This week I tried really hard not to buy items for our stockpile, since we are doing a freezer/pantry challenge this month. I had planned to continue my stockpile shopping at CVS any way, since it usually doesn't involve food stuffs, but I really wanted to curb the rest of my extra spending. Overall I did well. Since I only buy meat on sale or marked down, that means that when it's on sale I need to buy it. This week was chicken. I'm am still really happy with my spending this week, and I am hoping that I can do as well the rest of the month. Here's how it breaks down this week...
- Monday's CVS Trip: $2.42 oop, Earned $5 ECB's, and $9 SavingStar Rebates
2 Dove Dry Shampoos $5.29 ea - $1.29 ea Sale - $3/2 Manufacturer Coupon (MC) +
2 Tresemme Dry Shampoos $6.79 ea - $1.79 ea Sale - $1/1 MC x 2 - $2.50/$10 Hair Care CVS Coupon - $5 ECB's when you buy (wyb) $15 - $3 Saving Star Rebate wyb 2 Dove Hair care - $1 Saving Star Rebate wyb 1 Tresemme Hair Care x 2 = 4/$0.50 (after ECB's and Rebates)
1 Ghirardelli Peppermint Bark $5.29 - $3.97 clearance = $1.32
1 Lindt Truffles $5.29 - $3.97 clearance = $1.32
2 bags Hershey Kisses $4.39 ea - $3.30 ea clearance - $1/2 CVS coupon = 2/$1.18 or $0.59 ea
5 photos $1.45 - $0.31 from 30% off CVS coupon = $1.14
2 Centrum Gummy Vitamins $7.99 ea - Buy One Get One 50% off $4 - $4/1 MC x 2 - $4 Saving Star Rebate = FREE + $0.02 Money-maker!
+ $0.98 Tax
- $18 ECB's used to Pay
Total OOP: $2.42, Earned back $5 ECB's and $9 Saving Star Rebates
- Monday's ALDI Trip: $21.64 oop
- Monday's Giant Trip: $33.04 oop
- Saturday's Dollar Tree Trip: $13.54 oop, Earned $1 Find and Save Rebate for purchasing $7 or more
Total Earned: $14
Total Remaining for January: $279.36
Linked to Couponaholic, I heart Publix, and many more...
Hi - I wrote a comment yesterday but is not here so maybe I didn't hit the publish button. I had a couple of questions - been following your family for a couple of years now and admire what you're doing with budgeting, Howard, balancing work and wife/mom life... but I had to ask why you lump non grocery items in your grocery budget? I have separate line items in my budget for personal and household and medicine/medical - it helps me with my grocery budget - breaking it out. Also I'm curious as to the CVS shopping this week - you only had an oop of $2.42 and had purchased an incredible amount - the Centrum's alone are very expensive. Not knocking you but I don't understand how to get it that low.
ReplyDeleteThanks for any enlightenment you can offer.
Thank you so much for following me along on my journey! It's nice to know that the stuff I type actually gets read. :) I lump everything together because it's just easier for me. I know a lot of people who separate out food from health and beauty, and household items. With couponing, especially at CVS, I sometimes get better deals being able to put everything together in one transaction, like if I had a $5/$30 purchase coupon. These total purchase coupons, plus manufacturer coupons, other CVS coupons, and the ECB's from the previous week all together saved me a ton of money. The vitamins at my store were $7.99 ea and on sale for buy one get one 50% off, plus I had 2 $4/1 manufacturer coupons from the newspaper. I can write out my CVS trips showing the coupons used, etc, if that would help you. I know when I first started couponing, I really liked it when people would type their transactions out. It helped to better clearly see how the sale + coupons + rewards programs worked together to save money. Let me know if you have been enlightened or if you have any more questions.
DeleteI'm still curious about the CVS purchase. I think, like you, I need to see it in black and white to figure out how it works. Thanks ever so much.
ReplyDeleteI wrote out my transaction as best I could above. If you have any questions, or want me to explain anything better, please don't hesitate to ask. Couponing can be very confusing in the beginning. Thank you so much for your interest! Make sure to check out my other weekly spending posts for more CVS trips!
ReplyDelete