Awesome 7/7/13 CVS Trip $13.55 Money maker (plus $8 bonus)!!

Today I had great luck at CVS and made $13.55 off my own skills and $8 because I had a little glitch....more about that later.Here's how it went down:


Bought
(8) Pantene shampoo (8@3.50/ea=$28.00
(2) Dawn dish detergent (2@ .97/ea=$1.94
(1) Kit Kat minis ($3.00)
(1) Softsoap body wash ($2.99)
(1) Tena pads ($6.99)
(1) Tena underwear ($13.99)

Coupons
(1) $4 off $20 from CVS email
(2) $2 off 2 Pantene (coupons.com)
(4) Buy one Pantene shampoo, get Pantene conditioner free (7/7/13 PG)(auto-deducted $4.99/ea!!)
(1) $3 off any $15 shampoo (CVS coupon machine)
(1) $14.00 off  Tena underwear (reduced to $13.99)
(1) $7 off Tena pads (reduced to $6.99)
(1) $.25 off Dawn dish detergent ( 7/7/13 PG)
(1) $.50 off Dawn hand renewal (home mailer)
(1) $2 off Softsoap (CVS coupon machine)
(1) $2.50 off Kit Kat (reduced to $2.22 since it was the last coupon and my total was a little under)

subtotal $0.00
tax $3.45
total $3.45...just tax!

Ok here is where things went a little off. The only ECB that printed was a $5 and a $3 and neither said what they were for. I was expecting a $10 for P&G and a $7 for Tena, so I told the clerks in the store. At first, one tried to tell me that it was because I used coupons. I very politely said that it goes off the before coupon price, and that is how I get all my ECB's. I said I could call customer service but I would rather just get it taken care of now. She quickly changed her tune and immediately force printed the $10 and $7 ECB's. I told her I am an honest person and do not want anything I am not supposed to have and asked here if she wanted to keep the $5 and $3 ECB and she said that I should keep them since they printed out for me and they are mine. So, I ended up with not just $17 ECB, but $25 worth. When I got home and looked at my receipt more thoroughly, I saw that my receipts says this:  "Tide-Earn up to 10EB Amount toward this reward 29.94 Spend .06 more, Get 5.00 ExtraBucks" I feel bad now but I have decided that I will not go back to get another .06 to get the ECB because that would not be right, and I also haven't *quite* made up my mind about the extra $8 in ECB yet either.

Bottom line:  Spent $3.45 (tax) and received $25.00 ECB so thats a $21.55 Money Maker!!

Small Rite Aid trip (free Bayer aspirin and Oral B toothbrushes)

I want toilet paper, and I want it from Rite Aid!!! What I mean is that I want to purchase the Quilted Northern that is on sale for $5.99 with $2 +Ups when you buy two (I have a $2 off two coupon I want to use as well) BUT I don't want to pay a lot of "real money" which means I need some +Ups to spend. I also had a few good coupons expiring today on 6/30/13, so off to rite Aid I went.

Bought

(2) Bayer low dose aspirin 32 ct
(2) Bayer extra strength aspirin 20 ct (this would have been more of a MM with two more of the low dose but I bought this instead since we may can use this)
(2) Oral B Complete toothbrushes (2@$2.99=$5.98)

Coupons
(2) $4 off two Bayer (6/23/13 RP)
(2) $1.00 Off Oral B toothbrush (6/2/13 P&G)
(2) $.50 off  Rite Aid store peelies on the Bayer extra strength
(2) $2 +Ups

subtotal $1.64
tax $.76
total $2.40

Received $8.00 +Ups: (2) $2 +Ups from buying 2 Bayer products and (2) $2 +Ups for purchasing the Oral B Complete toothbrushes

Bottom line:  Put in $4 +Ups and $2.40 ($6.40) and received $8.00 +Ups.... $1.60 Money Maker (will be going towards my Quilted Northern tomorrow....Rite Aid +Ups aren't good until the day after you get them)

Early morning CVS couponing (free Maybelline, Physician's Formula, Dial bar soap,Venus razors, and more!)

You know I had to hit up my fav store....CVS early this fine Sunday morning. Got all this stuff for a subtotal of $.20 plus those pesky taxes! Check it out:

Bought

(4) 3 packs of Dial soap (4@$2.00=$8.00)

(1) 2 liter Pepsi ($.99) (not shown in pic....was in fridge lol)

(1) Physician's Formula custom eye enhancing eyeliner trio ($11.99)

(1) Maybelline the Falsies Volum'epress Mascara ($7.49)

(1) Maybelline Color Show nail lacquer ($3.99)

(2) Gillette Venus razors (2@$6.99=$13.98)

(2) Kotex U 18 ct pantyliners (2@$1.57=$3.14)

total before coupons $49.58

Coupons

(2) $1.00 off two Dial (6/16/13 RP)

(1) $2.00 off $8.00 hand or bar soap purchase (from CVS coupon machine)

(1) $.25 off Pepsi (from CVS coupon machine)

(1) $1.00 off any Physician's Formula (4/21/13 SS)

(1) $3 off any Physician's Formula purchase (from CVS coupon machine)

(1) $1.00 off Maybelline mascara  (6/2/13 RP)

(1) $1.00 off Maybelline Color Show nail lacquer (5/12/13 RP)

(2) $5.00 off Venus razor (6/16/13 RP)

(1) $3.00 off any 2 U by Kotex (from CVS coupon machine)

(1) $4.00 off any $12 beauty purchase (from CVS coupon machine)

(1) 25% off coupon (doesn't apply to items on sale...took off $9.13)

(2) $4 ECB from previous weeks

(1) $5 Beauty club ECB (when you spend $50 before coupons on beauty items, CVS gives you $5 ECB; it can be over many trips)

subtotal $.20

tax $2.38

total $2.58

Received $11 ECB ($6 ECB for buying $10 worth of Physician's Formula, $2 ECB for buying 2 Dial, and $3 ECB for buying $10 worth of Maybelline) The best part is, with the beauty purchases I made today, I should be getting another $5 Beauty Club ECB!!

Bottom line: Since I do not count the $5 beauty club ECB as money in, this was actually a money maker trip for me since I put in $4 ECB and $2.58 ($6.58 total) and received $11 ECB!!!

Couponing at Dollar General (free Velveeta, free Jello, cheap light bulbs and soap)

I did a few quick transactions at Dollar General this morning to take advantage of their "Buy any 3 participating Kraft products, get $2 instant savings" deal. We also needed light bulbs (so bad, we've been stealing them from the porch lights lol), so I decided to work them into the scenarios. After having some trouble with my coupons, I ended up going to a different DG and breaking my purchases up into 3 transactions. Here's how it went:

Transactions #1and #2 (same thing twice)

Bought:
(3) Jello  (3@$.75=$2.25)
(1) DG brand light bulbs ($1.25)

total before coupons $3.50

Coupons:
$2 DG instant savings
$1 off 3 Jello (from coupons.com-no longer available)

subtotal $.50
tax $.09
total out of pocket $.59

Transaction #3

Bought:
(2) Velveeta toppers (2@$1.00=$2.00)
(1) Jello ($.75)
(1) 2 pk Zest soap ($1.00)

total before coupons $3.75

Coupons:
$2 DG instant savings
(2) $.70 off Velveeta toppers ($1.40)


subtotal $.35
tax $.09
total out of pocket $.44

Bottom Line:  $1.62 for 2 packs of light bulbs, a 2- pack of soap, 7 packs of Jello, and 2 Velveeta toppers!!

How Target paid me $3.32 to take home Febreeze and other goodies!!

So yeah, I hit up Target this morning for one of their gift card deals. If you are not familiar with the gift card deals, basically Target will put ads in the paper and tags on the shelf with various offers like buy two or five of a certain group of products and get a $5 Target gift card. I went to get Febreeze. Here's how it went down:
--The deal was buy five (5) of certain Febreeze products, get $5 Target gift card--

Bought

(3) Febreeze Air Effects (3@$2.99=$8.97)
(2) Febreeze Stick and Refresh (2@ $2.99=$5.98)
(2) Eclos facial masks (2@$2.29=$4.58)
(3) Bic Comfort 3 Advance single razors (from travel size isle) (3@$1.49=$4.47)

Coupons

(2) Buy Febreeze Air Effects, get Febreeze Stick and Refresh free (auto-deducted 3.99/ea) (6/23/13 Red Plum)
(1) $1.00 off any Febreeze product (6/23/13 Red Plum)
(2) $5.00 off any Eclos Anti-Aging skin car product with Apple Stem Cell technology (was from Smart Source online coupons at  mycoupons.com, but no longer available)
(3) $2.00 off Bic Flex4, Flex3, Comfort 3 Advance, Hybrid Advance 3, or Hybrid Advance 4 (6/2/13 Smart Source)

Ok here is where I want to say a couple of things: (1) There was a problem with my transaction (more about that in a minute) and (2) Your mileage may vary on getting overage. Some cashiers may reduce your coupon values to the selling price of the items (like the Eclos masks and the Bic razors above) but in this case, my cashier did not and I received the full value of my coupons. I was hoping this would happen, but even if it didn't, the Febreeze would have still been a good deal, just very cheap instead of a money maker.

About the problem with my transaction....when I first checked out, my total came to $1.59 after coupons, but the register did not prompt the cashier to give me the $5 gift card, so I asked about it. The cashier thought maybe the Febreeze stick ups were not a part of the deal. I knew they were before I came in the store, plus there were tags up by the product stating so. While the cashier went to check the signs, I looked at my receipt and noticed that two of the Febreeze sprays had downward arrows next to them and rang up $2.79 instead of $2.99. These were not the newer Febreeze scents that just came out so I told her I thought that was the problem when she came back. I went and got two of the newer scents that were $2.99 and in order to get my gift card, she had to do an exchange in the register. Although the two new Febreeze were $.20 more each, the difference came up to $.09 that I had to pay (don't ask me how, I have no clue).

So......bottom line:

Paid $1.59 + $.09 = $1.68 (off a Target gift card from some Tidy Cats deals I did last week, lol)
and received a $5.00 Taget gift card.......$3.32 Money Maker!!!!! Awesome sauce!!!

The Glamour Look by Mary Kay VoxBox

Today was a very exciting mail day, indeed. I received my first VoxBox from Influenster today, The Glamour Look by Mary Kay VoxBox!!! I was very pleased with the contents. There were five (5) full-sized Mary Kay products as well as a Mary Kay thelook magazine/catalog, a card detailing the contents of the box and the values of the products, and another black card letting me know where to go to take a survey about the products. Here's what was inside along with a picture:

• Mary Kay Lash Love Lengthening mascara in I <3 Black; $15.00 value
• Mary Kay Cream Eye Color/Concealer Brush; $10.00 value
• Mary Kay Lash Primer; $15.00 value
• Mary Kay Cream Eye Color in Violet Storm; $22.00 value
• Mary Kay True Dimensions Lip Stick in Pink Cherie; $18.00 value

I can't wait to try these products out! If you are not a member of influenster but are interested, just let me know here and I will send you an invitation!

CVS Couponing Trip

I know I haven't update regularly like I should but I did go on my weekly Sunday morning CVS run and I'd like to let you know what I left with. I did end up with a little out of pocket (OOP) today, but it is well worth it in my opinion...

Bought

(2) Softsoap 56 oz. refills (2@ $5.00=$10.00)

(1) Schick Hydro 5 razor with bonus cartridge ($10.99)

(1) Gillette Venus razor ($6.99)

(1) Dermasilk 30 second neck lift ($19.99)

 $47.97

Coupons

$4 off $20 purchase (received in email from CVS last Thursday)

$10 off any Schick Hydro 5 purchase (from CVS coupon machine last week)

$10 off any Dermasilk (internet printable coupon here)

$5 off one Venus razor (6/16 Red Plum)

$1.50 off any $5.00 Beauty purchase (from CVS coupon machine last week)

$15 in ECB (Extra Care Bucks if you are not familiar....just like money but only for CVS and some restrictions, just Google it)

subtotal after coupons $2.47

tax (6.75% in my area) $2.77 (more than subtotal, lol)

total $5.24

got back $18 ECB ($10 from Dermasilk, $4 from buying $10 of Softsoap, and $4 from buying a Gillette razor

So, after the ECB I received (remember, I gave $15 but received $18), total oop for today is $2.24, which is less than the tax on my order, so I will call today a success.

 As you can see, not every couponing trip ends up being free, (especially in states like mine where you have to pay the tax on the price of the item BEFORE manufacturer coupons...that is how taxes can be more than the subtotal) but you can still get some REALLY good deals. 

What made my trip more expensive today was the Softsoap refills. The Softsoap coupons I had expired yesterday on 6/22/13, and I had originally thought to take advantage of the buy $12 worth of CVS products, get $4 ECB back deal and get their handsoaps, which are $2.00 each at my store when you buy 3 or more, but changed my mind once I saw how many ounces are in a Softsoap refill. (I guess it is pretty needless to say that we go through hand soap like crazy at my house and I am ALWAYS trying to stock back up on it). The refills are 56 oz., and the CVS handsoaps are 11.75 oz., so there are almost 5 CVS handsoaps in one Softsoap refill bottle, which were on sale for $5. You can easily determine the price per ounce by dividing the cost by number of ounces, as well. There is also the ECB deal on the Softsoap, where you receive $4 ECB when you spend $10, so you can say the refills are really $3 each, which as you can see, is a much better deal than the CVS soaps, plus the Softsoap is a little bit thicker, which we like!!

Free Kellogg's Family Rewards Code

If you are not already signed up for Kellogg's Family Rewards, I do suggest this program since it is pretty easy. You just enter Kellogg's Family Rewards codes found inside specially marked packages of Kellogg's products and earn points you can redeem for free stuff! You can get some really good $1.50 off of different Kellogg's products coupons which will make them free or very cheap if you catch a good sale. That being said, if you are already a member, enter code CELEBRATEDADSDAY to get a free 25 points. If you haven't signed up, but are interested, click here. In case you have missed out on some of the free bonus point codes that have come out lately, here are a few more:

HOWITWORKS20PNTS (20 pts)
KFRFAVPOPTARTS10 (10 pts)
KFRNOWONFACEBOOK (20 pts)
KFRHOMERUNTICKET (50 pts)
SCHOLASTICSWEEPS (50 pts)

Also, you can text BASEBALL to 89332 to get a code for 100 bonus points!

Free Stuff from Walgreens

I went to Walgreens and did one small transaction this evening. To be honest, I am surprised that Walgreens had everything I went for and I ended up with an unexpected bonus, lol. Here's what I got:

(2) Scrubbing Bubbles Fresh Brush Starter Kit and Caddy $6.00 (on sale 2/$6.00 which is a great deal on this)
(2) Scrubbing Bubbles Toilet Cleaning Gel $6.00 (on sale 2/$6.00)
(3) Glade Scented Oil Warmers $3.00 (on sale 3/$3.00)

Coupons (the most exciting thing is anyone with a printer can do at least most of this transaction)

(2) $3.00 Off Scrubbing Bubbles Fresh Brush Starter Kit and Caddy $6.00
(2) Get one Scrubbing Bubbles Toilet Cleaning Gel Free up to $3.99 When you buy Scrubbing Bubbles Fresh Brush Starter Kit and Caddy $6.00 (these were peelies stuck on the Scrubbing Bubbles Fresh Brush Starter Kit and Caddy This was the extra bonus I was talking about, I didn't expect to get this but I went with it)
(1) $1.00 off Glade Plugins Scented Oil Warmer or Starter Kit (from Parade 5/19/13)
(2) $1.00 off Glade Plugins Scented Oil Warmer or Starter Kit (from Right@Home)
There is also a $1.00 coupon you can print on Coupons.com for the Scented Oil Warmers

Total Out of Pocket was just 6.75% sales tax which was $1.01

I received 2000 Balance Rewards Points (1,000 from purchasing the Scrubbing Bubbles starter kits, and 1,000 from the toilet cleaning gels) and also a $1.00 off my next store purchase over $1 coupon printed out! That makes this a $1.99 money maker trip! Awesome!  Here's a rough pic. Please excuse the messiness of my counter in the background.

Swaggable

I don't know if  you have heard of Swaggable before, you may have. I figure it is similar to BzzAgent, Smiley360, and influenster in that you get to try products for free in return for sharing info/reviews on the product in return. In any case, I decided to join today, and boy am I glad I did. I had been a member for 19 minutes, no joke, when I got my first invite to try a product. I accepted, of course, and within a few weeks, I will be trying Runa Cinnamon-Lemongrass Guayusa by Runa, LLC. I'm super excited!  If you are interested in joining, click here. Also, if you would like an invite to join influenster, just email me here and I will send the invite to that email!

Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner!!

I have recently gotten more in the habit of entering sweeps and instant wins. Not as many as some of my friends over at http://www.online-sweepstakes.com/ which is a forum I joined due to my newfound interest. Last month, I won a prize in the Bic Go Grilling instant win and today, I just had my first win of this month. Check out the email below:

Amy XXXXXXXXX,  Yippee! You’re a confirmed winner in the Hey, America! What's Your I.D.?™ You've won a Baking Kit. The Baking Kit includes a Kitchen-Aid Mixer, International Delight® Iced Coffee Apron, and five (5) International Delight® coffee creamer free product coupons (excludes Iced Coffee products, ARV of each coupon is $3.79). This prize has an approximate retail value of $365. If we need additional info in order to send you your prize, we'll be sure to contact you at this email address. Otherwise, you can expect to receive your prize within 8-10 weeks after the end of the promotion. If you have questions, check out our rules here. And if you need more info, simply reply to this email and be sure to keep the original subject line.  Congratulations and thanks again for taking part in the Hey America! What's Your I.D.?™ sweeps. Prize Fulfillment Services  fulfillment@eprizefulfillment.com  Awesome sauce!! If you want to enter yourself, just click here. Also, if you are interested in the Bic Go Grilling Giveaway, just check out their fb page here

Free Stuff from CVS

One of my favorite stores to coupon at is CVS. If I plan on taking advantage of any CVS deals for the week, I usually end up there early on Sunday morning. There are only a couple of CVS stores in my town, and one is on the other side of town. The one near me is right down the street but they don't keep a large stock of items so I try to go as soon as possible after the sale starts so they are more likely to have what I want. Before I post the trip, I do want to say that it is a small trip. I had planned on doing a Glade scenario this week with the Sense and Spray refills but I thought they were going to be $3.99 regular price (looked up the price on CVS.com) but at my store, they were $4.49, so I decided against it after all. Here's what I did get though:

1 CVS body wash $2.37
4 CVS hand soap $8.00 ($2/ea)
2 Biore makeup remover towelettes $5.98 ($2.99/ea)

Coupons used:

(1) free CVS body wash $2.37 (from Minute Clinics fb page NLA)
(1) $4 off and $10 skin care purchase (from CVS coupon machine)
(1) 25% off CVS coupon $2.50 (from CVS email)
(1) $7 ECB (from last week)


total oop (out of pocket) including 6.75% tax $.98
received $ ECB ($5 for purchasing 2 Biore products and $3 for purchasing $10 worth of certain CVS products), so really, $.02 MM!!

New Blog!!

Hi, I'm Amy, and like many others out there, I have decided to start a blog. The purpose of this blog is to share one of my most favorite hobbies with others.....saving money!! I enjoy couponing, signing up for freebies, winning freebies, and trying new freebies from various sites. This blog will be a platform for me to do just that, and maybe more someday, who knows....