I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! Mine was mostly spent preparing for Trouble’s Sweet Shop party, which is happening next weekend. As usual, I’ve gone a little crazy with DiY projects, but I can’t wait to show you all the fun things I have planned!
I was so wrapped up in party plans that I didn’t have whole lot of time for shopping, but I couldn’t resist making a quick trip to take advantage of some of the bargains this week. I only grabbed a few of the hot list items from each store, but there were plenty other deals to be had. Maybe I’ll have a chance to go back on Thursday….
Here is what I got:
At CVS I spent $0.63 for $34.15 worth of drugstore merchandise, a savings of 98%
I was actually planning on spending a little more out-of-pocket, but I got a nice little $5 Beauty Reward bonus from the kiosk when I scanned my card. Love those! Everything I spent was actually just sales tax, so my pre-tax total was FREE!
Transaction 1 Get $4 Extra Bucks WYB Revlon Nail Enamel (limit 1) @ – $4.99 (bought 1) (1) $1/1 Revlon Nail Enamel, exp. 6-30-11 (SS 04/10/11) Final price: FREE + Profit! Get $0.99 Extra Bucks WYB Trident Vitality or Stride Spark (limit 1) @ – $0.99 (bought 1) Final price: FREE Green Bag Tag @ $0.99 (bought 1) FREE Green Bag Tag (CVS Coupon Kiosk) Used $5 ECBs (Beauty Rewards); Paid OOP $0.07; Got back $4, $0.99 ECBs Transaction 2 Purex Laundry Detergent, 24-33 loads (limit 4) – $1.98 (bought 4) $1/1 Purex Laundry Detergent, exp. 6-12-11 (RP 05/01/11) Final price: $0.98 Used $4 ECBs; Paid $0.56 OOP___________________
At Walgreens I spent $3.90 for $30.39 worth of drugstore merchandise, a savings of 87%.
Transaction 1: Get $2 Register Rewards WYB Scunci No Damage Hair Elastics @ – $2.00 (bought 1) Final price: FREE Used $1 RR, Paid $1.14 OOP, Got back $2 RRs Transaction 2 Get $5 Register Rewards WYB 2 Participating Advil or ThermaCare Products Advil, 40-50ct, or Advil PM, 16-20ct, @ $4.99 (bought 1) 2-3 Pack ThermaCare HeatWrap @ $5.99 (bought 1) (1) $5 off Advil AND ThermaCare Product printable Final price: $0.98 for both, or $0.49 each Candy Stick Fillers @ $0.25 each (bought 2) Used $2, $3 RRs, paid $1.52 OOP, Got back $5 RRs Transaction 3 Huggies Little Swimmers – $6.99 (bought 1) $2/1 Huggies Little Swimmers, exp. 6-11-11 (SS 05/15/11) $2/1 Huggies Little Swimmers, exp. 5-28-11 (Walgreens, May) Final price: $2.99 Get $2 Register Rewards WYB Scunci No Damage Hair Elastics @ – $2.00 (bought 1) Final price: FREE Candy Stick Filler @ $0.25 each (bought 1) Used $5 RRs, paid $0.89 OOP, Got back $2 RRs Transaction 4: Assorted Gummy Candy (Haribo, Troll, Black Forest), BOGO @ – $1.49 (bought 4) $0.30/1 Haribo Gummy Candy printable (no more prints) Final price: $0.44 each Candy Stick Filler @ $0.25 each (bought 1) Used $2 RR, paid $0.35 OOP_____________
Altogether, yesterday I spent $4.53 for $64.54 worth of drugstore merchandise, an average savings of 93% for the day.
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Shopping lists prepared at:
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Edwina May 23, 2011 at 5:31 pm
Hi there
I was interested in couponing so I youtubed it and landed on one of your videos and that led me here to your page. I really enjoy reading your blog and I find that a lot of times I agree with what you say. I live in Canada and I feel that the coupons here have less savings. I’m wondering if you have read or know of anyone who has experience in couponing in Canada. Thanks!
JenniferSanborn May 24, 2011 at 12:33 am
Hi Ruth! I found your videos yesterday and came back today to see how your drug store day went. I’ll be coming back daily. I’m really enjoying all of your tips.
I wish I would have saved that Purex coupon…I spent it already at Target and didn’t get the awesome deal you did.
Thanks for a great site!
Ruth May 24, 2011 at 8:52 pm
You’re welcome!
Mary Ledford May 24, 2011 at 12:43 am
Hi Ruth! I check in on your website daily now. I went to CVS today. I saved a lot! But, spent a lot too. I got $90.32 worth of items (Ragu, Arm and Hammer laundry detergent, Diet Coke, bottled water, Revlon nail polish, gum, Puff’s, Suave deodorant and body wash) but I still spent $28.91. I’d like to say I only spent $4.53, but I am happy with my purchase!!! Thanks!!! Mary
Ruth May 24, 2011 at 8:51 pm
Great job Mary!
tara May 24, 2011 at 2:08 am
Hey Ruth,
I love your videos on Youtub! Anyways, I’m not sure if each CVS is different but I was able to get 5 nail polishes on Sunday. I bought 2 in one transaction then rolled my ECB’s on my 2nd and 3d trans. I wound up with 5 nail polishes, 2 thermacare boxes and 1 gum for a total of $7.56 OOP with $12 ECB’s left over!!!
Ruth May 24, 2011 at 8:50 pm
Wow, that’s great Tara! I thought there was a limit of 1 but I guess not. Lucky you!
Avril May 24, 2011 at 2:47 am
Hi Ruth
the cashier said that it was the same manufacturer thats why it did not print. I did not really believe her b\c, it looked like it work for you. Please help what did I do wrong???
You did a fantastic job as usual. I went to my walgreens and tried to do the advil and Thermacare deal, however my register reward did not print when I purchase them
Ruth May 24, 2011 at 8:49 pm
I’ve had that problem occasionally with P&G products (sometimes they use the same code on both which fools the register) but I didn’t have an issue with this one. I’m not sure what went wrong! Did you ask the manager about it? Sometimes they will just give you cash back.
Rebecca May 25, 2011 at 7:31 am
Hi Ruth,
I also had a problem with this transaction, trying to be extra thrifty I got the bonus pack (same price, extra head pad). The RR wouldn’t print, I got the manager, who realized that the ad/deal was not designed to calculate the bonus UPC, which was put on the shelves likely after the deal was inputed into the Catalina computers. She was great, scanned the thermacare (non bonus–let me keep the bonus pack) and my RR printed. She said it happens a lot and ALWAYS ask to have them double check. When I first started, I didn’t realize that I couldn’t purchase an item with a RR coupon I got from the same item and I was upset!!! An 8.00 loss, so I looked online and found this link: http://frugalchicliving.org/catalinas/my-catalina-didnt-print/ I followed the advice and I got my 8.00 in the mail (coupon). Hope this helps.
Jesse May 24, 2011 at 12:00 pm
I have gotten myself confused. If I buy an item that has a RR, does that count as a coupon then or just when i use the RR to buy something next time? If I was going to buy 2 items. I had a coupon for one and the other had a RR. I was going to use 2 previous RRs to pay for it. How many fillers do I need. Thanks for your help, maybe I can get this through my head this time.
Ruth May 24, 2011 at 8:42 pm
It doesn’t count when you earn it, just when you redeem it. You would need one filler. Basically you need one “filler” for every register reward you are redeeming, keeping in mind that a filler could be ANY item (large or small) that you don’t have an additional MQ for. Does that help?
Jesse May 25, 2011 at 11:44 am
Yes, thank you very much. I appreciate you taking the time to answer these questions.
Kempy May 24, 2011 at 5:12 pm
Well, I think I have Walgreens figured out. I never do as well as you do Ruth but today was my best yet. I saved 68%. I spent $33.73 on $106.46 worth. I wish I could just make it work that well for me at the grocery. I did follow what you do for my milk this time. It was on sale and I used a RR from a previous transaction. That felt pretty exciting.
Also, I don’t think I will ever check out in the regular line again. The cosmetic girl was so fun and really helped me maximize my money even though I had it planned out (so I thought).
Ruth May 24, 2011 at 8:40 pm
Great job Kempy! Were you able to buy milk with your Register Rewards? It wouldn’t work for me on milk–I always have to use my ECBs at CVS instead. Maybe they changed the limitations to allow dairy. That would be awesome!
Kempy May 24, 2011 at 11:18 pm
I ended up spending $3 on the order with the milk so maybe it didn’t cover it. I was just happy I got that big of a discount.
Connie May 25, 2011 at 1:56 pm
Hi Ruth,
I too found you on youtube. I LOVE your blog – I have learned so much from you. After watching episodes of Extreme Couponing, I noticed almost every couponer said they picked up toilet paper for free and many of them had a huge stockpile. How do you get toilet paper for free? I’ve only run across .25 coupons and even doubled that doesn’t come close to the price of toilet paper. Any tricks you can share?