CVS: Real-Life Example

Okay - I had a great day at CVS yesterday, and you can, too!

This is what I got:

• 3 rolls of CVS paper towels ($.99 each; Buy 2 CVS products, Get One Free in May)
• 1 Chapstick 100% Natural chapstick ($2.99; gave 1 ECB back)
• 1 Adidas deoderant ($4.99; gave 4.99 ECB back)
• 1 Colgate 360 toothbrush ($3.99; gave 3.99 ECB back)
• 1 Aquafresh Extreme Clean toothpaste ($2.99; gave 2.99 ECB back)
• 1 Aquafresh Advanced Whitening toothpaste ($2.99; gave 2.99 ECB back)

Here's what I used:

• $1.50/1 Aquafresh Premium toothpaste coupon
• $1.00/1 Aquafresh Advanced Whitening coupon
• $1.00/1 Colgate 360 toothbrush coupon
• $3/$15 CVS purchase coupon (see post below)
• $12.98 in Extra Care Bucks

Here's what I paid:

• $.45

Here's what I was given:

• 15.96 in ECB

Here's what I'll soon get:

• $4.99 check (mailed to me) from the makers of the Adidas deoderant (I had a coupon for a free deoderant from the newspaper a couple of weeks ago)

Today's newspaper's SmartSource insert has two coupons you can use on the toothpaste deals. Go to CVS and pick up one Aquafresh Advanced Whitening toothpaste and one Extreme Clean toothpaste. You will spend $3.48 for the two tubes, and you will receive $6 to spend at the store next week!

This could be the start of something really beautiful.

;)

How to Make $18 in Less Than 20 Minutes

Every so often , CVS will release coupons that take a total off of your purchase price. For those of you who have said you're interested in what I do at CVS (basically getting all of my toiletries for free or next-to-nothing!), let me suggest that you take advantage of this offer. You can print out as many $3/$15 purchase coupons as you want if you follow the directions here. Yes, it does take a little bit of effort, but it truly is as though CVS is putting money in your pocket. I printed out six, and so for the next six times I travel to CVS, I can "spend" $12 (with ECB, of course!) and get three dollars to use on something else in the store - kleenex, eggs, candy, toothpaste, you name it! A little time in front of the computer equals $18 I didn't have to spend out of my own pocket. If you have any questions about how to access it, feel free to ask me! I will say that I followed Crystal's directions exactly and I was able to access it.



Speaking of CVS, here is an example of some of my purchases recently:


This purchase cost me absolutely nothing. Usually that doesn't happen, because of taxes, but that day it did. YAY! I had a coupon for the body wash and the dish detergent. The three beauty products cost $6 but gave $5 in return. The body wash also gave $4.99 back. It was a while ago, so I don't remember a lot of the details. April was a great month for body wash and beauty supplies.



I made this purchase on Monday:


I got three gift bags (with their own tissue paper!), four bottles of dish detergent, and two bottles of CVS Pharmacy-brand Tylenol.

• The gift bags cost $4.50 for three (but gave $5 ECB back)
• I had a coupon for the dish detergent ($1/2), and they were BOGO free
• The Tylenols were $3.99 each but gave $3.99 in ECB back.
  

I used my $3/$15 coupon, the last of my ECB (I usually roll them over but had used them on some more expensive, non-ECB returning items, like sunscreen for Chris and Jergen's Natural Glow face moisturizer for me, so I was down to only $10.98 in ECB). I had to pay $3.25 OOP this time, but I received $12.98 in ECB back.



So, next time I shop, I can get $15.98 worth of items absolutely free, using my ECB and my $3/$15 purchase.



Let me encourage you to travel over to Crystal's blog today and check out the monthly deals for May at CVS. Notice all of the items that are "free" at CVS AND have a coupon from a newspaper that would apply to them, too. That's how you can make the most out of your CVS purchasing - for instance, when you buy an item that costs $3.99 and gives $3.99 in ECB back, using a $1 coupon lets you get that item for free plus another dollar item, such as a box of kleenex.



And if it eases your mind a little, my paper printed today that CVS's profits were up this year by several million dollars! So get out there and shop! :)

You all are just lovely - thank you SO much for all of your encouragement! Chris and I spent about an hour and a half today driving around looking at houses, and getting out and looking at a few unoccupied ones. We definitely still have houses on the brain. Somewhere out there is the perfect first home for us (at least that's what I keep telling myself over and over when I start to get depressed about it again!).

If I have learned anything from this, it's a) a thorough home inspection (even though it's pricey) is SO worth the investment, and b) get the appraisal after you get the home inspection. Why pay money to find out the worth of a home you're not going to buy, anyway? Because this house was a foreclosure, we had a very short timeline to work with. But in the future, if we can delay the appraisal, we will.

I know that you guys live scattered across the country, but here in Northeast PA we're having some fabulous weather! Chris and I are going mini-golfing tonight - and I'm going to a big flea market early tomorrow morning before church with my friend Lindsay (I'm thrilled!). Have a great weekend!

Something Happy, Something Sad

I'm baaaa-ack! :) I have a lingering hacky cough with some congestion, and I think today I sprained a muscle coughing (no joke) because I'm in a lot of pain on my right side. STILL, I am a normal, functioning, non-streppy throat human being again! Hooray!

So as you can see from the title, I do have some sad news. We had the inspection on the house today, and it did NOT go well. I mean, there are a LOT of problems with the house that we just simply couldn't see without the trained eyes of a professional. Mold in the attic, multiple pests (including mice!), serious foundation issues, plumbing issues, serious sewage issues....I could go on. For a house that looked like it was well-taken care of, those two guys helped us see a lot of issues and helped us to realize that this house would be a money pit. When all is said and done, you can't truly fix a house that's on a bad foundation - you can only put a band-aid on it. We are still waiting for his official report, but it's pretty much a no-go.

So, besides being out about $625 dollars (between inspections and paying for a professional appraisal, which we needed to get our mortgage), it also hurts emotionally. I know that sounds corny, but I had already moved myself into that house, you know? I was planning parties there, decorating, landscaping, all in my mind. It was pretty devastating to stand there and hear all the things they were saying about my house.

Except it isn't my house, thankfully.

Although I have cried a LOT over this house today, at the end of today what I mostly feel is relief. Sure, I'm gonna miss that money, but we can make it back.

But praise God, I am not going to be throwing thousands and thousands of dollars away on a home that I know now would never truly be fixed.

It's still pretty depressing, but not a black-hole kinda depression. It's weird to feel regret, sadness, disappointment, and relief all in one big package.

---

But, since I promised something sad and something happy, here is a little treat that got me through all those strep-throaty days that I wanted to share with you all. Maybe it will cheer YOU up!




I modified this from my Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook:

• 1 6 oz. cup of Dannon Light 'n' Fit Vanilla yogurt (so good!)
• 1 banana, sliced
• 1 3/4 C frozen blueberries
• a splash of whole milk (count to 3 - lol!)

Blend and top with whipped cream. Makes 2 servings. De. Lish.

It's official! I have strep. First time in my life, in fact.

So now I can literally say that subbing is going to kill me.

Ha. Ha.

A little sick-bed humor.

I am now on amoxicillin for the second time in less than 30 days.

That's right, folks.

I am a pharmacist's dream.

Two things:

I am home sick today, rather than subbing for high school choir. There was no way my shell-of-a-voice was going to be heard over a choir of 50+ in an auditorium. I'm pretty sure I might have strep throat. Except that I've never actually had strep throat, but I do know that my speaking capacity has diminished and that I feel that my air hole is tightening due to the feeling of a large mass inside my trachea. And.....did I mention that it's agonizing to swallow, and my head hurts, and I'm very tired? YAY!

This site is alleviating my boredom, giving me something to do in-between my long naps on the couch. I discovered her a few weeks ago, and I simply can't get enough of her recipes, house decorations, and adorably cute sons. Enjoy!

Funny how I have been a Christian for nearly four-fifths of my life, and yet sometimes I am hit with the simplest of all ideas about my faith.

As I have written on here before, I substitute now, and it is usually no picnic. I consider myself to normally have very good classroom control, but when you are in a room full of adolescents who know that you're not 100% sure of what you're doing (even though you're acting your darnest, and can usually fool them!), it gets a little exasperating day after day. The boredom, the not knowing anyone's name, etc.

And so usually, I offer up tiny little snippets of prayer throughout the day. "Oh Lord, let me get through this. Let me have a good day. Please! "

On Monday morning, it dawned on me.....um, hi! Praying for myself all this time? What is wrong with me?!

On Monday, I prayed this: "Lord, please let me just bless at least one child today. Amen."

The day becomes an adventure. How many kids can I smile at? How many can I be extra-kind to? How many can I offer a compassionate word to?

It wasn't that I didn't do all of those things already. In fact, I think most teachers do, too. After all, you don't go into teaching because you hate children. It's just that they weren't intentional. I know what you're thinking: "Isn't intentional worse? Doesn't that mean that somehow you're faking?"

No. It means that rather than "be myself" and pray that I have a "good" day, the Lord and I are going to make a good day, rather than having the good day make me.