Finally some decent profit at CVS!

(I say that with such entitlement, ha.)

But in all seriousness, I had been a bit discouraged as of late. The deals were few and the stock sparse these past few weeks. And the Gamer Fusion razor? Fugetaboutit. Nary a one to be found.

But I managed to still make a good run today, ending up with a profit of $8.34 when all was said and done. Per usual, I relied on my trusty $10/$50 purchase coupon and my diabetes monitor filler.

Here's the rundown:

• $0.73 worth of Valentine candy, 90% off (most to give away)
• Two $2.99 Colgate Total Advanced, get $2.99 ECB each
• Two $2.99 Herbal Essences, get $2 ECB
• $4.99 Gillette shampoo (for Daddy, since Lance obviously can't use it!)
• $7.99 Earinse, get $7.99 ECB
• Two $3.99 Stayfree pads, get $2 ECB each
• $19.99 One Touch Mini (for donation to missions)

Sub-total came to $53.64. Used these coupons:

• $10 off $50 purchase
• $19.99 off One Touch Mini
• Two $1 off Colgate Total Advance from recent insert
• $3 off 2 Herbal Essences from recent PG insert
• $2 off Gillette Shampoo from recent PG insert
• BOGO free Stayfree coupon from recent insert
• $1 off Stayfree printable Mfr. coupon

That brought the sub-total down to $11.66, and I paid with a $7.58 ECB and a $3.99 ECB. Sub-total = $0.09! Of course, tax was outrageous ($2.97, ouch). I paid the remaining $3.06 using a CVS gift card. I walked out with $22.97 more in ECBs, thus I made a profit of $8.34 ($22.97 ECBs earned minus $11.57 ECBs spent minus $3.06 cash spent).

CVS, I heart you. : )

Nothing says love...

...like sitting patiently in the car while your wife makes a "quick stop" at Walgreens. : )

My husband is very sweet. And patient. Because, as we all know, a "quick stop" is rarely quick.

Here's what I snagged though:

After I get back the EasySaver rebates on the Windex, Scrubbing Bubbles, contact solution, and vent freshener, I will have only spent a few cents out of pocket, all of which is tax.

I read on a forum that the vent freshener is a raincheck EasySaver item from last month. I will get a full Wags EasySaver rebate on it ($4.99) and then send it off for a full manufacturer's rebate. When that comes in, I will have made almost $5 on this transaction!

So far I've been happy with the EasySaver program. I mostly just get the free items each month and keep rolling the amount on my gift card. It has been growing, too, due to the coupons used on free items. Eventually I'll spend it on something, but until then I'm happy to collect the freebies and save the overage for a rainy day.

Pretty baby boy

The last squirt

There is something extremely satisfying about squeezing that last bit of toothpaste from a completely spent tube.

Perhaps it's the sweet memory of having gotten the tube for free at CVS. I have to admit that that makes me smile.

But I think it's more the thought that I have gone the extra mile and squeezed every last molecule of toothpaste out of that tube, whereas anyone else would have thrown it away days ago. This may seem extreme to others, almost militant.

Why make that extra effort? Because I am the product of a family with strong memories of the Great Depression and the Irish potato famine. Frugality runs deep. Our motto has always been: "Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without."

Today's society is obsessed with excess and disposability. But I stand grounded in my thrifty upbringing. I will continue to squeeze on flat toothpaste tubes to the day I die. And I will be happy. : )

The best granite cleaner

Before beginning our kitchen renovations last summer, I had made up my mind to get new countertops made of composite quartz. I had done my research, picked out my color, and was ready to go.

That is, until I was told that the color I had fallen in love with was not going to be available for a long time. Ack! Not a fun surprise when you're knee-deep in construction dust.

Our countertop guy asked if I had ever considered granite. I admitted to him that I was turned off by the upkeep I'd heard about, but he shared with me his own experiences with granite and assured me that the once-a-year sealing process was a piece of cake.

Well, all it took was one trip to the slab warehouse, and I was SOLD! All that beautiful, glittering granite just mesmorized me. I picked out two slabs of my very own that day. Gorgeous chocolate brown, flecked with charcoal, pink, and iridescent pearl. So lovely!

When it was installed, I was in heaven. I caressed the smooth, shiny surfaces and whispered sweet promises of loving care. Then I realized I didn't KNOW anything about daily granite care! Yikes!

Google to the rescue. I researched the dos and don'ts of cleaning granite. I learned that the pH of the cleaner is very important for maintaining the seal, thus ammonia- and vinegar-based was not an option. (Alas, poor Windex had to be banished from the kitchen!)

The solution? Rubbing alcohol! Something I had never considered before. I grabbed an old empty Windex bottle, rinsed it out well, and added to it 1/2 cup of rubbing alcohol, then filled it almost to the top with tap water. I added about five drops of dishwashing liquid, then capped it and swirled it together. Behold, a cheap and nontoxic granite cleaner!

I have used this cleaner on a daily basis for about nine months. I liberally squirt the counters and the glass top of the stove, and wipe down with a microfiber cloth. The alcohol sterilized the counter, the dishwashing liquid helps break down any stubborn food particles, and the microfiber cloth buffs the counter to a beautiful sheen. It's wonderful! I save a lot of money this way, and my countertops are happy as can be.

Happy Monday to everyone!

If only a picture could capture an aroma...

I guess you'll have to use your imagination.

I had a huge bag of mini carrots to use up, so I decided to try my hand at apple carrot muffins. (You can see the original recipe by clicking here.)

As most cooks do, I tweaked the recipe to my tastes. I used only 1/3 cup of white sugar and used 1/3 cup of honey. I separated the eggs and whipped the whites to make the batter fluffier. (Because I've seen many of these muffin recipes come out too dense.) And lastly I added raisins.

The recipe says it makes 12 muffins, but even after filling the cups all the way I still had enough for probably two more! So I put the remaining batter into a cute pink heart-shaped ramekin to bake separately. I thought it would make a nice breakfast for My Valentine. : )

Well, as you can see, the muffins rose beautifully. And boy did they make the house smell amazing! I could hardly wait to bite into one. The taste was just sweet enough, but not too sweet. Just perfect for a breakfast treat.

What a great way to start the morning!

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.