CVS and Walgreens Deals 03/29

**This is what my kitchen table looks like when I am plotting**

So the hubs and I had a discussion about budgeting and finances (We are big fans of Dave Ramsey and are small group facilitators for our 3rd session of FPU) and I proposed that I get $20 and only $20 a week for my drug store addiction. That way he can't accuse me of spending too much and I can't spend too much. See its a win-win.

We stopped by CVS on our way to FPU last night and I had James go in with me. I was going to attempt my first multiple transactions-transaction and I wanted his help. Here is what I got:

• Softsoap Ensembles, 1 kit $7.99 and 1 refill $3.99, used $2/1 and $1/1 coupons; paid with ECB's and OOP $0.75, earned $4.00 ECB's
• Paas Easter Egg dye kits(2), $1.99 ea.; earned $1.99 ECB's and
• Glade Sense and Spray $5.99, used $4/1 and earned $1 ECB
• Used $4 ECB from first transaction, paid $2.42 OOP

Ponds Towelettes $3.99, used $1/1

Ponds Cream $6.99, used $1.25/1

Used $1 and $3.98 ECB's from above, paid $3.70 OOP earned $5 ECB's from $10 worth of Ponds

So total OOP I spent was $6.87 and I have $5 ECB's left over

James seemed please with our transactions! For anyone that plays poker he likened it to raking in the pot after putting the bad beat on someone. You feel like you got away with something, but at the same time you can't help but smile.

Next we went to Walgreens after FPU. They are having a sale on printer cartridge refills, $7.50 and then there is a rebate for $7.50 in this months Easy Saver. We dropped those off and will get them later today.

Edge Shave Gel (hiding behind the Skintimate) on clearance for $2.39, paid $2.57 OOP, earned $3 RR

Quaker Granola Bars 2/$5 used 75 cent coupon and the $3 RR from above, paid $1.63 OOP and earned a $2 RR

Chapstick Naturals $1.99

Dawn $0.99 each

Skintimate Shave Gel $2.99

used $2 RR from above, paid $5.48 OOP earned $2 and $3 RR

Total Paid OOP $9.68 and I have $5 in RR

This transaction didn't go exactly as I had originally planned. I didn't know about the Edge being eligible for the RR, so we threw that in at the last minute. Then I forgot about doing the Skintimate separately and thought I had messed up and spent more money, but when I went home and did the math I actually did spend eighteen cents more, but I ended up with $3 more RR than I would have otherwise. So it all worked out. And I may have created a monster. I think James plans on going back and looking for more "free" shave gel!

My limited cooking skills

So for a week we've had crazy weather. Sunday it was 75 degrees, Monday we had tornado warnings and thunderstorms, yesterday it was cold and rainy and today its snowing. A lot. I had gone to bed thinking we'd wake up and it would be a blizzard and instead after the *sniff* upsetting KU loss, I woke up and was elated to see it was only raining. So I went to WW as normal, then came home and we all snuggled down on the couch to watch Fantasia 2000, then met up with some friends at Imo's for lunch and it was while we were at Imo's that the rain/slush mix turned to full on snow. By the time we made it home (after a pit stop at the grocery store) it was full on blowing snow. That pretty much sealed the deal that we wouldn't be going anywhere for the rest of the day. I decided to make a Easy-Cheesy Hamburger Quiche that my MIL gave me the recipe for (that's why the pit stop at the store, I needed more cheese...see Steph? You can never have too much cheese!).

It turned out fabulous and delicious and was perfect for this "snowy spring" day. Enjoy!

Easy-Cheesy Hamburger Quiche:

1 lb ground beef

1/2 C. mayonnaise

1/2 C. Milk (optional, but I used it)

3 eggs

1/2 t. salt

dash of pepper

2 1/2 to 3 C. grated, sharp cheddar cheese

1/2 C. chopped onion (eww gross this did NOT go in)

10" pie shell

Brown meat and drain. Blend mayonnaise, milk, eggs and seasonings. Add meat, cheese and (yick) onions. Pour into pie shell. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes or until knife inserted comes out clean. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.

Easy on the Budget~

**I would have a taken a picture of the final/cooked product except that my foil stuck to my crust like it always does and parts of it fell apart. And if I don't use the foil I burn the crust instead. So it was not picture worthy. I think I am going to start making home-made pie crust instead of using store bought, maybe that will help?

And finally a picture of what the little munchkin was doing while I was cooking:

CVS Savings Trip 2

This time I remembered to take a picture. James wanted to go to CVS to look at Vitamin C (which was BOGO) and I had some ECB's about to expire so it worked out well. I decided to go for the buy $20 of L'Oreal products get $5 ECB's and I happened to have a several L'Oreal coupons and they were having great sales on their products this week too. So here is the run down:

• L'Oreal Preference on sale for $6.99, used $2.00 off
• L'Oreal Ever Pure Hair Product $8.99, used $2.00 off
• L'Oreal Regenerist Skin (wipes?), $8.99, used $1 off, Earned my $5 ECB's here
• Crest Pro Health on sale $3.49, used $.50 off, earned $3.49 in ECB's
• Used $9 ECB's

OOP= $12.96

Total Saved= Saved $17.60

Earned= $8.49 in ECB's

So really I'm only paying $4.47 for all of that!

For an 85% savings!

Walgreens Run(s) 03/10

My new obsession continues. By now everyone with a kid in diapers knows about the Walgreen's diaper deal this week. In fact so many people know that I had to go to THREE Walgreen's to find diapers that would fit Lily. Don't worry they were all within a 3 mile radius of our house so I wasn't wasting gas to get there. Store #1 only had size 5/6 and store #2 was totally out. Store#3 had sizes 3/4 so I grabbed one of each. The only other requirement we had was the $15 rebate on Energizer rechargeable batteries.
At the second store I decided to go ahead and buy some of items on my list in case I got to the third store and they didn't have everything either. I took one picture of all the items together though:















So here is the break down
Store #2:

• 2 Glade Lasting Scent Fans $7.99 ea.; used 1 BOGO and 1 easy saver.
• 6 Garnier Fructuis products; on sale for $2.99 with $2.00 easy saver.
• 2 Coffeemate Creamers; on sale for $2.50 BOGO, used 2 $1.50 coupons from Sunday's ads; made $0.50 off that deal
• 1 Curling Iron cover; on clearance for $0.50

Total OOP: $12.74

Total Savings: $39.47

• 3 packs of 4 AA engergizer rechargable batteries (purchased by jameswearphotography.com)

Total OOP: $25

Rebate: $15 (plus 10% for getting a gift card)

Store #3:

• 2 packs of Huggies Natural Fit Diapers; $10 ea, used 2 $3.00 mfg's
• 1 184 count pack of Huggies Wipes; $6 ea, used $5.00 on any Huggies product mfg

Total OOP: $16.99

Total Savings: $15.97

Register Rewards Earned: $10 (from the Kimberly-Clark buy $25 get $10 RR deal)

Then on my way home from Jazzercise later that night I remember I had 2 $1.0o off for Garnier Fructuis products, so I went back to Walgreen's #1 and got 2 more products free and a curling iron for $5 (its not the best, but it was 7.99 with $2 off the easy saver and I need a cheap curling iron for when the Chi just won't cut it).

So there you have it. I put a few hours worth of research into the Walgreen's run (ok really it was like maybe an hour) but I feel pretty good about our purchases. I didn't buy anything we didn't need or won't use ever and between the CVS and Walgreen's run I have $18 to work with next week to get that "snowball" of savings rolling.

My New Obsession

The background:
I love stuff. Always have. And I love shopping; doesn't matter what kind. Sometime in college my grandmother started a new tradition. Instead of giving us just money or whatever new trendy (but totally worthless) item we had on our Christmas lists, she would give us a laundry basket or Rubbermaid tote filled to the brim with the essentials. Sometimes you got 6 tubes of toothpaste and 12 toothbrushes, 3 deodorants, toilet paper, paper towels, Glade plug ins, air fresheners,foil, coffee, sandwich bags etc. Just imagine; the best part about the baskets was going through them. Sometimes we traded items with one another, sometimes we "stole" items when the other wasn't looking. It got to the point where we expected these baskets, and if we happened to run out of toothpaste in early December we just started using the samples from the dentist;there was no point in buying a full tube, we knew we'd be getting some. Christmas 2008 was the first Christmas in years that she didn't do the baskets. It had become too much work, cutting the coupons, getting the best deals, driving from store to store, not to mention the fact she had a walk in closet that was just storage for everything she collected over the year. I really missed my basket.

Current State:
I have a new obsession; CVS/Walgreens/Target couponing (is it any wonder?). I discovered some other blogs about how much money you can save when you pay attention to the ads, the easy saver books, using your Extra Care Card, Register Rewards, Manufacturer's coupons and store coupons. I've never had the patience for all of that before. But in this weakening economy I'm starting to think it would be well worth the effort for a few hours/week of research. So I started this week. I've always had the Extra Care Card and I remember getting the coupons but I don't think I ever used one (gasp, I know its a sin to let one go to waste, its pure $$$).

On Sunday I grabbed a paper from the grocery store when I did the banana run. Then I sat down went through all the store ads and coupons (plus I had coupons I had printed online earlier in the week) and I matched up all the best sales with the best coupons. When I was done I had three adds, with items circled in black sharpie and the corresponding coupons clipped to them.

Sunday afternoon I dropped off a new prescription and transferred an old one from WAG (Wal-Greens). CVS gave me a $25 gift card for the prescriptions. Then I used my coupons and the CVS ads to buy the great sale items that also gave me the CVS Extra Care $$. Here is what I got:

• 4 12 packs of Coke Products $13; earned $3 ECB's
• 1 box Cheerios, 2 boxes of Nature Valley granola bars $10; earned $5 ECB's
• 1 Gallon 2% milk (just because we were out)

I spent the $25 gift card, used 2 $.60 off Nature Valley MFG's, $1.00 Cheerios's MFG. My total OOP expense was $1 (tax) and I earned $8 in ECB's!

Sounds like a winner to me. I wasn't quick enough to get a picture before the granola bars and half the Cheerios's had been consumed. We like our cereal and granola in the Wear house.

Mr. Mom

James current role is Mr. Mom. Because I am sick. With the stomach flu. There is nothing I hate more than puking. Lucky me, I only got morning sickness when I forgot to eat before bed. Two times that I can think of, one was in Las Vegas. We were watching the filming of the final table of the Bellagio Poker Classic, for the World Poker Tour so we had skipped dinner. By the time we ate it was 10pm and I was starving. The next morning I puked in the restroom of the Orleans Hotel. I'm sure every woman in that bathroom thought I was just hungover, and not 5 months pregnant. The other time was just a few weeks later, over Christmas break, I just felt icky and must have forgotten to eat because I found myself again head hanging over the toilet. Then a month after that I ate some cereal I thought might have tasted funny, and turns out the milk was bad. Three hours later when I was still puking and now thinking I was having contractions, we made a trip to the ER and they sent us straight up to the Maternity Floor. Where I proceeded to puke on the nurse that just 4 months later would help deliver Lily. Destiny was a great nurse! She taught me all about the self medicating epidural button.

Anyways, I hate puking. I'd rather do a lot of other things than puke. But ever since I had a baby, I get a tummy bug at least 2x a year. Must be daycare. My first day back at work after Maternity leave, I ended up leaving at lunch because I got sick. Turns out it wasn't jitters from leaving my baby at daycare. So I missed my first two days back at work. And of course Lily's had 3 bouts with the tummy bug. Her last one was last Friday. I thought she drank bad milk. As quick as the puking had come on, it ended. She started at 11pm and was sound asleep and no more puking by 1am. And she was all better the next day.

So when I went to bed Wednesday night I could tell something was wrong. My stomach hurt, like it hurts the day before a big test or interview. I didn't sleep a wink. Tossing and turning all night. James had to leave for work by 6am, because he was heading out towards Topeka. So I had to suck it up, get Lil up and ready for school and drive her there. I made it there and back. Then the sickness came on. I spent all day yesterday in bed, either reading, sleeping or surfing the web. James got Lily from school, picked up my requested chicken noodle soup and roll from Panera (which is still in the fridge because I started getting sick again). Then he fed Lily dinner, got her in her PJ's, helped her write her school Valentine's for today's party, got Lily in bed and asleep with no fussies, took a shower, then went to the store to pick up the frosted sugar cookies I was supposed to make from scratch, but purposely signed up for in case I couldn't because I know the store has great ones!

And they left the house this morning at 630 so he could get her to school by the time they opened at 7am so he could still get to work only a few minutes late. And he did all this while battling either a cold, allergies or a sinus infection. And not once did I hear a complaint out of him. He even said he'd be home early today and would take care of cleaning the kitchen and I shouldn't worry about it.

I love Mr. Mom!

Office Candy Stash

I think I just had one of those sugar rush-crash and burn-type of things. I started off the day fairly well. Had half a bagel with peanut butter for breakfast. My mid-morning snack was a WW twinkie worth just 1 point. And lunch was home-made chicken enchilada soup, with a few lime tortilla chips for the crunch factor. Then, I ate a cupcake. Two in fact. And I'm not going to lie they were gooood. I don't know if they were 10 points good, but none the less. Now I'm feeling tired, I have no energy. I.Want.More. I want another cupcake, some chocolate milk and M&M's.

And I have none. So I'm being a good girl, going back to my original plan for the day and eating my apple and mini bag of popcorn. But that's because I'm out of M&M's.

For the last 4 years I've had a co-worker who keeps her largest file drawer full to the brim of candy. Turns out she wasn't the one putting the candy there. It was another co-worker that left the company. So no more candy drawer.

And months ago someone at work gave me a 5lb! bag of red and green Peanut M&M's. I locked them in my desk. And they stayed there forgotten about for the most part, until someone had a bad day, then I got out the keys, we all stood around and ate a handful and locked them right back up. We've had this bag since Dec. It's fed more than 12 people in that time span. Then last week I got a wild hair and turned the M&M duties over to someone else. Because I have to start taking my keys home with me now. Because there are un scrupulous characters that like to steal products in development from my floor. But that someone else didn't follow the rules and left the bag out in the open on his desk. And then my co-worker M ate the rest of the bag yesterday. A 1/4 of a 5lb bag of M&M's. Gone. Bye-bye. She's the kind of girl you love to hate. She eats a lot. Bad food too. Deep fried Mexican food. Ice cream every day. Whole (gasp) milk in her latte. And she tips the scales at a big bad 115lbs.

Life's not fair. I've got to Jazzercise my tush off tonight. No low impact for me. Its high impact all the way.