About Me

I recently started couponing on January 1, 2011 as a New Year's Resolution. I had never really couponed before because it always seemed time consuming- "how could a 25 cent coupon REALLY save you money?" I thought. Plus, I have never really stuck to a New Year's Resolution. So this year I decided to make a change- I would stick to both! And I have. So far I have cut our weekly grocery budget 70%! We used to spend $150 a week on little things that we could not even make a meal out of AND then we would eat out on top of that! Thousands wasted over a year. Now I spend on average $58 a week on groceries and personal items (toilet paper, body wash) AND I stock up on many of these items so I won't need them again for another 6-12 months! These number keeps going down as we begin to live off our stockpile. If you follow my blog, I will teach you some of the ways this newbie couponer has saved lots of money!

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Charmin & Puffs Tower- last day for deal today!


This was not the most amazing deal- but we like the Charmin wipes. They are normally around $5 a piece, so what I paid was worth it in the long run and this was a good stockpile price with coupons.

Deal: Get $10 ECBs when you buy $25 worth of select Proctor & Gamble Items (ends today- 3.19 so head on it!).

ECBs= Extra Care Bucks, money to use at your next purchase

I did not have any coupons for the Charmin, and I had already used my Puffs coupons, so this was purely a sale and store coupon shopping trip. I usually will not shop without a manufacturer's coupon; however, CVS does not double and if I had these coupons they would be 25 cents, so it was not worth passing up the deal for me. Normally those 25 cent coupons add up but the coupons I had were good enough for me to go.
How I did it:

  • Charmin Wipes: $5, on sale 2 for $5, Saved $2.49 each
  • Puffs: $3, on sale for 2 for $3, Saved $1.50 each

Coupons Used:
  • $10 ECBs from previous CVS purchase
  • $5 off $25 purchase emailed to me yesterday

TIP: When shopping at drugstores, shop similar deals to this where every time you buy a deal, you have coupons AND you get ECBs back for your next purchase. That is how I keep my totals low because I usually have $5-$10 worth of ECBs+coupons. 

TIP: Check your emails from CVS (and check your spam folders since it may be getting sent there!) Sign up for CVS emails. I frequently get 20% off and $5 off $25 coupons. These usually come on Fri and are good until Sunday. This is why sometimes I wait to shop CVS until Fri or Sat. The risk is they may be out of inventory, the reward is I saved another $5. If they are out, just get a raincheck. They computer will keep track of the deal for you if you buy some of the deal items and the cashier can override the system.

Coupons Received from CVS because of my purchase:
  1. $10 ECBs for my next purchase because I did the P & G deal
  2. $5 ECBs for my next purchase from the Beauty Club

TIP: Sign up for the Beauty Club at CVS! Just ask the cashier and in seconds they will sign you up. For every $50 you spend in beauty products (they keep the total, and this is $50 BEFORE coupons) you get $5 ECBs! This is my first beauty purchase payout. :)

Total: $9.50+tax
Saved $38.13
Percentage Saved: 77%
Coupons Received to use next time: $15

I actually *made* money theoretically on this. I spent $9.50 and received $15. CVS is amazing for this, but Rite-Aide, Walgreens, etc. have good programs as well. I always thought drugs stores were a huge rip-off, but they are where I save the most money frequently. Get to know your drugstore, get to know their policy, get to know their cashiers, and get shopping! :)

Happy couponing!




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