Loot from CVS

I had $2.85, so I went to CVS to go shopping.

I had not shopped much at CVS during 2010 but at the very end of the year I had a small balance in our medical spending account to use up. (If you haven’t heard, you can no longer make over the counter purchases with these accounts.) I purchased a few items that earned me some Extra Care Bucks, or ECBs. I stopped by CVS with $10 in ECBs this morning.

To find deals at CVS, I read the CVS section at afullcup.com and I check www.iheartcvs.com for updates and coupon matchups.

This week, buying 2 Revlon tools or makeup earns you $7 in ECBs.

I bought a nail polish (boy, I remember when you could only get cheap black nail polish at Halloween!) for $5.49 and a 24-pack of Revlon brand emery boards for $3.29.

The total for the two Revlon items was $8.78. I had $10 in ECBs to spend, and I could have stopped there, but I would have forfeited $1.22 in ECBs, so I added two pairs of soft, cushy socks to the order to bring the total over $10. I could have bought just one pair, but I wanted one and grabbed a pair for my mom, too.

After handing over the ECBs from my last trip (shown as CVS MFR COUPON), I paid $2.85 for my loot.

The 2 Revlon items earned me $7 in ECBs to use next week, which printed at the bottom of my receipt:

CVS Extra Care Bucks

At some point before 2/5, I need to find something else in the CVS ad that I want/need that will earn ECBs. I’ll then use these $7 in ECBs to help pay for that purchase. By doing this on a consistent basis, I can pick up cheap things all the time.

I am just a small-time CVS shopper. I only buy what I will actually use and I tend to keep the amount of ECBs I have low. Some are much more into the shopping and buy things they have no use for and keep tons of ECBs that constantly have to be spent. I get a kick out of just keeping useful things around that I paid very little for.

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12 bags of Kraft shredded cheese

12 Kraft chunk cheese

3 pounds Johnsonville sausage links

3 boxes Nabisco crackers

10 tubes Pillsbury sweet rolls

8 tubes Pillsbury crescent rolls

6 Philadelphia Cream Cheese

3 French’s Mustard

dI went through the self-checkout 3 times and did 3 transactions each time – the final transaction is not pictured or tallied in as it was just a necessity item.

I used printable coupons only. I’ve included the links to the printables  I used.

The $5 Kraft Cheese OYNO Catalina Coupon ENDS TODAY. This deal will not work beyond TODAY, January 31, 2010.

Details on the Pillsbury OYNO Catalina:

Save up to $4 OYNO when you buy

Crescents, cookies, sweet rolls, Grands Bisquits, Grands Cinnamon rolls, Pie Crusts, dinner rolls, Loaves, Breadsticks or Pizza Crust

Between 1/25 & 2/21

Buy (4) & get $2 OYNO
Buy (5) & get $3 OYNO
Buy (6) & get $4 OYNO

If you aren’t familiar with Catalina OYNO Coupons, read this post.

If you need more information on the Meijer Mealbox Coupons, read here.

Transaction #1

6 bags of Kraft shredded cheese, $1.25 ea

$7.50

-$2 instant register savings when you buy 3

-$2 instant register savings when you buy 3

-$3:  (3)$1/2 Kraft Cheese coupon (Additional prints available at coupons.com use link to the right and help support my blog!)

Paid $5

Received $5 Catalina Coupon OYNO (Only good through 1/31, buy 5 Kraft cheese items, get $5 OYNO)

Transaction #2

3 Nabisco Snack Crackers $5.64

3 Crescent Rolls $3.75

1 Pillsbury Italian Bread $1.79 (grabbed on accident!)

2 Pillsbury Sweet Rolls $2.50

-$1: $1/2 Crescent Rolls

- $2: (2) .50/1 Pillsbury Bread(doubled)

-$1: Wheat Thin coupon (Become a fan on FB and get a $1 coupon!)

-$2: $2/2 Nabsico Snack Cracker

$1/3 Nabsico Snack Cracker Meijer Mealbox Coupon

Used $5 catalina coupon from previous order

Paid $1.66

Received $4 Catalina OYNO Coupon for purchasing 6 Pillsbury bread products

Transaction #3

6 Phildelphia Cream Cheese

$1.25 x 6 = $7.50

-$2: (2) $1/2 Meijer Mealbox Coupons

-$1: $1/4 Cream Cheese Coupon

= 4.46

Used $4 OYNO coupon from last transaction. Paid .46

Transaction #4

6 bags of Kraft shredded cheese, $1.25 ea

$7.50

-$2 instant register savings when you buy 3

-$2 instant register savings when you buy 3

–$3: (3)$1/2 Kraft Cheese coupon (Additional prints available at coupons.com, use link to the right and help support my blog!)

Used $5 OYNO Catalina from last purchase, earned another $5 OYNO Catalina

The machine actually gave me .04 to take this cheese.

Cost: -.04!

Transaction #5

2 Pillsbury Crescent Rolls $2.50

4 Pillsbury Sweet Rolls $5

3 Frenchs Mustard $3.87

1 Johnsonville Breakfast sausage $3.69

=$15.06

-$2: (2).50 (doubled) Crescent Rolls

-$2: (2) $1/2 Pillsbury Sweet Rolls

-.55 Johnsonville Breakfast Sausage

-$1 Johnsonville Sausage Meijer Mealbox Coupon

-$2.50 : (3) .50/1 French’s Mustard (2 doubled, 1 face value) also here

- $5 OYNO Catalina from last transaction

= $2.01

Received $4 OYNO Catalina for buying 6 Pillsbury Refrigerated Breads

Transaction #6

6 Kraft chunk cheese, $1.25 ea

$7.50

-$2 instant register savings when you buy 3

-$2 instant register savings when you buy 3

- $3: (3)$1/2 Kraft Cheese coupon (Additional prints available at coupons.com, use link to the right and help support my blog!)

-$4: $4 OYNO Catalina from last transaction

Received $5 Catalina Coupon OYNO (Only good through 1/31, buy 5 Kraft cheese items, get $5 OYNO)

= .96

Transaction #7

6 bags of Kraft shredded cheese, $1.25 ea

$7.50

-$2 instant register savings when you buy 3

-$2 instant register savings when you buy 3

- $2: (2)$1/2 Kraft Cheese coupon (Additional prints available at coupons.com, use link to the right and help support my blog!)

-$5 OYNO Catalina from last transaction

Received $5 Catalina Coupon OYNO (Only good through 1/31, buy 5 Kraft cheese items, get $5 OYNO)

=.96

Transaction #8

4 Pillsbury Sweet Rolls $5

2 Crescent Rolls

2Johnsonville Breakfast Sausage $7.38

-$2: (2)$1/2 Sweet Rolls

-$2: (2) .50/1 Crescent Rolls (doubled)

-$2: (2) $1/1 Meijer Mealbox Coupons

-$1.10: (2) .55 Johnsonville Sausage

-$5 Catalina from last transaction

=$2.78

Earned $4 OYNO Catalina Coupon

Total cash spent: $13.79

-$4 OYNO Catalina earned on last transaction

Net Cost: $9.79!

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The lengths I have to go to get cheap tea bags…

Deals:

(2) 40 ct. Wet Wipes Sale Price 2/$4

used (2)$1.50 coupons

Paid $1

Received $1 RR (Catalina Coupon) OYNO (for buying 2)

Net Cost: Free

2 Neosporin Lip Treatment (an overnight lip balm) Sale Price 2/$8

Used (2) $3 coupons

Paid $2

Received $3 OYNO RR (for buying 2)

Net Cost: $1 Profit

100 ct. Lipton Tea Bags, sale $2.99

1 Theraflu, $3.99

Used $2 coupon from coupons.com (use link to right to help support my blog!)

Paid: $1.99 for Theraflu, $2.99 for Tea Bags = $4.98

Received $4 OYNO for buying both

Net Cost: .98

2 6 oz. packages Chips Ahoy! cookies 2/$3

Received $2 OYNO for buying 2

Net Cost: $1

For more information about deals at Walgreens, please check out www.iheartwags.com

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Regular price for the 2 packages of Viva paper towel I got is $9.12, so $13.18 ain’t bad at all!

24 boxes of cereal

(2) 2-packs of paper towel

6 Coffee-Mate coffee creamer

Math:

I excluded items not pictured from receipts and calculations.

Meijer has a promotion this week: Buy Any 4 boxes of General Mills cereal and get $4 off instantly at the register. Also, those larger size boxes of Cheerios are on sale for $2.50.

I had (8) $1 coupons for Cheerios

I had (7) $1 coupons for Trix

I had (7) $1 coupons for Cinnamon Toast Crunch/Trix/Cocoa Puffa

I had (2) .75 coupons for Cocoa Puffs

I also had a store coupon for $4 off any 7 boxes of cereal. This was a catalina machine coupon. My husband seems to get them every time he uses an AMEX card at Meijer.

If you want to know what a catalina coupon is, read this post.

If you are looking for printable coupons for items on sale at Meijer this week, read this post.

8 boxes Cheerios at $2.50 per box = $20

7 boxes of Trix at $2.39 per box (regular price, not on sale) = $16.73

7 boxes of Cinnamon Toast Crunch at $2.75 per box (regular price, not on sale) = $19.25

2 boxes of Cocoa Puffs at $2.89 per box (regular price, not on sale) = $5.78

Subtotal: $61.76

(6x) – $4 off instant at register – $24

-$23.50 in Manufacturer’s coupons

- $4 store coupon stacked with Manufacturer’s coupons

= $10.26 for 24 boxes of cereal (roughly .42 each!)

Viva paper towel 2 packs, regular price $4.56

Sale Price $2.99

Used (2) $2 off any Viva 2 pack or larger Manufacturer’s coupons (no longer available for print)

= .99 each!

Coffee-Mate coffee creamer, .99 sale price

6x.99= $5.94

- (2) $1 manufacturer’s coupons

- (2) $1.50/2 manufacturer’s coupons

= .94/6, or about .15 each.

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Time to make Rice Krispies Treats!

7 Boxes Kellogg’s cereals, $2 ea

4 Nabsico 100 Calorie Packs, 3/$5

5 Bags Kraft Jet-Puffed Marshmallows, $1.45 ea.

2 cans Dole Pineapple, .99 ea

1 Gallon Milk

Subtotal: $29.89

(Free milk this week when you buy 5 boxes of Kellogg’s cereals!)

Used $1.50/3 boxes Frosted Flakes Printable coupon – $1.50

Used (2) $1/2 Rice Krispies coupons – $2

I had 2 Peelie coupons for 1 bag of marshmallows (up to $1.50) when you buy 2 Cocoa Krispies – $2.90

Used Store Coupon for $3/6 boxes of cereal (My husband got this randomly from the Catalina machine while purchasing office supplies.) Store coupons stack with manufacturer’s coupons, -$3

Used (2) $1/2 Nabisco 100 Calorie Pack coupons from a Back to School booklet – $2

Used (2) $2/2 Meijer Mealbox coupons for Nabisco 100 Calorie Packs – $4

Used (2) .50/1 cans of Dole fruit (Printable coupon, campaign now over.) -$1.98

= $12.49

Received $2 OYNO Kraft Catalina Coupon for buying 5 Kraft Marshmallows (This offer ends 1/2/10)

Net cost: $10.49

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Net cost $8.38!

Not the best photo, but what you are looking at is enough cheese to block up a small horse.

Details:

4 Kraft Cream Cheese, .99 ea.

4 Kraft Shredded Cheese, $1.49 ea.

8 Kraft Chunk Cheese, $1.49 ea.

4 Nabisco 100 Calorie Packs, 3/$5

Subtotal: $28.48

Used $5/$25 coupon from Meijer website (print campaign is now over.) -$5

Used (6) $1/2 Kraft Cheese newspaper insert coupons -$6

(Printable also available on the Kraft website, will print twice!)

Used (2) $1/2 Nabisco 100 Calorie Pack coupons from a Back to School booklet – $2

Used (2) $2/2 Meijer Mealbox coupons for Nabisco 100 Calorie Packs – $4

Used (2) .55/2 Kraft Cream Cheese Printable coupons – $1.10

$10.38

Received $2 OYNO Catalina Coupon for buying 4 Kraft Cream Cheese

Net Cost: $8.38

The Nabisco 100 Calorie Packs are a great deal just by using the Meijer Mealbox printable. Regular price $3.29, on sale 3/$5, – $2/2 = .66 ea!

Kraft cheese, regular price $2.37, on sale for $1.49, – $1/2 = $1.98/2 or .99 ea!

Kraft Cream Cheese, regular price $1.74, on sale for .99, -.55/2= $1.43/2 or .72 ea!

Buy 4 and receive $2 OYNO, net cost = .86/4 or .22 ea!

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Net Cost: $6.45

Details:Used $5/$25 grocery purchase. Coupon available at Meijer’s webpage for signing up for updates.

I got:

(2) 50 pack Hefty plates, on sale for $2 each, used .50 insert coupons which doubled, cost, $1 ea

(1) 2 liter Coke, $1 (Needed, part of 10/$10)

(3) Meijer brand sandwich bags, $1 ea., (Needed, part of 10/$10)

1 Meijer lunch bags, $1 (Needed, part of 10/$10)

(2) SunnyD Smoothie drinks, $1.49 ea, used .55/1 printable coupons, paid .94 ea.

(2) Betty Crocker potatoes, $1 ea, used .40 printable coupons that doubled. .20 ea.

2 Starbucks Ice Creams, $1 ea. Had $1/1 coupons, these were free.

2 Cole’s Garlic bread mini-loaf, 10/$10, used .50 printable coupons that doubled, free.

(4) Cans of Campbell’s chicken noodle soup .59 ea, used (2) .40/2 newspaper insert coupons that doubled, paid .76/4

(2) Cans of Campbell’s tomato soups, .59 ea. Used (1) .50/2 printable coupon and paid .18/2

6 boxes of Jell-O, .55 ea. Used newspaper insert coupon for $1.25/3, paid .80/6, plus got a $2 OYNO Catalina coupon from Kraft. Profit $1.20!

(2) boxes Crystal Light, $2 ea. Used $1/1 store coupons for each, paid $1 ea!

Subtotal: $28.92

Cost after coupons: $8.45

Received $2 OYNO Catalina coupon for buying 5 or more boxes of Jell-O

Net Cost: $6.45

For printable coupon matchups, see my weekly Meijer post here.

I messed up my order by buying SunnyD smoothies thinking they were part of the 10$10 deal. My order was $1.98 higher than I’d planned on.

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Total: $30.05*

Shopping Haul and price before coupons:

1 Gallon Canola Oil (no sale, just needed) $7.99

4 Strips of Red Star Yeast, $4.28

2 Bags Purina One Cat Food, $12.32

6 Coffee-Mate Creamer, $5.94

4 Betty Crocker Cookie Mix Pouches, $7.48

4 Betty Crocker Potato Boxes, $4

2 Boxes of Kleenex, $3.18

1 Meijer brand pasta, .59

3 Kraft Cheese Singles, $5.97

2 Ghiradelli Chocolate Chips, $5.98

2 Boxes Frosted Wheat, $3.76

8 McCormick’s Seasoning pouches, $4

1 bag of brown paper lunch bags, $1 (just needed.)

2 Pledge Wipes

8 Knorr Pasta/Rice kits, $7.12

2 lb. bag powdered sugar, $1.86

2 lb. bag brown sugar, $1.86

Subtotal, sale price for everything I purchased: $82.63

Total After Coupons: $30.05

*I was accidentally charged $3 for a check cashing fee by accident. I’ll have to take my receipt in for credit, so the amounts on the receipts are off.

A breakdown of some of the deals I took advantage of today…

Red Star yeast is FREE after coupons when you combine the $1/2 Meijer Mealbox coupon and this .35 coupon doubles. Free yeast really brings down the cost of all the bread I’ve been making!

I picked these up at a profit of $0.70!

On sale for $2.65, I used $1 Meijer Mealbox Coupon and the $1 Manufacturer’s coupon found here. After coupons I paid $1.30, and received a $2 OYNO coupon.

Unadvertised special! I found Coffee-Mate coffee creamer on sale for .99. I used $1.50/2 coupons from the Coffee-Mate website and paid a mere .24 for each. Just an FYI, many of the creamers you buy today from a large store like Meijer don’t expire for 3 months, so not a bad thing to stock up on!

The size on sale this week is the larger size, 22 slices of the 2%, 24 slices of regular. Sale price is $1.99. Get $3 OYNO WYB 3. That brings the net cost for this stack of cheese $2.97.

This is a coupon I’ll mourn when it’s expiry date rolls around 12-31-09. This is $5 off any bag Purina One size 3.3 pounds or more. Regular price of this cat food is $6.16. Price after coupon is $1.16.

I almost always grab 2 boxes of Betty Crocker potatoes per transaction when they are available at the $1 price they’ve been. .40 coupons are abundant on coupons.com, bettycrocker.com, coolsavings.com, and after doubling these potatoes are only .20/box.

I paid just .09 each for these!

Another instance of stacking a Manufacturer’s coupon and a Meijer Mealbox coupon.

Regular price, $1.87 x 2 = $3.74

-$1/2 Meijer Mealbox Coupon = $2.74

-(2) .40/1 coupon, doubled (found at coupons.com, bettycrocker.com, coolsavings.com) – $1.60

=$1.14, or .57 ea.

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I don’t think I’ll go back anytime soon. It may just be the location I went to, but the store was unorganized, unclean, and uninviting. Some of the lights flickered. It reminded me of the stock grocery store in every low budget horror film. I wondered to myself while shopping if this store was a physical manifestation of low self esteem as a retail outlet. Yeah, it was that bad.

Save A Lot has some manufacturer’s coupons on their website, so I went specifically looking for some of those things. I couldn’t find them.

I didn’t see any major savings at Save A Lot. Most of the off brand items are loaded with trans fat. I actually found lard for sale there. I hadn’t seen that for sale in years! I was a little skeered of the off brands to be honest, so I tried to stick with brand name items. In fact, after I’d seen a “breakfast pack” with raw bacon, raw sausage and hash browns bundled up, I was totally disgusted by the meat department. I mean, the hash brown potatoes were on top of the raw bacon. No thank you.

I picked up bread from a local distributor, chocolate milk from a local farm group, dish washing sponges, apples from a local packager, i.e. things I recognized from coming semi-regularly off a truck. If it weren’t for the 25% savings off the top with the store coupon, I would have turned around and just left. My cheapness trumped my pride, however, so I went through with it.

I feel bad posting this, because I know some loyal SAL shoppers. I can’t figure out why because I really didn’t see any savings there that weren’t in line with what you can find at Meijer or Kroger, or even WalMart, even without using coupons.

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Paid $6.35, got back $6

I bought:

2 I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter baking sticks, $1.69×2-(2).75 coupons = $1.88, received 2 catalina coupons for $2 each.

2 International Delight Pints. $1.64×2=$3.28-(2)$1 coupons = $1.28, received $2 catalina coupon.

I simply needed the bread and hot dog buns. No deal there.

Had I remembered to use the $1/2 Meijer store coupon in conjunction, I would have paid a mere $2.16 for the butter and creamer and received the $6 in return. I am purchasing these with a profit.

I was able to get multiple catalinas for the I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter sticks. Typically, it’s one per transaction but I read that someone else got multiples, so I took a chance.

Found additional $1 coupon for the butter here. This allowed 5 prints!

I printed the $1 International Delight coupon here.

The International Delight catalina does NOT roll. What this means is, if you use the $2 catalina coupon to purchase more creamer, another will not print.

The I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter catalina WILL roll. This means you can use the $2 catalina coupons to pay for additional quantity and still receive the catalina.

My little coffee creamer stockpile is starting to look respectable:

Goes along well with my little coffee stockpile:

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