Shopping Report

So, I have not been to Walgreen's or CVS for a real "shopping" trip in a while. However, this week I saw several deals I wanted to take advantage of for both our family and for our church pantry (which takes both food and personal care items). So, here's the lowdown:

Everything in this photo was paid for with a total (including tax) of $9.47...and I had 12.97 in ECBs going into this purchase.

Backstory: I planned to stop by only one CVS (my favorite one), pick up my son from daycare, and they stop by the local Walgreen's on the way home. Well, our town's CVS was out of a lot of stuff, so I stopped by the one that is in the town where his daycare is. I don't like it as much, but it is a good second choice I guess (it's good to have a backup in these cases).

Here's the breakdown:
CVS #1:
1 CVS Brand Training Pants: reg 9.49; CVS sale 2/$12; I paid $6.00
4 Lady Speed Stick 24/7: reg 2.99 ea; used (2) -$1 coupon and (2) -$0.75 coupon from paper; paid $8.46 ttl; rec'd 6 ECBs
1 Softsoap Spa: reg 4.99; used $-1 from here (although it just told me they were out--maybe because I've already printed it, but there are several from paper for lesser amounts); I paid $3.99; rec'd 4.99 ECBs
1 Crest Pro Health Night Rinse: reg 3.79; CVS sale 3.49; I paid $3.49; rec'd 3.49 ECBs (unadvertised deal)
2 Russell Stover Select Chocolates: reg 3.29 ea; used B1G1 coupon from paper; paid $3.29/2; rec'd 3 ECBs

Used $4/$20 coupon
Used 12. 97 in ECBs
Total Out Of Pocket (with tax): $9.12
Saved: $28.55
ECBs earned: 17.48
Other Coupons printed (Catalina style): -$1 Curel Life's Stages; -$2 CVS Air Shield (huh?); -$2.50 CVS brand purchase of $10

CVS #2:
2 Softsoap Spa: reg 4.99 ea; used coupons from paper (1) -$1.00 & (1) -$0.75; I paid $8.23; rec'd 9.98 ECBs
1 Crest Pro Health Night Rinse: reg 3.79; CVS sale 3.49; I paid $3.49; rec'd 3.49 ECBs (unadvertised deal)
3 Essential Beauty Eye Pencil Sharpener: 1.99 ea; I paid $5.97 ttl; rec'd 5 ECBs

Used $3/$15 Beauty Coupon (for sharpeners and softsoap) - emailed to me - register your card at CVS
Used 14.48 in ECBs (from CVS #1 stop)
Total Out Of Pocket (with tax): $0.35
Saved: $19.53
ECBs earned: 18.47
Other Coupons Rec'd: $2/$10 purchase at this store only (they are moving to another location--in the same parking lot--and using this coupon to retain customers...like no one will travel with them to another location in the same parking lot!); and -$0.50 CVS Photo CD

Walgreen's
1 5-count Wal-Zyr Allergy Tabs: reg 4.99; WAG sale: 3.99; paid $3.99; due rebate $3.99
1 Advil PM: reg 4.99; WAG sale: 3.99; coupon -$2; paid $1.99; -$3 Register Rewards
1 Aquafresh Extreme Clean: reg 3.49; coupon -$2; paid $0.99 (it rang up as 2.99--strange--I just noticed that); due rebate 3.49
1 Colgate Toothbrush: reg 3.99; coupon -$1; paid $2.59 (once again, it rang up the wrong price although it is the right product...it better pay me rebates!); due rebate 3.99
1 Jane Mineral Blush: reg 4.99; -$2 coupon ; paid $2.99; due rebate 4.99

Total after Coupons (with tax): $13.29
Saved w/coupons & sales: $9.00
Out of Pocket after giftcard: $0.00!
RR Earned: 3.00
Rebates Earned: $16.46 (provided they pay them all...see comments above)

Notice that I have a giftcard--that's from previous rebates. The beauty of Walgreen's rebate program is that if you sign up for a giftcard rather than cash, they give you an extra 10% to go with your rebate...so that even covers the tax of what you've purchased. Combine with coupons and you're really making money!! I am in one of the states that they are testing online rebate applications and I LOVE IT! It is easy to do and has really quick turn-around time (especially if you have a card to add your later rebates to). I hope they open it up for everyone!

So, here's the grand total:

Out of Pocket (after ECBs and giftcards)--Including tax: $9.47
ECBs earned (and not spent in this trip)--21.47
RR earned--3.00
Rebates earned--16.46

I MADE $31.46 in you compare my rewards to my Out-of-Pocket! LOVE IT!

Seriously--most of the toiletry items are going to charity. The training pants are only to get us to next week (a birdie told me about a Huggies deal at CVS for next week), so I bought the cheap ones because they were cheaper than buying the Huggies or Pampers with my coupons.

One more note--both my Walgreen's receipt and the one from the first CVS stop have offers to participate in monthly cash drawings for giving my opinion. Why not enter myself for these chances and give them feedback so they can better suit my needs?!

Hope this super-long post helped someone out there!