Dear Target, I *heart* you!

I have always enjoyed shopping at Target.  When I moved out to Texas for my seminary years, however, I discovered the wonder that is the Super Target and that, my friends, is when my love for the superstore truly deepened.  Its always been a bit more expensive than Walmart, but being that I always have a much nicer experience there, I prefer to shop there and pay a tiny bit more than save a couple of bucks and have to endure the trauma of a trip to Wally World.

Now that I have begun couponing, I kinda thought my Target days were going to be few and far between.  Boy, was I wrong!!  Target publishes so many store coupons (you can print them from their website and/or get on their mailing list and get them in the mail every so often)...and you might not know, but you can "stack" coupons there!  What that means is that you can use a store coupon (a Target coupon) WITH a manufacturer's coupon for the same item and save even more!  Oh, and if you have a Target RedCard (their store credit card), you immediately save 5% every single time you shop there.  I did this very thing tonight and saved a ton of money!

Here's what I came home with tonight:

Above, you will see I bought Neutrogena Naturals Lip Balm, Neutrogena Lip Gloss, Nivea Body Wash, Up & Up Facial Scrub, Up & Up Detangler (for Hannah's crazy hair), Dove deodorant for men, Excedrin Migraine (50 ct) & Excedrin Extra Strength (20 ct).

If I had paid full price for these things tonight at Target, I would have paid $31.37 plus tax.  When I used Target coupons and matched them with manufacturer coupons, however, I paid only $10.37!  Pretty cool, huh?

Want more specific details on how I did it?  Let me know!

And I thought I could only save money at CVS...

CVS Sunday!

Yep, its Sunday!  That means its time for me to share yet another awesome day of great deals at CVS!  Here's a picture of what I picked up today:

I had a total of 4 transactions and spent a total of $20.06 for everything, not considering the $5 Extra Care Bucks (ECB) I got back, which I'm saving for my next visit!  Woohoo!

Here's how I did it:

Transaction #1:
4 bottles of Suave body wash ($2 each w/CVS Extra Care card)
4 tubes of Suave deodorant ($1 each w/card)
1 3-pack of Ivory Soap ($0.97 w/card)
Total before coupons/ECB:  $12.97
Coupon (B2G1 free Suave body wash, so $2.00 off)
Coupon ($0.50 off Suave deodorant)
ECB: $10.00 (from last Sunday)
Final cost: $0.68
I also received back $3 ECB for buying $12 worth of Suave products.


Transaction #2:
Allegra allergy tablets 5 ct ($6.99)
Coupon ($2.00 off Allegra 5 count)
ECB used: $3.00 from Suave purchase (transaction #1)

Final cost: $2.48

I also received $6.99 ECB for buying the Allegra.


Transaction #3
SOS Pads ($2 w/card)
2 canisters of Clorox Wipes (2/$4 w/card)
2 bottles of Tilex Mold & Mildew Remover (2/$4 w/card)
4 packs of Cottonelle Wipes (3/$4 w/card, so $5.34 for 4 packs)
Total before coupons/ECB: $15.34
Coupon ($1.00 off Clorox Wipes)
Coupon ($1.00 off Tilex product)
Coupon ($1.00 off 2 packs of Cottonelle wipes)
Coupon ($1.00 off 2 packs of Cottonelle wipes)
ECB: $6.99 from Allegra purchase (transaction #2)

Total Cost: $5.42

I also received $5 ECB for purchasing $15 worth of cleaning products.

Transaction #4
3 12-packs of Coke Zero (3/$13 w/CVS card)
3 bottles of Vitamin Water (3/$3 w/card)
Total before coupons/ECB: $16
No coupons
ECB: $5.00 from cleaning products purchase (transaction #3)

Total Cost: $11.48

I ended up with $5 ECB for buying the Coke products, which I am saving for the next time I go.


My house is actually beginning to look like a mini-CVS and we're running out of room for stuff...even giving things away to people who come visit...so Chris says I might need to take a break for a bit. :)  Its very addictive and so much fun to see how much I can save each week, but yeah...I am trying to avoid the whole hoarding thing, so I'm gonna chillax for a week or two. :)

CVS (and Rite-Aid) Sunday! Best yet!

So today I did my usual drugstore deals after church.  I do believe it was my best day yet!  I went to CVS first, where I bought these items: 16 rolls of Bounty Paper Towels, 9 rolls of Charmin toilet paper, 2 boxes of Charmin Freshwipes, 1 bottle of Gain dish detergent, 1 box of Purex 3-in-1 laundry detergent sheets, and 1 box of Raisin Bran cereal (for Chris).  Total cost?  $11.99!

Here's how it worked:  Transaction #1 was the paper towels, toilet tissue, and freshwipes.  I had a coupon for the paper towels and coupons for the TP and wipes, but those coupons were Target coupons and they wouldn't take them.  Oops.  I had $22 ECB to use, so after coupons and ECB, my grand total was $6.27!  I also got $10 ECB back from this purchase, so it's kinda like I got money back. :)  Pretty good!

Transaction #2 was the dish detergent, laundry detergent, and Raisin Bran.  I had a $2 off coupon for the Purex, a $1 CVS coupon AND a $1 off manufacturer's coupon for the cereal (making it $2 off), and the dish soap was 97 cents, so the grand total for that transaction was only $5.72.  Nice.

After leaving CVS, I headed across the street to Rite-Aid.  I got Purex Crystals fabric softener, Halls cough drops, Reach dental floss, and Gain dish detergent.  My grand total there?  $1.35!  I had a $2 off coupon for the fabric softener, a 50 cents off Rite-Aid coupon AND a 50 cents off manufacturer's coupon for the cough drops (making it free), a $1 off coupon for the floss (making it free), and a $1 off coupon for the dish detergent (making it free as well).  All I paid for, basically, was the fabric softener and the tax on the other items.  I tried to use a $1 +UP reward, but since my subtotal was under $1, they wouldn't take it.  I received another $1 +UP reward for buying the fabric softener, so now I have $2 for my next trip.

I just might be getting addicted to this drugstore couponing thing.

CVS Sunday!

I am so excited...As a newbie to the whole couponing thing, this is by far my best visit ever to CVS!  (Yes, we drove to Myrtle Beach today, but I just *had* to stop at CVS to do my thing!)  Today I got the above pictured items for a grand total of $7.35! I left with $2 in Extra Care Bucks (ECB) to use next time, so its kinda like paying $5 for it all. Here's how it went:

1st transaction
1 tube of Colgate Total toothpaste ($2.99)
Palmolive Dish soap ($0.97)
-$1 ECB from last visit
-$1 off coupon for the toothpaste
TOTAL: $2.24
Received $2 ECB


2nd transaction
1 tube of Colgate Total toothpaste ($2.99)
-$0.75 off coupon for the toothpaste
-$2 ECB (just received)
TOTAL: $0.45
Received $2 ECB

3rd transaction
Herbal Essences shampoo ($2.99)
Herbal Essences conditioner ($2.99)
-$1 off coupon for the shampoo
-$2 ECB
TOTAL:$3.39
Received $2 ECB

4th transaction
Purex 3in1 laundry sheets ($3.99)
-$3 off coupon
TOTAL: $1.27

And I still have the $2 ECB to save for next time!  Woot!  I know others do so much better, but I'm still proud of myself.

OH!  And...I entered a contest a while back on Coupon Geek's blog to win a Bob Harper (Trainer Bob from The Biggest Loser) workout DVD and I won!  Woohoo!  Now I have another workout to do to kinda "mix it up" so I don't have to spend too much time with Jillian.  Not that I don't love her, but...yeah.

So not only am I at the beach, but I had a good shopping day and won a new workout DVD!  All in all, a fabulous day if I do say so myself!

CVS Sunday!

Today was my first ever day of trying to work the system to get good deals at CVS!  I was so excited.  I messed up on one little thing, but I still think I got a pretty darn good deal.  Here's what I ended up with:

My grand total, after coupons and Extra Care Bucks (ECB) used, was $36.80.  Yeah, I know I could do way better, but still...Chris got online and compared Wal-Mart's prices on these exact items and we would have spent at least $70 there.  So yeah, I feel pretty good.

Here's how I did it:  I got the ad for their weekly specials, then went to the Southern Savers website and clicked on the CVS button at the top of the page.  I looked over all the suggested deals and decided on the paper products deal.  Basically, you could mix and match different items to add up to $25, and once you spent $25 you would get $10 ECB back when the receipt printed.  So, I got the 10 rolls of paper towels ($10), the 24 rolls of TP ($10), the 3 boxes of tissue ($3), and the Cottonelle wipes ($2) to total $25.  I used a $2 coupon for the paper towels but I accidentally added the 12-pack of Mtn Dew ($3.34) to that order so I ended up paying $28.61 for those items and got my $10 ECB.

Once my $10 ECB printed, I had them ring up my next set of items, the vitamins and the pull-ups.    The vitamins were Buy 1 Get 1 Free (B1G1), but the pull-ups were just a necessity.  No way was I going to Wal-Mart or anything, what with the snow coming...But anyway, I also had a $4 off coupon I had forgotten to use with the first order.  By the time I used that $4 off, a $1 off coupon for the vitamins, AND my $10 ECB, that total was only $8.61!  All in all I spent $36.80 for ten items, which averages to $3.68 for each item.  Not too shabby for a newbie, I don't think. Oh, and I am totally addicted to couponing now. :)

*****

Now, a note about last night's post.  Ugh, I am so over myself.  Enough of the whining and pity party.  I'm gonna put on my big girl panties and suck it up!  I was researching some stuff online late last night and I'm wondering if maybe my B12 levels are low again.  In the past my doc has caught them so low that I had to go in for shots every day for a week, then once a month for 3 months.  Not fun.  So on today's trip to CVS the vitamins I picked up were Ginkgo Biloba (to hopefully help w/my focus issues) and some Super B Complex, which I think will help a lot with my basic "poor me, I feel like crap" feeling.  Also, I got a call from my doc this past week that my thyroid levels were way too high, so hopefully the new dosage will help once my body has had time to adjust.

So anyway, I don't know how many people actually read my blog, but if anyone out there *did* read it and was concerned in any way...relax.  I am fine.  Oh, I am definitely still planning to talk to a counselor and get to the root of some issues, but I'm not a danger to myself or anything.  Just so you know. :)