Playing the Drug Store Game

By the looks of the title, you'd think this blog post is about drugs, but it's not. It's about saving money! When you use coupons to save money at the chain pharmacy stores, it's called the Drug Store Game. That's what I did today... and it was fun!

Where I went - 
CVS

What I got -
2 cans of Blue Diamond Almonds
2 Maybelline Full and Soft Mascaras
2 3-packs of toothbrushes
2 90-count flossers
1 roll of Scotch packing tape

Retail price for all those items -
$42.33

How much I spent in cash -
$13.60

How much I spent in Extra Bucks -
$14.00

How much I have in CVS Extra Bucks -
$6.00

This is how it went down -
Transaction  #1 - 

2 3-packs of toothbrushes @ $3.19 each =	$6.28
2 90-count flossers @ $2.50 each =	$5.00
Total	$11.28
Minus 30%  CVS Red Box coupon	-$3.36
Minus Extra Bucks (from last week)	-$5.00
Minus Extra Bucks (downloaded app)	-$3.00
	.86

Earned back $6.00 in Extra Bucks
Savings 93% - Woohoo!

Transaction #2 - 

2 cans of Blue Diamond Almonds @ 5.49 each (BOGO free) =	$5.49
2 Maybelline Full and Soft Mascaras @ 8.99 each =	$17.98
Total	$23.47
Minus manufacturer coupon  (Maybelline)	-$1.00
Minus manufacturer coupon  (Blue Diamond Nuts)	-$1.50
Minus Extra Bucks from transaction #1	-$6.00
Minus $3.00 off Make-up CVS Red Box Coupon	-$3.00
Minus $1.50 off Nuts CVS Red Box Coupon	-$1.50
Subtotal	$10.47
Tax	.78
Total	$11.25

Earned back $5.00 in Extra Bucks
Savings 64%.

Transaction #3 - 

Packing Tape	$1.99
Minus manufacturer coupon	-.50
Total	$1.49

Earned back $1.00 in Extra Bucks
Savings 63%.

Prep time - about an hour.
Shopping time about 15 minutes.

I think I'll try it again next week. My goal is to only buy things I know I'll use. I don't want to have a closet of body wash that no one in the house will use. I want to get to the point where I have a modest stockpile and then can score great deals in order to be generous with others. We'll see what that looks like when I get there.

In order to get better at this game, I need to spend a little time finding the best online resources, getting myself organized and planning the order of my transactions better. I'm sure there was probably a better order to do these purchases, but I still feel pretty good about what I accomplished. It makes being "on sabbatical" worth it.

Until next time ...