If you are a regular reader here, you may remember that about 3 weeks ago I actually went to CVS and bought things.
Yes, I know....you are horrified that I forsook my beloved Rite-Aids and ventured into a CVS.
Well you would too if CVS was giving away Finish Dishwasher Detergent for .75¢ a box...and that was BEFORE the Extra Care Bucks I earned buying $21 worth! ;-)
So let's follow the saga of getting and rolling these $10 in ECBs x2. You'll see how much I have actually paid Out of Pocket to buy stuff at CVS.
First off, I have 2 cards....1 for me and 1 for Hubs.
I bought a stack of Finish coupons, er rather, I paid some kind soul on eBay to clip a stack of coupons for me for the price of $6.48 with shipping. A bit high for 20 coupons but these were regional high valued ones so I was prepared to spend a bit more.
I used 14 of the coupons between the 2 cards, so I am OOP $4.53 right off the bat.
(Each coupon w/shipping cost .324¢.)
Each lot of 7 boxes of Finish after coupons cost me $5.25 OOP.
2 transactions of 7 boxes each makes it $10.50.
Add in the $4.53 and my investment total is $15.03.
Here's half of the boxes....
I received $10 ECBs for each card, so I had $20 to roll into more products.
The following week I did a soda deal at CVS and rolled one of the $10 ECBs.
I got 6 12-packs of Pepsi products for $20, using the $10 ECB, leaving me with $10.60(.60¢tax) OOP.
I received another $10 ECB for buying $20 of Pepsi products.
My spending at this point was $25.63.
This week I finished rolling/spending those $20 in ECBs I had left. I just don't want to keep having to drag sorry butt back to CVS every 2 weeks, especially this time of year when getting there is iffy with the bad weather.
So I decided to roll and spend down all $20 ECBs this week.
Here's what I did....
The Buy $15 in Unilever food items, Get $5 in ECBs deal was first.
6 Boxes of Lipton TeaBags....I drink alot of iced tea and go through teabags quickly!....was $15.
After using 3 $1/2 MaunQs and my $10 ECBs, I paid $2 OOP. $15-$3=$12-$10=$2.00 OOP.
I received a $5 ECBs for buying $15 worth.
Spending total is now $27.63.
Then I bought 2 4lb. canisters of Sugar that were on sale for $2.99 this week.
2 x $2.99=$5.98 and I used a .65/2 ManuQ=$5.33.
I used the $5 ECB from the TeaBag Deal, so my OOP came to .33¢.
And I have no more ECBs on that card to roll.
Spending total is now $27.96.
On the other card I bought 5 12-packs of Coke products, as there was a Buy $15/Get $5 ECBs Deal.
I had a FREE 12-Pack of Coke Coupon reward I used as well.
$15-$3free cokes Q=$12-$10ECBs=$2.00=$.12 tax=$2.12 OOP and I received a $5 ECB back.
Spending total is now $30.08.
I bought 6 more boxes of Tea Bags and used 3 more $1/2 ManuQs and the $5 ECB to pay.....$15-$3=$12.00-$5.00=$7.00 OOP and I received a $5 ECB back.
Spending total is now $37.08.
Then I bought 2 Sugar canisters($5.98)and 6 Dawn Hand Renewal Soap(.97¢each=$5.82)=$11.80.
I used a .65/2 sugar Q and 3 x $1/2 Dawn Hand Renewal=$3.65
$11.80-$3.65=$8.15-$5 ECBs=$3.15+$.08tax=$3.23.
And I am out of ECBs on both cards.
Spending total is now $40.31.
So I have spent.....
$4.53-Finish coupons
$10.50-14 Finish boxes
$10.60-6 Pepsi packs
$2.00-6 Tea Bag boxes
$.33-8 lbs. Sugar
$2.12-5 Coke packs
$7.00-6 Tea Bag boxes
$.33-8 lbs. Sugar
$2.90-6 Dish Soap
And I received for this $40.31.....
14 Dishwasher Detergent boxes
11 12-packs of Soda
12 boxes of Tea
16 lbs. of Sugar
6 bottles of Dish Soap
To break it down into what my family uses and at what rate, that's 1 year worth of Dishwasher Detergent, 6 months worth of Soda, 6 months worth of Tea Bags, 6 months worth of Sugar and 4 months worth of Dish Soap.
It may sound like I've spent alot of money but if you divide what I spent by the number of items, it averages out to .68¢ per item!
And it's all items we need and will use....no fillers.
Using the sale prices and not the regular prices(since I NEVER would have paid those prices for the items!),without using the ECBs(and ManuQs)to bring down the prices paid, I would have spent $122.78+tax on this stuff.
I "saved" $82.47.
That's a savings of 67.17% over just buying these items at the sale prices.
I have a question for those of you who shop at CVS on a regular basis....
Do you ever buy filler items(along with items you need/want) just to roll ECBs into more ECBs before they expire?
Or do you only roll ECBs on things you need and just spend them down on things you need if there is nothing good to roll them on, to get more ECBs?
Do you ever feel pressured to buy things you normally wouldn't, to roll your ECBs?
If you do buy things you wouldn't to roll the ECBs, do you have someone/some groups you can pass these items on to easily?
If you had a choice of spending down your ECBs(because there is nothing good to roll them on to)OR rolling your ECBs when at least a part of what you buy would mean buying things you don't want/need to get more ECBs, which do you prefer to do?
Sluggy
Yes, I know....you are horrified that I forsook my beloved Rite-Aids and ventured into a CVS.
Well you would too if CVS was giving away Finish Dishwasher Detergent for .75¢ a box...and that was BEFORE the Extra Care Bucks I earned buying $21 worth! ;-)
So let's follow the saga of getting and rolling these $10 in ECBs x2. You'll see how much I have actually paid Out of Pocket to buy stuff at CVS.
First off, I have 2 cards....1 for me and 1 for Hubs.
I bought a stack of Finish coupons, er rather, I paid some kind soul on eBay to clip a stack of coupons for me for the price of $6.48 with shipping. A bit high for 20 coupons but these were regional high valued ones so I was prepared to spend a bit more.
I used 14 of the coupons between the 2 cards, so I am OOP $4.53 right off the bat.
(Each coupon w/shipping cost .324¢.)
Each lot of 7 boxes of Finish after coupons cost me $5.25 OOP.
2 transactions of 7 boxes each makes it $10.50.
Add in the $4.53 and my investment total is $15.03.
Here's half of the boxes....
I received $10 ECBs for each card, so I had $20 to roll into more products.
The following week I did a soda deal at CVS and rolled one of the $10 ECBs.
I got 6 12-packs of Pepsi products for $20, using the $10 ECB, leaving me with $10.60(.60¢tax) OOP.
I received another $10 ECB for buying $20 of Pepsi products.
My spending at this point was $25.63.
This week I finished rolling/spending those $20 in ECBs I had left. I just don't want to keep having to drag sorry butt back to CVS every 2 weeks, especially this time of year when getting there is iffy with the bad weather.
So I decided to roll and spend down all $20 ECBs this week.
Here's what I did....
The Buy $15 in Unilever food items, Get $5 in ECBs deal was first.
6 Boxes of Lipton TeaBags....I drink alot of iced tea and go through teabags quickly!....was $15.
After using 3 $1/2 MaunQs and my $10 ECBs, I paid $2 OOP. $15-$3=$12-$10=$2.00 OOP.
I received a $5 ECBs for buying $15 worth.
Spending total is now $27.63.
Then I bought 2 4lb. canisters of Sugar that were on sale for $2.99 this week.
2 x $2.99=$5.98 and I used a .65/2 ManuQ=$5.33.
I used the $5 ECB from the TeaBag Deal, so my OOP came to .33¢.
And I have no more ECBs on that card to roll.
Spending total is now $27.96.
On the other card I bought 5 12-packs of Coke products, as there was a Buy $15/Get $5 ECBs Deal.
I had a FREE 12-Pack of Coke Coupon reward I used as well.
$15-$3free cokes Q=$12-$10ECBs=$2.00=$.12 tax=$2.12 OOP and I received a $5 ECB back.
Spending total is now $30.08.
I bought 6 more boxes of Tea Bags and used 3 more $1/2 ManuQs and the $5 ECB to pay.....$15-$3=$12.00-$5.00=$7.00 OOP and I received a $5 ECB back.
Spending total is now $37.08.
Then I bought 2 Sugar canisters($5.98)and 6 Dawn Hand Renewal Soap(.97¢each=$5.82)=$11.80.
I used a .65/2 sugar Q and 3 x $1/2 Dawn Hand Renewal=$3.65
$11.80-$3.65=$8.15-$5 ECBs=$3.15+$.08tax=$3.23.
And I am out of ECBs on both cards.
Spending total is now $40.31.
So I have spent.....
$4.53-Finish coupons
$10.50-14 Finish boxes
$10.60-6 Pepsi packs
$2.00-6 Tea Bag boxes
$.33-8 lbs. Sugar
$2.12-5 Coke packs
$7.00-6 Tea Bag boxes
$.33-8 lbs. Sugar
$2.90-6 Dish Soap
And I received for this $40.31.....
14 Dishwasher Detergent boxes
11 12-packs of Soda
12 boxes of Tea
16 lbs. of Sugar
6 bottles of Dish Soap
To break it down into what my family uses and at what rate, that's 1 year worth of Dishwasher Detergent, 6 months worth of Soda, 6 months worth of Tea Bags, 6 months worth of Sugar and 4 months worth of Dish Soap.
It may sound like I've spent alot of money but if you divide what I spent by the number of items, it averages out to .68¢ per item!
And it's all items we need and will use....no fillers.
Using the sale prices and not the regular prices(since I NEVER would have paid those prices for the items!),without using the ECBs(and ManuQs)to bring down the prices paid, I would have spent $122.78+tax on this stuff.
I "saved" $82.47.
That's a savings of 67.17% over just buying these items at the sale prices.
I have a question for those of you who shop at CVS on a regular basis....
Do you ever buy filler items(along with items you need/want) just to roll ECBs into more ECBs before they expire?
Or do you only roll ECBs on things you need and just spend them down on things you need if there is nothing good to roll them on, to get more ECBs?
Do you ever feel pressured to buy things you normally wouldn't, to roll your ECBs?
If you do buy things you wouldn't to roll the ECBs, do you have someone/some groups you can pass these items on to easily?
If you had a choice of spending down your ECBs(because there is nothing good to roll them on to)OR rolling your ECBs when at least a part of what you buy would mean buying things you don't want/need to get more ECBs, which do you prefer to do?
Sluggy
