Awesome CVS trip: $41.83 of stuff for $1.87 OOP

There's $41.83 worth of stuff in the above picture, and I paid $1.87 OOP for it all. Everything except the 3 packs of diapers were part of my $5 Charity Challenge and went to the USO here on base. I also threw in some extras from my stockpile to give away, so here is my final haul:
I threw in some sample boxes of cereal that I had gotten in the mail as I was running out the door. The ladies there seriously thought I was made of money when I told them I wanted to donate that stuff, and one lady's jaw actually dropped when I told her I pretty much get paid to "buy" them. And they even gave me a loaf of bread...I didn't know they give away bakery bread - I'll have to get my husband to pick up some after work every few days so we can make garlic bread.

I had an AWESOME day out today. I went to another CVS store that was just a tiny bit further than the other one, boy was it worth it. Even if it was 10 miles out of my way instead of a mile further down, I would make the trip anyway. They had a card scanner (I think some drool physically slipped out of my mouth when I saw it), and they even had a "Expectant Mother & Customers with Infants" parking spot. I was in my right mind to give that store manager a hug.

Here's the breakdown of my two transactions:

Buy 1 Alavert (12 - 15ct): $5.99
Buy 2 Colgate Total Toothpaste($2.69 each): $5.38
Buy 1 CVS Brand Mouthwash: $2.49
Buy 1 10pk Tissue: $1.00
Subtotal: $14.86
Use $2/$10 CVS coupon (-$2)
Use FREE CVS Mouthwash coupon (-$2.49)
Use $2 off Colgate Toothpaste CRT (-$2)
B1G1 free Colgate promotion (-$2.69)
Use 1 $1 off Colgate Toothpaste from card scanner (-$1.00)
Total after CVS coupons: $4.68
Use $4/1 Alavert printable (-$4)
Grand total: $0.68 + $0.10 tax = $0.78 (ECBs returned: $3 from Alavert)

Buy 3 Huggies jumbo pack ($8.99 each)
Subtotal: $26.97
Use $2/$10 CVS coupon (-$2)
Use 3 $1.50/1 Huggies coupons from mailers (-$4.50)
Total: $20.47 (use $10, $5, and $4 ECBs, paid $0.68 + $0.41 tax OOP)
ECBs returned: $5
Caregiver's Marketplace Rebate ($1 per Huggies pack): $3 by mail-in rebate

I just wanted to say take a second to thank Erin over at Coupon Cravings for starting the $5 Challenge. It seems I always had it in me to spend less than $5 (either OOP or in ECBs), but just never really had the motivation to do it. And by taking part in the $5 Challenge, I am also now actively donating, instead of just saying I'm going to do it.

Leslie over at the Healthy Hearth is having a giveaway of coupons - to enter, you have to post something positive you've done by couponing...which I definately have something to say about. By couponing, our family is able to give back which is very important to us. Without deals and coupons, we would not be able to do so on our extremely limited income.

I think this is something that I'm going to keep at every week. I have to pass by the USO at least 4 times on any errand-running day, so it's easy enough for me to pop in and drop a few things off. There's really no point in waiting until I have a huge box of stuff. This whole experience has enlightened me to how important couponing and deal-seeking is - not only can our families benefit from it, but we can also help others out in the process.