I miss CVS

Yes, only months after beginning to do the Drugstore Game, I had to move away from my two nearby CVS stores. Where I live now has an abundance of Walgreens locations, but the nearest CVS is in the next state–about a 20 minute drive from my current location. Add that to the fact that I don’t do most of the shopping for the household, and that means no CVS for me.

I did hear rumors on the local news that CVS had purchased some land near where I live, but I haven’t heard anything since June. I simply have to stick to freebie shopping and Walgreens EasySaver rebates until my circumstances change.

Changes – school, couponing, time & money

As I’ve moved back to my home city, my living arrangements have changed. Before, I had to shop for my own groceries and other household goods. Now, I have the luxury of not having to buy these things for myself and the household. This is a great blessing, as my income is also in a state of change; lowering expenses is a must.

(Here it comes…) Since I no longer will be making frequent trips to buy things like milk and toilet paper, I have decided to stop “couponing” until I am once again financially responsible for my household.

Another motivation for this decision is my schedule is no longer permitting me time to search out, print, buy, clip, organize, etc. my coupon stash. When I have months-old inserts lying untouched, the coupons are not benefiting me. Now, the ones I have will not go to waste. I will either use them or send them to the military base I was already sending to.

Yet another good reason for doing this is because my attention must now turn to my changing financial situation. A new living situation, a new job (God willing!), a new class and an (unfortunately) old thesis, I’ve got my plate full as far as time and money are concerned.

Finally, my hometown has NO CVS! Alas, my CVS days appear to be over, just when I was starting to get good!

Since I will still be financially responsible for other areas of my life, such as clothing, schooling, and transportation, I will be welcoming all coupons and deals I can find in those areas!

And who knows, I just may have to do a really good Walgreens deal every now and then.

Sharing my savings: Walgreens & CVS

I’m a little late this week, but I did so well that I simply had to blog. Not only did I get to check off one of my PF goals despite losing all my sanity to end-of-semester madness, I took some time after school ended (finally!) to do some therapeutic shopping. I’d been planning to do the Walgreens P&G RR deal but I knew I had a gift card waiting for me at home (my other home). So, I made myself wait until the semester officially ended.

Without further ado, here’s my CVS stuff. As you can see, I maxed out quite a few of the monthly deals! (the OneTouch is actually from WalMart, but it was free w/a coupon!) I probably spent a maximum of $6 for all this stuff.

And a few nights ago at Walgreens, I did the P&G deal (which I learned about here at Centsible Shopper), plus a few other goodies:

I got all of the cleaning supplies, the Febreze, and the Charmin wipes for free using $10 RR, coupons, and part of a Walgreens gift card.

I picked up the Herbal Essences so that I could get a free manicure/pedicure. (I heard about this promotion here at Money Saving Mom!) I bought the greeting card (plus another one), the Herbal Essences, and two Sunday papers with one of my P&G $10 RRs.

My family was amazed at how much you can get for free. They all wanted to know how it was possible, and when thinking about how to explain it briefly, I felt a bit like a magician does when asked how she does her tricks.

CVS goods for the week

Here’s all the stuff I got at CVS this week. The above picture shows about four different transactions’ worth, but unfortunately I don’t have time this week to break it down for you. Everything in the picture did earn me ECBs and I still have a fair amount left over. The OOP total was $0.59, so I’d say I qualify as a CVS Superstar.

To share your CVS trips for the week and to see others’, go to the Centsible Sawyer’s CVS Superstars, hosted on her blog every Saturday.

Coupons galore at CVS

When I was at CVS the other night, I looked for the beauty coupons that the New Frugal Mom had mentioned. Not only did I find the coupon books, but there was also a table full of coupons and a few samples.  There’s a bunch of Nivea coupons, a Curel coupon and sample, and a Lumene coupon and makeup samples.  I suppose this is part of CVS’s Beauty Sale.

CVS: My first ECB purchase

Last night I went to CVS and used my first ECBs that I earned recently. I looked around for some of the things that I’d read about on others’ blogs, but I didn’t have any luck. I did find some Essence of Beauty lotions in the clearance section for $2.50 each. Those would work on the “Buy 3 Essence of Beauty Cosmetic Accessories or Bath Products and get $5 ECBs” deal. I wonder if there are any cheaper Essence of Beauty products out there. I didn’t look around the health & beauty section very much, just clearance.

What I did buy was the Softsoap Spa for $4.99. I used a $1/1 printable Q (since my paper didn’t have the $1.50/1 Q ) and my $2.99 in ECBs that I earned previously.

That means I spent $1.00 OOP before taxes and earned $4.99 in ECBs.

Success (however small) is sweet!

My first ECBs

Remember, I am new to this. I went to CVS looking for the cheap toothbrushes and LipSyl, but they don’t seem to have LipSyl. I finally ended up getting the Colgate Total Advanced Toothpaste and using a $1 off coupon. Then I got two Old Spice Red Zone trial sized body washes because I had two $1 off coupons that didn’t have a size limit. Final OOP: $2.97 (before tax). This made my very first ECBs $2.99 from the toothpaste.

My first CVS!

Alas, no collection of my first ECBs. I did get several free things, though! I walked out paying only $2.08 for tax and a Sunday paper.

Here’s what I got:

I found out about the free Johnson’s Buddies and travel-sized toiletries from Money Saving Mom. Using printable coupons, I got all of the above for free. The two Dove Cream Oil body washes were actually from Wal-Mart, but they were free, too! I found a coupon blinkie in CVS dispensing $1/1 coupons, so I took two. When I was at Wal-Mart later, I found these in the travel/trial aisle. The checkout girl examined the coupons closely, but she seemed happy to report, “You basically got those for free.” I smiled.