At this point, it is a compulsion. It is a habit. It is a hobby. I DO NOT NEED THIS STUFF. Yet I cannot stop.
CVS
Two Cover Girl foundations @ 5.49 each
Two Cover Girl concealers @ 4.59 each
One Caress 12 oz Glowing Touch body wash @ 3.49 ea
Total before coupons and taxes: $23.65
Coupons:
Buy 1 foundation, get 1 concealer free
Buy 1 foundation, get 1 concealer free
$1 off Caress body wash
$4 off a purchase of $20
Total after coupons: $9.47
ECB’s (Extra Care Bucks) Received:
$5 for purchasing $15 in Cover Girl cosmetics
$2 for purchasing Caress body wash
Total after subtracting ECBs: $2.47
Can’t wait to try my Glowing body wash. (It’s the little things, guys).
Walgreen’s:
Transaction #1:
Herbal Essence shampoo 23.7 oz @ 6.67
Herbal Essence conditioner 23.7 oz @ 6.67
Herbal Essence 2in1 23.7 oz @ 6.66
Total before coupons, RRs (Register Rewards*), and tax: $20
Coupon:
Buy 2 Herbal Essence shampoos or conditioners, get 1 free
Total after coupon: 13.34
Received $10 RR for purchasing $20 in participating hair products (see ad for details)
Total after subtracting RR: $3.34
Transaction #2:
Benadryl 48ct Kapseals @ 6.00
Extra Strength Tylenol Rapid Release 100ct @ 7.50
Motrin IB 100ct @ 7.50
(Note: Do NOT get the 100+50ct that advertise 50% more free. They have a different UPC and will not qualify for Register Rewards.)
Neosporin .5oz @ 4.00
Orajel training toothpaste (floride free) 2 oz @ 3.99
Orajel training toothpaste (floride free) 2 oz @ FREE (B1G1 free sale!)
Aquafresh Dr. Seuss child’s toothbrush @ 2.79
Aquafresh Dr. Seuss child’s toothbrush @ 2.79
Total before taxes, coupons, RR’s, and MIRs (Mail-in-Rebates): 34.57
Coupons:
$0.75 off Aquafresh child’s toothbrush
$5 Tylenol coupon (After printing the first, go back and print a second)
$5 Tylenol coupon (Alas, two is all you can print from one computer)
$5 Tylenol MIR (Be sure to make sure you have a receipt for at least three of the qualifying items on the form. I am using a receipt for the Children’s Tylenol that I bought at CVS a couple weeks ago. Just make sure the purchase was made between 9/30 and 12/30.)
Coupon in Walgreen’s ad that brings the price of the toothbrushes down to $0.99 each (-$3.60)
Total after coupons and MIR’s: 15.22
Subtract $10 RR from previous order: $5.22
Received $10 RR for purchasing $25 in participating products (see ad for details).
Total spent out of pocket for both transactions: $18.56; plus I have a $10 RR to spend on the next great deal Walgreen’s throws at me. So if you count my pocketed RR as profit, my total was only $8.56 for $47.91 in goods. Not the best deal ever, but we really needed the toddler toothpaste and toothbrushes.
Combine the CVS savings with the Walgreen’s deals and I walked away with $78.22 in products and only paid $11.03. Again, the amount I spent would be cut about in half if only we hadn’t needed the toothpaste and toothbrushes for our toddler. How ironic that we have a huge duffel bag full of toothpaste and toothbrushes, yet we have to continue to spend $4 for 4 oz of fluoride-free for our toddler.
Did you shop the deals this week? How’d you do?
~~~
*Register Rewards are coupons that print out at the end of your transaction. They are as good as cash, but can only be used at Walgreen’s. They are Walgreen’s equivalent of ECB’s. These deals are advertised in the weekly Walgreen’s ad. For a complete tutorial on how to shop at Walgreen’s, read Crystal’s blog.
This is something that I have thought a lot about. I love getting great deals like this and sort of sticking it to the store if you will. However, I hesitate to use the very products I would be receiving free or nearly free because they are chock full of chemicals. How do you reconcile being the natural mommy and buying/using these products? Not trying to attack you, just wondering if you had some insight. Thanks.
Mrs. S.
Mrs. S –
Very good point.
As for as the shampoo, conditioner, body wash goes, I don’t really hesitate to use these as they are not ingested. They wash right out. I haven’t heard of any adverse side effects, nor have I really heard of any natural substitutions. If you have more information on this, please send it my way! I’m a relatively new “natural mommy” and am constantly learning.
The medication, though, I rarely use. And when I do, it is two Tylenol for a headache that I’ve had for two days and will NOT go away. All other medication I keep either for my husband (who suffers from occasional allergies), my children (for fevers), or I give away to people I know that could use it. I make a conscious effort to avoid medications unless absolutely necessary. Thankfully, I rarely have reason to use them.
So, to answer your question – I only pay money for the medications I know my family will use. However, the medications that I can get for free (all the drugs I got today were free), I will get and distribute. I definitely don’t use them just because I can get them for free. Especially being the nursing mother that I am. I am responsible for two healthy bodies!
wow. you are amazing! will you go shopping with me?
Haha, just print off this post and take it with you. I should show you my Monday shopping list. It’s the most organized thing I do all week.
Actually studies have been shown that the chemicals in shampoo are cancerous, read this article from here:
SHAMPOO
Check your shampoo. Change before it’s too late… Check the ingredients listed on your shampoo bottle, and see they have a substance by the name of Sodium Laureth Sulfate, or simply SLS. This substance is found in most shampoos; manufacturers use it because it produces a lot of foam and it is cheap. BUT the fact is, SLS is used to scrub garage floors, and it is very strong! It is also proven that it can cause cancer in the long run.
Shampoos that contains SLS: Vo5, Palmolive, Paul Mitchell, L’Oreal, the new Hemp Shampoo from Body Shop etc. contain this substance. The first ingredient listed (which means it is the single most prevalent ingredient) in Clairol’s Herbal Essences is Sodium Laureth Sulfate. Therefore, I called one company, and I told them their product contains a substance that will cause people to have cancer. They said, Yeah we knew about it but there is nothing we can do about it because we need that substance to produce foam. By the way Colgate toothpaste also contains the same substance to produce the “bubbles”. They said they are going to send me some information.
http://rubies.articledirectoree.com/articles/above-rubies-ministry-newsletters/above-rubies-newsletter-no.-01-2007-2.html
What to do about it? I don’t really know, I bought the shampoo and I love it, and I like Colgate toothpaste. I wonder if we are rinsing it right off and not ingesting it if it as much of a threat? I try to be as natural as possible but hygiene products I am stuck on honestly!