Drugstore Trifecta: $185 worth of health & beauty for $15.50

Today could not have gone any better.  Everything was in stock, we had CVS and Rite Aid completely to ourselves, and there were friendly faces everywhere.  And I got chocolate.

This also wraps up the month of October.  I have a confession to make.  I'm a nerd.  Really.  I'm a nerd.  I have an Excel spreadsheet with formulas and all that good stuff that calculates my spending and my savings.  Once I run down today's trips, I'll share the value of everything I bought this month and how much I paid for it.  I've been tracking it on my spreadsheet all month.

Buckle in, here we go!

Rite Aid

This went exactly according to yesterday's plan.  The only change was that I found a couple BOGO gum coupons, and all gum at Rite Aid is BOGO.  That means I added four free packs of gum to the order.  We were the only people in the store and it didn't seem like there'd been many customers in before us based on the shelves looking exactly the same as they did last night.

Transaction 1
2 50oz bottles Tide - $11.76
1 18ct package Tide Stain Release tabs - $5.88
2 Old Spice deodorants - $7
1 bottle Dawn - $.99 (filler to get total up to $25)
Subtotal: $25.63
Total after coupons: $10.63, received back $3 +UPs ($1 for each Tide product) and a coupon for a FREE 10oz Nyquil ($5.99 value, for buying $20 worth of advertised Proctor & Gamble products)
OOP: $7.63

Transaction 2
5 11oz canister Folgers coffee - $14.95
1 10oz bottle Nyquil (got "20% more free" bonus bottle, 12oz) - $5.99
1 box Glad trash bags $4.74
2 packs Extra gum $1.29 (BOGO)
2 packs Dentyne gum $1.29 (BOGO)
Subtotal: $28.26
Total after coupons: $8.94, received back $6 in +UPs ($1 ea for the Folgers, $1 for the trash bags)
Out of pocket: $2.94

Shelf price: $83.83
Total: $19.63
Earned rewards: $9
Out of pocket: $10.63

CVS

Another empty store with tons and tons of stock, even on the hot items this week (Olay and Schick razors).

1 Schick Hydro 5 Razor - $8.99
1 Schick Hydro shave gel - $3.99
1 Secret deodorant - $2.19
1 Olay Ribbons body wash - $7
2 Filippo Berio olive oil - $7.98
Subtotal: $30.15
Total after coupons: $9.40, received back $7 in ECBs ($4 for razor, $3 for Olay)
Out of pocket: $2.40

Shelf price: $40.14
Total: $9.40
Earned rewards: $7
Out of pocket: $2.40

Walgreens
The store was a bit crowded, but nothing crazy.  Lots of stock, though the Domino sugar that's on sale was cleaned out on the shelf.  A helpful employee found me some in the back so it worked out just fine!

2 Oral B Crossaction toothbrushes  - $5.98
10 bags Ricola cough drops - $9.90
2 Nyquil Sinex - $10
3 1lb boxes Domino brown sugar - $2.98
2 Ghirardelli candy bars - $3
2 Lindt candy bars - $3
Subtotal: $34.86
Total after coupons: $8.47, received back $6 in Register Rewards ($1 for toothbrushes, $5 for Sinex)
Out of pocket: $2.47

Shelf price: $60.89
Total: $8.47
Earned rewards: $6
Out of pocket: $2.47

For all stores I did my best to pay using the same amount of rewards that I'd get back.  I had some odd amounts so it didn't always work out down to the penny, but it worked out well overall.  For example, at CVS I paid with a $7.49 ECB and $1.91 (plus tax) in cash and received back $7.  Sometimes it just works out best that way, and I still have a decent stack of rewards at all three stores to continue playing this game next week.

Walgreens was fun.  The Ricola cough drops were on sale for $.99 and there's a $.50 off coupon in their monthly coupon book.  You can usually find these books right up front with the rack of weekly sales circulars.  Grab a few.  These are store coupons that can be used in combination with manufacturer's coupons - $.49/bag for the Ricola is good, but I had five manufacturer's coupons for $1 off two bags.  Yes, I got ten bags of Ricola cough drops for FREE by combining a Walgreen's coupon with a manufacturer's coupon.  The toothbrushes were free as well; $2.99ea on sale, I had a BOGO manufacturer's coupon, and I used a $1 off Walgreen's coupon from the book (took off $1 for each toothbrush).  That brought the total down on those to $.99 for both, and I got a $1 RR back.  The chocolate bars were a splurge.  Both brands were on sale for $1.50ea and also in the store coupon book was $1 off two Ghirardelli bars, making those $1ea.  This trip would have been an overall profit but we apparently must have our fancy dark chocolate.  I got Ghirardelli dark peppermint bark and Lindt dark chocolate w/chili (SO GOOD!) and Andy got Ghirardelli dark chocolate caramel and Lindt dark chocolate w/orange peel.
A younger guy rang us out at Wags, maybe early 20s, and he jokingly called me "Super Coupon Lady" when I handed him my stack of coupons.  Then once the receipt printed out, he looked at the bottom where they helpfully print your total sale & coupon savings and said "Whoa.  WHOA you saved sixty bucks!!"  $56.82, but who's counting??

Totals for the day

Shelf price: $184.86
Total: $37.50
Earned rewards: $22
Out of pocket: $15.50 for a savings of $169.36 or 92%!!!

And now let's look at how I did during the month of October.  This spending covers all groceries plus everything we bought at CVS, Rite Aid & Walgreens.

October Monthly Total
Shelf price: $1,529.72
Total paid in cash & rewards: $292.97
Remaining rewards: $38
Rebates earned: $4.49
Out of pocket: $250.48 for a savings of $1,279.24 or 83.62%!!!