CVS: $4 off $20 Coupon - Get it Now

If you had planned to go to CVS this week, make sure you get this coupon first!

CVS is offering a special $4 off $20 purchase coupon that is only valid through tomorrow, September 15.

Go here and enter your CVS ExtraCare card number (on back of card) and then you will be emailed a special $4/20 coupon.

This CVS coupon can be used with other manufacturer coupons and ExtraCare Bucks, just make sure you give the $4/20 coupon first!

My CVS Trip

Had a good trip to CVS today. I hadn't been in at least a month, and the cashier knew that (um, is it bad that the cashiers know me??)

And, this is why you should ALWAYS scan your card at the little CVS kiosk scanner, usually located in the front of one of the first aisle. I scanned my card earlier and out popped a $5 off $15 CVS coupon. This coupon can be used along with manufactuer coupons - just make sure you always give the $$ off purchase coupon first!

Also, if you have not done so already, register your Extra Care Card at CVS.com. You will soon start receiving $ off $$ purchase coupons via email. Earlier this week, I received a $5 off $25 coupon. I used both coupons today in separate transactions (you can only use one $$ off purchase coupon per transaction)

Here was my transactions:

Purchase:
3 John Frieda Root Awakening Products $5 each sale
1 Crest Pro-Health for the Gums Toothpaste $3.49
Used:
- $5 off $15 CVS Coupon
-(3) $3/1 off John Frieda Root Awakening SS 8/22
-(1) FREE any Crest Pro Health (from previous Crest rebate offer)

= $1.00 OOP
Received: $7.50 ECBs ($5 for John Frieda purchase, $2.50 for Crest)

2nd Transaction:
2 Charmin 16 pack, $9.99 ea
6 Puffs tissue, .99 ea
Used:
-$5 off $25 CVS Coupon
-$7.50 ECBs (from 1st transaction)
- (2) .25/1 Charmin P&G 8/1
- (2) .25/3 Puffs P&G 8/1

= $12.42 + tax OOP
Received: $10 ECBs

Total OOP: $13.42+tax AND I have $10 ECBs for my next visit.
Just for giggles, I figured up the normal retail value of the products I purchased today: $63.68, that's a savings of $50.26. And, that's why I coupon!

CVS: Free School Supplies and J Frieda

I hit CVS this week, because I really needed pullups and overnight pants. To help take the sting out of the price of those items, here is what I did:


1st Transaction
Purchased:
1 pair Caliber Kid Scissors .99 ea
1 10pk Bic Ink Pens .99 ea

Used:
$1 ECB from last week's transaction

Total Due: $1.00
Received $1.98 ECBs (Makes items free)

2nd Transaction
Purchased:
2 John Frieda Root Awakening Shampoo/Conditioner $5 ea

Used:
-(2) $3 off John Frieda Qs SS 6/06
- $1.98 ECB

Total Due: $2.02 +tax
Received: $5 ECB (makes items free + $1.00 overage)

3rd Transaction
Purchased:
2 CVS Brand Pullup and Overnight Pants $9.99 ea

Used:
- $5 off $20 CVS Product q from CVS scanner
- $5 ECB

= $9.99 + tax

TOTAL OOP: $13.01 + tax. That's less than what I would have spent just purchasing the 2 packs of CVS pullups and I got other items that I will use!

My $4.00 CVS Trip

I went to CVS today to use up all my ECB's. I had about $25 worth. I am planning on a hiatas from all drugstore and/or non-food purchases for the month of June. I recently took inventory of all my household and toiletry items and could not beleive the amount of stuff I have. I made a several donations to flood victims and still have quite a bit.

Transaction #1
2 16-pack Charmin TP $9.99 ea
1 10-pack Duracell $5.99
Total: $25.97
- $4 off $20 Purchase CVS coupon (emailed when your card is registered on CVS.com)
- $20 Extra Care Bucks (from previous transactions and a CVS survey)
= $2.61 OOP + $10 ECBs earned from P&G promotion

Transaction #2
*note hit upon a great baby items clearance deal

2 CVS Antiseptic Mouthwash BOGO 50% off
2 Aveeno Baby Shampoo $1.42 clearance price
1 Huggies Baby Wash $.97 clearance price
4 Johnson Buddies soaps .34 ea clearance price
1 4-pk Pepsi (I thought this was .99 or I would not have bought it)
Total: $16.14
- $14.50 ECBs
= $1.40 OOP

Total OOP for the day: $4.01
Total Savings: $65.91


I happened to mention to the cashier that I was putting myself on a spending freeze for June. When I left, she said "so we won't see you for a while?" I said "yes, if all goes to plan". She smiled and said "But our sales are going to take a hit without you!" I laughed and thought, "yea, it's time for me to take a break...."

But I'm glad I bought all the baby soap and shampoo, for this is what I had waiting for me when I got home .....



My 5-year-old got into the stamp kit. The extra soap came in handy.

My CVS Trip: Moneymaker

I made a quick trip to CVS at lunch yesterday. I had some ECB's (Extra Care Bucks) from a previous trip that needed to be used before they expired. I try to make the most of my ECB's so here's what I did:

Starting with $6.99 in ECBs from previous week

1st Transaction:
Purchased 1 pack of Goodnites
Sale Price: $8.99
- $1.50 coupon from SS 4/18
- $6.99 ECB
Total due: Tax Only .79
Received $2 ECBs

2nd Transaction:
Purchased Crest Pro Health
Sale Price: $3.50
- .75 coupon from P&G 5/2
- $2 ECB (from transaction #1)
= .75 + tax
Received $3.50 ECBs

I will submit my Crest Pro Health receipt for a rebate (found on tearpad at Publix) of a FREE Crest Toothpaste coupon. When I receive that free coupon, I will save it to use on another ECB promotion (CVS runs ECB promotions on Crest Toothpaste frequently).

And that is how you make the most of your coupons!

CVS Trip

We had a very expensive and unexpected day at the vet today. So, after that was done I felt the need for some free stuff. So here's what I did.

I purchased:

3 John Freida Shampoos
Sale Price: $5.00 ea
- $2.50/1 Printable
= $2.50 ea

2 Single rolls CVS Bath tissue
Sale Price: .50 ea
- $1 off any CVS Paper Product - received by scanning my CVS card at Price Scanner in store
= FREE

1 3oz Tube of CVS Hand lotion
Reg Price: 1.49
- $1/1 CVS Skin Product - received by scanning CVS card at Price Scanner in store
= .49

Also Used:
- $3 off $15 Purchase CVS coupon emailed from CVS (handed over this q first before any others)
- $3.00 ECB earned from previous purchase last week
- .50 ECB from previous purchases

Total OOP w/ Tax: $2.60
+ received $5.00 ECB for John Frieda Purchase + $1.00 ECB for using Green Bag Tag

Still didn't take the sting out of the vet bill. But it always makes me feel better when I get a good deal. I must give my opinion of this toilet paper. It's supposed to be environmentally friendly, etc, etc. And I try to be very environmentally friendly, but this stuff is really gas station bathroom paper. If it weren't free, I would never buy it. I'll stick it in the back of the closet and it will be "Emergency TP"

My Money Making Trip to CVS & Final Grocery Tally

I went to CVS to do the Huggies ECB deal they have going through Saturday. I also received a CVS coupon for $3 off one Glade candle. They have the little 2oz candles for $3.29 so I got one of those too.

Here's what should have happened:
2 Packs Pullups
Sale Price: $10 ea
- (2) $2/1 Printable
= $8.00 ea

1 Glade Candle
Reg Price: $3.29
- $3/1 CVS Coupon that came from in-store scanner
= .29

- $10 ECBS from survey
= $6.29 OOP and receive $5.00 ECBs

But something went wrong at the register and a strange unknown $3 dollar item was rang up. I didn't catch it until we had completed the transaction. The only way to make it right was for them to do a return and refund and then ring it up correctly again. But I had used coupons and ECBs and the register considers those cash so the manager had to come over, approve the transaction and they refunded the entire purchase in cash! The manager said "This is your lucky day". They then rang up the items again, used the same coupons and ECB's and I paid the correct amount. Here's how it went:

Old OOP: $10.80
Refunded cash: -$25.44
New amount due w/ tax: $7.25
Money maker: $ 7.39 cash + 5 ECBs for the huggies and $1 ECB from the green bag tag

So, please always look at your receipt after you check out. It can not only save you money, but once in a while it can actually MAKE you money!
I felt okay about this because 1.) I had the manager's approval and blessing of sorts, and 2.) I spend hundreds of dollars (maybe thousands now) a year with CVS on prescriptions. They'll be okay without that $7 dollars.


I also had to make an extra trip to Publix this week because I forgot a couple of things. I've lost the receipt, so I'm going off memory of exact price:

One A Day Kids Vitamins
Sale Price: $4.22
- $2.50/1 Publix Family Magazine (Publix Q)
- $2/1 SS 1/3
= FREE + Overage

Pop Secret Popcorn - I promised my child I'd buy her popcorn and since my budget was blown anyway......
Sale Price: $2.19
- $1/2 RP 1/3
= $1.69 ea

Gatorade
Reg Price: $7.99

Total OOP w/ tax: $12.57

My new weekly total including my earlier trips here is: $60.95.

Weekly Shopping Trip

Whew! I had quite a shopping challenge this week. I'm trying very hard to not go over my $50 dollar/week for groceries & household supplies budget. I aim for $40, but my actual budget is $50. My cupboards have been bare and so I'm also trying to stock up with that $50. Did I make it? Let's see....

CVS/BigLots/Aldi's


CVS
I had many ECB's built up from doing Survey's for CVS Advisor Panel. So, I used them to buy some things we needed now but there were no great deals or coupons for. That's why I LOVE CVS!

2 CVS Sandwich bags $2.99 & $1.50 (Buy one Get one 50% off)
1 CVS Super glue $1.97
1 CVS super size trash bags $7.49
1 CVS Antiseptic Mouthwash $5.49
1 Glade Soy candle $3.29

- $3.00/1 Glade Frangrance candle CVS Coupon from prior receipt
-$3.00 ECB
-$15.00 ECB

OOP w/ Tax: $2.44
and, all the CVS items earned 4% towards my CVS quarterly earned ECBs

Big Lots
I took advantage of the 20% Off coupon that is currently out.

1 Mop Bucket
Regular Price: $1.00
- 20% coupon
= .80

Dog Biscuits (big bag)
Regular Price: $3.50
- 20% coupon
= $2.80

Total OOP w/ tax: $3.93

Aldi's

Grape tomatoes .69
2 packs Bell Peppers .69 ea
Fruit Cocktail .85 ea
Tortilla Chips .99

Total OOP w/ tax: $6.20 Target:
I desperately needed some new socks, even my 4 year old said "Mommy, you should buy some new socks for yourself". We currently have no clothing budget, so this small purchase had to come from somewhere so it's part of the groceries this week!

1 six-pack of socks
Sale Price: $5.00
- .50/1 peelie
= $4.50 that's .75 cents per pair of socks!

2 Olay Regenerist Facial Wash
Sale Price: $5.49
- $3/1 P&G 1/17
= $2.49 Each
*submitted for Olay's $15 MIR, so this should be a moneymaker*

Total OOP: $11.00

Publix:
4 Knox Gelatine
Reg Price: $1.39
- $4/1 Any Knox Product RP 1/24
= FREE + Overage

20 Birds Eye Steamers
Sale Prices: .89 - $1.19
- .50/1 1/10 SS
= FREE or .19 ea

4 Kraft Salad Dressing
Sale Price: $1.60
- $1/50/2 Printable
= .85 ea

8 Dole Fruit Cup Packs
Sale Price: $1.34 ea
- .75/2 SS 1/10
= .97 ea
* Also will submit for Dole 30 Day Challenge Rebate and receive coupons for 4 free packs

Morning Star Veggie Burgers
Sale Price: 1.99
- $1/1 Printable
= .99 ea

5 lbs Idaho Potatoes
Sale Price: $1.99

2 Uncle Bens Rice 5lbs
Sale Price: 3.49
- $1/1 Blinkie
= $2.49 ea

Total OOP w/ Tax: $12.91

Kroger

Kroger is having a Mega Event this week. Buy 10 of the participating items ( a wide range of items) and get an automatic $5 off at checkout. The sale price listed is the price after the $5 off is subtracted.

1st Transaction:

5 Bars of Kraft Cheese
Sale Price: $1.49
- $1/2 Printable
= .99 ea

3 Packs of Kraft Shreds
Sale Price: $1.49
- $1/2 Printable
= .99 ea

2 Boxes of Nabisco Crackers
Sale Price: $1.70
- $2/2 Printable
= .70 ea

OOP: $10.51 + $5 off next Purchase Catalina (earned from 5 Kraft cheese bar purchase) only good on Sunday, Jan 24

2nd Transaction:

2 Philly Cream Cheese
Sale Price: .99
- $1/1 from Publix Grape Magazine
= FREE

Post Raisin Bran
Sale Price: $2.19
- $2/1 Printable (must register)
= .19

3 Hunts Canned Tomatoes
Sale Price: $.50
- .45/3 (doubled) 1/10 SS
- .45/3 Shortcuts E-coupon
= .05 ea

3 packs of I Can't Believe It's Not Butter
Sale Price: $1.41
- $1/1 and .50/1 (doubled) 11/15 RP
= .41 ea

1 Quilted Northern 12 Pack double rolls
Sale Price: $5.49
- $1/1 1/24 RP
- $2/1 Softcoin e-coupon (no longer available)
= $2.49
------------------------------------------------------

Non-Mega Event Items:

8th Continent Soy Milk
Reg Price: $2.99
- $2/1 Printable (no longer available)
= .99

Milk
Reg Price: $1.65

Bananas
Reg Price: 1.34

- $5.00 Catalina received from Transaction 1
Total OOP: $15.21

GRAND TOTAL OOP: $51.68. Didn't quite make it under $50, but I was close. And my total savings after sales and coupons was $181 dollars! And then there is the $15 rebate from Olay and the 4 free packs of Dole fruit cups coming. So, not a bad week.

Supplementing the $40 Grocery Budget

Due to changes in employment and income, we are on a pretty tight grocery budget. I try very hard to keep our total groceries (including household and personal items) under $40 a week. I've recently found myself struggling to predict how much of some staple items we will use every week.

Used to be that one loaf of bread and a gallon of milk a week was plenty for my family. But now, with hubs being home-based for his job, me being a full-time stay at home mom for a while, and kids at home all the time, I have found that our consumption of some items have increased. My husband eats cereal multiple times a day. And no matter how many boxes I buy when they are a good deal at the grocery, I can't seem to keep up with his consumption. I've thought about hiding them and rationing him to one box a week but, I don't think this would go over very well.

This week, by Monday, I realized that we were already two thirds the way through our last loaf of bread and hubs had gone through all the cereal. Our juice stockpile was running very low too (although I do have an emergency frozen juice concentrate tucked away in the freezer). I really did not want to blow my budget and buy more supplies. Enter CVS with Extra Care Bucks (ECBs)! Over the weekend I had earned 10 ECBs for doing a survey for CVS (go here to learn how to sign up to be a CVS advisor and earn ECBs), and I had earned $1.50 in ECBs based on accumulated shopping I had done in the summer. A total of $11.50 in FREE ECB's for me to spend on whatever.

Normally, I would recommend rolling those ECBs (meaning: buy items that will produce more ECBs for you to spend on a future purchase), but sometimes they're needed for other things. There really wasn't anything at CVS this week producing ECBs that I wanted or needed. And I wanted to bridge the gap between weekly shopping trips and not blow our budget

I still tried to be smart with my ECBs. Here's what I got:

2 Honey Bunches of Oats $4.79 BOGOF
2 Apple Juices 2 for $4 Sale
1 Sara Lee Whole Wheat $1.99
1 Dawn Dishwashing Det. .97 Sale
Total OOP: .89

So, I was able to save the grocery budget this week. But, I'm still thinking about that rationing of cereal. Seriously, how much cereal does one man need? :)

Grocery Finals

Wow! I am so happy I got all my grocery shopping in one trip on one day. I hit four stores. I'm pretty happy with my total. I received a $10 gift card to Publix in exchange for some babysitting so that helped to keep my out of pocket well below my preferred $40/week budget. I also did something that I never do anymore, I bought meat! Ground beef. We are mostly vegetarian in my household, except for the lunch meat I buy for my daughter's school lunches and an occasional chicken dinner. It works for us. So, I hope I got a good deal on the ground beef.
Below are the highlights.

Publix:

2 Post Honey Bunches of Oats w/Pecans
Sale Price: $2.00
- $2.00 Printable
= FREE

2 Enfamil Singles Pack
Price: $9.79
- $5.00 Printable
- $3.50 Publix Green Advantage Buy Flyer
- $3.00 Food Lion Printable
= FREE + Overage

5 Muir Glen Tomato Sauce
Price: .89 ea
- $1/1 from Better At Home booklet
= FREE + Overage

6 Corn on the Cob
Sale Price: .25 ea

8th Continent Soy Milk
Price: $2.50
- $2/1 Printable (no longer available)
= .50

2 Publix Soda
Sale Price: .50 ea

Healthy Lifestyle Whole Wheat Bread
Mark Down Price: 1.79
- .50/1 (doubled) from 10/4 SS
= .79

2 Lysol Neutra Air
Sale: $1.70
-$1/1 Printable
= .79 ea

5lb bag White potatoes
Sale Price: $1.99
- $1 off any produce Publix Baby Club coupon
= .99

Hillshire Honey ham lunch meat
Sale Price: $1.67

Publix String Cheese
Sale Price: $3.00
- $1 off any dairy product Publix Baby Club coupon
= $2.00

- $1.00 Walgreens Register Reward
- $10.00 Publix Gift Card
OOP = .91

Kroger Highlights

Kroger Socialite Crackers
Manager Markdown Price: .25

Kroger Shells & Cheese Dinner
Sale Price: $1.25
- .75/1 Kroger Home Mailer
= .50

2 Libby Green Beans 28 oz cans
Manager Markdown Price: .89 ea

Kroger Cottage Cheese
Sale Price: $1.00

Kroger Sour Cream
Sale Price: $1.00

Kroger 1/2 Gallon Milk
Sale Price: $1.00

Laura's Lean Ground Beef
Manager Markdown $2.52
- .50 (doubled) Printable (must enter to win burger timer, will get a code for coupon)
= $1.52

Tomatoes
Sale Price: $1.18/lb
= 1.90

Bananas
.59/lb
= 1.29

Total OOP: 11.07

Aldi

Tortilla Chips .99
1 large Pumpkin $2.49
2 Bags Carrots .99 ea
1 Pineappe .99 ea
2 Cucumbers .49 ea
2 cans black beans .59 ea
2 cans kidney beans .59 ea
2 cans chili beans .59 ea
Total OOP 11.82

CVS
Transaction #1
Glade Frangrance Diffusier $6.99
- $3/1 q from SS10/4
= $3.99
Received $6.99 Register Rewards

Transaction #2
Flintstone Vitamins $8.49
- $6.99 Register Rewards
= $1.50

Total OOP w/ tax : 6.93

Grand Total OOP for Week: $30.73 So Happy! Almost $10 under my weekly budget!

CVS Deals - Enough printer paper for 2 years!

My run to CVS this week was short and sweet. I just had too much stuff going on to really scope out all the deals and put together a transaction plan. The one thing I did really want was the Copy & Print paper. After some discussion and thought, we figured that we really don't use that much printer paper, maybe 2 reams a year so this CVS deal was a very good one for us. We should be stocked for a long time! We also needed some medicinal mouthwash, very expensive mouthwash may I add. So, here's what I did:

Transaction 1
4 packs of Copy/Print Paper $5.00 each
Total: $20.00
Minus:
- $4 off $20 coupon (CVS email)
- $$6.00 ECB
-$4.00 ECB
-$3.98 ECB

Total OOP w/ Tax $3.50
Received $10.00 ECB

Transaction 2:
1 bottle of Colgate Peroxyl Mouthwash $11.99
Minus
- 10.00 ECB

Total OOP w/ Tax: 3.10 (the tax will kill you!)

I really like to roll my ECB's but sometimes they come in really handy when you have to buy something unusual (like $12 mouthwash) to help off set the price.
-

Nice Week at CVS! Lots of Free School Supplies

Another great week for school supplies. I got:
1 pack of Duracell Batteries
2 packs of notebook filler paper
2 packs of Papermate pens
2 packs of #2 pencils 24 ct.
2 vinyl 3 ring notebooks
2 memo notebooks
1 pack panty liners
Total: $21.82

Used:
- $4.00 off $20 purchase coupon
- .75 coupon for batteries
- 10.00 ECBS

TOTAL OOP W/ TAX: 7.80
Received: 19.83 ECBs