Crazy Savings at CVS

So, about 3 months ago, I decided to embark on the world of couponing. I have always made excuses for why I couldn't, wouldn't or shouldn't do it ~ takes too much time, won't save me any money, they don't have coupons for the stuff I buy, etc. But, Corey and I really needed to trim our budget, and after visiting a few couponing websites, I thought I would give it a try. Since then, I have seen some SERIOUS savings ~ cutting both my grocery bill and baby supplies expense in half :) I have had a few friends ask to share some tips on how I am doing it and my blog seemed like the most logical option. So, here you go!

Today, I thought I would share about CVS because I got a great deal on diapers there today, and I don't know too many of my friends that wouldn't like a little savings in that department :)

I don't know about you, but I like step-by-step instructions, so to make it simple, I thought I would number this post - so its not just paragraph after paragraph.

1. First of all, if you are thinking about couponing, I would recommend visiting www.southernsavers.com ~ fantastic website with How-To's on all the stores, coupon policies, and the weekly sale items with coupon match-ups. And, I would recommend starting off slowly and then getting more advanced as you see success.

Some people shop both Walgreen's and CVS, but since I am new to this, I decided to just focus on one and found better deals at CVS. Just to be clear, I still shop Harris Teeter and Lowes Foods for all of my grocery needs. I primarily buy my baby supplies and toiletries from CVS.

2. Go to CVS.com and sign up for their Extra Care card, AND sign up for their email list. This is the ticket to super savings. They will immediately email you a $4 off $20 coupon just for signing up and then will periodically email you more - I have been getting about 1 a month.

3. CVS runs their sales from Sunday to Saturday, so check the couponing websites or the Sunday sale papers to see what their sales are. The best deals are the ones that give you ECB's or Extra Care Bucks. Basically, this is money back after your transaction that you can apply to your next transaction.

CVS will allow you to do multiple transactions in one visit. So, as an example, let's say you want to buy Crest Toothpaste for $2.99 and has $2 ECB and Listerine that is $1,.99 and has no ECB's. Buy your Crest in your 1st transaction and then use your $2 ECB towards your Listerine purchase, which you will get for FREE!!

4. Figure out what you plan to buy, coupon match-ups, and your transactions before you go - this will save you time and frustration in the store.

5. Go shopping!! When you get to the store, be sure to stop by their red coupon kiosk. When you scan your card it will print off additional in-store coupons for you to use, either on that trip or a later one.

I want to finish by sharing my example from today, so you can see how good the savings can be. The Pampers Jumbo pack of diapers (36 per bag) were on sale for 2/$18. I had $4 ECB's left over from last week, a $2 off Pampers coupon (manufacturer coupon) and a $2 off Pampers coupon that I had printed off the kiosk last week (store coupon). So, I walked out of the store with 72 diapers for $11, which averages out to about $.15 per diaper!! I was one happy Momma!!

Back at it Again

So, they say that the 3rd times the charm ~ I guess we'll see. I have decided to start back blogging once again, and hopefully I'll have better luck this time than the last two.

I really love blogging - it is very therapeutic - but, it seems to get put on the back burner when things get hectic. I read somewhere that you have to do something 21 times before it becomes a habit. So my goal this time is to write 21 posts and hopefully by that point it will be like second nature.

So, I hope you'll follow me as I navigate the highs and lows of being a stay-at-home wife and Mom! And, I hope you enjoy the new layout and name ~ decided to start with something fresh this go round!

Time to Organize

So typically I am not a fan of New Year's resolutions. But, this year, I decided to set one - figured it would be something to help hold me accountable! So my resolution is to declutter and have a yard sale!! I guess that is actually two, but who's counting!!

If you know me, then you know I am extremely organized ~ probably to a fault. So, if you walk in my house on any given day, you would think I have it all together. But, what you don't see is the monster that lives in all of my storage places.

We currently have an unfinished upstairs, which is a good thing. But, it seems to be the catch all for everything and throughout the year can get pretty crazy. So, I decided that every January I am going to have a purge session!! If I haven't used it in the last year or can't find a reason to save it for a future use, then it is out of here!! And then in March I am going to have a yard sale to get rid of it all!!

So, I started on this last weekend, with the help of my wonderful hubby!! We started by organizing the attic into sections - one is for things we want to store long-term, but don't need to access (momentos, stuff for a future home, etc.). The other section is stuff that we need to get to on a regular basis, but doesn't have a place downstairs (Christmas decorations, kids clothing/toys that we need to keep for future little ones, hunting gear, etc). And, finally is our yard sale section. That way when we started with the downstairs, we new which section to take things to.

Then I began at one end of the house and moved through it, cleaning out every drawer, cabinet, or closet. I re-organized the contents, removing anything that we didn't need or use anymore. Those items then either got trashed or put in the yard sale pile!! Other than mine and Corey's closet, we got through the entire house!! It was a weekend of hard work, but felt so good once it was done!!

So, now if I can just keep it this way throughout the year!!