Tonight's haul

Making money at CVS is fun. : )

Tonight I got some good stuff that we need, want, and can use eventually. And I made $4.35, hooray!



Since I'm feeling under-the-weather, I'm not going to write everything out, but here's the jist: I got $50.39 worth of stuff, used a $10/$50 coupon along with a combination of other CVS and Mfr. coupons, paid with $20 in ECBs, paid cash for the remaining $2.61, and walked out with another $26.96.

I made money on the Maalox/Benefiber because of the deal they ran this week: Buy $20 or more of Maalox/Benefiber/Gas-X, get $10 ECBs back. I had a $2 Mfr. coupon for each of the three bottles, PLUS I was lucky enough to get a couple of good CVS coupons at the scanner: $3 off any Benefiber product, and $5 off any 2 Maalox products. My lucky week! And we just happen to be on our last bottle of Maalox. (We've been eating a lot of chili lately.) *urp*

I was pleasantly surprised to see that they had FINALLY restocked the NutraTrim gum. I don't know if it works or not, but I don't mind the taste of it, so it replaces my usual afternoon gum. If it works, that's a bonus. : )

You may notice the Pixie Sticks. I am not ashamed of my love for these tasty delights. I even took the time - in front of about six amused strangers - to go through the bags and try to get the ones with the most blues. It's just my thing.

Happy Friday, everyone!

A CVS tip

We CVSers have a common dilemma: how to best utilize our ECBs when paying for purchases. Since they come in all different values, depending on what we've bought in the past, it can be a challenge to figure out which combination of ECBs to pay with. We don't want to end up with a large balance to pay, but we also don't want to lose anything to manual reduction.

For example: I may have in my hand several ECBs in the amounts of $3, $5, and $10. After my purchase is rung up and my coupons deducted, my pre-tax total might come to, say, $9.05. My choices are to a) use the $3 and $5, and pay the remaining $1.05 plus tax (too much!); or b) use the $10 and have the cashier reduce it to $9.05 (a loss of $0.95, ouch!). Neither is a great option.

Some people add on another cheap item to get the total closer to the higher ECB amount. I've done this many times. (After all, the candy bars are right there at the register, ha ha!) In fact, it has become a crutch for me, so that over time I completely forgot that I didn't HAVE to add a filler at all. I've been known to have a total of $9.95 and scramble for a filler item!


Well, last night my total came to $2.99. Instead of grabbing a filler, I remembered that I could pay with a $3 ECB and forfeit that penny. Come to find out, when the cashier scanned the ECB, it didn't require a manual reduction at all, and allowed a negative balance of one penny! Now I'm curious about exactly how negative the register will allow the total to be...Inquiring minds want to know...

Maybe others already know this. But me, I just learned something new. Hooray!

Because one can never have too many Dews or diabetes monitors

Crazy? Probably. But if I've learned ANYTHING while playing The Drugstore Game, it's to use those diabetes monitor coupons to my advantage.

You see, the 1/4/09 RedPlum insert had a coupon for up to $30 off an UltraSmart monitor. This week those monitors are on sale for $29.99, so the coupon makes them completely free. But here's where I get excited: if I buy another $20.01 worth of merchandise (which is easy), I can use one of my gazillion CVS coupons for $10 off a $50 purchase! Woohoo!!

I won't give all the details for these two transactions I did tonight, since most of these items have been highlighted on other blogs. And besides that, it's not all that interesting that I bought onion powder and bottled water.

Suffice it to say that I got all of this for free in the end. I should have made $4, but the cashier messed up one of my $2 coupons and instead CHARGED me the $2. I didn't catch it until later. This is the second time this very thing has happened to me, so you'd think I'd pay closer attention. Oh, well. I still made out like a bandit.

Hope everyone has a great week!

Bear update

Bear has had yet another extensive surgery. He is currently recovering and seems to be in good spirits.

He does miss his arm, though.

A good day

Today was one of those days that, at the end, you look back and say, "You know, this has been a really nice day."

I got up at a decent time, made us some cinnamon toast for breakfast, and had mine with some good coffee as I watched Grey's Anatomy. After showering, I tried french-braiding my hair and it actually turned out okay for once! I was so proud that I had to run downstairs and show Lance, who (God love him) gave the appropriate amount of praise and appreciation.

I then got to work cutting coupons and making my list for Kroger. I headed out to Kroger and got almost everything on my list in under an hour, surprisingly. Got a LOT of great deals, too, which alway makes me happy. I came home and made us some spicy tuna salad for lunch, and we ate together while chatting and laughing.

After lunch, we went down to my favorite thrift store to find some deals. Lance didn't find anything, but I got four nice button-up shirts for work (just what I needed!) and a denim jacket. I even found a really simple but elegant wreath made of straw and pine cones for just $2.00! That will be perfect on our back door next Christmas.

We decided mid-afternoon to go down to Cool Springs to run a long-overdue errand (having our rings polished and dipped at Jared) and to go see a movie while there. We wanted to see Benjamin Button, but it was sold out, so we saw Paul Blart: Mall Cop. It was actually a pretty good movie, though not one I would have normally seen in the theater. I'm glad we ended up going to see it, because we need to support good, clean movies like that.

We had planned on eating at Chili's afterward with a gift card (I like frugal dates!), but it was such a long wait that we decided to just get some Whoppers instead. Fine with me! And you know what my wonderfully sweet hubbin stopped to get me as a final treat to end the night?...A Frosty! He didn't even mind the extra stop. Now that's true love.

When I go back to work Monday and get the usual small-talk question of "Did you have a good weekend?" I won't even have to hesitate. You bet I did!

Hooray for the Mega Sale!

Well, the weather warmed up yesterday (to 60 degrees!), and that's just what my poor soul needed. Apparently I've got the winter blues. And you know what helps the blues?...Getting stellar deals!

I LOVE when Kroger runs their Mega Sale, because I can combine paper coupons (often doubled) with some virtual coupons (via Shortcuts and now Cellfire) and really rack up the savings. Today's run was so great that I just have to share!

Below is a list of what I got, the sale price, the Mega Sale discount (which is $0.50 off each item since the deal is buy ten specified items, get $5 off your total), and the coupons I used. I decided to list everything together, in case anyone wants to see the final price paid so that they can decide whether to run out and get some. It's all about the bottom line, you know. :)

• Sierra Mist 12-pack $3.00 - $0.50 = $2.50
• 3 boxes of Fiber One bars $2.69 each - $0.50 each - $0.50 Cellfire Q off one - $0.75 Shortcuts Q off one - $0.50 (doubled to $1) MQ off each box = $2.32 for all three boxes, or $0.77 per box (these are great for breakfasts!)
• Orville Red. Naturals popcorn $2.19 - $0.50 - $1 MQ = $0.69 (yummy work snack!)
• Krafts Singles $1.99 - $0.50 = $1.50 (we love our grilled cheese)
• 3 Snapples $1 each - $0.50 each - $0.75 MQ off each = profit of $0.75 for all three!
• 2 Hormel Chili $1 each - $0.50 each - $0.55/2 MQ = $0.45 for two cans or $0.22 each
• French's Mustard $1.79 - $0.50 - $0.50 (doubled to $1) MQ = $0.29
• 2 Pace Salsa $1.99 each - $0.50 each - $0.40/2 MQ (doubled to $0.80) = $2.18 for two or $1.09 each
• Rotel $0.87 - $0.50 - $0.30 MQ (doubled to $0.60) = profit of $0.23!
• 2 Chex mix $2.19 each - $0.50 each - $0.60 Cellfire Q off one - $0.60 Shortcuts Q off the other -$0.50 MQ each (doubled to $1) = $0.18 or $0.09 each (cheap snack!)
• 2 Green Giant Steamers $1.59 each - $0.50 each -$0.50 Shortcuts Q off each - $0.50 (doubled to $1) MQ off each = profit of $0.82 for two bags!
• 2 bags of Lays $2.38 each - $0.50 each = $1.88 per bag
• 3 Beefaroni $1 each - $0.35/3 (doubled to $0.70) = $0.77 a can (cheap lunch)
• Fritos $2.75 (to get the Pepsi/Frito Lay deal when combined with my CVS purchases)
• 2 lbs of mini carrots $2.50
• bananas $0.40
• apples $1.05
• 3 lbs of ground beef $5.45

All this for $27.01 before tax! I was giddy! If I had had some more Rotel coupons, I would have gotten more, since I like to put it in my chili and spaghetti sometimes. And I wish I had had more Snapple coupons. Oh, well. I can't complain, because I got some great deals!

Deep freeze

I feel so restless these days.

I don't know what to expect of the future, which can be scary, but I also don't know what I WANT for my future, which is just plain frustrating. I'm the girl with The Plan, so why am I suddenly drawing a blank?

This lack of vision is disrupting my sleep patterns. I have Restless Brain Syndrome.

And the worst part is the numbness down deep. Like my soul is holding its breath, waiting for something.

I need spring...

Mama's little helper

Baxter helps his mama with the staging by holding down the backdrop...

How does this keep happening?

I mean, seriously...How am I unable to burn any ECBs? This is madness, I tell you!

I fully expected to blow some ECBs on sodas at today's after-church CVS run. But I didn't anticipate the fact that they actually had four boxes of throat coolers in stock, and that changed my whole transaction.

Somehow I ended up MAKING money AGAIN! (But what a wonderful problem to have, huh?)

<----Check this out! (And yes, I am a big fan of symmetry.)


Here's what I ended up with, after 2 transactions:

• 7 12-packs of Pepsi products, $3 each, buy $20 worth, get $10 ECBs
• 8 Reese's whips, 2/$1 (DOES NOT COUNT TOWARDS CANDY DEAL!)
• 1 KitKat, $0.50
• 4 Children's Throat Coolers, $4.99 each, get $4.99 ECBs each
• 1 Excedrin Migraine 24-ct, $1.99
• 1 Excedrin Express Gels 20-ct, $1.99
• 3 American Greetings cards, $0.99 each, buy 3, get $3 ECBs
• 2 CVS allergy medicine, $3.79 each, get $3.79 ECBs each
• 1 CVS hand soap, $1.99
• 1 newspaper, $1.75

I used these coupons:

• $10/$50
• 4 Reese's whips Mfr. coupons for $1 off two (from last week's inserts)
• 2 Throat Coolers BOGOF Mfr. coupons printed from the website
• 1 Excedrin Migraine coupon for $2 off
• 1 Excedrin Express gels coupon for $2 off
• 1 CVS coupon for $3 off any CVS brand

I used $31.86 ECBs, and paid the remaining $2.52 with my gift card. (I messed up a bit, but that's okay.) I got back a total of $40.54 in ECBs, thus making a profit of $6.16!

Again, I failed miserably at burning ECBs. My stash has grown...again. How on EARTH am I going to roll $122 worth?? I will eventually have to actually buy something, I do realize that. And then I'll start all over again, building up my stash.

What fun!

Debt: Good or bad?

Our Wednesday night class has been discussing money over the past few weeks. Lately we've been talking about debt, and debating whether or not debt is a good thing or a bad thing.

We all know what Dave Ramsey would say. And a lot of people agree with him. One such person blogs regularly about all things financial, and has stated that she and her family are going to save up enough money to pay cash for their first house.

That's a lofty goal, and I have to admit that it is awe-inspiring, especially since she is on track to accomplish it. But when I really started to think about the logistics of the plan and crunched some numbers, I found that it may not be as beneficial as most would think. Trying to avoid debt may COST more.

As long as you're renting property, you aren't getting ANYTHING back for the money you spend in rent each month. No equity at all. And the money you're setting aside for that house purchase?...Unless it's in a CD or savings account that is earning a fantastic rate (which is rare right now), it's either barely keeping up with inflation or it's depreciating.

With mortgage rates so low right now, it's a great time to purchase a home, even with no money down! The key is the extra principle payments. Let's say someone were to buy a $200,000 home with no money down and an interest rate of 5.0% (assuming a 30-year term). That's a monthly payment of about $1074. And let's say they put an extra $2000 per month towards principle. They would pay off the house in 6.5 years! The total paid (including interest over the life of the loan) would be about $234,000.

If that same person were to pay about $800 a month in rent and lay aside $2274 a month to save for the house, they would have enough to buy the $200,000 house in about 7.5 years. The total they will have paid by that time (including rent) would be $272,000. More money, more time spent in a rental.

Is it really worth it to wait, just so you won't have any debt? Wouldn't taking on a large debt like a mortgage be a good thing, since you would pay less over the long-run?

The same goes for college loans. I was able to get several good scholarships for school, but I certainly didn't have the money to pay for the remainder. Would it have been worth it for me to work for a few years to save that money and then go to school?

Well, it would have taken a while to save up enough, since I wanted to attend a private university. I would have gotten a late start on my career, since I would be several years behind my peers. Being an older graduate might have subjected me to age discrimination when applying for starting positions.

But since I took out a loan, I was able to graduate on schedule and get a better-paying job right out of school. I was better equipped to pay for my education AFTER getting the degree than beforehand. I feel I made the right decision.

I guess it comes down to a personal feeling about debt. To me, debt is a tool. It can be risky, but if I use it correctly and wisely, it can be a great help and actually SAVE money over the long run. So I guess I would say debt is a good thing.

Sorry, Dave. : )