Archive for April, 2008
Super Savings: CVS Trip #2
April 19th, 2008 | 
Author: I had an unexpected treat this week – I got to go to CVS twice!!!! =) You can read about my first trip here. On this trip I spent $1.65 oop, earned $12.97 in ECBs, and saved $13.97!!!!
My transaction was simple because I really wasn’t planning on going, but I did have time to check out the clearance shelf and found some great deals on toothbrushes:
2 – CVS Rapid Release Tylenol, 24 ct., for $3.99
1 – Softsoap Spa Bodywash for $4.99
1 – Reach toothbrush for 75 cents
1 – Colgate toothbrush for 25 cents
1 – CVS Xtreme toothbrush for 50 cents
Total: $14.47
Coupons: $1 off Softsoap Bodywash; $11.97 ECBs
OOP: $1.65
ECBs earned: $7.98 for CVS Tylenol; $4.99 for Softsoap
Without paying attention, I tried using a CVS $2 off $10 coupon but I was $2 short. The cashier said if I was a $1 short she would’ve given it to me. I totally wasn’t even thinking of the $10 minimum, so it didn’t bother me that I couldn’t use it. However, I realized in the car on the way home that I should’ve pointed out that I had a 50 cent CVS toothbrush – maybe she would’ve let me use the coupon. =)
By the way, this trip was to the “nice” CVS. Seeing all of the deals marked on the shelves makes shopping sooo much easier. I was able to walk down the medicine aisle and spot the CVS Tylenol right away. It was marked with a “Free” sign that sticks out, plus it had the little yellow tag that says the sale price and the ECBs.
The “not-so-nice” CVS (my first trip this week) didn’t have the CVS Tylenol or the Spa bodywash marked at all. I had to use the picture in the monthly book to find the right one. If I had a choice, I’d always shop at the “nice” CVS but it is really dependent on which direction we’re going since they are in opposite directions.
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Hummingbird Migration Finally Here!
I hung my feeders on 4/10 when the hummingbird migration map reported a hummingbird in West Virginia. I wanted to make sure that our hummingbirds (did you know that hummingbirds return to the same locations every year?) or even those passing through would have something to eat since flowers are sparse right now. However, for the past week I’ve been feeding the local ant population because I forgot to put lubricant on the top of the feeder!
Did you know that a little dab of Vaseline or personal lubricant will keep the ants out of your feeder? Ants love climbing down from the top of our feeders so every time I fill the feeders I rub a little dab of lubricant on the metal hook at the top. I started doing this last summer, and it really works! Now if I could only find a way to keep the bees away!
People have asked what I put in my feeders since it is clear in the photos. I use a sugar water mixture (see below for how to make). It is perfectly healthy and nutritious for the hummingbird and it is a lot cheaper than store-bought mixtures. Adding red food coloring isn’t necessary either. The colors on the feeder are enough to attract the hummingbird.
The sugar water mixture is simply 1 cup of water and 1/4 cup sugar. I fill my glass measuring cup with 1 cup of water, add the sugar, stir until the sugar is dissolved, and pour it into the feeder. This method is very simple and doesn’t require boiling the water or anything complicated. If you need more than 1 cup, simply double the mix: 2 cups water, 1/2 cup sugar; 3 cups water, 3/4 cup sugar; 4 cups water, 1 cup sugar. My only recommendation is if you are making larger batches like 3 or 4 cups, break it into smaller portions (one or two cups at a time) to make sure the sugar is completely dissolved. The mixture will also keep for up to a week in the refrigerator – very convenient if you have a large population of hummingbirds and find yourself constantly filling the feeders.
Have you seen your hummingbird yet?
Super Savings: CVS
I love CVS! While the above picture doesn’t look like much, I paid only $2.05 for what you see plus one more Cadbury bar that didn’t make it home to be in the photo! =) Even more impressive than paying $2.05 is the savings of $24.90 and the $11.97 ECBs I have to use next time! So how did I do it?
First, I did everything in one transaction because the ECBs I had to use were $9.98 and $3.
The CVS Tylenol was $3.99 (orig. $4.49 each) x 3 = $11.97
Cadbury bars were 88 cents (orig. $1.59 each) x 2 = $1.76
The Airwick Mini Starter was $4.99 (orig. $9.99) = $4.99
Total before coupons = $18.74 (orig. $26.26)
Coupons = $4 off Airwick starter, $9.98 ECB, and $3 ECB
Total paid oop = $2.05
ECBs earned = $3.99 per Tylenol for $11.97 total
The Cadbury bars weren’t entirely necessary but I’ve been promising my husband for two weeks that the next time we went to CVS, I’d buy him some chocolate (simply because I refuse to pay for it anywhere else). Plus I wanted to make sure my total was enough to use both ECBs. Without the Cadbury bars, my total before the $3 ECBs would’ve been $2.98. The CVS I was at isn’t my favorite, and I’m sure that I could’ve found chocolate of some sort with ECBs but this CVS marks hardly anything with the little tags. It took me forever to find the CVS Tylenol because the shelf wasn’t marked.
I really wanted to buy 5 CVS Tylenol, but they only had 3 on the shelf (once I found it). My DH takes 4000 mg a day of Tylenol so free Tylenol was a really awesome deal for us! I also wanted to do an Essence of Beauty deal, but I ran out of time and really didn’t need toe separators. =)
And to add sweetness to life, in Wednesday’s mail I received CVS coupons for Hershey products! This is apparently another benefit of doing that Hershey’s deal I had no idea that I did until I received my $5 gift card in the mail! =) Now I’m just waiting for my May issue of Good Housekeeping to show up with the CVS coupons in it.
Read about my 2nd trip to CVS this week here.
Wordless Wednesday: Forsythia Hide-a-way
A massive forsythia bush on our farm hangs over a culvert and hides a mini-waterfall underneath. Isn’t it beautiful?
What I Think of RSS Feeds
Yesterday I mentioned that I don’t use a RSS feed to read blogs or know when they are updated. What was I thinking?!?!
After posting last night, I did some investigating, set up a Bloglines account, added a few of my usual blogs, and gave it a try.
I had a few “issues” that I have since solved. I didn’t like that I had to go to the Bloglines site to see what, if any, new posts were out there. Then tonight I found the Firefox add-on that notifies me of new posts! Cool! It’s a subtle icon in the bottom right corner that gets a little red dot when a site is updated. One click and my Bloglines page opens in a separate tab ready for me to read!
And I added a right-click context menu entry for subscribing to a site (a right-click automatically adds the site to my feed list) so I don’t have to go through the Bloglines site to make an addition.
Will Bloglines save me time? Most definitely. It’s convenient looking at a list rather than clicking through my bookmarks and checking individual sites.
Given all of the pros, I do have one con. I like reading the actual blogs – the visual appeal is so much nicer than the Bloglines format. If I’m in a time crunch situation, I can read a post on Bloglines. If not, I always have the option of knowing a new post is out there and going to that individual site.
So, after 24 hours of experimenting, do I recommend using a RSS feed? Yes! Even if it is for only seeing what’s new and saving the time of visiting each individual site when there’s nothing new.