Ramblings-n-Writings

Quite awhile ago I did some posts about my CVS and/or Krogers shopping trips. I thought it would be appropriate to bring these posts back again as part of the Surviving on One Income series.

First up is CVS…

I haven’t shopped at CVS in a couple of months because we haven’t needed anything. However our stockpile is getting low and I wanted to start again. This week was perfect because the larger ECB (CVS money) items were something I could use – chocolate and laundry detergent.

Because I haven’t shopped at CVS in awhile, I didn’t have any ECBs to use initially. I purchased the above items in 3 transactions, starting with the deal that would give me the most ECBs.

Transaction #1: Buy $20 worth of Hershey’s candy, get $10 ECBs
3 bags Hershey’s Miniatures (18.5 oz each)
3 bags Hershey’s Bliss (9.6 oz each)
1 Reese’s Christmas Tree (needed this as filler because my total came to $19.50!)
Total before coupons: $20
Coupons used:
$1.50 off 3 bags of Hershey’s holiday candy
$2.50 off 2 bags of Hershey’s Bliss
$1 off Hershey’s Bliss (CVS coupon)
Total after coupons: $15 plus $10 ECB earned
Since this was my first transaction, I paid $15.57 out of pocket (OOP)

Transaction #2:
1 Tide original, 100 0z
1 Duracell AA battery, 4 pack
Total before coupons: $15
Coupons used:
75 cents off Duracell
I wish I had a Tide coupon, but couldn’t find any.
Total after coupons: $14.25 plus $5 ECB earned
I paid with $10 ECB from transaction #1 and $4.55 OOP

Transaction #3:
1 Always pantiliner
1 Colgate toothpaste (6.4 oz)
1 Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups (8.5 oz)
Total before coupons: $7
75 cents off Colgate
$1 off Colgate (This CVS coupon printed at the bottom of my 1st transaction receipt.)
Total after coupons: $5.25
I paid with $5 ECB from transaction #2 and 27 cents OOP

I didn’t think through Transaction #3 as well as I should have. I forgot to deduct my original Colgate coupon, and my total was too short to use the $5 ECB. I grabbed the bag of candy and used the extra Colgate coupon too. If I had planned better, I would have added something practical like shampoo. But chocolate is always good.

So all total, I spent $20.38 OOP for 7 bags of candy, laundry detergent (average retail price is $12), toothpaste, pantiliners and batteries. According to my receipt, I saved $42.17. And while the manager was ringing up my transactions, he commented that this was the smart way to shop. He also told me that if I didn’t get back to the store before my ECBs expired, I could still use them as long as they weren’t horribly out of date. (That made my day since we don’t travel that way very often.)

Next up is Krogers…

I love Krogers for two reasons – they double coupons and allow e-saver coupons (the kind you put on your shopper’s card).

Oh, and the best reason? You can get free and really cheap food! Honest!

On this trip, I scored the following free items:

• 2 – 8 oz containers of Daisy sour cream
• 1 – Betty Crocker pouch potato (with 5 cents overage)

I scored the following really cheap items:

• 3 – Fleischman Yeast 3 packs for 10 cents each
• 1 – Swiss Miss hot chocolate 10 oz box for 45 cents
• 1 – Pillsbury Crescent roll dough for 27 cents
• 1 – Pillsbury Crescent roll dough for 77 cents

Besides some basic fruit and veggies, I purchased diet coke ($1), bread (88 cents – $1 loaf), spaghetti sauce ($1 jar), Kraft shredded cheese ($2), Creamette pasta ($1), Dole canned fruit ($1), Gatorade ($1), OJ, Velveeta, turkey lunchmeat, refrigerated pie crust, Lipton tea bags, and parmesan cheese.

(That might sound like a bizarre list but the only meat I need to purchase is chicken since our farm supplies us with beef, pork, and venison. Plus our freezer and the farm cellar house are well stocked with corn, potatoes, onions, green beans, jellies, and more.)

Before coupons were deducted, my total was $99.36. After coupons? $79.60

By purchasing sale items and using coupons, I saved $51.52.

This trip finished stocking our pantry and freezer so I probably won’t return to the grocery store until mid-January except for a few basics like orange juice and a couple of fresh veggies.