3 Free items at CVS through 10/15

CVS Beauty Club Members...CHECK YOUR EMAIL! 

$2/1 CVS Brand Beauty Purchase

$2/1 Essence of Beauty Body Care or Fragrance Purchase

$3/1 Nuance Salma Hayek Hair Care Purchase

If you got this email here is your scenario

Buy 1 CVS nail polish remover - $1.99
Buy 1 Essence of beauty hand lotion or sanitizer - $1.99
Buy one trial size Nuance shampoo or conditioner - $2.99
Total OOP - FREE!

Valid now through Monday 10/15. You must present your ExtraCare card get these deals.
I had to check my spam folder and there was the email.

Walgreens matchups 10/7 - 10/13

Walgreens Deals 10/7 - 10/13 

The Walgreens deals for this week have been posted. 

Check them out here

Explaining my why and way of couponing

I'm feeling a need to explain myself. 

Most people ask me daily "Why don't you shop at Walmart? Their prices are so much lower then anywhere else". Well, yes they are but in reality, when I shop at Walmart I tend to spend more on the same things I would buy in CVS, Walgreens, Wegmans etc. Why do you ask? Simple! They do not double coupons. 

Let me give you an example. 

This week at CVS 9.78-11.5 oz. Snickers bagged candy is on sale 2/$5. Spend $10 on them and get back $3 in extra care bucks. 

This week at Walmart the same candy is on sale for $4.68 per 10.5 oz bag.  

If I have a $1 off coupon why would I buy one bag for $3.68 when I can get 4 of the same product for essentially $6 after ecbs? Now, do I need all that candy for myself? My answer is not only no but HELL NO! However halloween is coming so at the moment I do need it. 

So, which is the better deal? 10.5oz for $3.68 at Walmart or 42oz for $6 at CVS. CVS works itself out to a bottom line of $1.50 a bag. 

People are generally shocked when I explain things to them in this way. They see $3.68 and think think "Wow, that's cheaper then $5". Tricky tricky advertising. I've learned over the years that just because I see a cheaper price DOES NOT always mean it will be the best deal. 

Another example would be Proglide razors. Sure, they're $9.99 at CVS this week and are around that same general price at any other store. However, CVS is offering $5 in ecb's and there is a $4 coupon to be used. So I could go to Walgreens, for arguments sake, and let's say they're on sale there for $7.99 here is how it would breakdown for both stores. 

Walgreens

$7.99

-  $4.00 coupon

= $3.99

CVS

$9.99

- $4 coupon

= $5.99

+ 5 ECB

= $.99

Catching on now? 

Keep in mind also, not every store will double a coupon at face value. There are times where I have to compare ads for hours and decide where I'm going to do my bulk shopping for the week. (Food, cat food etc) I recently needed cat food that I had a $.99 coupon for. Sure it was on a few pennies cheaper at Giant but at Wegmans, I ended up paying $1.98 less. Giant would only have given me $1 off. 

Generic brands aren't always the cheaper option either. I've gotten MANY name brand things for a lot less then generics. I haven't spent more than $1.25 for a box of cereal in over a year. General Mill, Kelloggs, Post etc. That a whole lot cheaper then the generic versions of the same cereal. I haven't spent more then $10 on about 50 air sprays in a year. My mom used to go to Dollar Tree thinking she got a good deal for $1. Ah ha, until CVS put Glade on sale for $.99 and I had a $2/2 coupon. FREE! They tend to put them out fairly often as well so I stock up when I can when it's on hand when needed. 

So remember, a cheaper advertised price DOES NOT always mean it will be cheaper in the end. Shop around, know you coupon policies, study those ads. 

CVS Deals 10/7 through 10/9

The CVS matchups are up for this week. There isn't much since it's just a 3 day sale but there are still some great deals to be had. 

Click here to view them

Bath & Body Works B3G3 & $10 off

This weekend at Bath & Body Works they're having a buy 3 get 3 sale. As if that isn't good enough there is a $10 off coupon wyb $30 here.

With their body wash and lotions starting at $11 you'll be getting 6 for $23. Not too bad. :)

CLICK HERE

What is Smiley360? Directly from their website.....

"Smiley360 is a community of people who love brands. Members participate in "missions" in which they receive products for free in exchange for sharing their opinions both online and offline. The goal is to get people talking about the product and to give feedback to the product manufacturer."

I, for one, love this site. I would recommend it as one of my top 10 sites. It's great for networking, great for learning about new products and great for a lot of freebies. Stop by and give it a try. Just click "click here" under the photo.  

Here I am

Well, here I am entering into the blogging world. 

A little about me......

• I became unemployed in March of 2010
• Unable to find work and living off of unemployment I decided to start using coupons. 
• I have lived entirely off of the money saved from couponing. 

After 2 years of being unemployed and unable to find work, even with a business degree, I decided something had to give. I had some money saved, my unemployment was maxed out and I was at my wits end. Then it hit me.... COUPONS! In just the first 6 months of this year I saved over $5000 with coupons alone. To most people, that would pay for a vacation, maybe twice but to me, it pays my bills. 

2012 YTD savings from CVS

With this blog I intend to help you along the coupon journey. Whether your new to couponing or just starting I'm here to help. I will post deals, links to freebies, links to coupons (Which you can find HERE) and overall ideas to save a few pennies along the journey we call life. 

This has gone from a hobby to a way of life for me. I will never shop without my free money in hand again. 

So hang tight while I get this up and running. I promise, you won't be disappointed.