Couponing at CVS and Target

Just a quick post about my bargains this week (so far) at CVS and Target (for those who are interested in "couponing" and aren't quite convinced).

I went to CVS and bought:

(2) Sunday Tennesseans (for the coupons): $2.00
(2) boxes Honey Nut Cheerios
(2) boxes Lucky Charms: $12.00 - $4.00 in extra cash bucks (ECBs) and (1) $1.00 coupon on three boxes of General Mills cereals, and (1) $1.00 coupon for Cheerios -- final cost for all four boxes of cereal $6.00 or $1.50 per box
(1) Tube Crest Pro Health Toothpaste: $2.88 - $2.00 ECB and $.75 coupon - final cost: $.13
(1) can Edge shaving cream for men: $2.99 - $2.99 ECBs - FREE!!

My total expense at CVS was $18.79 out of pocket. I got $8.99 in ECBs to use on the next trip and another coupon for $5 off a $25 purchase, meaning my TOTAL out of pocket will net out at $4.80 for all the above items. Considering the amount of coupons I got with the $2.00 I spent on papers, my trip to CVS was basically free. :-)



THEN... on to Target. Not as great, but still nothing to sneeze at.

(1) box 25 count Electrosol dishwasher tabs - $4.29, coupon $2.50 - net $1.79
(4) cans Chef Michaels canned dogfood (they are small) - clearanced at $.75 each, coupon for BOGO free, so $.75 for all of them. THEN I got home and found two coupons inside for two more free cans so basically these were free as well. I plan to go back and get all they have on clearance since they will be free.
(1) jar McCormick Montreal Steak seasoning, regular $1.99, marked down to $1.50, coupon for $,75, final cost: $.75
Huggies wipes (pop up box 72 count): on sale $1.99, coupon $.75, final cost $1.24 (and I have another coupon so I need to get it while they are on sale)
Post Trail Mix Crunch cereal (found everywhere I looked for $4.50 and better), marked down to $2.99, $1.00 coupon, final cost $1.99
Axe shower gel, marked down to $3.54, coupon $1.00, final cost $2.54
Nice n Easy Hair color (Mala, if you are reading this I got LIGHT BROWN this time to keep me from having BLACK hair - hahahaha!!), sale price $5.99, coupon $1.00, final cost $4.99 (this certainly beats the $60-$75 I would have to pay for someone else to do it, huh?)
(2) Halls Naturals cough drops, $1.59 each, coupon for BOGO free, final cost for 2 $1.59
(2) Oreos, sale $2.54, coupon $1.00/2, final cost $4.08 (not such a good deal, but a savings nonetheless)
Bliss Chocolates (now, mind you I've had this coupon a while and have priced them all through March and April and never would spend the $3.50-$4.50 that it would cost even with the coupon), today, marked down to $3.59, $1.00 coupon, final cost $2.59 -- and they are ALL MINE and I'm hiding them. :-)
And, I added some Gerber Graduate meals and puffs (4) that were on sale but I did not have a coupon so I just bought them (at some level of pain, I confess -- at least they were significantly on sale).
And to round it out, a gallon of milk.

Final amount spent at Target was $36.59.

AND, I was wrong about Walmart. They do NOT double coupons so I won't be shopping for groceries there much longer. I was pretty much over them anyway -- too big, too busy, too ... well, just too. I'm finding much better deals at stores I'd really rather shop at.

Interestingly, I was talking to the CVS cashier who was checking out my bargains and we were comparing the coupons this week with the sales there and all. She said, "People ask how we stay in business giving stuff away free, but they don't realize that only about 10% of our customers take us up on these deals." WHAT????? People, get a CVS card, cut some coupons, get some FREE STUFF. It's pretty easy -- I can do it, so it must be. We have more toothpaste and shampoo and razors than we can use. The vast majority of it was FREE or very, very inexpensive. You can do this too!!

Oh, and one last bargain I did find at Walmart. I had a coupon for BOGO free for Venus disposable (women's) razors AND a coupon for $4.00 off one. Since I was getting one free, I was also buying one so I could use BOTH coupons. They were $6.77 each (for three). I ended up paying $2.77 (plus tax) for six razors that would have been $13.54. CLIP THE COUPONS!!!

And, have a good Sunday! Watch for cool pix of Josh at baseball yesterday and Ellie eating her first Oreo (oy!!) coming soon!