Ramblings-n-Writings

Posts Tagged ‘frugal’

I actually got to go to CVS this week! I’ve only had a handful of trips to CVS in the past 6 months. Since our stockpile from early 2008 is starting to get low, I’ve been paying more attention to the CVS sales recently.

This week was a week I definitely wanted to go, mainly because of the Dove chocolate deal. We haven’t had any chocolate in the house for the past 2 weeks or so, and it was time to stock up again!

I started my trip with $2.50 in ECBs. After three transactions, I doubled my ECBs to $5 for next time.

Here’s the basics of my transactions:

First, I did the Buy $20 get $10 ECB deal including 2 Tylenol Extra Strength 100 ct for $8 each and 2 Cortaid creams for $3.99 each. (I would’ve loved to have purchased only 1 Cortaid, but my total would’ve been $.01 short, and those $1 boxes of Band-Aids didn’t exist.) I used a $3 off 2 Tylenol coupon and 2 $1 off Cortaid clipfree coupons in the May CVS book. (Note: The clipfree coupons ring up as the item price so my Cortaid rang up as $2.99, not $3.99 with $1 coupon. This may affect your deal planning.) Transaction total was $18.98 before tax. I used my previous $2.50 in ECB, paid $17.65, and earned $10 ECB.

Second, I did the Buy $15 get $5 ECB deal including 4 bags of Dove chocolate and 3 Mars candy bars (yep, one’s missing from the photo for obvious reasons!). No coupons for this deal other than $10 ECB from the first transaction. Total out-of-pocket came to $6.18 with $5 ECB earned.

Third, since I needed some mailing envelopes and I used up our lint roller not too long ago, I did the 3M/Scotch Buy $15 get $5 ECB deal. I purchased 3 padded mailing envelopes at 3/$5, 2 packs of Post-It tabs at 2/$5, and 2 lint rollers for $7.50.  No coupons for this transaction either. (As I’m writing this, I just realized that I could’ve lowered my total by purchasing 2 more envelopes instead of the Post-Its. Oops! But I can use Post-Its for my business.) Total out-of-pocket after $5 ECB from previous transaction was $13.23 with $5 ECB earned.

Total cash spent: $37.06
Total savings: $40.96
Total value of products: $78.02
Savings percent: 52%
ECBs remaining: $5
Average cost per item: $2

Are you struggling to make ends meet for your family? So many people are nervous about surviving the next couple of weeks, months, and years.

Not knowing how to pay the mortgage or the electric bill can cause a lot of stress. Do you fall behind on this bill to pay that bill for a month?

There may not be one simple solution to your situation, but many little steps can help you survive.

The following posts are ones that I wrote based on our personal experience. They include steps that we’ve taken to make life easier, and steps that I hope you can benefit from.

Surviving on One Income:

Introduction,

Step One: Evaluation

Step Two: Creative Adding

Step Three: Creative Stretching

Step Four: Shopping Strategies

Please let me know if you have additional strategies that you use!