CVS

I know, I know... it's Sunday morning and I should be with the fam. Or at church. But in my defense the baby is sleeping, the boys went for a walk and we're going to second service this morning. So I wanted to post this now so I'd be free to enjoy the rest of my day.

The baby and I did our Sunday morning CVS ritual and here's what we got:



1st transaction:
(1) Jumbo pack Huggies @ 9.50
(2) Newspapers (one not pictured) @ 1.75 each
(4) Palmolive dish soap @ 1.49 each
(1) Loreal Revitalift @ 11.99
(1) SmartWater @ 1.59

Used:
$4/$20 from home mailer
(1) Huggies 1.50/1 from home mailer
(2) 1.00/2 Palmolive- I ordered some of these last week; our region only got .25/1 which wouldn't have made them free after ECBs.
(1) 1.00/1 Loreal
24 ECBs

Paid .04 out of pocket, got back 17.58 ECBs.

2nd transaction (I needed the coupon from the paper I had just bought):
(1) Garnier Fructis @ 2.99
Used:
(1) 1.00/1 Garnier
1.59 ECBs
Paid .48 out of pocket, got back 2.00 in ECBs.

I burned a few ECBs on this one but it was worth it for free diapers, newspapers and donation items.

Philantro-Free Wednesday

Here are your best bets this week for donate-able items, $1 and under. I will list by store.

Meijer
Jello (Use Mejer Mealbox coupon for $1.50 off two. They are priced at under a dollar each, making it FREE.)
Hunt's Manwich Sloppy Joe- .99 each. Buy 3 and get a free 8-pack of Aunt Millie's Honey Hamburger Buns.
Bush's Baked beans- .80
Lipton Rice/Noodle sides- 1.00
Progresso Soups- 1.25 (Use .25/1 or .50/2 coupons from recent papers to get these for .75 each after doubling.)
Nissen Top Ramen is 7/$1

Kroger
Annie's Macaroni and Cheese- 1.00
Kroger Toaster Pastries- 1.00
Kroger Peanut Butter- 1.00
Kroger Fruit snacks- 1.00
Hunt's pudding Snack Pack- 1.00
Pepperidge Farm goldfish- 1.00
Betty Crocker Brownie mix- 1.00
Hamburger Helper- 1.00 (Use the .75/3 from recent papers to get them for .75 each)
Campbell's Soup Healthy Request- 1.00 (Use the .40/2 coupon to get these for .60 each)
Celestial Seasonings Tea, 20 ct.- 1.00 (Use $1/1 from 10/5 paper to get it FREE)
Brut deodorant- 1.00 (Use the $1/1 from 9/21 to get this FREE)
Scotch Brite Nailsaver sponge- 1.00 (Use this coupon to get it FREE)
Aquafresh Toothpaste- 1.00 (Use this coupon to get it FREE)
Reach Advanced Design Toothbrush- 1.00 (Use the Buy one get one coupon from 10/12 to get these for .50 each)

Whole Foods
Muir Glen organic tomato sauce- .99 (Click on my Coupons.com link to the left to print a coupon for 1.00 off, making it FREE. You can print twice.)

Philanthro-Free

'Tis the season for food drives and donations. It's one of my favorite things about the holiday season, what with my spiritual gift of shopping and all. While donating a $5 bottle of shampoo is certainly awesome, how much 'awesomer' would it be to donate ten $5 bottles of shampoo, especially if you're paying pennies for all of them? Or what if you save the coupons for non-perishable food items you would never use just to fill a grocery bag full of food to take to a food pantry for only a few bucks?

I've decided to devote a post every week to donate-able items: non-perishable foods and toiletry items. This post will appear on Wednesdays, after I've had time to do my weekly shopping as well as look at the local ads. The idea is to find items for a dollar and under that would be appropriate to donate to your local food pantry or shelters. After I scour the stores for the best deals, I'll post a list of the free or almost-free items that you can pick up to bless those who are going through a hard time. (And there are so, so many people in need right now.)

Please make sure to visit on Wednesday and look for the post "Philanthro-Free". And don't forget to buy a newspaper on Sunday. It's the most plentiful source of coupons and I promise you will make your money back many times over! (Also, if you live in my area, The Detroit Free Press is the best source of coupons. The Ann Arbor News has pretty much nothing.)

Philanthro-free Sunday

Here are the freebies at CVS this week if you have ECBs. If you don't, it's not a bad week to get started. There are a few donate-able items that generate ECBs so even if you don't need pads or toothpaste and you aren't into stockpiling you can find a good home for them at a local women's shelter.

Now, there is a definite shortage of $/$$ coupons lately, so if you have one ($3 off $15, or $5 off $25 for example) and need help with a particular scenario let me know. I'm just going to list the items that are free or nearly free this week and let you decide what you're willing to pay in order to roll or start earning those ECBs!

Glaceau Vitamin Water 32 oz. - 2.29
(earns 2.29 ECB)
FREE

Bic Soleil Razor- 5.99
(earns 4ECB)
Click here to print a coupon for $2 off, making this FREE after ECB

Always Infinity Pads (14-18 ct.)- 4.98
(earns 4.98 ECB)
FREE

Speed Stick/Lady Speed Stick deodorant- 1.99
(earns 1 ECB)
.99 after ECB

Colgate MaxFresh toothpaste or toothbrush- 2.99
(earns 2 ECB)
.99 after ECB (or if you have the 1.00/1 coupon from a past paper it will be FREE)

So if this is your first week and you want to get started, I suggest that you purchase:
(1) Vitamin Water @ 2.29
(1) Bic Soleil Razor @ 5.99
(1) Always Infinity Pads @ 4.98

Use your $2 coupon for the razor. Your total will be 11.26 + tax, and you'll earn back 13.26 in ECBs.

My Super Doubles Haul

Okay, so all-in-all it wasn't a bad run. They had virtually no environmentally responsible or healthy/organic products that would have worked so I made do. The cashier, who was sweet as pie, was untrained on the register so a manager was helping her ring us up. They were both amazingly patient and accommodating. My poor cashier was having a difficult time and even with me handing her coupons just 3 at a time they somehow missed (4) $1 coupons ($8!) so I will be calling customer service later on to see if there's anything they can do about that. I would have taken care of it immediately but one of my kids smelled like poop and the other was literally banging their head into the shopping cart and screaming bloody murder. Awesome.

So here's what I got. The first list is my Donates (going to the single moms ministry at my church):



(3) Pert Plus - FREE
(3) Sunsilk shampoo- FREE
(3) Gillette shampoo- FREE
(3) Suave deodorant- .29/each
(1) Sure deodorant- .29
(1) Advil PM- .79
(1) Purex fabric softener- 1.29
(2) 10-packs disposable razors- .99/each
TOTAL: $5.22 + tax

Here's the stuff I got for us:



(3) Tide Free and Clear- $3/each
(1) 10-pack disposable razors- .99
(3) Puffs To Go packs- .58
(1) Cascade Complete- 1.99
(4) Kotex pads- should have been 1.49/each (these were the missed Qs)
(1) Kotex lightdays- FREE
(1) Oral-B toothbrush- FREE
(1) Revlon nail clipper- .49
(2) Johnson's First Aid Gauze- FREE
(1) Advil PM- .79
(1) Tylenol PM- .79
(1) Tylenol Simply Sleep- .99
...and the one thing missing from this photo was already partially consumed so it got left out:
(1) Dove Dark Chocolate candy bar 3-pack- .29
TOTAL: should have been $21.87, but with the missed coupons was $29.87 + tax

I just remembered I also grabbed a rebate slip for the Kotex. I'm not sure how much it was for but I'll have to dig it out of my bottomless purse and take a look at it.