Couponing and CVS

That's right--Since I have become a full-time stay-at-home mom, I have also begun couponing. When I say "couponing," I do not mean I clip a few coupons and use them when I need them. Nope--I learned that there is a right and wrong way to coupon. Did you know that? You should only use coupons when the item is on sale and stock up on it! For example, two weeks ago I received a coupon for $1.50 off two boxes of Raisin' Bran. John and I love this cereal; however, I did not use right away. This week I received another coupon for $1.00 off two boxes of Kellogg's cereal. CVS was running a special for 4 boxes of Kellogg's Cereal for $10.00--that's $2.50 a box. PLUS--I had two coupons I could use. So, I bought two boxes of Raisin' Bran (received $1.50 off) and one box of Apple Jacks and one box of Fruit Loops ($1.00 off). That made my purchase 4/$7.50 ($1.875 a box). PLUS...CVS gave $5.00 in Extra Care Bucks--which actually made it 4/$2.50 ($0.625 a box).

Yes, I know, CVS is way more expensive than a grocery store and Wal-Mart, but if you read the sales paper, use coupons, and use Extra Care Bucks, you can really save a lot of money!! Let me share with you my trip to CVS today:

Here is the regular prices and what I would have paid.
4 packs of 12 cans of Pepsi ($4.99 x 4 = $19.96)
4 boxes of cereal ($4.49 x 4 = $17.96)
2 Oral B Toothbrushes ($4.99 x 2 = $9.98)
2 Almay Eyeliners ($7.99 x 2 = $15.98)
TOTAL: $63.88

Now...here's the sale
4 packs of 12 cans of Pepsi (4/$12.00)
4 boxes of cereal (4/$10.00)
2 Oral B Toothbrushes (2/$8.00)
Buy 1 Get one free Almay (2/$7.99)
TOTAL: $37.99
2/$1.50 of Raisin Bran
2/$1.00 of Kellogg Cereal
TOTAL: $35.49

Plus--I used $11.00 from previous trip in Extra Care Bucks (it's like a store credit)
TOTAL: $24.49

Finally...I received more extra care bucks
$5.00 - Cereal
$3.00 - Pepsi
$8.00 - Oral B Toothbrush
Earned -- $16.00

TOTAL SPENDING: $8.49 WOW--for 4 boxes of cereal, 48 can drinks, two eyeliners, and two toothbrushes!

That's major savings to me!!

Last week, I went to Foodlion. My original bill was $143.96; however, my total after coupons and sales was $91.38. That was 37% savings! My goal--to save more than 50% from now on. I've begun to get my coupons weekly. I also look at Southern Savers blog daily. She does an excellent job of posting sales and coupons! There are other bloggers as well, but she is very detailed.