cvs newbies

Here's your CVS mission for next week, should you choose to accept it. But you MUST shop on Sunday or Monday for this particular deal!

Print another copy of the $2/$10 coupon I talked about last week.

Print this coupon for Loreal Skin Genesis.

Print this coupon for Chex Mix.

You will purchase:

(1) Loreal Skin Genesis @ 5.99

(1) Revlon Nail Enamel @ 3.99

(1) Chex Mix 4.5-6 oz. @ 1.00

(1) Right Guard Sport,  Soft & Dri or Dry Idea deodorant @ 2.99

(NOTE: If this is your first week, do NOT buy the deodorant.)

Give your coupons in this order:

-CVS card to be scanned!

-$2/$10

-Loreal

-Chex

-Your 7.99 ECBs that you earned last week.

You will pay .98 + tax, and you will earn back 10.99 in ECBs. Congratulations, CVS just paid you to shop.

If this is your first week, you will pay 5.98 out of pocket, but will earn 8.99 back in ECBs. They print at the bottom of your receipt.

A couple of people have said that they don't use these products so it's not worth it to make a trip to CVS. I respect that... however, they make great donation items to shelters or Single Moms Ministries. And also consider that you will start earning $5 off $25 purchase coupons immediately. Those are the best... I get free diapers/pacifiers/baby necessities, Burt's Bees products and household necessities (like toothpaste, toothbrushes, trash bags and dish soap) on a weekly basis thanks to those coupons. CVS also carries groceries, including dairy products (not much in the way of organic though, so no go for us) but this is a great way to get free groceries for your family as well. If anyone gets a $5/$25 or $4/$20 coupon, let me know and I'll help you work out a scenario to get free stuff (or at least really cheap stuff) that you actually need.

Also, if anyone is actually doing this, please leave me a comment so I know to keep posting scenarios. Otherwise I'm taking up precious blog space that could be better utilized telling you how Ocean calls helicopters "opticotters" or that Iris is finally cutting her first teeth. =)

good deals this week

Okay, so if you bought Sunday's paper and are wondering what to do with some more of those coupons, here are a couple of ideas:

-Select Covergirl lipsticks are on sale at CVS, Buy-one-get-one-free (BOGO). There was a coupon in Sunday's paper for BOGO Covergirl lip product. At CVS, a BOGO coupon and a BOGO sale will get you two free items. Basically the store pays for one item and the coupon pays for the other. So you get two free lipsticks and just pay tax. Pretty cool, eh?

-While you're in CVS, look for a little price-checker kiosk. When you scan your CVS card it spits out coupons. This week there are some GOOD ones! If you get a coupon for $2 off 2 Gold Emblem Nuts (I have been getting them every time I'm in there), there are .99 packs of cashews by the cash registers, and also some chocolate caramel peanuts in the candy section. So they will be free with the coupon. If you have questions about how to best use your specific CVS coupons leave a comment and I'll try to help.

-There is also a coupon in the paper for $1.00/2 Bounty products. This week at Kroger, Bounty Basic paper towel single rolls are $1. This makes them .50 each with your Kroger Plus Card and the coupon. I rarely use paper towels but I like to have a roll or two on hand for those highly disgusting, gag-inducing kid spills that you don't want to revisit later when you're laundering your cleaning rags.

-There's a new "loadable coupon" feature on the Kroger website. Just fill out some basic info including your Kroger card number and download coupons which will automatically be deducted when you purchase those items using your card in-store. The best part is, they can be used in conjunction with manufacturer's coupons. So for example, this week Tide Total Care is on sale for $5.99. There was a $1/1 coupon in Sunday's paper, and there is also a $1 loadable coupon on the Kroger site, making the detergent just $3.99 (a great price for Tide!).

 

-Here is a printable coupon for .50 off French's mustard. (Click on the "Save Now" button, and register with that alternate email address I talked about earlier.) French's is on sale for 1.00 at Kroger again this week, and .50 coupons automatically double, making the mustard free.

-Assorted varieties of Aunt Millie's bread are on sale at Meijer this week, buy-one-get-2-free. This makes it 1.00 each. We eat a lot of Aunt Millie's (no high fructose corn syrup) and it freezes really well so at 1.00 a loaf I like to stock up.

-Also at Meijer, Huggies wipes (64 ct.) are 2.00 each. While they weren't in last week's paper, there are some .50 coupons floating around out there. If you happen to have a few, now is the time to use them since they double, making each tub just a dollar. Keep in mind that a lot of Meijer stores only double two like coupons per transaction, the rest will go through at face value. 

This week is not super-awesome in terms of deals, at least in my area, but I wanted to give you some ideas if you're itching to get started saving some money.

freebies

Within the last week I have gotten the following for free at Kroger and Meijer, simply by matching store sales with newspaper coupons:

4-roll packages of Cottonelle toilet paper

French's Mustard

Land o' Lakes spreadable butter

20 bottles of Sobe Lifewater

Colgate and Crest toothpaste

10-item packs of Bic Twin Select razors

For the skeptics out there, it really is easy to cut your grocery bill in half. It just takes a little planning and a shift in the way you shop for groceries. It's not uncommon to get free items every week. If you can't use it, someone definitely can.

Plus, it's super-fun. Who doesn't like free stuff?!

getting started at cvs

For those who have expressed interest in getting started at CVS, this coming Sunday (8/31) is a good week to begin building those Extra Care Bucks (or ECBs) for very little money out of pocket. 

First you want to sign up for an Extra Care Card at CVS. (It's free!)

Next you will need to hurry out first thing Sunday morning and buy the paper. If you're in the Detroit area I recommend the Free Press (more coupons than the Ann Arbor News).

This week you will need the following coupons:

$1/1 Cover Girl lip product (from the 8/31 paper)

This printable coupon for Colgate (I created an email address that I use strictly for coupons and offers so they don't come to my personal account.)

Go Here. Click on the first link, then scroll to page 30 of the magazine. There is a $2/$10 coupon from CVS. Print it out.

Now you're ready to shop. =)

Go to CVS and purchase the following (don't forget to hand over your card to be scanned first!):

1- Covergirl Wetslicks AmazeMint Lip Gloss @ $5.99

1- Colgate Total Advanced Toothpaste (4 oz.) @ $2.99

1 or 2- Item(s) totaling at least $1.02 but not more than $2 (a couple of candy bars should work)

Then give these coupons in this order:

$2/$10

Colgate

Cover Girl

Your total will be around $6 plus tax; pay this. When you get your receipt your Extra Care Bucks will print out at the bottom. You will have earned $7.99, essentially paying for your purchase (including your newspaper!). This $7.99 works like free money on anything in the store (besides prescriptions, tobacco and alcohol). You can spend it on whatever you want/need, or hang onto it, check in next week and I'll give you another scenario to spend it in order to earn more ECBs... but next time you will pay for your purchase with the $7.99 you already earned, so you won't have to pay more than tax out of pocket, and you'll earn back at least the $7.99 so that you can keep "rolling" those EBCs and getting free stuff. 

It sounds confusing, but I'll keep doing the leg work and you'll get the hang of it. Now get to CVS and sign up for the Extra Care Card so you'll be all set for Sunday morning!

highlights

Here are the kid-related highlights of the last two days:

*I yawned. My darling two year old stops playing, looks at me incredulously and asks, "Are you tired, Cassie?"

*Ocean was carrying around his crayon bucket. Iris wanted a crayon. Ocean screamed, "NO! MY crayons!" After a few moments of trying unsuccessfully to mediate, Phil and I decided to let them work it out. I know, probably not a wise choice in hindsight but we were exhausted and it ended up being totally worth it to witness the following exchange: Iris kept after the crayons and Ocean just kept getting more agitated. Finally, she grabbed a crayon out of his hand. Ocean grabbed it back and let out a frustrated yell. Iris then grabbed the crayon back out of his hand, got an inch from his face and screamed. LOUDLY. Ocean immediately started crying. Iris started eating the crayon. I haven't laughed that hard in weeks. Baby Sister, One. Big Brother... Zilch. (In case you're wondering, the bad parenting ended there. We took the heavyweights to their respective corners to cool off and eventually sharing happened. It was beautiful. But not quite as entertaining.)

out of the ashes

I have deleted my latest 'woe is me' post.

We're moving forward in our journey. If you want to come with us, here is the new blog address.

Spilled Milk will remain our light-hearted family blog (with some gratuitous CVS deals thrown in for good measure).

Thanks for all your love, thoughts and prayers. 

it almost feels illegal.

This is all the loot I got at CVS this week. I paid $1.46 out of pocket and walked away with everything you see here, plus $16 in coupons for my next trip. Total savings: $74.63.

While it feels illegal, I promise you that none of it was stolen! I have my CVS secrets which I am happy to reveal to those who are interested in playing the game... and who also promise to leave some deals for me!

As for the goods, most of it will be donated to the Single Moms ministry at church. All but the M&M's... those are my reward for a job well done. =)