I decided to go to CVS tonight instead of tomorrow morning, since I need to go to AAA tomorrow and it's in the opposite direction of CVS. I also had to go pick up the 5 loads of laundry that my dear husband agreed to fold while he was stuck there all day on duty, so I swung by CVS beforehand. Since I posted my scenarios on Saturday, I decided to make a minor change - I decided to get one tub of coffee instead of two. Hubby's ceramic jar of coffee was nearly full, so I got a single tub to minimize my OOP. $2.99 isn't a mega super sale and it'll surely be back again soon.
It was a great trip overall because everything went according to plan and I got four little surprises. I found a big bottle of 16oz Sunsilk conditioner when every other bottle was 12oz. For the Gilette Fusion, I found a special purchase pack that came with small bottle of shaving gel. Same price, same razor, same amount of cartridges...just had an extra bottle of shaving gel. The third surprise was that the CoverGirl Clean makeup printed $5.79 in ECBs, and the purchase price was $5.49. I had a $1/1 coupon, so that's a $1.30 moneymaker, not counting the fact that I used a $3/$15 coupon. And finally, the CoverGirl LipSlicks were $3.39 at my store, and not the $3.99 that they were advertised for on the website.
Here is the complete breakdown of my two transactions:
Transaction #1 Also my $5 charity challenge of the week!
Buy 2 CoverGirl LipSlicks ($3.39 each): $6.78
Buy 1 Sunsilk 6.72 oz hair mist: $3.50
Buy 1 Sunsilk 16 oz conditioner: $3.50
Buy 1 filler item - carbiner clip: $0.33
Subtotal: $14.11
CVS CoverGirl promotion B1G1 50% (-$1.70)
Use $3/$15 CVS coupon (-$3.00)
Use $1/1 CoverGirl coupon (-$1.00)
Use B1G1 CoverGirl lip coupon (-$3.39)
Use 2 $1.50/1 Sunsilk coupon (-$3.00) One is for styling aid, the other one is for shampoo/conditioner
Grand Total: $2.02 (use $2.00 ECB)
OOP expense: $0.02 + $0.59 tax = $0.61
ECBs returned: $2.00 (Sunsilk)
I'm aware that my subtotal is under $15, but I didn't notice this until I was typing it up. I think what threw it off was that I had planned to buy some 3 $0.99 Dawn dish-soap but took the wrong coupons
with me to the store. I realized this at check-out after the clerk had already scanned the $3/$15. I asked her to take them off, and I guess the system allowed it. My mistake. Sorry CVS, I owe you $0.89. That's okay, because you still owe me a L'Oreal Revitalift.
The store that issued me the IOU still haven't given me the product after a week, so I've contacted customer care about it and am waiting on their reply. It was so nice of the manager to come up with a creative "rain check" method, but it's not cool that I haven't gotten what I paid for after a whole week when she promised me I would have it in 2 days. Not cool at all.
Transaction #2
Buy 1 CoverGirl Clean Liquid Makeup: $5.49
Buy 1 Folgers coffee: $2.99
Buy 1 Gilette Fusion: $9.99
Subtotal: $18.47
Use $3/$15 CVS coupon (-$3.00)
Use $1/1 Covergirl coupon (-$1.00)
Use $0.25/1 Folgers coupon (-$0.25)
Use $4/1 Gilette coupon (-$4.00)
Grand Total: $10.22 (use $10.00 ECBs from last week's Cottonelle/diaper deal)
OOP expense: $0.22 + $0.25 tax = $0.47
ECBs returned: $5.79 (Covergirl) + $5.00 (Gillette Fusion) = $10.79
Merchandise total: $32.58
Total OOP: $0.61 + $0.47 = $1.08
Total ECBs left for next time: $2.00 + $5.79 + $5.00 = $12.79
Total ECBs spent: $12.00
I'm super happy with my results today, especially since I managed to profitably get rid of my $10 ECBs from last week's Cottonelle/diaper deal. I like low value ECBs and often find myself scratching my head on how to use up $5 ECBs, so I was really sweating having that $10 ECB in my hands. But I managed to use it up profitably and on things that we need in the house too, so I'm happy. Razors and coffee are major thorns in my side since my husband uses so much of both, but we should be set for a while now.
Since I saved $31.50 (Merchandise total minus OOP) on today's CVS trip, I'll be sure to donate 10% of it (or $3.15) to charity. I'm doing a little personal charity challenge where I'll be taking 10% of my savings and making sure that it goes to charity, whether it's in the form of a monetary or merchandise donation. $3.15 is definately not a lot, so I might be upping the 10% later, but since this is the first week that I'm trying it out I wanted to start on the safe side. It's so easy to start a personal charity challenge and donate a percentage of your savings back to your community...!
It was a great trip overall because everything went according to plan and I got four little surprises. I found a big bottle of 16oz Sunsilk conditioner when every other bottle was 12oz. For the Gilette Fusion, I found a special purchase pack that came with small bottle of shaving gel. Same price, same razor, same amount of cartridges...just had an extra bottle of shaving gel. The third surprise was that the CoverGirl Clean makeup printed $5.79 in ECBs, and the purchase price was $5.49. I had a $1/1 coupon, so that's a $1.30 moneymaker, not counting the fact that I used a $3/$15 coupon. And finally, the CoverGirl LipSlicks were $3.39 at my store, and not the $3.99 that they were advertised for on the website.
Here is the complete breakdown of my two transactions:
Transaction #1 Also my $5 charity challenge of the week!
Buy 2 CoverGirl LipSlicks ($3.39 each): $6.78
Buy 1 Sunsilk 6.72 oz hair mist: $3.50
Buy 1 Sunsilk 16 oz conditioner: $3.50
Buy 1 filler item - carbiner clip: $0.33
Subtotal: $14.11
CVS CoverGirl promotion B1G1 50% (-$1.70)
Use $3/$15 CVS coupon (-$3.00)
Use $1/1 CoverGirl coupon (-$1.00)
Use B1G1 CoverGirl lip coupon (-$3.39)
Use 2 $1.50/1 Sunsilk coupon (-$3.00) One is for styling aid, the other one is for shampoo/conditioner
Grand Total: $2.02 (use $2.00 ECB)
OOP expense: $0.02 + $0.59 tax = $0.61
ECBs returned: $2.00 (Sunsilk)
I'm aware that my subtotal is under $15, but I didn't notice this until I was typing it up. I think what threw it off was that I had planned to buy some 3 $0.99 Dawn dish-soap but took the wrong coupons
with me to the store. I realized this at check-out after the clerk had already scanned the $3/$15. I asked her to take them off, and I guess the system allowed it. My mistake. Sorry CVS, I owe you $0.89. That's okay, because you still owe me a L'Oreal Revitalift.
The store that issued me the IOU still haven't given me the product after a week, so I've contacted customer care about it and am waiting on their reply. It was so nice of the manager to come up with a creative "rain check" method, but it's not cool that I haven't gotten what I paid for after a whole week when she promised me I would have it in 2 days. Not cool at all.
Transaction #2
Buy 1 CoverGirl Clean Liquid Makeup: $5.49
Buy 1 Folgers coffee: $2.99
Buy 1 Gilette Fusion: $9.99
Subtotal: $18.47
Use $3/$15 CVS coupon (-$3.00)
Use $1/1 Covergirl coupon (-$1.00)
Use $0.25/1 Folgers coupon (-$0.25)
Use $4/1 Gilette coupon (-$4.00)
Grand Total: $10.22 (use $10.00 ECBs from last week's Cottonelle/diaper deal)
OOP expense: $0.22 + $0.25 tax = $0.47
ECBs returned: $5.79 (Covergirl) + $5.00 (Gillette Fusion) = $10.79
Merchandise total: $32.58
Total OOP: $0.61 + $0.47 = $1.08
Total ECBs left for next time: $2.00 + $5.79 + $5.00 = $12.79
Total ECBs spent: $12.00
I'm super happy with my results today, especially since I managed to profitably get rid of my $10 ECBs from last week's Cottonelle/diaper deal. I like low value ECBs and often find myself scratching my head on how to use up $5 ECBs, so I was really sweating having that $10 ECB in my hands. But I managed to use it up profitably and on things that we need in the house too, so I'm happy. Razors and coffee are major thorns in my side since my husband uses so much of both, but we should be set for a while now.
Since I saved $31.50 (Merchandise total minus OOP) on today's CVS trip, I'll be sure to donate 10% of it (or $3.15) to charity. I'm doing a little personal charity challenge where I'll be taking 10% of my savings and making sure that it goes to charity, whether it's in the form of a monetary or merchandise donation. $3.15 is definately not a lot, so I might be upping the 10% later, but since this is the first week that I'm trying it out I wanted to start on the safe side. It's so easy to start a personal charity challenge and donate a percentage of your savings back to your community...!
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