A Little Friday Couponing

So I got the crazy idea to go through my coupon book while Elijah was napping and kind of remind myself what I had in there. The bad news is that I found about 50 expired coupons and a lot more that are going to expire in just a few days! The good news is that I can donate expired coupons to military bases overseas so they won't go to waste, AND I had a little spare time today so I got to go around town checking out what deals I could get in on with my soon-to-expire coupons. I realize that I am getting to be borderline obsessive with the coupons. I clip them from the paper every week, search for them online, and even fill out those annoying surveys on manufacturer's websites just to save a dollar! But on days like this it is totally worth it!

First I went to CVS and got all of this stuff for $1.99 before tax and about $4 total. (The tax was so much because I still have to pay tax on the items that I got for free.)

In order to get these great deals I used a combination of Extra Care Bucks and coupons. I had $5 ECBs from a previous transaction to start with.

Transaction 1: Spent $3.89 after tax and saved about $15 off sale prices
John Frieda Shampoo and Conditioner - 2 for $10 plus $5 back in ECBs.
Used two $2.50/1 coupons and $5 ECB from previous transaction
Free after ECBs and coupons.

Stridex - $3.49
Used $1/1 coupon ---> $2.49 after coupon.
(Plus there was another $1/1 coupon inside)

Transaction 2: Spent $0.36 after tax and saved almost $30 off sale prices
Pop-Tarts - $2.79
Used coupon for one free box that I received by participating in the Flavor Rewards program.
Free after coupon.

Tampax - 2 for $5
Used a $1/1 and $2/1 coupon along with the 5 ECBs from purchasing the John Freida products.
Free plus overage after coupons and ECBs!
(Plus... two of the three boxes came with $5 coupons for Covergirl!)


Feeling pretty good about my shopping experience at CVS, I decided to go to Fry's. I got all of this for $6.30 after tax. I saved $14.71 or 71%!!!


Viva paper towels - $2.17
Used $1/1 coupon---> $1.17 after coupon

Bounty paper towels - $1.19
Used $1/1 coupon---> $0.19 after coupon

(2) Oral-B toothbrushes - $1.00 each
Used $1/2 coupon---> $0.50 each after coupon.

(2) Ivory bar soap - $1.00 each
Used two $1/1 coupons---> Free after coupons.

(4) Gerber 3rd foods - 3 for $2
Used $0.75/4 coupon---> $1.92 for all 4 jars

(4) Gerber 2nd foods - $0.55 each
Used $0.75/4 coupon---> $1.45 for all 4 jars


And so after a quick trip to CVS and Fry's I spent roughly $10.55 for all of this!!!

If I had paid the sale prices on these items I would have paid $24.02. I saved over 50% off of the sale prices of these items, but if I had paid retail for this stuff I would have spent about $80 which means a savings of 87%!! So thank you to Tara who taught me how to use coupons, Briana for being my coupon buddy, and Money Saving Mom, Pinching Your Pennies, and My Frugal Adventures for the heads up on great deals!! In the next few days I'll try to post a picture of all the stuff that I've gotten for free over the past few weeks. :) Even though I was skeptical of couponing at first, I am totally a believer now. I would recommend it to anyone.