Freebie Finds

Over the past few months, I've really come to appreciate a good freebie. I've already mentioned free products using your CVS card at the Magic Machine, but there are MANY more ways to score free products.

One way to find these freebies is to keep an eye on blogs like Krazy Coupon Lady. Many bloggers will put out posts about just about every free product, the instant it becomes available. I'm NOT going to be one of those bloggers. I DO plan to share some of my favorite freebie finds, as well as some different methods to scoring freebies, so keep your eyes peeled!

Now, I couldn't leave this post without giving you a little something, could I? So, teacher friends, this one's for you!

According to sources all over the web, Starbucks is giving away free tall cups of coffee (sorry, no fancy lattes) to teachers, every Monday in September. Just bring your school ID! Can't promise that all Starbucks will be participating, but it's sure worth a try! Yay for a little Monday pick-me-up!

Picture Me Rollin'

Alright...I've been avoiding writing about rolling Extra Bucks at CVS, because this always seems trickier to explain than to actually do.

It might be easiest to show you an example from this week's CVS trip. A while back, I mentioned that I began my CVS shopping in July, by purchasing contact solution that gave back the full purchase price in Extra Bucks. If I remember correctly, I walked away with 8 EB's on my first trip. I've been rolling those EB's since, spending very little out of pocket on hundreds of dollars worth of products.

This week, I started with a $5 EB and a $0.99. I had earned these in previous weeks by purchasing Gatorade and a candy bar.

I walked in with a very specific, three transaction plan, that, if everything went as planned, and all items were in stock, would send me away spending under $5, with $12 EB's in hand!

Transaction 1:

Soft Soap Body Wash - on sale for $2.99  ($2 EB back) 
($0.75 printable coupon available here would make a better deal, but I couldn't get it to work with our printer.)

CVS Brand 5 count allergy medicine - on sale for $3.69  ($3.69 EB back)


Total = $6.68 (with coupon would be $5.93)
Use $5.99 in EB, Total OOP = $0.68 + tax, $5.69 back in EB's ($2.00 EB + $3.69 EB)      

Transaction 2:

Rephresh Tampons - on sale for $6.79  ($6.79 EB back)
- $1 Printable Coupon

Total = $5.79
Use $5.69 EB from transaction 1, Total OOP = $0.10 + tax, $6.79 back in EB's

Transaction 3:

3 Airwick i-motion air fresheners (smallest version) - on sale for $4.99 x 3 = $14.97
($10 EB back when you spend $20 on specific products - includes Airwick and Finish)
2 boxes of Finish Gel Packs - on sale for $2.99 x 2 = $5.98
(See EB deal above - total for all products involved in deal = $20.95)

Aussie Shampoo - on sale for $2.99 ($1 EB back)


Herbal Essences Shampoo - on sale for $2.99 ($1 EB back)

Newton Fruit Thins - on sale for $2.50

Total before coupons = $29.43

Coupons used:
- $5/$25 CVS coupon from Magic Machine! = $24.43
- 4 x $4/1 Airwick starter kit (in the Sunday paper - 9/11) = $12.43
- 2 x $0.75/1 Finish Gel Pack (previous Sunday insert) = $10.93
- $1/1 Aussie Product (previous Sunday insert) = $9.93
- Free Newton Fruit Thins from Magic Machine ($2.50 value) = $7.43
- $6.79 EB from transaction 2 = $0.64
Total OOP $0.64 + tax, $12 back in EB ($10 EB + $2 EB)

After tax, I spent about $4 on almost $100 worth of product (considering prices before sales), and I came home with $12 EB, so a profit of $8! See why I'm hooked? You might not have coupons from weeks past, but if you're looking into starting at CVS, you could certainly begin by trying the first two transactions above. You'll  spend about $6.00 and walk away with $6.79 to use another day! Get those EB's rollin'!

Here's a look at everything I scored on this trip. :)

I Get By With a Little Help

If you read my previous post, you could have guessed that my money saving journey began with a visit with my friend Google. I soon discovered that everyone and their mother has a couponing website, most of which seem to share the same information. I quickly realized that a small number of these websites are MUCH better than others. I realize the humor in this, given that I'm starting my own couponing site. :)

I came across one website in particular that helped me understand the concepts of couponing. Krazy Coupon Lady is a site that has a great section with tips specifically for beginners. It lays out how to get started and explains the ins and outs of various stores you might shop. This was my initial guide to the couponing world.

I have also come to love Southern Savers. The author of that blog is from North Carolina, and her posts focus on deals found in stores located in the south, including local grocery stores.

My blog does not venture to become a how-to coupon site or a site that will alert you to every single deal in stores or on the web (See #4 of my ground rules). Rather, I hope to focus on deals I personally find around town and give info on how you can score the same items for pennies on the dollar. So if you're considering looking into using coupons or other ways to save money, I highly recommend checking out either of these sites. This venture has much easier by using a little help from "friends!"