Frugal & Fabulous: Necessities

So, I’ve never much paid attention to ads and coupons for groceries and necessities. It seemed like quite a hassle for little reward. But, as we eat at home more, our grocery bills are getting out of control. And, the little things like shampoo, soap, toilet paper and cleaning supplies are really starting to seem not so little.

It was on my mind when I stumbled upon Little People Wealth. She was talking about getting free things from Walgreens and CVS, just by clipping coupons and checking out the ads.

I was curious. So, I kept reading and linked to a few other sites (my favorites so far are St. Louis Mommy and Money Saving Mom – both of which are good for moms as well of those of us who are not moms).

It sounded a little too good to be true. Why wouldn’t more people do it? Turns out that a lot of people do do it. I just didn’t know it. If you want the actual low-down on how these gals get a lot of free things at CVS and Walgreens, click on the links above. All of the sites above do a great job explaining it.

So, I tried it this weekend. I looked at their lists of steals and deals and wrote down a few things that we could actually use in our lives (because there are some things - like Nicotine patches, that we don't need even if they ARE free).

The sites above do most of the work for you - listing the great deals and the coupons you can use. Since I don't clip coupons (yet), I only went with the deals that were instant savings or rebates in the store. It's wonderful because as a coupon beginner, I wouldn't know where to start. They can tell you.

Here's what I bought:
CVS

3 greeting cards @ .99/apiece = $2.97
1 Maybelline Foundation @ $9.99
1 Maybelline Concealer @ $8.49
2 packs of CVS brand allergy medicine @ $3.79 = 7.58
TOTAL SPENT: $31.06 including tax
RECEIVED: $20.58 in Extra Bucks (to be used as cash next time)

*** PS - The gals at our local CVS were so kind and explained the whole program to me. Their CVS card is so simple to sign up for and use and you get great deals. They even found me another coupon book with some other good deals.

Walgreens


3 Knee-highs @ 3/$1.00 = $1.00
2 pairs of pantyhose @ $.69/each = $1.38
Revlon eye shadow @ $2.49 = $2.49(half off)
Revlon eye liner @ $9.99 = $9.99
TOTAL SPENT: $15.90 including tax
RECEIVED: $10.98 rebate from Walgreens ($9.99 rebate for eye liner plus 10% bonus for putting the rebate on a gift card)

** PS - Pantyhose are for work dress code. Usually, the only other ladies in the pantyhose section are women who are wearing plastic hair nets and orthopedic shoes. Sometimes I fear that I may be one of the last 20-somethings who wears pantyhose. Except, I'm sure I'm not and I'm just paranoid. And, don't tell anyone - but I kinda like pantyhose.

So, essentially, I will have $20 to spend at CVS next time and $11 to spend at Walgreens. You can see that if I continue to buy things with rebates or extra bucks, I will not have to spend much out of pocket, while continuing to build up necessity reserves. It's a little confusing, but it really seems to work. It only takes a little more thought and research. Honestly - it's kind of fun for me. Seems like a challenge.

Since I was on a serious sale-scoring high - I was also alert to another great steal at Menards. They had Palmolive Pure + Clear dishwashing soap for free after rebates. It seems to be a great product - no unnecessary chemicals, dyes, etc. Since we are trying to green up our cleaning supplies anyhow, the free product was totally an added bonus.


So, this is part of my new plan for saving money and stocking our pantry and linen closet shelves with things we need - for good prices. My next step is to begin saving coupons so I can get even better deals. I have found a few sites on the Web that compile coupons for my zip code. That is very useful and simple. I have just been keeping my coupons with my receipts until I build up a stash.

So - do you coupon clip?

Did you already know about the steals you can get at CVS and Walgreens (aka - am I the only one that was in the dark?)?

Would you like me to continue posting what deals I get each week as part of my CVS and Walgreens research?

I'm so sorry for my massively long posts lately. These just got longer than expected.