My Weekly CVS Shopping Trip

I am sure that saving more money is a big priority for many of you in 2013.  It is absolutely crazy how much our grocery budget has increased over the past couple of years due to my family expanding and the cost of food going up.  I know that many of you are like me and are exploring in the couponing world.  Truthfully, I wish that someone would have taught me about coupons YEARS ago.  It would have saved me from a lot of stress!

As a busy mother of three, I simply don't have the time, nor the energy to be a crazy coupon lady.  However, I have found that I can get the best bang for my buck at Kroger where they DOUBLE coupons up to a $1.00 versus Walmart.  Also, CVS pharmacy is an incredible place to find great deals on diapers, toiletries, and sometimes even groceries!  I am going to try and share with you my weekly shopping trips to CVS, so you can see how their system works and see if it would be a good fit for you.  My goal next week will be to do this earlier in the week, so have a little more time to take advantage of their sales.  CVS sales run from Sunday to Saturday.

This week they had a great promotion on a HUGE number of items...For every $30 you spent on those particular items, you would receive a $10 CVS cash card, which is basically a gift card.  This was such a good deal because there was a limit of 5, instead of the usual 1 per household.  Let me tell you...I got some great deals!

First of all, let me share with you the deal that I got LAST WEEK that gave me a $10 gift card to spend this week.  THIS IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE!

Last week, they also had the spend $30 and get a $10 cash card, and this is what I bought:

• 7 All Detergents @ $4.00 each, $28 total used 3 - $2 off of 2 All detergent coupons and 1 -$1 off of 1 All detergent (all these coupons came from the PJ Star in the last couple of weeks)
• 1 Pack of Finish Tabs @ $4.00

My total was $27 and I got a $10 cash card to use on this weeks deals. 

So this week I started with the $10 cash card.  I went to CVS late around 9:00 at night, WITHOUT children, so I could concentrate and get what I needed. I did end up doing three different transactions, but I wouldn't recommend doing that unless you are the only one in the store like I was.  Plus, since I am a regular, the CVS ladies are pretty nice to me.  :-)  Here are my deals:

• 1 Tide @ $5.94, used $1.50 off coupon from the P&G January Insert (found in newspaper)
• 2 Scott Bath Tissue @ $7.49 each, $14.98 total, used $1 off of 2 from this week's newspaper insert
• 1 Scott Mega Paper Towels  @ $9.99, used $1 off coupon from this week's newspaper insert
• 1 Venus & Olay Razor (LOVE this Razor, but forgot to include in picture)  @ 10.99, used $3 off coupon from the Parade insert in the newspaper from several weeks ago

My total with tax was $38.75, but I used the $10 card from last week which brought it down to $28.75.  BUT, I got back another $10 cash card and $5 in Extra Care Bucks for the razor. Now, if you know the prices of these items at Walmart, then you know that I got a heck of a deal!  Its incredible how much paper towels and toilet paper cost these days! 

So with my $10 cash card and $5 ECB, I bought these:

• 1 pack of Huggies Little Movers Diapers @ $9.49, used $2 off coupon from this week's newspaper insert
• 2 packs of Pull-ups @ $9.49 each, $18.98 total, used 1 $2 off coupon from this week's newspaper insert and 1 $2 off coupon from www.coupons.com (still available)
• 2 Dawn Dish Soap @ $0.99 each, $1.98 total, used 1 $0.25 off coupon and 1 $0.50 off coupon both from the P&G insert found in the newspaper at the beginning of January 
• I also used the $5 ECB. 

My total was $21.14, but I had the $10 cash card from the last transaction, so it ended up $11.14 out of pocket AND I earned another $10 cash card!  

So I turned around and bought this...

• 3 Pantene Mousse and 1 Conditioner  @ $3.50 each, Total $14.00, used a $1 off 1 coupon from a P&G coupon booklet that I received in the mail,  a $3 off 2 coupon from the P&G insert in the newspaper at the beginning of January, and a $2.50 off of $12 of hair products from the big red coupon machine at CVS.
• 1 Huggies Wipes @$5.99, used $0.50 off 1 coupon from this week's newspaper insert.
• 2 Kit Kat Bags @ $2.50 each, $5.00 total
• 1 8 Pack of Powerade @ $3.99

Now, some of you may not think these items are not necessary, but the Powerade fits perfectly in my hubby's lunchbox, Kit Kats are his favorite candy bars, Huggies wipes are by far the best and Pantene is my favorite kind of mousse. If you know me at all, then you know how much mousse I must go through to keep my natural curly hair under control. I was thrilled to find all of these on sale and included in the Spend $30, get $10 promotion.  My total after coupons plus tax was $23.95, but I had the $10 cash card to use which took it down to $13.95, plus I earned another $10 cash card!

These items are still on sale today! They base the $30 on the item's price before you use any coupons, but it must reach $30, can't be $29.99 to get the $10 card.  GOOD LUCK!  Feel free to ask ANY questions!