I actually made it to Target AND to CVS this week. Wahoo!    I told you that our stockpile was looking a bit slim, so I’m trying to bulk it back up a little bit. Here’s how my CVS trip went.

Bought:
1 Biore Strips – $7.50
2 Biore Facial Cleanser – $7.50
1 Tampax – $3.99

Coupons Used:
FREE Biore Cleanser wyb Pore Strip, exp. 5/31/12 (SS 03/04/12)
$2/1 Biore product CVS coupon received via Beauty Club email
$1/1 Tampax Pearl, Pearl Compak, Radiant, exp. 4/30/12 (P&G 04/01/12)

Out-of-Pocket Cost: $8.49
ECBs Earned: $7.00 ($5 Biore, $2 Tampax)
Final Price: $1.49
Savings: $17.50 (92%)

Biore products are on sale this week at CVS. Buy $15 worth and you’ll get a $5 ECB. If you’re a CVS Beauty Club member, check your email inbox. I found a $2 off Biore Facial Skin Care coupon in mine! So here’s the deal I’m doing to get 2 Biore products for $.99.

Buy 1 Biore Pore Strips – $7.99
Buy 1 Biore Facial Cleanser – $7.99
Use FREE Biore Cleanser wyb Pore Strip, exp. 5/31/12 (SS 03/04/12) (save $7.99)
Use $2 off Biore CVS coupon from Beauty Club email
Earn $5 ECBs
Final Price: $.99 for both

Note: The CVS website shows that the Biore products are on sale for $6.39, but sometimes those prices aren’t the same as the store prices.

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When your CVS store is out of a sale item, do you get a rain check? Well, I do. And then I proceed to never use them and accumulate a HUGE stack of them. They never expire, so why toss them, right?

This week I decided to start using some of my CVS rain checks. I figured I’d do a few at a time so that the cashiers don’t hate me.    My favorite way to use a rain check is to wait until there’s a coupon available for the item.

Here’s how this week’s transactions went. (Why do I always end up buying chocolate and toothpaste in the same shopping trip???)

Transaction #1
1 Colgate Sensitive Pro Relief Toothpaste – $4.99
3 U by Kotex Liners – $.99 (rain check price)
- 1 $0.75/1 Colgate Toothpaste, exp. 3/17/12 (SS 02/26/12 R)
- 3 $1/1 U by Kotex Product printable (adjusted to $.99 each)
- $4 ECBs (from last week)
Out-of-Pocket Cost: $.24 plus tax
ECBs Earned: $4.00 (Colgate)

Transaction #2
1 Hershey Bliss Chocolates – $3.99 (sale price this week)
- $1/1 Hershey Bliss Chocolate CVS coupon from in-store coupon machine
-$1/1 Hershey’s Bliss, exp. 3/20/12 (ALL YOU Feb ’12)
-$2.00 ECBs (from last week)
Out-of-Pocket Cost: $0
ECBs Earned: $3.99 (Rain check was for full-price back*)

Total Value Purchased: $11.95
Total Out-of-Pocket Cost: $.24 plus tax
Savings: $11.71 (98%)

* Now for my weird rain check story. I had a rain check for the Hershey’s Bliss. It was for $5.99 for 1 bag and then get $5.99 in ECBs back. They’re on sale this week for $3.99, and the register would not let the cashier put in the higher price. So we settled on just doing the $3.99 and giving me back the $3.99 in ECBs. Because they print the ECBs manually, I ended up with $4 ECBs.

Now I just have to figure out how to use up the other 25 rain checks that I have!

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Merchandise Value: $45.72
Out-of-Pocket Cost: $16.26
Ending ECBs: $6.00
Final Price: $10.26
Savings: $35.46 (78%)

I spent more than usual out-of-pocket, but I had some meds to buy. The problem was that the 42 ct. Prilosec packs were gone at my CVS store. I grabbed the 14 count and figured my coupon would make it a so-so price. I was disappointed though that there were no ECBs on that size. But when I got to the register I was pleasantly surprised.

The store manager had OK’d giving people a pro-rated price per tablet on the smaller packs. So I paid the same amount per pill as if I’d bought the 42-count. He also OK’d pro-rating the ECBs. Woo hoo! Instead of the $5 ECBs from the 42-count, I got $2 ECBs from the 14-count. And I still got to use my coupon. Works for me!

Here’s what else I got:

Transaction #1:

What I Bought:
2 Colgate Total Toothpaste – $2.75 each
8 Speed Stick Deodorant – $1.99 each

Coupons Used:
2 $0.75/1 Colgate Optic White, Total Advanced or Sensitive Pro-Relief, exp. 3/3/12 (SS 02/12/12 R)
4 B1G1 Speed Stick or Lady Speed Stick Antiperspirant/Deodorant, exp. 2/15/12 (SS 01/29/12)
$4 off $20 CVS coupon received via email

Out-of-Pocket Cost: $7.96
ECBs Earned: $9.00 ($5.00 Speed Stick, $4.00 Colgate)

Transaction #2:

What I Bought:
1 Valentine’s Day M&Ms – $1.99
2 ThermaCare Heat Wraps – $6.99 each
1 Prilosec OTC 8 ct – $8.33 (pro-rated … see above)

Coupons Used:
$1/1 M&M’s Brand Product, exp. 2/20/12 (ALL YOU Feb ’12)
2 $2/1 ThermaCare peelie coupons found on package
$2/1 Prilosec OTC, exp. 2/29/12 (P&G 01/29/12)
$9.00 ECBs from Transaction #1

Out-of-Pocket Cost: $8.30
ECBs Earned: $6.00 ($4.00 ThermaCare, $2.00 Prilosec)

Total Out-of-Pocket Cost: $16.26
Ending ECBs: $6.00
Final Cost: $10.26
Savings: $35.46 (78%)