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Sunday, November 7, 2010

sunday shopping 11-7-10

After taking a few weeks off from CVS, I just couldn't stay away any longer  I had a couple of rain checks leftover from the Oral-B Vitality toothbrush deal a few weeks ago that I wanted to use, and I had received a couple of coupons via email and regular mail that I figured I would use as well.  The only deal in this week's ad that I was really excited about was the BOGO raisins, but wouldn't you know it, when I got there, the raisins were all sold out!  I did grab a raincheck, though, because my girls can't get enough of those little buggers.  There are 4 CVS stores within 5 miles of my house, but there are two in particular that I really like.  One of those, I found out today, is ranked #7 for customer service out of all the CVS stores in the whole country.  No wonder I like it so much!

Walgreens was actually a lot of fun today as well.  I wasn't sure if all of my coupons and Register Rewards would work out the way I had planned, and the very nice cashier was more than willing to bear with me as I "tested the waters" with my first transaction.  Happily, everything worked out perfectly, and it was a great trip.

Here is what I got:


At CVS I spent $13.86 for $115.58 worth of drugstore merchandise, a savings of 88%.  I have heard it said that it is better to be lucky than good, and I was very lucky with my first two transactions.  The manager is very accommodating, and he not only happily accepted my 2 expired Oral-B vitality coupons, he also had no problem using the $5 off $30 coupon, even though the raincheck made the sale price $23.  But like I said, this store prides itself on customer service....and it shows!

Transaction 1
Bought :
1 Oral B Vitality Toothbrush ($32.99)
Used:
CVS Raincheck--sale price of $23 + $13 ECBs back
$5 off $30 purchase (CVS email coupon)
(1) $10 off Oral-B Vitality (Proctor & Gamble insert, 9/26 (expired 10/31))
Total Paid OOP: $9.26
Got Back: $13 ECBs

Transaction 2
Bought :
1 Oral B Vitality Toothbrush ($32.99)
Used:
CVS Raincheck--sale price of $23 + $13 ECBs back
(1) $10 off Oral-B Vitality (Proctor & Gamble insert, 9/26 (expired 10/31))
(1) Get $4 ECBs with a $20 purchase (CVS coupon, received in CVS Holiday Catalog Mailer)
$13 ECBs (from Transaction 1)
Total Paid OOP: $0.70
Got Back: $13, $4 ECBs

Transaction 3

Bought :
(2) Lysol Wipes
(2) Lysol Toilet Bowl Cleaner
(1) Lysol 4-in-1 Cleaner
Used:
(1) $1 off 2 Lysol Wipes (printable here)
(1) $1 off 2 Lysol Toilet Bowl Cleaner (printable here)
$13 ECBs (from Transaction 2)
Total Paid OOP: $.68
Got Back: $5 ECBs

Transaction 4
Bought:
(2) Disney Princess Vitamins
(1) Nuk Pacifier 2 pack
(1) CVS Green Bag Tag
Used:
(2) $1 off Disney Vitamins (Red Plum insert, 10/3)
$9 ECBs (from Transactions 2, 3)
Total Paid OOP: $3.22




At Walgreens, I spent $5.88 for $67.04 worth of groceries and drugstore merchandise, a savings of 92%.  I was all over the awesome deals on baking supplies.  In fact, I may have to go back for a few more cans of evaporated & sweetened condensed milk because those are great prices.  And the cornbread is a money maker!  (For the cornbread, I handed the 3 manufacturer's Qs to the cashier first, followed by the in-ad coupon, and the register had no problems accepting it.  There is a limit of 3 per transaction.)   I purposely went to a Walgreens that was right across from CVS because I knew they accepted competitor's coupons.  (Most Walgreens don't, but it is up to the manager's discretion.)  I started with $6 RRs leftover from last week, but if you are just starting out, you could just do Transactions 3 & 4 and end up spending only $3.25 OOP (may vary slightly depending on tax in your state).

Transaction 1
Bought:
(2) Reach Floss
(1) Revitalens Contact Solution
(1) Schick Xtreme 3 Razor (4 pack)
(3) Betty Crocker Cornbread Mix
Coupons Used:
(2) $1 off Reach Dental Floss (Red Plum insert 10/10)
(1) Reach Floss or Toothbrush for $0.99 (Walgreens in-ad coupon, automatically doubles for 2 items)
(3) $0.50 off Betty Crocker or Fiber One Muffin Mix (printable here, here, and here)
(1) Betty Crocker Cornbread 3/$1.00 (Walgreens in-ad coupon)
(1) $3 off Schick Xtreme 3 Razors (printable here)
(1) $6 Register Reward (leftover from last week)
Total Due OOP: $1.30
Got Back: $3, $4 RRs

Transaction 2
Bought:
(2) Reach Floss
(3) Betty Crocker Cornbread Mix
(1) Huggies Little Movers Diapers
(2) Carnation Evaporated Milk
(2) Eagle Sweetened Condensed Milk
(1) Libby's Pumpkin
(1) Filler (clearance halloween candy for $0.12)
Coupons Used:

(2) $1 off Reach Dental Floss (Red Plum insert 10/10)
(1) Reach Floss or Toothbrush for $0.99 (Walgreens in-ad coupon, automatically doubles for 2 items)
(3) $0.50 off Betty Crocker or Fiber One Muffin Mix (printable herehere, and here)
(1) Betty Crocker Cornbread 3/$1.00 (Walgreens in-ad coupon)
(1) $3 off Huggies Diapers (CVS coupon, received in mail)
(1) $2.50 off Huggies Little Movers (no more prints available)
(1) $.50 off 2 Carnation Evaporated Milk (Smart Source insert, 9/26)
(1) Carnation Milk, Kraft Marshmallows, or Libby's Pumpkin for $0.99 (Walgreens in-ad coupon)
(2) $.55 off Eagle Sweetened Condensed Milk (Red Plum insert 11/7)
(1) Eagle Sweetened Condensed Milk for $1.79 (Walgreens in-ad coupon)
$7 RRs (from Transaction 1)
Total Due OOP: $1.33
Got Back $0 RRs

Transaction 3
Bought:
(2) Reach Floss
(3) Betty Crocker Cornbread Mix

(1) Schick Xtreme 3 Razor (4 pack)
Coupons Used:


(2) $1 off Reach Dental Floss (Red Plum insert 10/10)
(1) Reach Floss or Toothbrush for $0.99 (Walgreens in-ad coupon, automatically doubles for 2 items)
(3) $0.50 off Betty Crocker or Fiber One Muffin Mix (printable herehere, and here)
(1) Betty Crocker Cornbread 3/$1.00 (Walgreens in-ad coupon)
(1) $3 off Schick Xtreme 3 Razors (printable here)
Total Due OOP: $3.03
Got Back: $3 RRs

Transaction 4
Bought:
(2) Reach Floss
(3) Betty Crocker Cornbread Mix
(1) Domino Sugar
(2) cans Libby's Pumpkin
(1) filler (clearance Halloween candy for $0.12)
Coupons Used:
(2) $1 off Reach Dental Floss (Red Plum insert 10/10)
(1) Reach Floss or Toothbrush for $0.99 (Walgreens in-ad coupon, automatically doubles for 2 items)
(3) $0.50 off Betty Crocker or Fiber One Muffin Mix (printable herehere, and here)
(1) Betty Crocker Cornbread 3/$1.00 (Walgreens in-ad coupon)

(1) Carnation Milk, Kraft Marshmallows, or Libby's Pumpkin for $0.99 (Walgreens in-ad coupon)
(1) $0.40 off Domino Sugar (Red Plum insert, 10/17)
(1) Domino Sugar for $1.79 (Walgreens in-ad coupon)
$3 RRs (from Transaction 
Total Due OOP: $0.22
Got Back $0 RRs




Altogether, today I spent $19.74 for $182.62 worth of groceries and drugstore merchandise, an average savings of 89% for the day.



12 comments:

  1. You are AWESOME!!! Oh girl...you have a gift, plain and simple! :) TFS!!

    PS - Did you get my FB message?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hey, I've been following your blog for a while - Love it! If you are looking for raisins, check Target. I found packs of 32 raisins in the Halloween stuff for 75% off ($.99) the other day! Thought that was a fab price!

    :-) Kelli

    ReplyDelete
  3. haha, ruth, I was looking for the details on what you got and how and thought oh no, she's not listing that anymore! hope you had a fun night with your hubby and i'll check back later to see your details!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I just found your blog and I love it. Ihave a question for you though....On your first CVS trans, you used the oral B Vitality coupon from the 9/26 P&G that expired on 10/31. Does CVS allow expired coupons because of the rain check?

    ReplyDelete
  5. Some CVS stores do accept expired coupons, and I think they were more lenient on this one because of the raincheck. It is up to the manager's discretion--some stores are 7 days, some are 30 days, some not at all--but this particular store I shop at has exceptional customer service.

    If you have an expired coupon that you want to use you can try calling the store first, especially if there is more than one in the area. I think it probably also helped that the manager there knows me because I shop there almost every week, and we have a great rapport.

    Hope that helps. Thanks for reading!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I love your Walgreens deal! I want to try similiar transactions but do you think other Walgreens would have an issue with the manu. Q saying "BOX muffin mix" since in this case they are in pouches?

    ReplyDelete
  7. Honestly, I don't know. I wasn't sure they would scan, and on my first transaction I told the cashier I wasn't sure they would work. So she tried it, and they scanned without a problem. I think the policy for most cashiers is that if the register accepts it, the coupon is valid. But be sure to do the manufacturer's Qs FIRST, otherwise the register might have problems accepting all 3.

    ReplyDelete
  8. P.S. Kelli-Thanks for the Target raisins tip! I think I may pop in this afternoon!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Wow! You did really great with your coupons! I hope after much practice, I'll be bragging about deals like these!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Wow, great shopping! I would like to invite you to link up your CVS shopping trips each week at Simply CVS.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Stopping back to say thanks for linking up your CVS shopping trip at Simply CVS.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Thanks for the scenarios. First time on your site and I love it!! thanks!

    ReplyDelete

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