CVS Success! With a tweak here & there...

YES! Just got back from my 2nd CVS trip having completed all of my deals for the week. There were a few changes and last minute purchases, but overall I think I did pretty great. I'm also really thrilled with myself for finally learning to do the multiple transaction thing. Both the cashier at midnight last night and this morning were perfectly pleasant and fine with it (yeah, I did go back TWICE, but that's partially because I was waiting on our Sunday paper to get a coupon I needed to finish off the round).

Random scary/funny story: I asked the midnight cashier about the robbery they'd had several weeks back (someone walked up to the pharmacy demanding Oxycontin -- surprise, surprise) and if she was working. She said, no, she was off that night, but they had been robbed again just LAST night (Friday eve)! Here's the funny part: the thief only got away with $122 from the cashier, but he didn't even get that far with that amount. He went out the back door by the Pharmacy... right into a couple of squad cars who were passing through! I was just glad to hear everyone was unharmed and that it got resolved quickly. It really makes you want to be extra nice to the people who work the counters after midnight; they take on more risk than just a messed up sleep schedule.

Anyway, onto my deals... The midnight trip was to round up the school supplies in the first 3 transactions I posted below. I had a feeling these would go fast and I was right; by this morning most of them were GONE. One thing that may be working in my favor is that my 24 hr CVS does not put up the sale tags until early early Sunday morning. I managed to make some good guesses and get all the right items, but from now on I think I'll take printed pics from the ad scan with me just in case. NOTE: These are all after tax

Trans #1
(2) CVS 1 Subject Notebook - $.99 ea (earn $1.98 total ECB)
(3) Papermate Grip Pens - $.99 ea (earn $2.98 total ECB)
(1) Portfolio 2 Pocket Folder - $.05 ea (filler item just to be safe)
USE $5 ECB

Total OOP = $0.00

Trans #2
(1) CVS Scissors - $2.99 (earn $2.99 ECB)
(2) CVS Glue - $.99 ea (earn $1.98 total ECB)
(1) Portfolio 2 Pocket Folder - $.05 ea (filler item just to be safe)
USE $4.95 ECB

Total OOP = $0.07

Trans #3
(1) CVS Scissors - $2.99 (earn $2.99 ECB)
(2) CVS Ruler - $.99 ea (earn $1.98 total ECB)
(1) Portfolio 2 Pocket Folder - $.05 ea (filler item just to be safe)
USE $4.95 ECB

Total OOP = $0.05

HERE'S what I did Sunday morning... A few curveballs: I only had ONE of the $2 coupons left for the Tylenol Arthritis, so I printed off (2) of the $1/off any Tylenol. I did NOT see the $1/off Scott Towels or Tissue in todays inserts but I wasn't going to get upset over an extra $1. Also, my dear spouse indicated that he was out of Pepsi cans. (For those unaware this has the potential to lead to nuclear caffeine meltdowns of seismic proportions.)

I also decided to ditch the Photo Book deal b/c I didn't realize you had to bring IN photos to create it right there (I thought it was just a little scrapbook-y album type thing). A nice idea, but I didn't have time. So...

Trans #4
(1) Gillette Fusion Razor - $7.99 (earn $4 ECB)
(1) Tylenol Arthritis - $3.99 (earn $3 ECB)
USE $4/off Gillette Fusion
USE $2/off Tylenol Arthritis
USE $4.95 ECB

Total OOP with tax = $1.66

Trans #5
(1) Tylenol 8-hour - $3.99 (earn $3 ECB) (LAST one!!!)
(1) Tylenol Arthritis - $3.99 (earn $3 ECB)
(1) Scott Towels - $5.49
(4) Pepsi 12 Packs - 4/$12.00 (earn $2 ECB - How conveniant!)
USE $1/off Tylenol IP
USE $1/off Tylenol IP
Use $2/off Scott Mega Rolls 4-pack (ok, I had put this in my pile last night thinking that was the right coupon, then checked the post this am and realized it wasn't... but forgot to yank it; NOT something you should do but this was an honest "oops" and I'd have been fine if they hadn't taken it)
USE $7 ECB

Total OOP - $16.04 (kill me!)

TOTAL ECB for next week - $8.00

So, altogether, I got $57.49 of items for about $17.00. That's not too bad considering that I paid about what we normally do for the Pepsis, and they were the majority of that OOP cost. ORRRR... If you want to factor in the "CVS Sale Savings", I got $83.77 in products for $17.82! That's an average 79% savings. How are you doing this week?