Okay, here’s the breakdown:

2 Bags of Chex Mix- on sale for $1.00 each

*Used two $1/1 coupons HERE (thanks Money Saving Mom!)

FREE after coupons

Revlon Nail Color- buy 1 at $3.99 get $3 ECB’s back (Sun. & Mon. only)

*Used $2 off coupon that printed on my last CVS receipt

Right Guard Xtreme Deodorant- buy 1 at $2.99 get $2 back

*Used $1 off coupon in 8/10 SS insert

20 oz. Cherry Coke

*I planned on buying milk, but they didn’t have any expiring. My hubby was with me, and really wanted a drink, so I allowed a splurge since we needed a little over a dollar to be able to use my $2/$10 coupon.

*Used $2/$10 coupon (scroll down toward bottom)

Total after coupons: $3.81 (I used a gift card, so no money out of pocket!)

ECB’s earned: $5.00

So, now I have an extra $1.19 to spend, and some stuff I could use. Good deals! Keep your eyes out for expiring milk!

3 Gallons of milk for $2.44!

It has been a long time since I’ve gone CVSing. I believe it was in June when I last went. I just haven’t really had any extra money to spend, and I used up all of my ECB’s before they were to expire. But after the past few weeks of me and the kids being sick, I was able to benefit from having to fill prescriptions, by using two “Free $25 Gift Card with Prescription Transfer” coupons. So, now I have $50 in CVS gift cards to spend. And I want to spend them wisely, squeezing every last penny of them!

Sunday was the perfect time for me to go and start CVSing again, with the awesome freebies they had (hope you were able to get in on them!). I also scanned the milk case, and found several gallons that were expiring. I got three of them, since I knew I didn’t have room for more in my freezer. I also got the Cover Girl Wetslicks AmazeMint (free after ECB’s). So here’s how it went down:

Used these coupons for Cover Girl Face Makeup and Outlast Lipcolor = FREE

Used $1 off any Cover Girl coupon from Sept. P&G (for the Wetslicks) = FREE plus $1 overage (after ecb’s)

Milk 3 gallons for $1.99 each

Used $2/$10 coupon

My total out of pocket: $8.43

ECB’s earned: $5.99

So, it’s like I got the three gallons of milk for $2.44!! That’s awesome!

But I’m such a dork! I guess I’ve been out of it too long, I made a couple of mistakes. First of all, I only got one Outlast Lipcolor, instead of two! So, I got one free, but I should have gotten two. Bummer! And I totally blew it and used cash instead of the gift cards. Ugh! Oh well. So, now I have some ECB’s to start rolling, and my $50 GC still. I’m going to try to not use any more cash out of pocket! I’ll have to pay more attention next time!

Better late than never!

Cover Girl AquaSmoothers Face Makeup- B1G1

Use Cover Girl Foundation B1G1 coupon from Aug P&G insert (expires TODAY!)

Makes this FREE!

Plus…

Cover Girl Outlast Lipcolor- B1G1

Use Cover Girl Lip Product B1G1 coupon from Sept. P&G insert (expires 9/30)

Makes this FREE!

A while back, I reported visiting a CVS in town and finding that they had milk for 1/2 off. They had a note taped to the door of the refrigerator that said “Milk expiring within 3 days is half off”. Of course I dug through the fridge to find every gallon of milk that was expiring, and ended up freezing like 4 gallons!

A couple of days ago, I was in another CVS, and just out of curiosity I looked to see if they had any milk expiring in 3 days. They did… they had one gallon, just for me! But they didn’t have any kind of sign advertising the “deal”. So, I went up front and asked to speak to a manager. They called him up, and I told him about the other CVS’s deal, and asked him if they do the same thing. He told me, “We do, but we aren’t supposed to be advertising it.” I said, “Great!” and went to fetch my gallon. It cost me $1.99 (plus $.04 tax).

I thought I’d let you guys know about this, so that you could see if your local CVS is doing the same thing. I don’t know if it’s regional, or what, but it’s worth asking about! I’m going to keep my eye out from now on for expiring milk at CVS, and hopefully I won’t have to keep paying almost $4/gal. any more!

And if you find a lot for a good deal, remember you can always freeze it (remember to pour a little out first to make room for expansion); and you can also add a pinch of salt to make it last about a week longer. Happy hunting!! For more money saving ideas, visit Crystal for Frugal Friday.

I’d be interested to hear from those of you who have found that you can or cannot get this deal at your CVS.

Finally – a few more CVS deal scenarios! Here are a few CVS deal scenarios for this week:

Transaction #1
Oral B Stages Power Toothbrush $5.99 (earn $3 ECB’s)
Oral B Stages Power Toothbrush $5.99 (earn $3 ECB’s)
Listerine Smart Rinse 250 ml $3.49 (earn $3.49 ECB’s)
Total before coupons – $15.47
BOGO Free Oral B coupon (P&G 6/1)
$1 off Listerine coupon (RP 4/27 or printable )
$3/$15 coupon
Total After Coupons: $5.48
Total ECB’s Earned: $9.49
______________________________________________
Transaction #2
Alavert Product (make sure to buy 2) $6.99 (earn $5 ECB’s)
Alavert Product $6.99
CVS Pharmacy Sheer or Plastic Bandages 40 ct $1.99 (earn $1.99ECB’s)
Total before coupons – $15.97
$4 off Alavert coupon (printable )
$4 off Alavert coupon (printable )
$3/$15 coupon
Total After Coupons: $4.97
Total ECB’s Earned: $6.99
______________________________________________
Transaction #3
Almay Mascara $6.99 (earn $5 ECB’s)
Sally Hansen Color Quick Nail Color Pen $7.99 (earn $5 ECB’s)
CVS Pharmacy Sheer or Plastic Bandages 40 ct $1.99 (earn $1.99ECB’s)
Total before coupons – $16.97
$1 off Almay coupn (3/9 or 5/18 inserts – not sure which ones)
$2 off Sally Hanson coupon (3/30 insert – not sure which one)
$3/$15 coupon
Total After Coupons: $10.97
Total ECB’s Earned: $11.99

Let me know if you see any errors or if you have any suggestions!

1st Trip: My Total: $1.18

Total ECB’s used: $41.63

ECB’s earned: $38.27

Coupons used:

$3/$15 CVS

$10/$50 CVS (catalina)

$4/1 Schick Quattro Razor (5/4 RP)

$4/1 Gillette Venus Razor (5/4 PG)

*Just found at money saving mom, coupon for Tums QuikPak: Use $1/1 coupon in 5/18 S insert plus send in for full rebate in the same insert.

So, I lost about $3 ECB’s this trip, but it wasn’t too bad. I got some tanning lotion that I needed, but I saved money buying it this way. Most of these were monthly deals. The razors are earning $3 ECB’s this week (May 18-24). They were out of some of the other things I wanted to get. Oh well.

2nd Trip: My Total: $0.81! Wow!

ECB’s used: $25

ECB’s earned: $13.37 (lost a few this time due to my mistake!)

Used $10/$50 CVS (catalina)

Used $3/$15 CVS

Used (2) B1G1 Sobe coupons here

*buy 2 Sobe’s get $1ecb’s. $1.49 each before coupon.

Used (2) $1/1 Edge coupons here

*on sale $1.88

Used $1/1 Aquafresh Coupon here (used for travel size .99 each)

Used KY Yours & Mine $5 coupon here

*These are $19.99, but you get $10 ecb’s back. As you can see, I got the wrong kind, and lost my ECB’s! Bummer!! I think I’ll try to exchange it tomorrow.

Used $2/1 Schick Razor Coupon from 5/11 S insert. Trial size are $0.99, plus got overage!

*I just found a B1G1 coupon for ANY size Schick Razors in the 4/22 SS insert! You may be able to use it with the above deal.

You may be wondering why in the world I bought so much milk! Well, as I was browsing the refrigerated section, I noticed a little sticker on the milk case that said, “50% off milk expiring within 3 days”. So, hoping I’d get lucky, I looked in the case and sure enough I found 4 gallons that were expiring in two days! So, I got them for $1.94 each. Yay! They went into my freezer for future use. That was the best deal yet! From now on I’m going to go straight to the milk section to look for more expiring milk!

Thanks to Money Saving Mom for some of these coupons! You can still get these deals, so go get ‘em!!

At about 30 min. till 10pm I realized that I had $5 in ECB’s that were going to expire today. Oh no! 5 bucks… I can’t let 5 bucks go to waste! So, I threw together some coupons and ran out the door. I rushed through the store, and happily was able to find everything I was looking for. Just these three things. I hadn’t really had time to put together a better shopping trip. Oh well.

As I checked out, the total sounded a little high, but I thought, I guess I just miscalculated or something. It came to $10.02. I used $7.79 in ECB’s and paid $2.23 cash. The cashier handed me my receipt and as I walked towards the door I scanned it to make sure all of my ECB’s had printed out. Oops, uh-oh, I’m missing ECB’s. So, I turned around and said, “Uh, some of my ECB’s didn’t print out.” As the cashier looked over my receipt, and reviewed the weekly flyer, he concluded that I had purchased the wrong kind of toothpaste. I told him that the tubes I chose were right above the tag advertising $2 ECB’s with purchase. Another worker went back to the toothpaste aisle to verify. He came back a minute later and announced that the tag was in the wrong place. I began to worry that I’d just lost my ECB’s I’d used.

The young cashier assured me that I would get store credit or something back for them. He just wasn’t sure how to go about refunding me. As they began locking the store up, the older man there working took over. He quickly became confused and they both stood behind the register trying to figure out how to do this. Then the older one decided he was going to refund the whole transaction, and give me my coupons and ECB’s back to start over with. After voiding everything out, he next concluded that it made perfect sense for him to give me the total amount before coupons back in cash. So, he took $22.xx and handed it to me. Confused, I tried to interrupt to tell him that I didn’t think that was right, but he cut me off and hurriedly tried to explain his theory. I closed my mouth, and stood patiently as they tried to get it right. After he re-rung everything up, and took my coupons and my $5 ECB, my total came to $2.01. He took the $2.01 from that $22, and then handed me my corrected receipt along with almost 20 dollars!

Now, of course I knew this wasn’t right. All I’d paid the first time was $2.23 out of pocket, and now he was trying to give me $20 back? I politely said, “This isn’t right. I only gave you $2.23 to begin with. You need to subtract that $2.01 from the $2.23 and that should be my change. This is too much.” He looked at it for a moment, and then realized his mistake. I gave him the cash back, and he gave me my correct change. I have to say that for a split moment, a very split moment, it occurred to me that I could walk out of there with a hefty profit. But I didn’t give it a second thought. No way would I do that. Satan, don’t even try it!

I checked over my new receipt and found that my ECB’s were all there. I apologized for the trouble, and thanked them for their patience. As I was just about to turn to walk away, the cashier handed me the ECB’s that printed out on my first, incorrect receipt. Cool! So, along with my $6 ECB’s for the razor, and $4 ECB’s for the toothpastes, I got an extra $6 ECB’s. Plus, I got two $10/$50 coupons. Even though it was a lot of trouble, it was worth it to spend that expiring $5.

May 4th Trip:

Total Out of Pocket: $4.31

ECB’s used: $20.96

ECB’s earned: $22.48

This took three transactions. Here’s what I did:

Transaction 1:

Pampers Jumbo Pack $8.99

Kandoo Hand Soap $

*Used $2/2 Pampers and Kandoo products coupon (4/6 PG, 5/4 PG)

Gillette Venus Razor $9.99

*Used $4/1 (5/4 PG)

2 CoverGirl Volume Exact Mascara’s BOGO $7.49

*Used $2.50/2 (5/4 PG)

Skin Effects Starter Kit $7.99

(prices starting at $6.99, they were out of those so I got this)

*Used $5/1 CVS coupon (expired 5/4)

*Used $2/1 CVS coupon (from Reinventing Beauty Book; these coupon pamphlets are also found in stacks on the counter in the store.)

Johnson’s Buddies Soap $.99

*Used $1/1 (4/27 RP), there are also printable coupons HERE

Kiss French Tip Nails $5.99

*Used $1/1 CVS catalina (printed out on a previous receipt)

Children’s Zyrtec $6.99 (Okay, I messed up on this. I got the wrong thing. I was supposed to get the Zyrtec D, to earn $3 ECB’s. Oops! Oh well. The coupon is good on any product though.)

*Used $4/1 (3/30 S)

Total (w/out coupons) Before Tax: $51.42

*Used $10/$50 CVS catalina

*Used $4/$20 CVS

*Used $3/$15 CVS (thanks Crystal!)

*Used all above listed coupons

*Used $11.97 ECB’s

My Final Total: $1.94

ECB’s Earned $5 (plus on my way to earning more for the Kiss nails and the Skin Effects.)

Transaction 2:

Dawn Dish Soap $.88

*Used $.25/1 (4/6 PG)

Charmin Ultra Soft 12 pk $5.99

*Used $.25/1 (4/6 PG, 5/4 PG)

OraPik Traveler Pack $2.79 (monthly deal)

Tums QuickPak $4.69 (monthly deal)

* I just found a $2.50 coupon HERE for this. Wish I knew about it before I bought this!

Skin Effects $6.99

*Used $5/1 CVS

*Used $2/1 CVS

Total Before Tax and Coupons: $21.34

*Used $4/$20 CVS

*Used $3/$15 CVS

*Used all other coupons

*Used $5 ECB’s

My Final Total: $2.00

ECB’s Earned: $7.48

Transaction 3:

Bliss Chocolates $2.99

*Used $1/1 from Reinventing Beauty pamphlets (found in store)

Kiss French Nails $5.99

Skin Effects $6.99

*Used $5/1 CVS

*Used $2/1 CVS (from Reinventing Beauty pamphlets)

Kiss French Nails $5.99

Total Before Tax and Coupons: $15.97

*Used $3/$15 CVS

*Used $3.99 ECB’s

My Final Total: $.37!!

ECB’s Earned: $10

So, I came home from shopping skipping and giddy. Pretty pleased with myself! And of course, praising God for such a blessing! ( I had prayed that it would be a good trip before I went. Isn’t the Lord so wonderfully faithful?!)

Here’s the scoop from Steph:

Skin Effects – 5 ECB when you buy $20 worth of Skin Effects [limit 1]. This doesn’t look like the best deal, however, there is a $5 off CVS coupon that you can print here as well as a $2 manufacturer coupon in the Beauty Handbook found at CVS (I posted about this here under transaction #2). The rule is you can use 1 CVS coupon and 1 manufacturer coupon for each item, so you can use both these coupons on each item you buy. There is a foaming facial cleanser and a facial scrub that are $6.99 each, making this a freebie after coupons. BUT, you can’t use 2 similiar CVS coupons in a single transaction because it’ll beep, meaning you would have to buy this in 3 different transactions in order to get over $20. It would look like this:

Skin Effects foaming facial cleanser or facial scrub = 6.99
- $5 CVS SE coupon
= 1.99 + tax
- $2 manufacturer SE coupon
= -0.01 + tax (comes out to 11 cents for me)

Do this 3 times and after the 3rd transaction, your 5 ECB will print out. Now, make sure to leave enough time between transactions for the system to update. You’ll probably also want to leave enough time for the cashier to not remember that you’ve already used a CVS Skin Effects coupon because they’re supposed to be one per customer but they usually don’t care and don’t call you out on it unless you’re using it 20 times over and over. Normally, I’d say spread this out over the next week but the CVS coupon expires today, the 4th, so I’m going to do it all today. CVS coupons don’t beep until about 2 weeks after they’ve expired but it’s up to your cashier if they want to accept it or not after today.

See her whole article on May 4-10th CVS deals HERE

Here are a few CVS deal scenarios for 5/4 to 5/10. Let me know if you see any errors or if you have any suggestions! Check out more scenarios at Money Saving Mom.

Transaction #1

Garnier Nutrisse or 100% Color – $5.99 (earn $2 ECB’s)
Exedrin (100 ct.) – $5.99 (earn $2 ECB’s)
Colgate 360 toothbrush – $3.99 (earn $3.99 ECB’s)

Total Before Coupons: $15.97

$3 off Garnier Nutrisse Haircolor coupon (3/9 SS or 5/4 V insert)
$2 off Exedrin coupon (printable )
$1 off Colgate coupon (4/27 SS insert)
$3/$15 CVS coupon *

Total After Coupons: $6.97
ECB’s Earned: $7.99
______________________________________________

Transaction #2

Benefiber Chewable Tablets (36 TB) – $6.69 (earn $3 ECB’s)
Venus Razor – $9.99 (earn $5 ECB’s)

Total Before Coupons: $16.68

$2 off Benefiber coupon (4/13 SS insert)
$4 off Venus razor coupon (5/4 P&G insert)
$3/$15 CVS coupon *

Total After Coupons: $7.68
ECB’s Earned: $8.00
______________________________________________

Transaction #3

Kiss/Broadway Nail Product – $1.99 (earn $5 ECB’s WYB 2)
Kiss/Broadway Nail Product – $1.99
York Mints, Breathsavers or Ice Breakers – $1.50 (earn $2 ECB’s WYB 2)
York Mints, Breathsavers or Ice Breakers – $1.50
Gilette Body Wash – $3.99 (earn $2 ECB’s)
Colgate 360 toothbrush – $3.99 (earn $3.99 ECB’s)
Filler (something to put you over $15)
Total Before Coupons: $14.96

$1 off Colgate coupon (4/27 SS insert)
$3/$15 CVS coupon *

Total After Coupons: $10.96
ECB’s Earned: $12.99

May Monthly Deal Scenarios

Transaction #1

Aquafresh Toothpaste – $2.99 (earn $2.99 ECB’s)
Aquafresh Toothpaste – $2.99 (earn $2.99 ECB’s)
Tums Quik Pak 24 ct – $4.69 (earn 4.69 ECB’s)
Tums Quik Pak 24 ct – $4.69 (earn 4.69 ECB’s)

Total before coupons: $15.36

$1.50 off Aquafresh coupon (4/6 SS)
$1.50 off Aquafresh coupon (4/6 SS)
$1/2 Tums coupon (3/16 Smart Source insert)
$3/$15 CVS Coupon *

Total After Coupons: $8.36
Total ECB’s Earned: $15.36
______________________________________________

Transaction #2

Aquafresh Toothpaste – $2.99 (earn $2.99 ECB’s)
Orapik Traveler – $2.79 (earn $2.79 ECB’s)
Orapik Traveler – $2.79 (earn $2.79 ECB’s)
Orapik Traveler – $2.79 (earn $2.79 ECB’s)
Colgate 360 clean or deep clean toothbrush – $3.99 (earn $3.99 ECB’s)

Total before coupons: $15.35

$1.00 off Colgate Coupon (4/27 SS)
$1.00 off Aquafresh coupon (4/6 SS or printable )
$3/$15 CVS Coupon *

Total After Coupons: $10.35
Total ECB’s Earned: $15.35
______________________________________________

Transaction #3

Colgate 360 clean or deep clean toothbrush – $3.99 (earn $3.99 ECB’s)
Colgate 360 clean or deep clean toothbrush – $3.99 (earn $3.99 ECB’s) CVS Non Drowsy Allergy Relief 5 ct – $3.79 (earn $3.79 ECB’)
CVS Non Drowsy Allergy Relief 5 ct – $3.79 (earn $3.79 ECB’)

Total Before Coupons: $15.56

$1.00 off Colgate Coupon (4/27 SS)
$0.75 off Colgate Coupon (3/30 SS)
$3/$15 CVS Coupon *

Total After Coupons: $10.31
Total ECB’s Earned: $15.56
______________________________________________

Transaction #4

CVS Non Drowsy Allergy Relief 5 ct – $3.79 (earn $3.79 ECB’)
Freestyle Lite or Freedom lite glucose meter – $10.00 (earn $10 ECB’s) Life Fitness Energy Gum – $2.49 (earn $1 ECB)

Total before coupons: $16.28

$3/$15 CVS Coupon *

Total After Coupons: $13.28
Total ECB’s Earned: $14.79

*if you can’t get a $3/$25 CVS coupon, you could use a $2/$10 CVS coupon found in the purple CVS pamphlet (usually near the pharmacy).