How CVS overages paid for my Easter candy

This afternoon after my final triathlon training day (big day is next Sunday!), I stopped by CVS to get deals for both weeks. Yes, I was sweaty and gross but by myself. This will be probably be my last chance to buy Easter goodies without the kids.

Tip: If you shop on Saturday afternoons / evenings, make sure you have your list of deals from the previous week because all the tags will likely be down and replaced with next week's tags. It takes a little longer to get the right products but it's worth it to me turning two trips into one.

Here's how CVS overages / money makers paid for 3 Dove solid chocolate bunnies and 2 bags of Dove solid chocolate eggs. I've said it before: I'm a chocolate snob but it's important to me that the first ingredient in my chocolates be chocolate and not sugar (check the ingredients on other brands), and Dove has no artificial colors. Yeah!

First I scanned my CVS card at the kiosk and was surprised by a random $1 ECB. Free money! Then I bought:

• 2 Airwick Freshmatic kits and 2 Airwick Fresmatic refills ($5 each; spend $20, earn $10 ECB; used 2 $4 MC on kits, 1 B1G1 MC on refills, and 1 $1.50 off refills=$4.50 MM). See other deal scenarios here.
• 1 Complete eye solution ($9, get $9ECB=FREE; I couldn't find the coupon that reportedly came in last Sunday's paper which would have made it a MM.)
• 2 Oral B Advantage toothbrushes ($3 each, get $1ECB for each, used 1 B1G1 and 1 $2 MC=$1 MM)
• 1 Crest Pro-Health toothpaste and 1 Glide Pro-Health floss ($3.50 each, get $2.50 ECB for each, used $1 MC for toothpaste and $1 MC for floss in home P&G home mailer=2 FREE.) However, the ECBs did not print and so the clerk had to punch it in manually. The machines won't let them do cents and so she rounded each up to $3, making this a $1 MM. Had I known this, I would have asked her to print one $3 and one $2 so that it would be fair. Tip for future trips.
• Since my total before coupons was over $40, I used the $5 off $40 coupon I printed from Facebook a few days ago. It expires 4/10.
• I also used $15 ECBs from previous trips

Subtotal: $.47

Total with tax: $4.07

Total savings: $57.74

ECBs earned: $27

My second transaction included:

• 3 Dove chocolate bunnies & 2 bags of Dove chocolate eggs (normally $4.99 each, on sale for $3 each, used $2/2 Mars products in All You magazine, $1/2 Mars products from paper, and $1 off Dove bag chocolates from paper)
• 1 Russell Stover chocolate bunny ($.74, get $.74 ECB=FREE; deal Sunday through Tuesday only; limit 1)
• 1 CVS Super Bubbles ($1.49--was supposed to be $1.99, get $1.99 ECB; deal Sunday through Tuesday only). Again, the ECBs for the Russell Stover and bubbles did not print; so she gave me $1 and $2 ECBs. Had I been thinking clearly, I would have taken the $2 and not had her print the $1. Lesson learned.
• I used the $10 and $3 ECBs from previous transaction too.

Subtotal: $.23

Total with tax: $1.23

Total saved: $27.58

ECBs earned: $3

To recap, I'll be donating everything from the first transaction to my Couponing for Charity mission. CVS overages & free coupons totaled $12.50 and my chocolates after coupons were $11. And that is how CVS paid for my Easter candy! Thank you, CVS!

Note: I have no affiliation with CVS, and this was not a paid post. I'm just a happy customer.

Back to School Clothing: Go Green Save Green

Last night I wrote about ways to go green and save green on school supplies. Tonight I figured I'd share my two cents for how to do the same with clothing.

There are different ways to consider what makes clothing green. There are those made with organic cotton. Some clothes are even made from recycled materials. It's also green to buy at consignment sales or garage sales because it's giving clothes another life. Personally, we do most of our kids "shopping out of a box"--boxes of clothes passed down to us from friends and family. Free is good! Finally, green might just mean purchasing better quality from the start so that the clothes will last longer.

When I say "quality," I don't mean you have to buy boutique or froo-froo. Kids need to feel free to play and get dirty in my opinion. But this is a lesson I've learned the hard way with shoes. When the boys were really young, Wal-mart and Target were my go-to for shoes. That was fine since they out-grew them before they out-wore them. As they got older, I turned to Sketchers bought at Kohl's. They worked fine for about three months, when stitching began to pop and holes started appearing. When I asked my friends Amy and Shannon where they bought shoes, they unanimously said, "Stride Rite. Yes, they're more expensive, but one pair will last all year."

So today I checked the Stride Rite website and saw that everything in the store is buy one, get one half off 'til August 29; no coupon necessary. We hopped in the car. The prices for boys' sneakers ranged from $30 to $55. Each of the boys got identical shoes and I saved $25. Tip: You might wait to shop during the tax free weekend (Friday, August 6 - Sunday, August 8), but last time I went to Stride Rite on a tax free day, there were 25 customers in front of me. No thanks.

Though fine chocolate has nothing to do with clothing your kids, one principal of green shopping is clustering your trips. Since the Godiva store is only two shops away from Stride Rite, I went in for my free piece of chocolate. I signed up for the free rewards club months ago, which lets you pick one FREE piece of chocolate every month (no purchase necessary), but this was my first chance to try it. I picked one of the incredible truffles and each kid got a taste. Heaven!

If you make it to West Town Mall tomorrow (7/31), you might check out The Children's Place sale. With these coupons, you could save up to 30%. Thanks, Coupon Katie.

We then headed over to Kohl's since I had several ways to save:

A. It's the mega 2 day sale.

B. It was during power hours (tomorrow they are from 7am -1pm).

C. I had a coupon for an additional 15% off everything in the store.

D. I had a $10 coupon emailed to me (no minimum required) for shopping in the newly renovated Morrel Road sotre.

E. If I spent $50 (after all these savings), I could earn $10 Kohls cash.

My plan was to get just enough underwear for the boys to pay little out of pocket. "I don't want underwear! I want a watch!" Bobby whined. "You don't need a watch. You need underwear." I was being sensible and frugal! Then we walked past the backpacks. "Look, Mom, Bakugan! It's perfect! Can I get it?! Please!" I rarely give in to my children's requests in the store, but there's a part of me that knows the joy of starting each school year fresh and new. Nothing does that better than new shoes and a new backpack. Though the greener choice is to stick with a backpack til it falls apart, I relent on this one. Devin was elated at the Buzz Lightyear pack with a 3-D image. At least they were half off and I saved an additional 15% and $10 off my total.

Another place to consider for backpacks if you're out tomorrow is OfficeMax. They have a sale (through 7/31) that gives you the full price of up to two backpacks in MaxPerks Bonus Rewards. If you need other office supplies, this is a way to get free backpacks.

I'll close with a suggestion for all those old sneakers hiding in the crevices of your closets. Don't throw them away! Donate them instead to Nike ReUSE a Shoe and they will be recycled into rubber surfaces for playgrounds, basketball courts, and tennis courts. You can drop off up to 10 athletic shoes (any brand) at the Nike Factory Store in Sevierville or host a group shoe drive. I'm hoping to make a trip to the Smokies with the kids before school starts. Thanks to Couponing in Critical Times for the tip.

What ways do you go green and save green on back to school clothes?