Couponing

I've always used coupons when shopping, but after watching TLC's "Extreme Couponing," I realized I could do so much more. I thought, since several of you have asked, I'd share how I save. Now, let me preface this by saying that I am not collecting thousands of tubes of toothpaste. I am not going to hoard laundry detergent or sticks of deodorant. I am purchasing things that are free or next to nothing and am stockpiling them, a little bit. I actually make a point of trying to collect pet related items and other items that we may have no interest in using and donating them to the appropriate places. If I'm already clipping and spending the time, why not get a few things for others if it costs pennies or nothing?

So, the picture above is from my shop today at CVS. CVS is great because you can earn Extra Bucks, which you can use for your next transactions. They are paper gift cards. Another great thing about CVS is you can get a rain check if the item is out of stock and it will include sale price and Extra Buck rewards. I only realized this this week.

I did this shop in a few different transactions so that I could use the Extra Bucks I earned on the rest of the items. The above merchandise retails at $73.94. I paid $15.30 and have $4.00 Extra Bucks leftover. I'll use these on 2 items that were not in stock, but I have a rain check for!

So, how did I save 80%?

The sodas were on sale for $0.88. I did not use any coupons on these. I just know it's a good deal. The two newspapers were discounted 30% from a previous coupon I had from CVS. I used these two papers to get the coupons for the rest of the items.

The Zyrtec was on sale for $5.99 and you get $5.99 back in EB (Extra Bucks). I had a $2.00 off coupon so I used that and MADE $2.00 on the purchase.

The Bayer was on sale for $3.00 and you receive $1.00 EB, I had a $2.00 off coupon so I got this for free!

The Motrin PM was $4.00 and I received$3.00 EB, plus I had a $1.00 off coupon so they were free. CVS allowed 3 per household so I grabbed three! The benefit of collecting multiple copies of coupons.

The Hydro 5 Razor was on sale for $8.00 and I received $4.00 in EB. I had a $3.00 coupon so I paid $1 for the razor. The cartridges for the razor were $8.79 on sale and I got $4.00 in EB. I used a $1.00 off coupon and purchased them for $3.79.

The Mitchum deodorant was on sale for $1.99 and I had a $1.00 off coupon.

I used the extra bucks I received and saved big time. There were actually better coupons on some of these items in other regions. So, one could have saved around $3.00 more since the values on coupons are different based on the region.

So, that's it. Going over groceries is a bit more involved, so I hope this scenario helps. Hope this helps! Let me know what you think!