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Register Review: CVS – March 26, 2012 Edition

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Your eyes are not deceiving you. This is another installment of Register Review, but from a drugstore perspective.

With most of our household items fully stocked, the only way drugstores can lure me into their doors is by offering a great deal on diapers or holiday items, or if my rewards are about to expire.

This week, CVS won me over. I shopped early in the week to snag these 12 items for $0.75 in 2 transactions. Yep, less than a dollar for 12 items. Want to see how?

When I entered the store, I scanned my CVS Extra Care Card at the red coupon machine. The machine ejected coupons. My children scanned the card again which resulted in more coupons. On the third scan, a message indicated that more coupons would be available tomorrow.

The coupons that print from the red coupon machine are CVS store coupons, which you can combined with manufacturer coupons. I received a CVS coupon for $1 off 2 seasonal M&Ms packages, and another coupon for $.25 off any 2 Mars Easter eggs. Knowing I was purchasing these two items, I added them to my CVS envelope to use at checkout.

Transaction #1

Allowed cashier to scan my Extra Care Card and my Green Bag Tag (which earns $1 in Extra Bucks for every 4th scan – only one scan allowed per day)

Purchased 2 single Snicker Easter Eggs – earn $1 in Extra Bucks (store credit) when you buy 2 Mars Easter Eggs or Bunny Singles for $0.50 each (limit of 2 deals).

Subtotal: $1

Used CVS $0.25 off coupon

Total: $0.75 + $0 tax

Paid the $0.75 and received $1 in Extra Bucks (a coupon that prints at the bottom of my receipt)

*ahem* 2 of the Snicker eggs did not make the photograph 😉

Transaction #2

Allowed cashier to scan my Extra Care Card before ringing merchandise

Purchased 2 single Snicker Easter Eggs – earn $1 in Extra Bucks when you buy 2 Mars Easter Eggs or Bunny Singles for $0.50 each (second deal – limit reached)

1 bag of Gold Emblem Jelly Beans – earn $.99 in Extra Bucks when you buy these jelly beans for $.99 (limit 1)

1 Colgate 360 Toothbrush – earn $2 in Extra Bucks when one purchases this toothbrush for $2.99 (limit 2)

6 bags of M&Ms – $3, but buy one get one free (limit of 6). My store was already out of the seasonal peanut and almond varieties, so they substituted the non-seasonal version for my sale.

Subtotal: $13.98

Used the following coupons:

CVS $1 off coupon for 2 bags of seasonal M&M’s

4 – Manufacturer’s coupons for $1 off any 2 Mars Easter Items

1 – Manufacturer’s coupon for $1 off Colgate 360 toothbrush

Used the following Extra Bucks

$5.99 from a previous week

$1 from an earlier week’s green bag tag usage

$1 from Transaction #1 – rounded down to $.99

Total: $0 with $0 tax, and received Extra Bucks for $1 (Snickers eggs), $2 (toothbrush), and $0.99 (jelly beans).

For a total of $0.75, I purchased $33.31 of merchandise which is a 97.7% savings, and I have $3.99 in Extra Bucks to spend at CVS by April 24, 2012.

Taking the time to learn the drugstore game was time well spent. By matching sales, store coupons, and manufacturer coupons, the savings multiply. Long before I began seeing the deep discounts at the grocery store, I practiced and refined the drugstore game. I concentrated on CVS for a few months.

When I understood and had successful trips, I branched out to learn Walgreens. After nailing down the Walgreens system which is different from CVS, I learned Rite Aid which is unique from CVS and Walgreens.

Each store is different and learning the tips and tricks takes time, but for my family, it is using time wisely. Hope you have enjoyed these register reward breakdowns.

The sales in this post were for this week. However, the M&M and Snicker eggs were part of a 3-day sale that ended on Tuesday. The toothbrush deal will continue through today. If your store is out, request a rain check. Happy savings!

Question: Do you shop at CVS? Why or why not?

Ben & Jerry’s: Free Cone Day on April 3, 2012

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Photograph Credit: Ben & Jerry's

Free Cone Day is coming! To celebrate their fabulous customers, Ben & Jerry’s will offer each guest a free scoop of ice cream. Yum!

Mark your calendars for Tuesday, April 3, 2012.

All Ben and Jerry’s Scoop Shops will be offering a free scoop of your favorite ice cream from 12:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

To find a participating Scoop Shop near you, click on Ben and Jerry’s store locator. What a great family activity – bonding over ice cream. Enjoy!

Register Review: February 21, 2012 Edition

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When I started delving into saving more than $2-$5 from coupons at the grocery store, I learned from both the explanation and examples.

Having explained how to get the deep savings, this Register Review feature seeks to show how to see these results week after week.

The first Register Review showcased a Bi-Lo transaction. For this second Register Review, I chose a Publix shopping trip from February 21, 2012.

Last week, I shared how Not All Locations Operate in the Same League. That post stemmed from this shopping trip. After leaving the store that would not honor the coupons that expired during the sales’ week, I went to my favorite Publix location to buy these 9 items for $2.03.

Rain Check

During a previous week’s sale, Mueller’s pasta was on a buy one, get one free sale. Since my Publix sold all their spaghetti noodles during that week, I requested a rain check for 8 boxes. I then kept my coupons in my Publix envelope until the store restocked.

NOTE: Publix rain checks in my area expire one month after issuance. Of course, if the store is still out of the product, the customer service representative will extend the date on the rain check. Check to see if your store’s rain checks expire.

For this transaction, I purchased 8 boxes of Mueller’s spaghetti noodles. Using this rain check, the first 4 boxes cost $0.72 each and the last 4 boxes cost $0.71 each.

Manufacturer Coupons

Coupons for $1 off 2 boxes of Mueller’s pasta were in a Sunday newspaper insert. Having acquired extra inserts, I had 4 coupons to use for this visit. With my Publix store’s coupon policy, I was able to use these coupons on the last day of the sales’ week paired with the rain check.

Besides the Mueller’s coupons, I also used a $.50 off coupon from a Sunday newspaper insert for the Wish Bone dressing. With Publix doubling manufacture coupons up to $.50, I received $1 off the bottle of salad dressing.

Buy One, Get One Free

The Wish Bone dressing was on a buy one, get one free sale that week. I only had one manufacturer coupon and did not need extra bottles of salad dressing, so I bought one bottle at a 50% savings.

My Publix does not require the customer to buy both items to get the buy one, get one free discount. When an item is buy one, get one free, then each bottle is half off the listed price.

The Wish Bone dressing scanned for $1.31, which was $1.30 worth of savings or 50% off.

Combining these Strategies

When I checked out, I followed these steps:

1. Allowed cashier to scan both of my loyalty cards

      • UPromise – Scholarship program
      • Publix Partners – Donates proceeds to our school based on the amount spent on my purchases. (Every bit helps!)

2. Gave the cashier the rain check for the Mueller’s pasta, which he used immediately

3. Watched the cashier scan the 9 items

8 Mueller’s pasta

1 Wish Bone dressing

Subtotal: $7.03

4. Redeemed Manufacturer Coupons

Used four $1 off Mueller’s coupons, which deducted $4

Used one $.50 off Wish Bone dressing coupon, which doubled and took off $1

Total: $2.03

By shopping at the most coupon-friendly Publix and combining a rain check, manufacturer coupons, and buy one, get one free sales, I spent $2.03 for $14.05 of merchandise, which was an 85.5% savings.

Though my family will not survive on 8 boxes of pasta alone, I stocked up on a great sale. After comparing prices, I usually get our staples from Aldi spending about $40 every 2 or 3 weeks to replenish our stock.

This feature will continue as I remember to take pictures of my savings before putting them all away. 🙂 If you are seeing great discounts at 20% or more off the retail price, then consider writing a guest post for Using Time Wisely. I would be honored to publish your savings. Keep practicing because you, too, can see these deep discounts. Happy savings!

Question: What stores in your area double coupons?

Guest Post: Reducing your Junk Mail

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Today, I welcome Jim Wang of Bargaineering.com as he shares how we can reduce the amount of junk mail coming to our mailboxes. Less stuff coming into our homes equals using time wisely doing necessary tasks apart from sorting unsolicited mail. Enjoy!

There’s one thing that most families will do each day, besides eat and sleep, and that’s check their mail. There’s something fun about opening up the mail box and seeing what has arrived, unless it’s a fistful of bills or unsolicited mailings. If you want to save yourself some time, I can share some strategies to cut down on the junk mail you get (the bills are up to you!).

The easiest way to reduce the amount of mail you get, and thus have to open or shred, is to cut down on the junk mail you receive. OptOutPrescreen.com is a site set up as a result of the Fair Credit Reporting Act and it keeps a registry of names that creditors and insurers cannot contact with offers of credit or insurance, unless you initiate it. By signing up, you can opt out permanently or for five years, after which you’ll need to renew again. Signing up for this site has cut down my junk mail significantly because this effectively stops almost all of the unsolicited mailings I would receive.

What OptOutPrescreen.com does not do is prevent mailings from companies with which you have an existing relationship. If you have a Citi credit card, Citibank can still send you offers because that’s an existing relationship. In order to opt out of those mailings, you have to contact the marketing department of each company and ask to be removed from the marketing lists. This will take some time because you will need to call each company individually but it is well worth it.

You can also use a free service like Catalog Choice to opt out of catalogs, coupon mailers, and other large volume mailers. The service will help you find the proper forms to fill out to stop getting useless mailings like your local phone book (who uses these anymore?) and ValuPaks (if you never use those coupon books). In some cases, you can opt out of a service from within Catalog Choice and in other cases you’ll be redirected to the services’ website. I’ve used Catalog Choice to opt out of at least half a dozen mailings.

Finally, if you are still getting a lot of junk mail despite these efforts, the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse has a fantastic fact sheet on junk mail that walks you through specific steps you can take to cut down on your junk mail. They discuss everything from the Direct Marketer’s Association Preference Service to opting out of mailings from your supermarket loyalty card. It’s a fantastic resource.

There’s an extra side benefit of reducing the amount of junk mail you get – you reduce the opportunity for identity theft. Your credit and your identity are two of your most valuable assets in the modern world and keeping both in sterling condition is important, especially if you want to get a loan with a reasonable rate. Maintaining a good credit score and preventing identity theft is much easier when someone can’t just open your mailbox and steal a credit card application you never asked for.

For more financial tips, visit Jim on his personal finance blog, Bargaineering.com.

Question: How bothersome is your junk mail?

2012: Planning a March Madness Party

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Photograph Credit: NCAA.com

With avid sports fans in our household (ahem . . . Paul and I), our kids get roped into watching, listening, and participating in all sorts of sports-related activities. Before you feel sorry for them, know that they love it!

One activity occurs during March Madness. The brackets get released on the Sunday night before the start of the Men’s NCAA Basketball Tournament that usually tips off on Wednesday. To participate in an on-line fantasy league, you must  select your best guesses before the first tip-off.

Paul helps our children fill out their brackets. Yes, even the 2-year-old gets in on the action. Paul and I then fill out our brackets and take part in at least one private fantasy league. At the moment, yours truly ranks #1 of out 5 in our fantasy league.

Depending on this weekend’s results, I may quickly fall. You see, I selected the Florida Gators to win the championship, and they lost their Sweet Sixteen game. Boo hoo! For those who want to know, they played a great game. However, their shots did not make the bucket during the last 4 minutes, so Louisville came from behind and won.

The game is now down to the Final Four: Louisville, Kentucky, Kansas, and Ohio State. If you are entertaining this weekend and need some basketball-themed ideas, consider these creative ways to enjoy the showdown:

1. Basketball Bash on a Budget

The television station KTVQ reported a few money-saving tips. To save money, energy, and time, ask your guests to bring a snack or dish to share. Consider a fun pot-luck event focused on building relationships and enjoying the game. This link also includes a recipe for a quick and easy 7-layer dip. Yum!

2. How to Throw a Final Four Party

My favorite tip from this ehow.com article is to play a radio in the bathroom. I had to laugh because everyone waits until a commercial or half time to race to the restroom. With continuous coverage available, the bathroom rush may lighten during the peak times. 😉

3. Basketball Party Activities

For all things basketball, the Party Shelf presents invitations, decorations, games, and recipe ideas. To start the party, I love the “Guess Who I Am” game centered on basketball terms.

4. March Madness Munchies

The Food Channel offers 6 snack recipes. The Easy Cheesy Meatball Slammers look delicious. These could also be a great lunch or birthday party option.

5. Final Four Party Ideas

If you are looking for a creative spin on your basketball party, then mLive suggests serving foods that represent each state. The information in the link is from a previous year, but the idea is very creative. Though not for a Final Four party, I might use this idea for a Super Bowl or a World’s Series party. Just thought the idea was fantastic.

Gathering these fun and creative ideas gets my entertaining gene excited. I love highlighting special events, even if the party only includes my family. Celebrating these little adventures keeps the fun going while using time wisely. Happy planning!

Question: For which team are your routing: Louisville, Kentucky, Kansas, or Ohio State?