THE PATHS I TRAVEL...

My Blog Has Moved!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Lissa) — Sat, 23 Apr 2011 02:59:00 +0000

So sorry, but my blog was sooooo slow after we switched to Internet Explorer 9. You can find me now at www.justasnippet.wordpress.com

Back in the game!

noreply@blogger.com (Lissa) — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 17:40:00 +0000

Woohoo, I am back in the couponing game! I got out of it while in Tallahassee, but started up again this week. Aaand, my deals were small, at least it gave me the incentive again to go back to using coupons and pairing them up with current store deals.

At Pick and Save this week, I got 28 oz. Red Gold tomatoes for 50 cents each, McCormick seasoning pack for free (would not have bought it otherwise) and Jim's little Sugar Free snack cones for 99 cents each! That is an awesome price for those - they were $2.99 and I had 2 $1 coupons doubled..

At Pig, just picked up a few produce items, but bought the Creamette for only 14 cents. I used a Pig coupon to make it 69 cents and used a manufacturer's coupon for 55 cents - bringing it to 14 cents.

I figure between the 50 cent tomatoes, free seasoning for Chicken Cacciatori and 14 cent pasta - I will be making a pretty inexpensive meal soon!!

Been a while...

noreply@blogger.com (Lissa) — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 19:15:00 +0000

Wow, I came to my blog and realized how long it has been since I've posted. I was totally into blogging and getting my blog 'just right', that I took a hiatus from all the time I'd spent on it. 4 months is a bit too long, though!

I've just updated my 2010 Savings total - $1862.64! That was since March, and while it is no where near as high as some others, it was pretty amazing to me. How can I NOT coupon? If I am willing to put in the effort, it will truly benefit my family.

We are currently vacationing in Florida, and I cannot coupon like I did in back home. I feel the urge to go buy things at a great price, but have to be careful to not add too much weight to our trailer. So, I will stick with the needs, and see how that goes!

I have returned, once again, to Weight Watchers, and will try to focus my shopping on those items that will help me be successful - rather than all the low cost candy bars I'd been buying! If I buy them, I will try and maintain my willpower to give them to others!! Since we will be vacationing several months, this will be a great time for me to organize my shopping needs, so that I can hit it hard when I get home.

Looking forward to a great year...

CVS Shopping: Week of 9/5/10

noreply@blogger.com (Lissa) — Sun, 12 Sep 2010 00:38:00 +0000

Look at all the great stuff I purchased at CVS this week.

I purchased $48.96 worth of product (after sales/before taxes) and paid $3.28...a savings of 93% overall! (Note: I forgot the 3 snacks I bought - guess I had already put them away before the pic!)

As I write this post, I am embarassed to see I made 5 trips to CVS; but between the B1G1 free Sobe deal (I can only purchase 6 at a time) and the $3 off $10 grocery coupon that was printing this week there was just too many good deals to pass up!

Transaction #1:

6 Sobes - B1G1 and used 3 B1G1 free coupons = free +tax
2 Trident - 2x.99 - used $1 off 2 coupon = .98
2 Raisin Bran - 2x1.77 - used $1 coupon = 2.54

Total = $3.52

Used $3 off $10 groceries CVS coupon = .52

Threw in 1 CVS Peanut Butter filled pretzel - $1 (not pictured): did this so I could use my $1 ECB and not lose any value...total = $1.52

Used $1 ECB

Total: .52 + tax = .89

Received a .99 ECB from Trident

Transaction #2:

6 Sobes - B1G1 and used 3 B1G1 free coupons = free +tax
1 Airwick imotion - 4.99 - used $3 coupon = .99

Total = .99

Used .99 ECB - Total: 0 + tax = .70

Received $1 ECB for Green Bag tag

Transaction #3:

6 Sobes - B1G1 and used 3 B1G1 free coupons = free +tax
1 Snickers - $1 - used .75 coupon = .25
1 Raisin - $1.77 - used .60 coupon = $1.17
1 Corn Flake/1 Raisin Bran - 2x$1.77 - used $1 coupon = $2.54

Total = $3.96

Used $3 off $10 groceries CVS coupon = .96

Threw in 1 CVS pretzel - .79 (not pictured): did this so I could use my $1 ECB and use the full $1 value (yep, I'm cheap!)...total = $1.75

Used $1 ECB

Total: .75 + tax = $1.11

Transaction #4:

6 Sobes - B1G1 and used 3 B1G1 free coupons = free +tax
1 CVS Snack - $1 (not pictured)
2 Brownie Mixes - 2x$1 = $2

Total = $3.00

Used $3 off $10 groceries CVS coupon = 0 + tax

Total = .23

(This transaction is confusing, since I normally pay 35 cents tax just for the Sobe; I am guessing that the $3 off coupon does something to affect what is taxed, just haven't figured it out yet).

Transaction #5:

6 Sobes - B1G1 and used 3 B1G1 free coupons = free +tax

Total = .35
===========================================
Thanks to Simply CVS for the great deal ideas!

Pick and Save Shopping Trip

noreply@blogger.com (Lissa) — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 23:05:00 +0000

Every time I shop at Pick and Save now, I am always amazed at how much cheaper I get groceries since couponing with the Double Daze. It has become my favorite grocery store - I get such great deals!

The really good deals were:

Free Milk (plus overage) -Milk was $1.98 w/ coupon and I had a 'get one free' milk coupon valued up to $3.25 - it rang up for the full amount so I had $1.27 overage

Free Eggs (plus overage) - same thing, with 20 cents overage

Uncle Ben's Rice - $2.19 - $2 ($1 doubled coupon) = 19 cents!
Digorno Pizza - $2.20 - $2 ($1 doubled coupon) = 20 cents!
Ritz Pretzel - $2.75 - $2 ($1 doubled coupon) = 75 cents!

Now, I always wonder how to treat overage...do I take the total overage ($1.47) and split it across all items, or do I just 'take it off' certain items? (I know, I know, I overthink waaaay too much!)

Well, I decided to take it off the 3 items above and consider them free - and I will take the remaining 34 cents off something else!! Love getting free stuff and this makes me feel like I did REALLY well (5 free items)!!

The whole trip cost me $16.79 after using $15.51 in coupons; almost saved half the price of the groceries!

Yummy Mexican Chicken

noreply@blogger.com (Lissa) — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 22:42:00 +0000

Fresh Celery and Peppers

My buddy, Char, had me over this week to make some Pico de Gallo using fresh veggies from her garden. It was SO good and fresh - we had to have some with tortilla chips, just to verify it was good enough for anyone to eat!

Some Tomatoes

Fresh Pico de Gallo!

While I was there, she started her chicken dinner using some of her Pico de Gallo and it looked like it would taste good. So, never one to be imaginative *grin*, I made a very similar dinner the next night using MY Pico de Gallo! It was awesome.

I browned some chicken with Goya seasoning, threw the fresh veggies (with the juices) on it and let it simmer for a while. Then I just broke the chicken apart and put in some rice to let it cook in the juices...so good and easy. Add a little cheese on the top and refried beans on the side - and it made a quick, great tasting meal!

When life gives you brown bananas...

noreply@blogger.com (Lissa) — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 19:59:00 +0000

Lately, our bananas seem to turn brown very quickly. I asked several other people and they have had the same issue. Hmmm, is there a banana epidemic, I wonder?!?

Well, we have been just throwing them out; but I saw this recipe at $5 Dollar Dinners, so I had to try it.

Since my hubby is diabetic, I modified the recipe by using Splenda Sugar Blend in place of sugar. The banana cake was delish! It was still a little sweet for him, so next time I am going to try only Splenda and see how it turns out.

So, when life gives you brown bananas, make Banana Cake!

'Sort of' Freebies: Week of 8/29/10

noreply@blogger.com (Lissa) — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 18:56:00 +0000

My definition of ‘Sort of’ Freebies: Items that have been purchased by paying nothing, or tax only. If I pay with Extra Care Bucks, Register Rewards, Rebate money or free gift cards and only have to pay tax with my ‘real’ money – then I consider it a ‘Sort of’ freebie.

Here’s my deals for the week of 8/29/10...

Overall, I received $28.82 (pre-tax) of product and only paid 97 cents out of pocket - that's a 97% savings!

CVS Deals:

Transaction#1: (95% savings!)

1 Snickers – 1.00 (used .75 coupon)
2 Wheat Thins – 1.00 ea (used 2 - 1.00 coupons)
1 Dawn - .97 (used .25 coupon)
1 Ear Bud – 6.99

Total: 10.96 - 3.00 = 7.96
Minus 7.96 ECB (was 7.99 & adjusted down)

Paid 50 cents tax out of pocket!
Received a 6.99 ECB from the Ear Buds

Transaction#2: (97% savings!)

1 M&M – 1.00 (used .75 coupon)
2 Wheat Thins – 1.00 ea (used 2-1.00 coupons)
1 Dawn - .97 (used .25 coupon)

Total: 3.97 - 3.00 = .97
Minus $.97 ECB (was $1 & adjusted down)

Paid 11 cents tax out of pocket!
Received a 1.00 ECB for using my Green Tag

Transaction#3: (95% savings!)

1 Peanuts – 1.00 (used 1.00 coupon)
1 Dawn – .97 (used 1.00 coupon/adjusted to .97)
1 Always – 2.96 (used FREE Always coupon)

Total: 4.93 - 4.93 = 0!

Paid 22 cents tax out of pocket!

Walmart (96% savings!)

I bought the Gain along with my other groceries.

It was 97 cents and I had a $1 coupon (and I got the full $1 on the coupon)

Paid 4 cents tax for this (was 7 cents, but I got a 3 cent “credit” because of the coupon overage!)

Kmart (100% savings!)

Pedometer – $7.99

Used a FREE Pedometer coupon and paid NOTHING (not even tax!!)

Thanks to Simply CVS and A Full Cup for their deal ideas!

Gotta love spray paint!

noreply@blogger.com (Lissa) — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 03:06:00 +0000

Yep, I admit it; I'm a big spray paint fan!

When I want to (re)decorate a room, I love to see if there is something I can spray paint rather than having to go out and by a new item.

Last year I began a project to redo our bedroom. I don't know what I was thinking when I first moved into this house about 8 years ago. We have a solid oak bed and dresser and I was convinced some day my hubby would let me paint it all white - so, I decorated around an entire white theme; lamps, end tables, accessories. Years later, friends told me I would be crazy to paint solid wood (this was after my hubby nixed the idea).

Well, I was willing to ignore him, but I trusted my friend's input. So, once again, I began redecorating our room. I hated to go out and buy new decorative items, so I scanned the room to see what I could repaint.

Following are some pictures of the "new" items.

This shelf was all white - love how it looks now!

My biggest joy was the wicker chair. I was afraid that it would not look right, but took the plunge since I did not want to buy a new chair and we did not need white wicker. It turned out awesome! It took just over 1 can of paint, but looks just like a brown wicker chair from the store.

Even close up it looks good!

I love my room / bathroom so much better now - and am ready to finish my last 2 items to make it complete.

Bathroom shelf - use to be cream!

As good as mom's

noreply@blogger.com (Lissa) — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 23:44:00 +0000

Ahhh, the aroma of the dinner wafts through the air! Tasting so much better because you have smelled it for over an hour (you know how that is)!

This week I made one of my hubby's favorite meals - boiled dinner; very similar to corned beef and cabbage, but made with ham.

We've been married 21 years and I just started making this meal about 10 years ago. Every time we would go up 'north' to see my in-laws, my mother-in-law would come greet us and say "Guess what I am making?" With a inward groan, but a happy voice, I would say "Boiled Dinner?!?"

You see, I am not a ham eater, nor did I care for carrots too much, so this meal was absolutely not on MY list of favorites. But, after several years, it grew on me. And after several more years, I tried making it; wow, so easy! For the most part, this is a pretty frugal meal too, which is always a plus!

So, we enjoyed our boiled dinner this week, which turned out to be as good as mom's!

What a cool thing I found!

noreply@blogger.com (Lissa) — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 18:43:00 +0000

I was making deviled eggs this past Saturday for a picnic. I bought my eggs at Aldi’s (which I do quite often) but had never paid attention to the inside of the egg carton. But, as I was unloading my 12 eggs, I looked down and saw this on the inside of the lid:

How cool is that!

What a great scripture and the fact that they actually put a verse on the carton was amazing to me. Aaand, it made me want to buy my eggs their forever, just because the company was brave enough to place the scripture there.

So, with Goldhen, I will rejoice and be glad in this day!

(Hmmm, what's on the inside of your egg carton, I wonder?!?)

'Sort of' Freebies: Week of 8/22/10

noreply@blogger.com (Lissa) — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 04:01:00 +0000

My definition of ‘Sort of’ Freebies: Items that have been purchased paying nothing, or tax only. If I pay with Extra Care Bucks, Register Rewards, Rebate money and only have to pay tax with my ‘real’ money – then I consider it a ‘Sort of’ freebie.

Here’s my deals for the week of 8/22/10...

This was another great week, only spent $2.00 of my 'real' money and received $50.22 worth of pre-tax items...96% savings!

My items were from Pick and Save (cereal and Mentos), CVS (Glade, Herbal Essence, Listerine and Glide) and Target (more free soup!) Aaaand, I actually figured out the Pick and Save deals all by myself, without using any 'blog' help!

General Mills had an awesome deal, buy 6 and get an automatic $10 off and I had 3 $1 coupons that were doubled, so I paid only $2.34 for 6 boxes of cereal which gave me my 5 boxes free. I paid only $2.34 for the sixth (which was less than the sale price). Also, they gave coupons for a free gallon of milk and free dozen eggs!!

Thanks again to Totally Target and Simply CVS for the deal ideas!

'Sort of' Freebies: Week of 8/15/10

noreply@blogger.com (Lissa) — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 01:16:00 +0000

My definition of ‘Sort of’ Freebies: Items that have been purchased paying nothing, or tax only. If I pay with Extra Care Bucks, Register Rewards, Rebate money and only have to pay tax with my ‘real’ money – then I consider it a ‘Sort of’ freebie.

Here’s my deals for the week of 8/15/10...

The total I paid for the following items is $2.28! The total sale price of these items was $50.59 before tax, so I paid a little under 5% of the cost...95% savings!!

Everything except the soup was purchased at CVS. The soup was from Target and was TOTALLY free!

Thanks to A Full Cup, Totally Target, and Simply CVS for all the help on their blog(s) to find these deals!

Pick and Save; A New Way to Shop!

noreply@blogger.com (Lissa) — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 23:59:00 +0000

So today, I shopped completely different at Pick and Save. I really had nothing in particular that I was looking to get since I was preoccupied with leaving town. But, it was double 10 coupons and I hated to miss out on the reduced groceries.

I went in with my coupons and just walked the aisles, looking for sales that matched my coupons. Surprisingly, it did not really take me much longer to do that, then when I have a list!

I did pretty well, bought $29.04 worth of groceries (after sales) and ended up paying $13.64!! Yep, I was pretty excited… $15.40 worth of coupons after doubing!!

My really good deals were:

Uncle Ben’s rice - $2.19 minus $1/doubled = .19!
Oreo cookies - $2.69 minus $1/doubled = .69
Chex cereal - $2.79 minus $1/doubled = .79
Sara Lee Key Lime Pie (ready to serve) –
Clearance for $1.64 minus $.75 doubled = .14!!

Who would have known couponing could be such a rush?!?

Love Pick and Save Double Daze!

noreply@blogger.com (Lissa) — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 16:18:00 +0000

Pick and Save was one of those grocery stores that I seldom shopped at before I became a "couponer". I look back in amazement, once again, at all the good deals I missed before my couponing days began. Combining sales at P&S with the double coupons almost always gets me something for free that week!

This week, I bought my $25 worth of groceries ($25.73 to be exact) and paid only $14.73 OOP.

Again, the yogurt and Kraft 100 calorie cheese were free (plus got .34 overage on the Kraft cheese)! I so seldom pay anymore for yogurt, it will be hard to start paying again if they ever stop the double days!

My "OK" deals (good sale at PS):
1 Popsicle - $1
2 Lunchables - .98 each

My great deals:
1 Activia yogurt - $2
(minus $1 coupon/doubled) = free
1 Kraft 100 Calorie cheese - $1.66
(minus $1 coupon/doubled) = free +.34
2 Skinny Cow Truffles - 2/$7.00
(minus 2 $1 coupons/doubled) = $1.50 each!!
This was great since it is normally 4.89 a box here.
2 Lean Cuisine meals - 2/$4.00
(minus $1 coupon/doubled) = $1.00 each!

For all of the following, it cost me $14.73.

Not bad when you consider that the Bologna was $5.99 (this is my 'filler' to get my total to $25 when I need it...only Bologna my hubby eats) and the bananas were $1.10.

That means $7.64 for everything else!!

KMART Double coupons!

noreply@blogger.com (Lissa) — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 21:48:00 +0000

This week (7/4-7/10) is double coupon week at Kmart. I read some blogs and some people thought it wasn't quite worth going since it was only 5 coupons that were being doubled. Sooo, I wasn't quite sure how it would turn out but decided to give it a try anyway. They are doubling up to $2 coupons (giving me $4 off), so it sounded like it could be some pretty good trips.

I did have a bit of a scare after my first trip on Monday...my hubby put away the cart with my coupon binder still in it (he thought I was going to grab it, and I did not even know it was there!). Innocent mistake, but we did not realize it until we were several blocks away. When I got back to Kmart, I could not find the binder at all, but, thank God, it was at Customer service and the girl that worked there had found it!

Back to my transactions!

#1) Bought:

1 Gillette Clear Gel Deodorant for $4.29
1 Bic Soleil 6 pack for $5.79
1 Tampax 20 ct for $4.49
1 Dove Deodorant for $4.00
1 Dove Body Mist for $4.00 (which smells awesome by the way!)

Total: $22.57 before tax ($23.81 after tax)

Minus:

-$4.00 ($2.00 Gillette)
-$4.00 ($2.00 Bic)
-$4.00 ($2.00 Tampax)
-$4.00 ($2.00 Dove)
-$4.00 ($2.00 Dove)

Coupon total: $20.00 !!

Final Total: $22.57-$20.00 = $2.57 + .69 (Tax) = $3.26 OOP

For #1, I received $23.81 worth of product for $3.26...savings around 86%!!

#2) Bought:

2 Broadway Nails for $5.49 each
1 Poise Pantiliner for $3.49 (Charity)
1 Tampax 20 ct for $4.49

Total: $18.96 before tax ($20.00 after tax)

Minus:

-$4.00 ($2.00 Broadway Nails)
-$4.00 ($2.00 Broadway Nails)
-$4.00 ($2.00 Tampax)
-$3.49 ($2.00 Poise) - only will double up to the value of the item

Coupon total: $15.49

Final total: $18.96-$15.49 = $3.47+.80 (tax) = $4.07 OOP

For #2, I received $20.00 of product for $4.07...savings around 80%

And with both transactions around a 83% savings!

I know it is not the best deal in the world, but for a new couponer, it is pretty good! Managed to get the Dove and Poise for free (other than tax) and the the Tampax for only around .50 each box!

The Broadway Nails are what cost me, but $1.68 for each is an awesome price for what I have found in my area!

$7.33 for all of this!!

Frugal Finds: Week of 05/30/10

noreply@blogger.com (Lissa) — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 15:40:00 +0000

Scored Big time this week at Target!

Started with a $5 gift card I received a couple of months back and a $9.99 Rebate Visa Card that I had received from CVS (didn't have 9.99 left, but still had some money on it)

Transaction #1:

Purchased:

10 Sobe Waters (10 for $10)

Minus:

$2.00 (4x.50 coupons from Target.com)
$1.00 (Buy 5 get 1 free coupon)
$5.00 Gift Card

Total due: $2.00 plus tax (paid with a rebate gift card so $0 OOP!!)

Received $5 Gift Card back!!

Transaction #2:
Purchased:

1 Scrubbing Bubbles Cleaner - $8.69
10 WW Dinners - 17.90 ($1.79 each)

Total: $26.59

Minus:

$3.00 Scrubbing Bubbles Target coupon
$5.00 Scrubbing Bubbles IP coupon
$4.00 WW coupon
$5.00 Gift Card

Total: 17.00

$26.59-$17.00 = 9.59 (9.90 with tax)

Still had money on my Rebate Debit card, used $6.00 of that
Paid $3.90 OOP!!

Aaaand, received a $5.00 Gift card again...

So I received $36.59 worth of product for only $3.90 that day!! And I still have a $5.00 Gift card to spend!!

CVS Experiment - Update

noreply@blogger.com (Lissa) — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 01:43:00 +0000

As of 6/9/10, the following purchases have been added to my "experiment"..."

I haven't updated in a while, though I have been taking pictures of my "finds".

Here is what I added to my orignial purchases:

Trans #6:

1 Blade 5 Razor - $6.99 (will get $6.99 ECB)
1 Herbal Essence Hairspray -$2.99 (will get $2 ECB)
3 Glade room spray - $2.50 (will use SC Johnson Rebate of $5 for 3 products)

Total: $12.48

Minus:

$1.00 Herbal Essence
$10.99 ECBs

$11.99 Coupon/ECB total --> $12.48-$11.99 = .49

Received $8.99 of ECBs and another $1 for scanning my Green Tag, so I lost $1 of ECBs, but will submit the 3 Glades for the SC Johnson $5 rebate for 3 items - which will make me almost $4 of 'real money'.

OOP $1.13 - so $30.87 spent to date.

Trans #7:

2 Gillette Body wash at $4 each (Charity donation) - (will get $4 ECBs per item)
1 Dial Trial size body wash - .99

Total $8.99

Minus:

1 B1G1 Body Wash (-$4.00)
$4.99 ECBs

Coupon/ECB Total = $8.99 ---> 8.99-8.99 = 0!!

OOP - .49 (Tax) AND received $8.00 in ECBs!!

Woohoo, only 49 cents!

Trans #8:

P&G came out with their new coupons for June and CVS had some razors on ECB deals.

Rolaids was also an ECB deal, but I did not buy the right ones, soooo, I lost some ECBs, but still got a good deal on the items:

Bought:

1 Venus Embrace - $8.99 (will get $4 ECB)
1 Gillette Fusion - $9.97 (will get $5 ECB)
2 Rolaids at $3.49 each
2 Caramels at .33 each (not pictured, but needed to use my ECB total)

Total: $26.60

Minus:

$5.00 CVS coupon (off $25 purchase)
$4.00 Gillette Fusion
$2.00 Venus Embrace
$4.00 Rolaids
$11.49 ECBs

Coupon/ECB total: $26.49 ---> $26.60-$26.49 = .11!!

OOP - $1.24 (with tax)

Received $9.00 ECBs - so, lost 2.49, but still got a good price. Had I bought the right Rolaids, I would have paid $1 more, but got $4 ECBs - Oh well...live and learn to read the sign!!

OOP $1.24 - cheaper than my previous Venus Embrace deal, and I got a second razor (and Rolaids)!

Trans #9:

Found out on a blog that CVS has monthly ECB deals, that may or may not be marked on the shelf...but do not necessarily show up in the ad. So, our CVS did have it marked which saved me having to figure out what was on the 'deal'.

Bought:

3 Power Bars - .99 each (will get .99 ECB back on each one)
1 Snack - $1.00

Total: $3.97

Used a $4 ECB that they reduced to $3.97 (ECBs only cover pre-tax cost) - soo...

Total OOP = 7 cents! And I received $2.97 in ECBs!!

To date, the result of my 'experiment': $32.67 all of these items so far! I am now a true believer that although some prices may be higher at CVS, the ECBs make it worth your while to buy items there.

CVS Lover

noreply@blogger.com (Lissa) — Mon, 10 May 2010 18:27:00 +0000

I have become a huge fan of CVS and regret that I avoided shopping there for years. I (along with others) always thought that they were waaay overpriced, and, even if they did give back Extra Care Bucks (ECBs), it did not offset the cost of the items I was buying.

Oh, little did I know how much CVS just gives away!

After reading many couponing blogs, I realized that to succeed at CVS you need to take the ECBs that you earn and ‘roll’ them into your next purchase. Meaning 1) use them! Don’t let them expire and end up in the trash and 2) try to buy something that generates another ECB. This way you are continually getting ‘free’ money.

I started an experiment that got put on hold while I was on vacation – and I am still working on it. I decided to pick a purchase where I started with no ECBs (like a CVS newbie), but made sure that the purchase generated ECBs. Then, I would take those ECBs to the next purchases and see how much I could get before depleting all the ECBs.

ECBs usually expire within a month of your purchase, so that gives you 4 weeks to find another sale that you can roll your ECBs into.

So, here’s my scenarios:

#1/#2:

Trans #1:
Bought Charmin, Bounty and 3 Puffs tissues and I had a $4 off $20 purchase coupon from CVS (you get these in an email or when you scan your card).

My total for the items, with tax, was $21.54.

Not a great price (and why I never shopped at CVS before), the Charmin was 9.99 – 50 cent coupon and the Bounty was 12.99 for a 12 roll. Again, neither was a fantastic price, but the purchase generated a $10 ECB for my next purchase.

Trans #2:
Bought a CVS tag for my reusable bag for 99 cents. This generated a 99 cents ECB.

The beauty of this CVS tag is that every time you use a reusable bag and scan this card, CVS keeps track and, after 4 times, it generates a $1 ECB….free money for using a reusable bag!

So, after #1 and #2 I have $10.99 in ECBs.

#1 / #2 : $22.59

Trans #3:
CVS had a deal, buy $15 in Nivea products and get a $5 ECB.

I also bought Depends (no, I don’t need them but will donate them since they are free!) They were 6.99 with a $6.99 ECB generated.

And, CVS sent me another $4 off $20 purchase in my email. So...

3 Nivea Body Washes ($4.88 x 3 = $14.64)
2 Nivea Lip Care Items ($2.99 x 2 = $5.98)
1 Depends - $6.99

Total: $27.61

Minus:
$4 CVS coupon (use this first before total is less than $20)
$4 - 2 Nivea Body Wash Coupons (2x2.00)
$4.88 - 1 B1G1 Nivea Body Wash
$2.99 - 1 B1G1 Lip Care

Total = $15.87

$27.61 – $15.87 = $11.74

Now, I use my ECBs from trans #1/2: $11.74 – $10.99 = 75 cents! (You have to pay tax on the full amount, so my total was $2.08)

Cool thing, I get back a $5 and a $6.99 ECB, so I make a buck, because I now have $11.99 in ECBs.

Trans #4:
Venus Embrace (had 2 cartridges in it) was on sale for $9.79, which generated a $6 ECB.

$9.79 – $2 coupon – $6.99 ECB = 80 cents! With tax, $1.34…pretty good for a $9 razor.

I also got $6 in ECBs, so right back where I started before #3 (ie. I have a $5 and $6 ECB)

#4: $1.34 Out of pocket

Trans #5:
Made a killing in this transaction!
2 Pantenes – 2/$6.97 (will get $3 ECB)
2 Right Guards – 2/$5.98 ( will get $4 ECB)
1 Crest Pro Health – $3.50 (will get $3.50 ECB)
1 Lady’s Mitchum – $2.99 (will get $1 ECB)
1 Kotex U Liners – $4.99 (will get $4.99 ECB)
1 CVS Wipes - .99

Total = $25.42

Minus:

$5 CVS coupon ($5 off $25 – from scanning card)
$1 Pantene
$3 Right Guard
$1 Mitchum
$1 CVS coupon for Kotex
$1 Kotex

$12 coupon total

$25.42 – $12.00 = $13.42

I used my 2 ECBs, $5 and $6 = $13.42 – $11.00 = $2.42; plus tax = $3.54!! For all of that…

I then received 16.49 back in ECBs, making a little over $2!!

I turned around and bought the 2nd Crest Pro Health (there was a limit of 2) using the $3.50 ECB and spent 19 cents. I received another $3.50 ECB and a $1 ECB for using my CVS tag on the reusable bag.

So, I now have $17.49 in ECBs and still have another $5 off $25 purchase. For the next month I will look for deals that will let me get more free stuff!

#5: $3.73

The total, to date, that I have spent from (and including) the first purchase is $29.74. See the picture with all my products below.

I will keep adding to this note (probably not to the picture, though!!) to see how much will be purchased before I run out of the ECBs.

All of this, so far, for $29.74!!
There are 22 items, so around $1.35 per item!
Or around 7 bucks for everything after my first purchase!

Scriptures for our class...

noreply@blogger.com (Lissa) — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 21:59:00 +0000

The room that I teach the New Life Discipleship class in needs some decorating.

Since there are 20 lessons, each with it's own memory verse, I decided we should 'scrap' the verses so they can be put on the wall...

We did these yesterday and I really think they look pretty. They will definitely add a lot to the room.

Christmas decorations...

noreply@blogger.com (Lissa) — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 01:31:00 +0000

I was playing with my camera, trying to improve my 'night' shots. Still haven't mastered it yet, but I really like how some of the pictures turned out. Here is my 'white' tree:

I had wanted a tall, thin tree to put white lights on. When Niki was pregnant with Julia she found this tree after Christmas for $11 - what a deal! She had to race to get the last one from a woman that was eying it; but, pregnant and all she got it - and I was thrilled!!
======================================
Here are some of the decorations:

I had such a blast shopping for these ornaments after I knew I was going to finally be able to decorate a tree in white lights. We have enough now, but I still love looking at burgundy and gold ornaments at the stores....
=============================================
Our Mickey/Minnie tree skirt------------------------One of our little outdoor trees Our IKEA lights - love these (copied the idea from Niki) I love all the lights at Christmas and always think that it would be so cool to see them all year. I suppose, though, they would become common, then they would not be so special...

Christmas Cards...finally!

noreply@blogger.com (Lissa) — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 23:07:00 +0000

Whew, I finally completed my Christmas cards! This is the 2nd year in a row that I put off making my cards until the last minute. I REALLY need to start when I buy my products, that would make it much less stressful. I love the process of putting cards together, and am always so excited when the last piece has been adhered.
The trees on this card made me think of how peaceful and hushed it is in the woods after a snowfall...so I thought that this scripture went well:

Outside says: BE STILL...
Inside: AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD

Anyway, here are the 40 that I made; doesn't it look like I was busy?!?

These were made from the sketch found here, at Taylored Expressions (sketch TECC35)

Control freak...

noreply@blogger.com (Lissa) — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 15:56:00 +0000

that would describe me perfectly. I have a real problem when I am in a situation that I cannot take control of.

I read the perfect comments on a scripture yesterday that really helped me…I just have to absorb it into my character. Psalm 31:14-15 “But I trust in you, O Lord; I say “You are my God.” My times are in your hands…”.

The comments I read were: “David was expressing his belief that all of life’s circumstances are under God’s control. Knowing that God loves and cares for us enables us to keep steady in our faith regardless of our circumstances.”

It commented that this should keep us from acting foolishly by taking matters into our own hands or resenting God’s timetable. I need this, to remember all things are in His control and take place according to His timing.

Here is a quote over the door in my scrapbook room. Obviously I know myself pretty well, I need to remain calm in everything, no matter what the circumstances or how slow I think things are moving...