You can do this, too!

As you know, I teach a Coupon Mastery course at Waubonsee Community College.  It's a fun class and not just because I sometimes bring in shopping trips for show-and-tell that may or may not have the shampoo lid securely fastened, thereby covering all my purchases in Pantene.  Ahem.

In my class, I teach the basics of frugal shopping: finding coupons, which blogs and websites are worth your time, organizing coupons, efficient and ethical coupon use, and how to get the best deals at area stores.  By using coupons and shopping smart, I regularly save 50-60% off my grocery bills, and I get many items for free at area drug stores. 

For example, here's my CVS Thanksgiving Day shopping trip: 

Here are some close-up pictures of what I got:

There's brand name cereal, dishwasher detergent, medicine, candy, nail polish, toothbrushes, Kleenex, a universal remote control and more.

This merchandise is worth $136.17, and I only paid $13.75 out of pocket for it.  And the truth is, I even made a mistake during this shopping trip. Had I gotten my coffee before I shopped instead of after, I would have been more alert and saved myself about $4.50 out of pocket. 

Here's what I got from Walgreen's on Thanksgiving:

And here are some close-up photos of the merchandise:

At Walgreen's I got toothpaste, laundry detergent, deodorant, razors, hair ties, toothbrushes, medicine, probiotics, vitamins and more. 

This merchandise is worth over $242.14, and yet I paid only $17.68 out of pocket.  Keep in mind that the majority of the out-of-pocket expense is tax. 
I can teach you how to do this!  My class is aimed at folks who are new to couponing, and those who coupon a bit but are looking to take their skills to the next level.  Of course, everyone is welcome, no matter if you are a coupon newbie or a coupon master.  If you have doubts about taking a couponing class, read this testimonial from a student who took my class in Spring 2011.  Then, sign up for Coupon Mastery.  There are two sections this semester, and the first one begins in two weeks at the downtown Aurora campus from February 9-23.  The second session will be at the Plano campus March 15-29.  I hope to see you there!

Happy couponing!

CVS shopping

I love CVS. Well, sometimes I hate it when they don't have their shelves stocked and the coupon printer doesn't print any good coupons, but mostly, I love CVS.

Here's why: you can roll Extra Bucks again and again and again. Aside from tax, there's really no reason to ever spend cash in this store once you learn the system. Plus, there are limits to how much you can get for free, which saves me from going into a shopping tailspin. For the basics, check out I Heart CVS.

Behold my CVS run on Sunday...




It took three transactions (I needed the right amounts of Extra Bucks to roll), and the merchandise is worth $105.18. Brace yourself...I spent $1.80 out of pocket. If you look closely, you can see the Aveeno shampoo and conditioner, the free eggs, and the cereal I got paid to take out of the store.

The key to maximizing your Extra Bucks is threefold: use coupons, stack store coupons with manufacturer's coupons, and take advantage of those free-after-EB items whenever possible.

I'll cover all of this and more in my Savvy Shopping Class at Waubonsee in July.

For more examples from great CVS shoppers, check out:

Beth at My Brain is Inside Out

Jamie at I Am A Money Magnet

Suzanne at Hounding with Frugalsuz

Wags and CVS

I made my weekly pilgrimage to Walgreens and CVS this week.

Walgreens: 1 Garnier Fructis shampoo, 1 GF conditioner, 1 GF 2-in-1, 3 GF styling products, Colgate toothpaste and Right Guard deoderant. The Garnier products (all 6 of them) and the toothpaste were free after coupons. I paid $2.45 for the deoderant, paid $4.16 total including tax, and got $2 in Register Rewards for my next trip.

CVS: 1 Palmolive dish soap, 1 Crest Pro-Health rinse, and 2 Zone Perfect bars. The bars were free after coupons, and I simply rolled Extra Bucks on the dish soap and rinse. The $0.39 tax was put on my CVS gift card.

Overall, I think I did okay. I'm not convinced I should have bought the deoderant (watch it go on sale in a few months!) but it was delightful to go to Wags and (especially) CVS and have everything I wanted in stock. Good times!

CVS and Wags for this week

Oh, how I love it when Walgreens and CVS have all that I want in stock for me. I slipped out for an hour on Sunday and got the deals:

At Walgreens:



Dry Idea deoderant $5.99

Revlon concealer $9.99

Zucol cold relief $7.99

Wags aspirin $0.99

Thermacare $2.49



After coupons, the total was $23.96. After a $5.00 wags coupon and $9.12 on a gift card, I owed $9.84. I'll get $22.51 in Wags rebates, and I received $5 Register Rewards for buying the deoderant. Not bad!




At CVS:



The long and short of this trip was that I spent 8 EBs, $0.57 on a gift card and $0.19 out of pocket, and I walked out with $14.48 in EBs. With coupons, the candy was free and the conditioners were only $0.05 each.



This summer, I'll be teaching a community education class on Savvy Shopping at Waubonsee Community College (provided enough people sign up, of course). I'm going to use the deals above to show folks that with a little planning and coupons, it is possible to get many health and beauty items for free, or next to free. Hooray for Wags and CVS!

CVS: Game on!

CVS has great deals. When you use coupons to purchase items that give you Extra Bucks in return, you can get many things for free or next to free. Extra Bucks are basically CVS cash. For example, this week Gillette Shampoo is $4.99 but it will give you $3.00 in EB to use on your next purchase. Use a $2 off coupon on that purchase, spend only $2.99 and get 3 EBs back. Use those 3 EBs to purchase another product that gives EBs, and you can roll it forever given the right purchases. When you use coupons, that EB amount will just grow and grow.

Centsible Savings has a great CVS tutorial for beginners. Read it here.

I'd been avoiding CVS lately because they haven't had products in stock--products that I both have coupons for and will give me EBs back. Today, though: Game on! CVS gave me some deals and some much-needed retail therapy.




After coupons and/or EBs returned, the Gillete shampoo, Right Guard deoderants, and Gillete Fusion razor were free. After coupons, the Kotex was only $0.27 and that purchase gave me $2 back in EBs. The Pantene shampoo and conditioner were on clearance for $1.25 each, and my $3.00 off 2 Pantene coupon gave me overage of $0.50 on the overall purchase. The only thing I blew EBs on was the Maybelline mascara: after coupons and EBs, I "spent" $4.00.

Overall, I spent $18.98 in EBs and $1.52 on a gift card (nothing out of pocket) and received $23.00 in EBs to use...tomorrow!

According to the sales papers posted at I Heart CVS, there are some good deals coming up. Also, the bloggers I gave the Lemonade Award to also have deals listed--check them out!

Mad shopping skillz

Tonight I made a CVS run. I've had rainchecks for a few of the items for several weeks now, and I was thrilled to see some of those products actually on the shelves. I went in with $30 in Extra Care Bucks, and after four transactions I left with $42 in ECBs. Plus, one of the items will be submitted for a manufacturer's rebate, earning me an additional $5.
Highlights: Two transactions totalled $2.40 on my gift card, one transaction cost me only $0.01 out of pocket, and one transaction was exactly equal to some of my extra bucks. Woohoo! The Febreeze candles, plastic wrap and Scotch tape and dispensers were all completely free after my manufacturers coupons. Thanks to Jamie at I am a Money Magnet for the info about the Febreeze candles and Scotch tape thingies.



If you are interested in CVS-ing (and yes, it is a verb!), check out the Centsible Savings' CVS tutorial. And, for those who are really serious about CVS-ing, you must bookmark I Heart CVS for all of the inside, hidden and upcoming deals.


And yes, that is one more Garnier Fructis product. I just can't say no to free stuff! Would Martha? I doubt it--you know that woman stockpiles like crazy!