When You Don't Get What You Deserve...

Question for my wonderful blogging (or non-blogging) friends...

What would do you do when a merchant does not deliver what was promised?

Back in late May of this year (2008), my husband and I booked a hotel room with a major online travel agent. When we did so, we used a coupon code (advertised on the travel agent's website) to receive a $50 gas card back in the mail.

Here's the actual terms and conditions of the coupon code from my confirmation email:

1. Offer valid only for bookings of a stand-alone hotel stay of at least three (3) nights made between May 19, 2008 and July 6, 2008, with stays completed by September 1, 2008. A "booking" is a stay of consecutive nights in one room at the same property, booked at the same time on the same credit card. Package bookings are not eligible. 2. You must book and prepay on www.hotels.com or through the hotels.com Contact Center at 1-800-246-8357. Offer is not valid for bookings made on any non-U.S. domain, including, but not limited, to www.hotels.fr or www.hotels.it . 3. Offer only applicable for those properties covered by the hotels.com Price Match Guarantee located at http://www.hotels.com/flexible-booking. Bookings at the following brand is not eligible: Marriott. 4. $50 gas card will be mailed to the billing address used for the booking within 30 days of your completed stay. 5. $50 gas card will be mailed to US and Canadian addresses only. 6. Limit: one (1) gas card per booking. 7. Not valid with any other coupon offer. 8. Not redeemable for cash. 9. Offer good while supplies last. 10. Offer may be revoked without notice at any time. Void where prohibited.

As you probably guessed, we still have NOT received our gas card despite at least 3 phone calls and 3 emails to customer care. Every time I communicate with them, they assure me that my gas card is being expedited. I'm very frustrated.

However, I also believe Romans 8:28 - "In ALL things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose." I pray that whatever He is trying to teach me through this situation, I will learn. Patience and longsuffering, perhaps?

So, I'm interested, what would you do?

Picture from Allposters.com

Frugal Friday: Giving Thanks

Today I was reflecting on a somewhat odd idea. Who invented scissors? I mean, seriously. Who knows the answer to that? In my seventeen years of formal education, I did not once, that I can remember, learn the name of the person who invented scissors.

Yes, Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue, George Washington led our brand-new country, and Dr. Martin Luther King fought for freedom for all. But who invented scissors???? You may wonder why this weird question is on my mind, and why I even care. Well, think for a minute about how many times a week you use scissors, especially if you are a coupon junkie like me! Every time you have a thread hanging on your skirt, get a hair cut, need to open a stubborn package...the list goes on and on! Most of us probably use scissors at least once a day, yet how many of us stop to think of the person who gave us this awesome invention?

There is an idea taught in Judaism that we should bless God for everything. There is a blessing for wearing new clothes, a blessing for seeing a rainbow, a blessing for a taste of the new season's first fruit, a blessing for the new month, a blessing upon awaking, a blessing before eating, a blessing after eating and even a blessing said after using the restroom! Imagine! But think about how our lives would be different if we didn't experience those things? There's even a prayer that says, "Thank You, God, for inspiring us to thank you..."

How does this relate to being frugal? Well, honestly, this is something that I have had the learn the hard way. God has been showing me that when I don't have a thankful heart, I tend to worry and complain and focus on what I don't have rather than the bounty that is sitting right in front of me. Then I end up spending even more money on things I don't really need because of my heart.

When I find that I am getting into this unthankful mode once again, I pray for God to fill my heart with thankfulness. After praying, I MAKE myself give thanks, even when I don't feel like it. Try smiling when you are really mad or sad...it's crazy how it can change your insides! We don't always encounter grateful people in our daily lives, but try saying "Thank you" even when you don't feel like it. Many times, a heart of thankfulness will follow. My mom used to always say, "I'm going to CHOOSE to be happy." It's true, the attitudes of our heart is a choice that we alone can make.

Those of you who know me personally know that my husband is working very diligently on remodeling our bathroom. I have complained (if not out loud, inside I sure have!) about how inconvenienced I have been with all the dust flying all over everything having to share a bathroom. I know, I know...I feel awful that I felt that way, especially when I heard my husband's prayer this evening at our dinner table. He praised God in this midst of all of this for our beautiful home and for providing us with a cozy place of our own. As he said those words, my heart overflowed with adoration for our Heavenly Father, as well as for the man of God to whom I am married.

There is a poem that has circulated in e-mails, author unknown, but is so true and I think of this whenever my mind starts wandering toward the ungrateful:

"Thank you God, for all I have to do today.

Thanks God, for this sink of dirty dishes,

It shows we have plenty to eat.

Thanks God, for this pile of dirty, stinky, laundry,

It shows we have plenty of clothes to wear..."

Head over to Biblical Womanhood for more great Frugal Friday ideas!

Shabbat Shalom!

P.S. I still DON'T know who invented scissors, but I thank God for creating the person and giving him or her the intelligence to do so!

Thanks to FlyingFingers.com for the lovely picture!

Frugal Friday: Saving $$$ on Travel

1. Check your credit cards or other clubs to see if you have any "travel points" that can be redeemed.

My husband found that we had a good amount of travel points on one of our cards that could be redeemed for about a two night stay. That was good news to help offset the cost of the trip. Now...where to stay???

2. Search online for the best rates, and to narrow down your choices.

I began by searching the major travel sites: Hotels.com, Expedia, Orbitz and Travelocity. One thing that I immediately noticed was that all of these sites had basically the same rates for the same hotels (Hotels.com was slightly better on a few). I also noticed that Hotels.com and Expedia are affiliated, so not only were they giving the same prices but they also had the same promotion, which brings me to my third tip.

3. Look for current deals and promotions that may apply to your stay.

The current promotion on Hotels.com and Expedia is this: Book 3 nights at any hotel, and receive a $50 gift card back in the mail. Use coupon code GAS50 when you are booking (the promotion is automatic on Expedia). Knowing the cost of gas these days, this helped to decide that we really could stay that extra night as we were hoping!

4. Be mindful of the day of the week you book your travel plans.

On Tuesday, the prices were moderate...not too exciting, but not too pricey either. On Wednesday morning, I was shocked to see that many of the hotels I had been watching were around 40% less than what they were the day before. I'm very glad that we ended up booking on Wednesday night because on Thursday morning, the very same hotel (similar room) we had booked was $13 more per night! This tip saved us $39 alone! [Edit: I checked again on Friday morning and the price has gone up another $5 per night on that particular hotel, similar room!]

5. Call the hotel to see if they can give you a better rate.

This didn't work in our case, but I have heard that many times if you ask nicely and tell the reservationist the price you are getting online you can sometimes get an even more discounted price.

6. Make sure to read the site's cancellation/change policy, as well as the individual hotel's policy.

Since the promotion and rates were identical on both Expedia and Hotels.com, we could have booked on either site. However, I noticed that Hotels.com does not charge for cancellations or changes but I did not see that same information on Expedia. Also, Hotels.com has a Price Match Guarantee that if you find the same hotel room online at a better rate than what you booked on their site prior to your stay, they will match the price.

7. Confirm that the hotel has the amenities you want BEFORE you book.

Even if you pay a low rate, it's not a great deal unless you get what you really wanted!

Although I'm far from an expert on frugal travel, a little bit of research went a long way. If you have any ideas you have for this or experiences to share, please do in the comment section. I'd love to hear!

Head back to Biblical Womanhood for more great Frugal Friday tips!

Thanks to Allposters.com for the graphic.

Why Being Frugal is "In" Again!

I saw this article containing the above picture and I had to laugh. Prices are going so high on almost everything, that Americans are having to (gasp!) budget and use those ghastly things called coupons! Imagine!
By the way, can you believe those figures for the average weekly spending? Wow!

Frugal Friday Ideas

Today I decided to participate in Frugal Fridays, sponsored by Biblical Womahood. Actually the funny thing is I have been feeling a little un-creative because I keep seeing that the frugal things I do are already written by others, which is great, but I was trying to think of something original. Last night I did something, and then I thought about it and said to myself, "I've never read that anywhere before!" So that will be the first idea below; the others are things that I do for frugality, but are not original ideas. Hope it helps someone somewhere!

1. Use the back side of your used Swiffer wet pads (or Lysol wipes, which I get for free at CVS anyway!) to clean your trash can. Our kitchen trash can is white, which means everything shows! So when I am finished mopping, I just pull off the pad and wipe my trash can until it shines. An added bonus....it smells great!

2. Use coupons....but only when the item goes on sale. Manufacturer's use coupons as a way to advertise their product, and that's fine. But the real savings comes in when you clip that coupon and WAIT. I did this with some Swiffer coupons I had recently, and ended up getting those expensive pads for free! In Florida, we have a great grocery store called Publix that has tons of BOGO's every week. I try to match my coupons up with the BOGO's (and use 2 coupons) to double the savings!

3. Use reusable plastic (or glass) for food storage. This saves money for you, and is good for the environment. I have always done this with leftovers, but only recently have I begun doing it with other things like sandwiches, snacks, etc. Since I was reusing my Ziploc bags anyway (bringing them home and washing them), I might as well just use my Rubbermaid containers, which are so much easier to clean. Yay for frugality and being green on this one!

4. Teach your family about the Bible the frugal way! I have to give thanks to my hubby for this one. He taught me to shop for the Biblical holidays AFTER the holiday. So after each holiday, we wait about a week or so and then go buy the same things for at least 75% off! For example, after Chanukah this year (John 10:22), we went to Bed Bath & Beyond (make sure to use your 20% off coupon that comes in the mail almost every other day, haha!) and bought those expensive silver hand-dipped candles for about $1 (usually are about $10-$15). He also started a tradition of buying me a new holiday tablecloth after the holiday (they also mark-down the Sabbath table cloths after the holiday as well). Awww thank you honey!

*Today is the festival of Purim (from the book of Esther). Try making some special Purim cookies with your children, which I posted here. Your children will love the cookies (you will too!), and you can tell them about Queen Esther as you make them.

Well, those are my ideas for the day. Head over to Biblical Womanhood and Crissie's post for more ideas! If you want, leave a comment with your idea here. I sure could use some more help with this!

Now I need your help! We got married over a year and a half ago, and I still haven't gotten my wedding dress preserved. It runs about $150-$200 around here, which is about what I paid for the dress. Any ideas on how to preserve a wedding gown frugally?

Purim Sameach! Happy Purim!

For those of us who could use some extra income...

Crystal wrote another wonderful post about ways to work from home...

This is great for anyone, and I know a lot of young women (like me!) out there that dream of staying at home with the kids at some point!

Guess how much I spent on all this???

Let's play my favorite game...look at the picture and guess how much I spent?

1 Maybelline Colorstay Lipgloss (not pictured)
1 Oral-B Cross Action Toothbrush
1 Always Clean
4 Glade Air-Freshener Sprays
2 Dove Shampoos
2 Dove Conditioners
2 Dove Deodorants
2 Listerine Smart Rinse Anticavity
1 Clean and Clear Spot Treatment
1 Clean and Clear Astringent
1 Clean and Clear Moisturizer
2 Boxes Hershey’s Pot of Gold Chocolate
2 Packs Tic-Tacs
Twix bar and 2 packs of M&M's (for my cashiers!)

Total OOP (drumroll please!): $1.04 plus $9 in ECB’s
(I messed up and did the Dove and the Clean and Clear in one transaction…Oh well, I still have $29 ECB’s to play with!)

PLUS...there's a rebate form beside the Listerine "Try Me Free" so hopefully I will be getting $2.99 back in the mail!

*There are many Dove coupons in yesterday's newspaper inserts (plus a BOGO Glade spray one) so if you can get one, make sure to pick up a Sunday paper!

Also, as for the Be Fine single serve packets that I showed on this post, I am hearing from others that they are no longer working so I wouldn't bother with that!

To learn how to do this go here.

To see this week's deals and deal ideas (along with coupon links) go here.

My First Hamentashen

Last night I made my first batch of hamentashen! They're not too bad either! Yay!
If you've never heard about hamentashen, let me tell you about them.

What are Hamentashen?
They are little triangular cookies that contain some kind of sweet filling, such as the ever-popular poppyseed, the fruity apricot and raspberry, or the new-style chocolate chips. Mine were made with orange marmalade and strawberry preserves. They are eaten during the festival of Purim (see the story of Esther from the Bible) to remember when Haman plotted to kill God's people. As with most Judaic celebrations, the motto is "they tried to kill us, God saved us....LET'S EAT!"

The History of Hamentashen
The origin of the name is unclear and there are various theories. Some people say that Haman wore a three-cornered hat, and that is why the pocket of dough is triangular. Others refer to the midrash (story) that relates that when Haman entered the King's treasury, he was bent over, covered with shame, and humiliated (literally with clipped ears). I believe in Yiddish it literally means "pockets of Haman."

The Recipe
Since we had already cut a little into our weekly grocery budget and I was out or almost out of much needed baking items (sugar, vanilla, butter - none of which were on a really good sale), I decided to look for an easier and cheaper recipe. I am so glad that I did because I found this one on Allrecipes.com, and they turned out very good for being so easy (and cheap in my case!). The recipe for the dough consists of four ingredients - flour, eggs, water, and yellow cake mix. When I saw that (having read the Publix ad early that morning), I was so excited because I saw that Duncan Hines moist cake mixes are on BOGO this week. Since I was doubling the recipe, this would be perfect! So instead of having to buy sugar (we only buy the natural cane sugar, which is pretty expensive), vanilla, and butter, I only spent an extra $1.77 (sadly I didn't have any coupons for this, and I know there were some out there) for the dough part! Baruch HaShem (Praise God)! (A few words of advice if you use this recipe: You may need to add a little water to the dough, as mine was very crumbly at first and I had to knead it a little to make a nice ball of dough, and make sure to pinch the corners of the hamentashen together very tightly so that they don't open up in the oven.)

My Take on Hamentashen
As I was making these delightful little pastries last night, I thought of another reason why we eat hamentashen during this holiday. I was thinking about the book of Esther. She was a young Jewish girl born as Hadassah ("myrtle" in Hebrew), but as most Jews living in exile she had a Persian name, Esther, which in that language most likely means "star." But Esther in Hebrew can also be seen to be a derivative of the word for "hidden." Of course, there are many hidden details in this story - Hadassah hides her true identity for a time in the palace, Haman hides his plot, etc. However, the most notable hidden element in this story is God Himself; in fact, His Name does not appear in the book at all! Doesn't that seem a little odd? Well, of course, as we read this book we see God's hand throughout; He's there, but hidden. So as I was making the hamentashen last night, folding the edges up so as to hide the sweet surprise inside, I was thinking how hamentashen are a metaphor for the story of Esther, and actually for life itself. Sure, the triangular cookie part is good and it's interesting, but the more you bite into it, the more you'll find the hidden sweetness! God Himself is that sweetness. Some people think that God created the world and then left us to ourselves, but the more you really connect the dots in your life, you'll see the "hidden" Father in the middle of it all. Ask Him to reveal His "sweetness" to you, and that is definitely a prayer He will answer!

Purim and the Fast of Esther are next week - March 20th (Fast) and March 21 (Purim). Stay tuned for more on this holiday!

Shabbat Shalom!

Thanks again to my husband for taking the picture!

Frugal...water???

Today I was thinking about how much bottled spring water we buy, and if it really would be considered "frugal." We buy and use (for two adults) about 3 gallons of store-brand bottled spring water to drink weekly at 79 cents each, or $2.37 weekly, ($123.24 a year!). Our city (tap) water is ok for using for cooking and making tea and coffee, but we really can't stand the taste for drinking it straight. When I was in college in the same city we currently live in, I had a Brita water pitcher for the refrigerator that I would refill. It didn't taste a whole lot better than drinking straight tap water, and those cartridges do get expensive! So...I need your input! If you have any ideas on saving on water, please let me know!

I love days like this...

Today I made money shopping at CVS, plus I got all the stuff in the picture (plus a Hershey bar and a pack of M&M's for my two cashiers!).
I don't have the receipt for the first transaction, but I know that I spent 54 cents OOP.

Second Transaction:

5 - Befine Food Skin Care single serve packs 0.34 fl oz. for $1.99 each
1 - Tresemme Mousse for $4.29 (I bought 3 Tresemmes in first transaction)
1 - Tresemme Hair Spray for $4.79
1 - Doublemint Twins mints for $0.79 and a bag of M&M's for the cashier $0.79 (needed some fillers)

Paid OOP: 24 cents!
Coupons used: $5/15 and $14.99 in ECB's
ECB's made: $20 (15 for the Befine and 5 for the Tresemme)
So, I made $5 for shopping there today!

Grand total for everything in the picture: 78 cents out-of-my-pocket! Plus, I made 5 ECB's over what I had!

To see more deals and deal ideas for this week at CVS go here.
To learn how to do this go here.
*Thanks again to my awesome husband who took this picture for me!

The Purpose of Being Frugal

Last night before I went to sleep I was thinking about being frugal and taking time to save money. I was thinking about how much I have been talking about CVS on here, and that you might start to wonder what the point of all this is. Is it just my hobby? Something I enjoy doing? Or, maybe more of you are thinking, is this girl crazy? Why does she feel the need to do research before she goes shopping and all that coupon-clipping?
Well, although a few of you might still think I'm a little weird, I do enjoy saving money for my husband and I; however, that is not the main reason we are doing this. The ultimate reason for this season of a simpler lifestyle is L-O-V-E.
Let me explain. If I use the money (or any other resources for that matter) that God has blessed me with thought and wisdom, then I will have more resources to show love to others with. However, this is a fairly new concept for me. I always gave money and time to my local community, but as far as the other 90 or so percent, that went solely to the here and now (I am referring to the time before I got married). I bought clothes every other day, ate out at least once a day, bought 2 coffee drinks a day, etc. Most of it was focused on one thing: ME!
Now I am almost the opposite, in some aspects. I know that there are many of you out there that read my blog and think of ways that I could be a lot more frugal, and that would be true (I welcome those comments by the way - as long as you say it nicely!). However, what I was thinking about last night was that frugality can also be a "god" if not done for the right reasons. I could get so wrapped up in saving money for my own personal ends, that I wouldn't see the needs of those around me. Today I felt that someone that always hears me talking about CVSing could use a little sunshine, so I looked in my purse and found one of those FREE Lumene Body Aktiva tubes that I bought last night, and I gave it to her. I know she's not considered a "needy" person, but in some ways we all are. Not only will the "other" people around us benefit from our frugality, but first we must take care of another group - our families. If we are frugal, God-willing, we should be able to provide not only for the here and now but even put some aside for our future children and to take care of our parents in their latter days. That's why the Bible says that the Proverbs 31 woman can "look smilingly toward the future, and laugh at the days to come" and "she has no fear for her household."
We all could use a little more love in our lives. And that, my friends, is the purpose of being frugal.
I will end with the most masterful piece of literature, poetry, and Scripture on LOVE ever written (in my humble opinion):

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.(NIV)

CVS today!

First Transaction:

2 - Garnier Fructis Shampoos for $2.99 each
2 - St. Ive's Body Lotion for $5.29 each

Coupons used:
$5/$15 purchase, 2 $0.50 off St. Ive's lotion (peelie found on both bottles), and $8.49 in ECB's.

OOP: $1.22
Made in ECB's: $9 (5 for St. Ive's, and 2 each on the Garnier)

Second Transaction:

2 - Colgate Total Toothpastes 4 oz. $2.99 each

3 - Lumene Body Firming Lotion .34 oz $1.99 each

1 - Box of 10 Irish Spring soapbars $5.99

1 - Irish Spring Bodywash 18 oz. $4.99

Coupons used:

$5/$15 purchase, 2 - $1 off Colgate total, and $15.93 in ECB's.

OOP: 13 cents!

Made in ECB's: $16.98

Total OOP for everything in the picture: $1.35

Not bad, especially for things we really need right now!

Update (8:56 PM):

Third Transaction (NOT included in picture):

1 - Charmin UltraStrong 9 rolls $4.99

1 - Oral-B Cross Action Toothbrush $4.49

5 - Life Fitness External Pain Patch $1.89 each

2 - Lumene Body Aktiva Firming Lotion $1.99 each

Coupons used: $5/$15, $1 off Oral-B toothpaste, 0.25 off Charmin, and $15.98 in ECB's.

OOP: $0.68

ECB's made: $18.99 (4 for the Lumene, 4.99 for the Oral-B, and 10 for the Life Fitness)

Ok, that's enough for today I think!

To see more deals and deal ideas for this week at CVS go here.

To learn how to do this go here.

*Thanks again to my awesome husband who took this picture for me!

UPDATE: Thanks to Crystal and Pinching Abe and others who offered help on why my CVS Advisor Panel ECB's weren't printing. I finally got a few e-mails from the CVS Helpdesk yesterday, and when I went during lunch yesterday all $20 ECB's printed! Now I have $38 in ECB's (that's the most I've ever had)...but my little sis (go Beth!) has $61! Thanks ladies!

Thrifty Thursday - How to CVS!

Vocabulary words:
ECB - Extra Care Bucks. They print out after your receipt after you buy certain items. They can be used like cash on your next transaction, except that you can't get change back (so you have to make your total a little larger than your ECB).
OOP - Out-of-pocket. This is money that you actually pay. Does not include ECB's that you use to pay for items.
"Rolling" ECB's - Using ECB's to purchase items that will generate just as many or even more ECB's that you paid with.
Extra Care Card - Card given by CVS free to anyone as their version of a customer loyalty program. You must have one of these to get and use ECB's. 1 per customer allowed.
Money-maker - A product that will generate more ECB's than you spend (usually after using coupons).
$/$$ coupon - X amount of dollars off X amount of dollars purchase at CVS (ex. $5/$15 means "$5 off any purchase of $15")
Card-Scanner - Scanner in front of CVS store that usually faces the cash register. When you enter the store swipe your Extra Care Card and it will print out some coupons. Also is a "price-checker" for items.
P&G - You may see this on blogs referring to the Proctor and Gamble coupon insert that comes in the Sunday newspaper. Others you may see (also referring to coupon inserts in the paper) are Valassis, Smart Source, and Red Plum.

Explanation:
Each week (and monthly as well) CVS comes out with a new advertisement. You usually find these in your Sunday newspaper, but they are also available online at CVS.com. In each ad, there are items that are generating ECB's. You will usually see the ECB-generating items with yellow. The yellow "tag" usually shows how many ECB's will come with a purchase of that product. Keep in mind, not everything in the weekly ad generates ECB's. Some items are FREE automatically after ECB's (meaning you receive as many ECB's as you paid for the item ) . For example, right now you can get Crest Pro Health Rinse (250 ml) for $3.49. It is also generating $3.49 ECB's. Therefore, we would say, that item is "free" after ECB's.
Also, there are many items that are "free" after coupons and ECB's. Recently, this has been different razors. It seems like the ads and the coupon inserts in the newspapers are in-sync. The Gillette Venus Razor has been on sale for $9.99, and has been generating $6 ECB's (for many weeks in a row). There has also been $4 off coupons in the newspaper coupon inserts as well, making this item "free" after ECB's and coupons (well, you're gaining a penny). There are usually, in my estimate, somewhere around 7-10 ECB weekly deals (and then there's a whole monthly book as well).
Money-makers are my favorite. I did one this week with the CVS brand Vitamin C. They are $2.99 a bottle, and I bought 4. So the total was $11.96. But then I had a $3/$10 (CVS brand purchase), so the total was only $8.96. However, they still generated $11.96 worth of ECB's, so I "made" $3!

Step-by-step Instructions:
1. Go to CVS and purchase a few ECB-generating products. Try to stick with ones that are "free" or close to "free" after ECB's. I recommend having between $10 -$20 in ECB's to play with. Some people like to "bank up" more, but it's just easier for me to play with less.
2. Pay out-of-pocket for these items. We CVSers call this "initial investment."
3. Your ECB's will print after your receipt.
4. Start using these ECB's to buy more products that will be free or money-makers.

Things to remember:
1. ECB's usually expire after 30 days. The expiration is plainly printed on the ECB. Don't forget (and lose money)!
2. The ECB deals have a limit of how many you can get per week or month (depending on which type of deal it is). The standard limit is 5, but some of the "better" deals may be only 1 or 2. The ad will tell you what the limit is on that particular product.
3. Try to keep each transaction to near the amount of ECB's you have, so that you are not paying a lot OOP. You can split things up into multiple transactions to do this, and use the ECB's from the first transaction to pay for the second, etc.
4. The most important thing to remember is to not just go in there thinking you will buy things you are actually "in need" of at that moment or that you will purchase a certain brand. Just go ahead and get the free things and money-makers. You may at some point need that item, but if not, it's a perfect way to give to charity. For example, I got a glucose monitor for free last month that I am donating to a crisis pregnancy center (pregnant women can get gestational diabetes).
5. There are many blogs (like mine!) on the web where people actually take the time to type out deal ideas and what they got so you don't have to do all the hard work. I actually use this blog every week to plan what I am going to buy (and I modify her ideas some).
6. If you are using "transaction based" coupons (such as $5/$15, $4/$20, etc.) make sure and give those to the cashier FIRST, before all other coupons or else your total might not be high enough to use it. I know this seems obvious, but I learned this the HARD WAY!
7. Have fun! Don't get discouraged. It usually takes a few weeks or months to really get the hang of it, and I'm still learning! We all make mistakes, but the fun part is that we know it will pay off and help your family save some money!

Let me know how your CVSing is going. If you want, tell me what you want to buy and how many ECB's you have (if any), and I will make up a transaction for you. Please let me know if you have ANY questions (I sure did when I started), and if anything in this post needs more clarification.
Happy shopping!

For futher reading, I HIGHLY recommend these posts, which probably make more sense than mine:
CVS 101 and Making CVS Work For You by MoneySavingMom
The "Cent"sible Sawyer

*Thanks to CVS.com for the Extra Care Program!

Third trip to CVS this week...

Here's what I got:
Gillette Mach 3 razors - 3 pack $7.99

1 Febreeze Noticeables Starter Kit - $6.99

1 Febreeze Noticeables Dual Refill - $6.99

2 packs of purse size tissues (had to make my order even) $0.99

Here's what I paid: $0.46

Here's what I got back: $10 in ECB's

Here's the coupons I used: $3/1 Gillette Mach 3 (3/2 P&G insert), $3/1 Febreeze Noticeables Starter Kit (3/2 P&G), $1/1 Febreeze Noticeables Dual Refill (2/10 P&G), $5/$15 CVS coupon (see yesterday's post), and $11 ECB's.

I'm happy!

Since you asked...look for my Thrifty Thursday post - "How to CVS" tomorrow!

Yay for another GREAT CVS day!

Thank you CVS for giving out ECB's on the Swiffer stuff! I was in desperate need, and have been waiting for this for a month now! Here's what I got today:

1 Dawn Botanical 11 oz. Dish Liquid (not an ECB deal, but on sale and I had a coupon) $0.97

1 Swiffer Dry Cloths Refill 32 ct. $5.99

1 Swiffer Wet Cloths Refill 24 ct. $5.99

1 Gillette Venus Embrace Razor $9.99

1 Crest Pro Health Mouth Rinse (250 ml) $3.49

1 Bag Gold Emblem Peppermint Candy $0.99

Coupons used: 0.25 off Dawn (in 3/2 P&G), FREE CVS candy coupon (printed on scanner when I entered the store), $1/2 Swiffer refills (from 2/10 P&G insert), $4/1 Venus Razor (3/2 insert), $5/$15 CVS coupon (available by signing up here), and $14.95 in ECB's from yesterday's deal.

Total OOP (out-of-pocket): $1.66

Made in ECB's: $14.49

Has anyone else been to CVS this week? I know you have, mom!

Just another ordinary miracle today...

Ok, so CVS just paid me $3 to take a bunch of stuff out of their store!

Here's what I bought:
4 bottles of CVS Vitamin C 500 mg (110 ct) for $2.99 each
1 bag of CVS (Gold Emblem) Candy for 99 cents
1 Colgate Total Advanced toothpaste for $2.99

Coupons:
1 - Free bag of CVS candy (printed at card scanner when I walked in the store)
1 - $3/$10 CVS Brand (also printed at card scanner)
$11 ECB's

Total: $0.95

Made $14.95 in ECB's and I am definitely going back this week. Yay for a good deal week!
See all of this week's (and monthly!) deals here.

*And yes, for those that eat Biblically or vegetarian, the Vitamin C says "suitable for vegetarians" and the ingredients do not include gelatin.

What about you? What deals did you get this week?

Tea for Tuesday!

If you LOVE Celestial Seasonings tea like I do, there is a great deal available at Walgreen's this week.

They are on sale for 2/$3.

There is a coupon in the Easy Saver Catalog (which I finally figured out where it is...in the front of the store right by the weekly ads - looks like a little red booklet) for $1 OFF 2.

Also, sometimes you can get $0.45 -$0.55 off coupons inside the box on the cardboard flaps. So basically I did this yesterday and bought 4 boxes for the price of 1 (regular price)!
So that makes them under $1 each! Wow!
Good deal, especially since we are drinking tons of this due to cold/flu season!

CVS Advisor Panel and Deals

I'm so excited about the new CVS Advisor Panel. I signed up about two weeks ago, and I have already done two surveys. After doing the surveys (which took me about 10 minutes to do each), I was promised to receive $10 ECB's each for the surveys. Wow! So basically in 20 minutes of my time, I have made $20! If you are into saving money and have a CVS card, I definitely recommend signing up for the advisor panel. I can't wait to get my ECB's! One is supposed to print after February 29th on my receipt, and the other one after March 14th.

As for CVS in general this past week, I did go twice, but it wasn't amazing (to me anyway). Here's what I got:
Deal #1:
Glucose Monitor for $19.99 (No, I don't have diabetes, but it is FREE this month after ECB's, so I think it is an awesome thing to donate)
1 box of Celestial Seasonings Tea
Used $4/$20 coupon (I just updated my e-mail address on the website)
Used all of the ECB's I had, and paid about $2 out of pocket.
Made $20.99 in ECB's.

Deal #2 (dear hubby is sick, so I needed some more medicines!):
1 CVS Tussin CF Cough Syrup
1 CVS Nasal Decongestant - 18 count
1 CVS Facial Scrub (was all out)
1 Sambucol
Used $3/$10 CVS brand coupon (printed on the scanner when I entered the store)
Used my ECB's and paid $1.97 out of pocket.
Made $10 in ECB's.

Not the best week, but I did get some things we really did need. I'm looking forward to March's monthly deals. I've already maxed out on most of the February deals!

One exciting thing - I noticed my year-to-date savings so far is already at $175.67!