a gift card to pay the OOP portion. I normally wouldn't have done that, but we don't have enough trash bags to make it until next week. I'd rather pay $4.47 from a gift card than $8 OOP at Wal-Mart!

I'm also giving the Revlon nail polish to three of my cousins (along with the Outlast lipstick from last week). I'll be watching for some candy to go with it -- maybe the 99 cent movie boxes this week -- and be done Christmas shopping for them. If only the guys were this easy!!

The Perfect Week to be a CVS Newbie!

If you're completely new to CVS, this is the perfect week to begin earning Extra Care Bucks (ECBs). In fact, I've even got my mom CVSing this week. I've armed her with coupons, and she's ready!

New CVSers would be wise to read CVS 101 by Money Saving Mom. She explains how the whole ECB system works. Then come back and try one of the detailed scenarios below. The first one is for people who don't have coupons. The second one is for people who have coupons but haven't tried CVS.

If you have no coupons at all, try this:

Transaction #1:

Buy: 1 Colgate Total toothpaste for $2.99
Receive: $2 back in ECBs

Transaction #2:
Buy: 1 Colgate Total toothpaste for $2.99
Use $2 ECBs from transaction #1
Pay $0.99 out-of-pocket (OOP)
Receive: $2 back in ECBs

You've now spent $3.98 OOP and have 2 Colgate toothpastes and $2 in ECBs for future use.

If you have coupons but are new to CVS, try this:

Buy:
2 CoverGirl Outlast lipsticks (usually $9.99 each)
2 Colgate Total toothpastes $2.99 each

Coupons:
-$9.99 CVS Buy 1 Get 1 Free promo this week - no coupon
- $2.00 Use a $2 off any $10 purchase coupon found here
-$9.99 Use 1 Cover Girl Buy 1 Get 1 coupon from a recent newspaper insert
-$3.00 Use 2 Colgate Total coupons from All You or printed here

Total: $0.98 plus tax out-of-pocket (OOP)
You will receive $4 in Extra Care Bucks (ECBs) from the 2 Colgates.

From 0 ECBs to 9.99 ECBs with $4.36 OOP

Since hubby needed some ThermaCare heat wraps this weekend, I blew through my ECBs from last week. That meant starting this week with ZERO! I figured it would be a slow start, and I'd be making many trips to boost my ECB total back up, but I was wrong! What a great week to be working up from zero!

I went to one CVS store and did two transactions. I walked away with $9.99 in ECBs! Now I'll carefully plan one more trip for this week and begin to use those wisely.

Here's how I went from 0 to 9.99 today...

Transaction #1:
4 Cover Girl Outlast Lipsticks (for gifts) $9.99 each
2 Colgate Total Advance $2.99 each
2 Dawn dishsoap $0.99 each

- $9.99 x 2 - CVS Buy one-Get one sale this week
-$9.99 x 2 - Buy one-Get one coupon from a recent newspaper insert
-$0.50 x 2 - Dawn coupons from recent newspaper insert
- $1.50 x 2 - Colgate coupons found in All You or printable (here)
- $4 off any $20 purchase from previous receipt

Total due: -$0.04 plus tax = $1.40 OOP
Earned $4 ECBs (Colgate)

Transaction #2:
2 Cover Girl Outlast Lipsticks (for gifts) $9.99 each
3 Dawn dishsoaps (1 Hand Care) $0.99 each
1 Cover Girl Wet Slicks lipgloss (the one with mint!) $5.99
1 Powerade $1.69

-$9.99 - CVS Buy one-Get one sale this week
-$9.99 x 2 - Buy one-Get one coupon from a recent newspaper insert
- $4 off any $20 purchase from previous receipt
- $.50 x 2 Dawn dishsoap
- $1.00 Dawn Hand Care dishsoap
- $1.69 Powerade (from My Coke Rewards)
- $1.00 Cover Girl product from recent newspaper insert

Total due: -$1.96 plus tax = $2.96 OOP
Earned $5.99 ECBs (Wet Slicks Lip Gloss)

I would have used $2 from the first transaction to pay for the second one, but I got both Colgate ECB deals together. So I have $4 ECBs and $5.99 ECBs. I hated to waste them, so I paid OOP for both. Not a bad day for $4.36!

I now need to devise a plan to get dishwasher soap and more ThermaCare heat wraps. What a great week!!!

Super Savings Saturday

It's Super Savings Saturday over at Money Saving Mom's site. Here's a recap of my best deals this week.

I did five trasactions this week, using three different CVS stores. I didn't originally plan the last trip, but I got a coupon for a $25 gift card. I was ready for that!

WARNING: If you're new to CVSing, check out Money Saving Mom's CVS 101 before you read below.

Transaction #1:
Neosporin to Go $5.49
Band-Aids Ultra Strips $4.49
CVS Brand Baby Wipes $2.50

$2 off any $10 purchase coupon (here)
$1 Neosporin coupon from recent newspaper insert
$0.50 Band-Aids coupon from recent newspaper insert
$2 off any CVS skincare coupon (here)

Used $5 ECBs from last week
OOP $1.98 plus tax
Earned $5 ECBs (Neosporin/Band-Aids)

Transaction #2
Banana Boat Sunscreen (desperately needed!!) $9.99
2 Sally Hansen nail polishes (for cousin's Christmas gift) $4.19

$2 off any $10 purchase coupon (here)
$3 off 2 Sally Hansen polishes (here)

Used $5 ECBs from transaction #1
OOP $4.18 plus tax
Earned $5 ECBs (Banana Boat)

Transaction #3
Revlon Lash Fantasy $7.99
Downy (I was TOTALLY out!) $3.99
$2 Revlon coupon from recent newspaper insert

$2 off any $10 purchase coupon (here)

Used $5 ECBs from transaction #2
OOP $2.98 plus tax
Earned $5 ECBs (Revlon)

Transaction #4
CVS baby wipes $2.50
2 Kashi GoLean Crunch cerals $2.99 each
2 Oral B Indicator toothbrushes $1.99 each
Downy $3.99 (Did I mention I was TOTALLY out?)
2 Sally Hansen polishes (more for my cousin) $4.19
4 Glade air fresheners $0.88 each

$2 off any CVS skincare coupon (here)
$4 off any $20 purchase (previous receipt coupon)
$1 Kashi cereal coupon (here) - Used 2 (You can print 2.)
$1.76 - 2 B1G1 Glade coupons from recent newspaper insert
$3 off 2 Sally Hansen polishes (here)

Used $5 ECBs from transaction #3
OOP $6.40 plus tax
Earned $2 ECBs (Oral B)

This is a little more out-of-pocket than I like to spend, but we were totally out of Downy, my husband had specifically requested Kashi cereal, and we're almost out of our daughter's sunscreen. I spent $15.54 plus tax out of my own pocket. That's what I would have paid for the sunscreen and Downy at Wal-Mart. In addition, I got the two packs of wipes from my daughter's preschool supply list, and I got several household items that we needed. I will be donating at least two of the air fresheners (which I used as fillers) and both toothbrushes. The nail polishes go toward my cousin's Christmas gift (the wild colors aren't for me!). So overall, it was a good deal.

Transaction #5: My 53 Cent Transaction (sorry, no photo)

I stopped at CVS once more this week to transfer a prescription from another pharmacy. This earned me a $25 gift card from them! I'm hoping that they'll offer this again so that I can transfer my daughter's two prescriptions too. But right now I'm enjoying $25 of FREE CVS dollars!

While we were waiting for the prescription, my daughter and I picked up a few deals. Here's what we got:

Downy fabric softner $3.99
2 Crest toothpastes (for donation) $1.99 each
2 Sally Hansen nail polishes (I couldn't pass up the wild colors for my cousin!) $3.73

Coupons:$0.75 Crest x 2 (from recent newspaper insert)
$3 off 2 Sally Hansen polishes (here)$2 off any $10 purchase coupon (here)

$5 in ECBs from yesterday
My subtotal was 20 cents.
With tax, the total was 53 cents.
I used the gift card, so OOP was $0.00!
I even got back $2 ECBs, so I made money on this one.

It's always fun to watch the people behind you in line when you pay 53 cents for fabric softner, toothpastes, and nail polishes. The look on their faces is a cross between bewildered and astonished. Sometimes I wonder if I should tell them how it works... then I realize that they would probably think I'm nuts! I figure I'll tell anyone who actually asks!

Hidden Freebie - CVS Pepsi Products

If you want to stock up on pop (or soda for our friends in the South), you can get 5 Pepsi 12-packs for $11 at CVS this week. Use the $2 off any $10 purchase (here) to make it an even better deal.

There's also a hidden freebie in this deal. Each 12-pack of Pepsi has 2 Pepsi points printed inside the tear-off portion of the box. If you go to the Pepsi Stuff website, you can register to earn rewards for the points. For every 5 points, you get a free song download. The downloadable songs come from Amazon.com, so the selection is quite large. They have everything from jazz to pop to Christian to classical.

I have found that Mountain Dew products don't always use the same points system that the regular Pepsi products to. So, if you want the songs, you'll want to stick with Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, and Cherry Pepsi.

Using the CVS deal (buying five 12-packs), you can also get 2 free song downloads... a bonus freebie!