2011-05-25 -- $3.47

I began with 0.00ECB on Card2.

Regular Prices:
11.99 Bounty (8ct)
6.49 NatureMade Vitamins
1.99 Visine
1.49 Stride Gum
1.49 Stride Gum
0.99 Green Bag Tag

XX.XX TOTAL Regular Prices

Sale Prices:
6.99 Bounty (8ct)
1.62 NatureMade Vitamins
1.99 Visine
0.99 Stride Gum
0.99 Stride Gum
0.99 Green Bag Tag

XX.XX TOTAL Sale Prices

Coupons and Discounts Applied:
3.00 STORE Coupon "Bounty"
3.00 STORE Coupon "Any Vitamins"
1.00 STORE Coupon "Visine"
0.99 STORE Coupon "Green Bag Tag"
1.00 MANUFACTURER Coupon "Bounty"
1.00 MANUFACTURER Coupon "Two Stride"
1.00 MANUFACTURER Coupon "Visine"

10.99 TOTAL Coupons and Discounts

The balance came to 2.58, plus an additional $0.89 in local tax, for a grand total of $3.47.  I had retired Card2 several weeks ago, but when I received the nifty store coupons from the in-store scanner, I figured I would re-start the card.

Card2 now has 0.99ECB (for Stride).

2011-05-13 -- $3.18 + $2.96 + $1.58 = $7.72

I began with 7.00ECB on Card3 and made three transactions..

Regular Prices:
4.69 Ziplock Bags
1.99 SnackPak Pudding
1.99 SnackPak Pudding
1.99 SnackPak Pudding
1.99 SnackPak Pudding

12.65 TOTAL Regular Prices

Sale Prices:
3.00 Ziplock Bags
1.00 SnackPak Pudding
1.00 SnackPak Pudding
1.00 SnackPak Pudding
1.00 SnackPak Pudding

7.00 TOTAL Sale Prices

Coupons and Discounts Applied:
2.00 STORE Coupon "$2 Courtesy Coupon - Expired Items"
1.00 ExtraBuck
1.00 ExtraBuck

4.00 TOTAL Coupons and Discounts

The balance came to $3.00, plus an additional $0.18 in local tax.  I spent 2.00ECB and earned none.  I began the next transaction with 5.00ECB.

Regular Prices:
3.49 Ziplock Bags
1.99 SnackPak Pudding
1.99 SnackPak Pudding
1.99 SnackPak Pudding
1.99 SnackPak Pudding
1.99 SnackPak Pudding
1.99 SnackPak Pudding
1.00 Emerald Cashews

16.43 TOTAL Regular Prices

Sale Prices:
3.00 Ziplock Bags
1.00 SnackPak Pudding
1.00 SnackPak Pudding
1.00 SnackPak Pudding
1.00 SnackPak Pudding
1.00 SnackPak Pudding
1.00 SnackPak Pudding
0.84 Emerald Cashews

9.84 TOTAL Sale Prices

Coupons and Discounts Applied:
2.00 STORE Coupon "$2 Courtesy Coupon - Expired Item"
5.00 ExtraBuck

7.00 TOTAL Coupons and Discounts

The balance came to $2.84, plus an additional $0.12 in local tax, for a grand total of $2.96.  I spent 5.00ECB and earned 3.00ECB (for SnackPak).  Card3 now has 3.00ECB as I made a third transaction.

Regular Prices:
11.29 Glade Sense N Spray

11.29 TOTAL Regular Prices

Sale Prices:
7.00 Glade Sense N Spray

7.00 TOTAL Sale Prices

Coupons and Discounts Applied:
3.00 MANUFACTURER Coupon "Glade"
3.00 ExtraBuck

6.00 TOTAL Coupons and Discounts

The balance came to $1.00, plus an additional $0.58 in local tax, for a grand total of $1.58.  I spent all 3.00ECB, but earned 5.00ECB (4.00ECB for Glade/Ziplock and 1.00ECB for the fourth use of my cloth bag.

Card3 now has 5.00ECB.

2011-05-05 -- $2.16

OK, so the retirment of Card1 didn't last too long.  Thanks to some nice in-store coupons, I decided to spend a few pennies.  I began with 0.00ECB on Card1.

Regular Prices:
3.99 Revlon Tool
3.19 Revlon Tool
1.99 CVS Blade Spray
1.49 CVS Towelettes

10.66 TOTAL Regular Prices

Sale Prices:
3.99 Revlon Tool
1.59 Revlon Tool
1.99 CVS Blade Spray
1.49 CVS Towelettes

9.06 TOTAL Sale Prices

Coupons and Discounts Applied:
2.00 STORE Coupon "$2 Courtesy Coupon - Expired Item"
2.00 STORE Coupon "Any Revlon Tool"
1.99 STORE Coupon "Free CVS Blade Spray"
1.49 STORE Coupon "CVS Towelettes"?

7.48 TOTAL Coupons and Discounts

The balance came to $1.58, plus an additional $0.58 in local tax, for a grand total of $2.16.  I spent 0.00ECB and earned 0.00ECB.  However, thanks to my nearly $9+ purchase of beuaty items, I should receive a nice 5.00ECB in the next few days for having spent $50 on "beauty items".  Card1 is back alive !

2011-05-05 -- 37 Cents

I began with 14.99ECB on Card3.

Regular Prices:
11.29 Tide Free
7.29 Bounce Free
1.99 Revlon Tool
1.99 Revlon Tool

22.56 TOTAL Regular Prices

Sale Prices:
5.99 Tide Free
5.99 Bounce Free
1.99 Revlon Tool
0.99 Revlon Tool

14.96 TOTAL Sale Prices

Coupons and Discounts Applied:
2.00 STORE Coupon "$2 Courtesy Coupon - Expired Item"
2.00 STORE Coupon "Any Revlon Tool"
1.00 MANUFACTURER Coupon "Any Tide"
0.50 MANUFACTURER Coupon "Any Bounce"
7.99 ExtraBuck
2.00 ExtraBuck

15.49 TOTAL Coupons and Discounts

The balance went significantly negative ( - $0.53 !!), but with $0.90 in local tax, the total came to $0.37.  I spent 9.99ECB and earned 2.00ECB (1.00ECB for Tide and 1.00ECB for Bounce). Card3 now has a balance of 7.00ECB.

2011-05-02 -- 87 Cents

Well, it was time to temporarily retire one of my cards.  The deals have been few and far between for most of 2011 and having two cards active was not yielding much action.  True, my savings rate is upwards of 97+% for 2011, but the Free After ECB deals are rarer and rarer.

Of course, something will likely change soon and I can un-retire the card.  I began this final Card1 transaction with a measly 0.99ECB.

Regular Prices:
4.79 Nestle PureWater (24ct)
1.20 CRV

5.99 TOTAL Regular Prices

Sale Prices:
2.66 Nestle PureWater (24ct)
1.20 CRV

3.86 TOTAL Sale Prices

Coupons and Discounts Applied:
2.00 STORE Coupon "$2 Off Courtesy - Expired Product"
0.99 ExtraBuck

2.99 TOTAL Coupons and Discounts

The balance came to 87 cents, with no local tax, for a grand total of 87 pennies.  I spent all 0.99ECB for Card1 and earned NONE.  Card1 is now retired.

Four Months of 2011

It was a decidedly slow first four months of CVS shopping, with barely half as many transactions as the lst four months of 2010.  Still, the savings were substantial.

January - February - March - April
969.46  TOTAL REGULAR PRICES
524.38  TOTAL SALE PRICES

59.92 TOTAL ACTUAL PAID
31.64 TOTAL TAX

28.28 TOTAL NON-TAX

So, for the grand total of $59.92 actual cash spent, I received $969.46 worth of merchandise.  Of that $59.92, over half was for local taxes.  The non-tax amount came to $28.28, a savings of more than 97%.