Make easy $ at CVS ~ CVS Green tag rocks!!

One of my favorite money-making tips is this: Buy a CVS green tag (99 cents!) at CVS.  Attach it to your favorilte reusable bag, and stash it in your car.  When you have to make a CVS run (several times a week for me, ha!) take the bag/tag in and let them put your purchases in the bag, and scan the tag.  I actually have my tag on my key chain.  Many visits I only need one or two things, so I just carry them out in my hands or in my purse after purchasing them.  (The idea of the green tag is too save plastic bag use ~  as long as you don't leave with a CVS bag, whether you carry your purchases out by hand,  or use a reusable bag, the cashier will scan your tag.)

Why buy a green tag from CVS? It's a money maker for you, and a savings (on plastic bags!) for CVS.   Every 4th time you have your tag scanned, you'll receive $1 in Extra Care Bucks (ECB) printed out on your receipt!  Yes, CVS will pay you 25 cents to walk in and shop at their store.  Doesn't seem like much, but it will add up fast!! You can scan your green card once a day, so if you have a few small trips to make each week, scan it each visit. 

The best part of this post? The green tag is free after Extra Care Bucks this week through Saturday night! You pay 99 cents to buy it, and 99 cents in ECB will print out on your receipt. ECBs are like free money - you can use them on most anything in the store!

Printable coupons = great deals at Publix!

I was just reading my FB feed & saw that I heart Publix posted a deal about some printable coupons for deals on cheese at Publix! I've just added a link to coupons.com on my sidebar, so if you click it, then sort the coupons by food, look for these 3:

50 cents off Treasure Cave ~ if your Publix doubles, you can get a 4 oz pkg for only $1 after coupon!
50 cents off Frigo ~ Frigo Romano wedge is $2.19, after doubled coupon you pay $1.19!
50 cents off Stella ~ Stella Asiago 5 oz is $4.09, or $3.09 after doubled coupon!

You can print two of each, so stock up! : )

Thanks again to Iheartpublix.com for sharing this deal!!

Linking up with Making Friends Monday Blog Hop!

Coming soon~ Georgia Renaissance Festival review & another giveaway!!

Oh my, has it ever been busy here.  I've got some great things coming up - including a review of the super-fun Georgia Renaissance Festival, plus another great giveaway from Purex!! So check back soon, so much great stuff coming up! : )  Hope you are enjoying your weekend!!

Monday Blog hop!

I tried to add a button to the Making Friends Monday hop on my earlier post, but for some reason it wouldn't work.  So here's the linky - add yourself and get busy making some new blog friends! : )  Hope your week is off to a great start!!

How to shop at CVS for free (or almost free!)

This year I have spent VERY little out of pocket at CVS.  I would say under $26 total since January.  Most of that is tax on my freebies each week! Here's how I do it. 

Each week, I look at the items they are selling that will give me Extra care bucks (Like CVS money) back.  Then I look at my coupons, and match up the best deals.  Of course, if it is something I don't need or use, unless it will cost me 0, I won't get it. But if we need it - I buy it.

For example: last week's sale featured Right Guard bodywash for $3.88 - and they would give you back $3 in ECB.  I had a B1G1 coupon, so I could get 2, use ECB from a previous trip to pay the $3.88 that would be due, then get $3 back.   You do this every week or other week, and you'll build up a "bank" of ECBs to spend when there are things you want and need! They usually are good for 3 weeks or so
before they expire - so keep an eye on the expiration dates of your ECBs!

Another tip - scan your CVS card at the red kiosk every time you go in the store and you'll get some great CVS store coupons! Today I got a $5 off 2 Revlon cosmetics which helped a lot on my Revlon purchase! CVS doesn't double manufacture coupons, but they will let you stack their store coupons with your manufacturer coupons!

This week I had my best CVS trip ever!

Bought 3 Airwick Ultra kits $6 on sale - used 3 $4 coupons

Bought 1 Neutra Air $2.50 on sale - used $1.50 coupon
Bought 2 Biore poducts - 1 strips, 1 cleanser - 2 for $15 on sale, used buy strips get cleanser free coupon
Bought 2 Revlon lipglosses $7.99 each, on sale for B1g1 50% off - used $5 off 2 CVS coupon, 2 $1 coupons
bought 1 Russell Stover egg - 74 cents on sale
bought 1 Gain dishwashing liquid 97 cents on sale  used $1 off coupon
bought CVS contact lens drops on sale for $2.99

Then it was time to pay.  I used these ECBs from previous trips: $8.99 ECB, $2.50 ECB, $3 ECB, and paid balance with my FSA card - it actually covered 2 items - the Biore cleanser (which was free with the coupon!) and the eye drops. My balance was zero.  (I consider items I buy with the FSA card to be free since the money for the card comes out of DH's paycheck - it isn't out of my grocery/drugstore budget at all).   Total saved on this trip? $79!

I got back $10 in ECB for spending $20 on the Airwick & neutra air, $5 back for the 2 Biore products, and 74 cents back for the candy egg!! And I still have some ECB I didn't use today! : ) LOVE CVS!!! (Don't forget to take your own bag, then scan your green tag - every 4th trip you will make $1 in ECB too!)

If you have questions about shopping CVS, please let me know, and I'll do my best to answer them! It's like a game ~ they pay you CVS monopoly money, and you use those with coupons to get items for practically free!!

Deals at Publix this week

This week they had some super deals with their B1G1 sales matched up with my coupons.  This is what I got:

Got 4 boxes of Post cereal, 8 pk juicy juice, 2 power bars, Heinz vinegar, 5 Ken's marinades for steak/chicken, 4 Mueller pastas, Crest toothpaste, 2 packs pita bread, Cascadian organic granola bars, & Mio water flavoring.

Everything had a mfr coupon except the Juicy Juice and the two packs of pita bread. Also I had a store & mfr coupon for the Crest, and a mfr & competitor (Target) coupon for the Mio.

Total spent $16.15,  total saved $40.60.  What was your best deal or total savings this week?
This is my kind of couponing - it may not be extreme, but it works for our family!

How to makeover your porch lights!

A few weeks ago I really noticed how badly faded our front porch light fixtures were! They were black when we bought the house, but now that we've lived here six years, the intense sunlight we receive on the front of the house for 6+ hours a day really has taken a toll on them.  I remembered reading a post on Thrifty Decor Chick's Blog that she had spray painted her light fixtures, so I asked my DH to take ours down so I could clean them up and paint them new again!

When he brought them inside they were so gross! Dead bugs inside (eww!), plus the glass was really dirty, so faded and even a bit of rust - can you say big fat hot mess?  I had gotten a can of oil-rubbed bronze spray paint - my favorite - at Walmart, and a really cool spray paint trigger that keeps mama's hands and nails clean (!!) so it was time to paint these suckers!

I used blue painters tape on the three glass sides after I cleaned the fixtures with soap and water and cleaned the glass.  Here's a side by side shot of one straight off the house, and one cleaned up and ready to tape the glass!

Left: Straight off the house, Right: cleaned up glass & fixture

And after they were painted:

Light fixtures after two coats of spray paint.



Each light got two coats of oil-rubbed bronze paint and they look AMAZING! Can you believe how easy it is to revive something with a little elbow grease and a can of spray paint? LOVE IT!

I can't wait for DH to put them back up tomorrow on the front porch - it's got grey river rock, so the black will absolutely pop off that now! : ) 

Have you done any spray paint makeovers? I would love to see them - leave a link so I can come by and comment! : )

TLC's Extreme Couponers doesn't tell the whole story....

Hello Wednesday - so glad it is hump day!! We are in the midst of a fabulous Spring Break.  The kids and I have been able to use my sister's pool each day, as we are petsitting her adorbs Yorkie & teacup Yorkie while her family is at the beach.  I even got a bit of a tan! : ) 

So much is being said throughout the blogworld about TLC's Extreme Couponing show that comes back on tonight.  I've done a bit of research on the show since it premiered back in December, and I have a big problem with one aspect of the show. 

You'll notice that it's all about ~ I had $760 worth of products but paid only $5!! Woohoo!!  What they DON'T tell us is that these extreme couponers BUY their coupons.  And to buy 200 of this and 500 of that adds up.  So they aren't just spending $5.  And that to me is dishonest, because now there is a huge following of women who want to spend $5 a week on hundreds of dollars worth of groceries - but it is simply not possible!!  Even on a week when I buy 8 Atlanta Sunday papers, the most I spend is $13 for my papers and coupons.  Most weeks I only buy 5 - and that costs me $7.  I can't imagine spending more than that for coupons!! Eight of any item is plenty for our family of four. Most weeks I buy 2 double papers and get one delivered, so I have 5 of each coupon.

Right now I spend on average about $100 a week for our family of four - including groceries, drug store items & paper goods for us, items for our stockpile, as well as a few free or uber-cheap items for family & friends, plus items to donate to a local church's food pantry.  For example, this week I had 3 boxes of pasta for my sister, 3 boxes of pasta for my mom, cereal & fruit snacks for my college-aged niece, plus 3 grocery bags of assorted food and toiletries for the food pantry.  Our freezers are both stocked with meat, veggies, bread and cheese.  The pantry is full, the stockpile shelves are full.  There is something so satisfying about knowing your family is prepared for an emergency, or any disaster, disruption, etc. I like being prepared, but I could never go overboard with hundreds of the same item - that is just so over the top and crazy!! Who has the space for that? Not your average coupon-using-family-next-door types!! I believe if you are getting hundreds of the same items it is hoarding, not stockpiling!  What's even worse, some of these extreme couponers supposedly re-sell the items they get for free - now that is just wrong! I've personally seen ads on craigslist for huge lots of food items and I guess it is extreme couponers selling them.  I think that is awful, what do you think?

So while I will watch the show tonight, I will be aware that the show slanted it's portrayal of these extreme couponers - NONE of them are getting the deals for that cheap! They are simply neglecting to inform viewers of the cost of the coupons to get those items for so little money - and that isn't right.   Why not make a show about REAL couponers who save 70% off their bills with the coupons from their Sunday papers? And maybe a few internet coupons too?  I do this often, and know of many other coupon bloggers who do as well. That would help new couponers to see more realistically how you can save money and maximize your budget - not have them dreaming of getting a cartful of items for free!

Phew, glad I got that off my chest.  Now off my soapbox to make supper for my family! Y'all have a fabulous night, and let me know what you think of the show tonight. 

If you are in the metro Atlanta area, I've paired up with a local health store to offer my Semi-Extreme Couponing class in Dacula this July.  And as always, I offer classes at your home or office - just email me to find out more!

Blog Hoppin' 4/4 ~ 4/10

Here are the hops I'm linking up with this week.  If it's your first time here, I'd be thrilled if you'd  check out some of my posts, and follow me via GFC, and/or Twitter, Feedburner, Facebook! I would also appreciate it if you could vote for me on Picket Fence (right sidebar).  Leave me a comment and I'll be more than happy to do the same for you!!  Thanks for stopping by!  : )

Announcing the winners of my Purex Crystals contest!!

Sorry for being a little late on drawing the winning comments but we've been enjoying our Spring Break today by hanging out at my sister's pool! : )  Now that everyone is in bed, I have time to work on bloggy stuff!

The winners of my Purex Complete Crystals contest (as picked by random.org) are.......(drumroll, please!)

#25  Renee

#7  Missy

#31  Ngelica

I've emailed all three winners, and they have 48 hours to send me their mailing addresses so I can mail them each their free Purex Complete Crystals coupon!!  If I don't hear from them, I'll have to draw an alternate winner....

A huge thank you to each and every one of you who took the time to enter.  I wish I could send you all a free coupon, but if you didn't win, check back often. I hope to have a new giveaway soon!!
And a shout out & thank you to Purex for supplying the three free coupons - Purex rocks!!