Saved almost $44 at CVS

Today I saved $43.97 at CVS! I paid $11.15 including tax but then got $13 in Extra Bucks back! So, it's really like CVS paid ME $1.85!And here is the breakdown:
- Ponds towelettes or face wash creams, I obviously opted for the towelettes, they're great to just have in your bag for those times when you just want to wash your face, but would have otherwise had to wait. The towelettes were > On sale from $7.29 to $3.99 each. When you buy $10 worth of Ponds products, you get $5 Extra Bucks. I had two manufacturer coupons, one for $1.25 off and one for $1 off. So I really paid about $1.53 for each package of 30 wipes!
- Clear Eyes, which are needed for contact users. CVS is having a buy one get one free, no coupon necessary, just ExtraCare card!
- Galde motion sensor air fresheners were on sale at CVS for $5.99, there was a $4 coupon in the paper, and CVS will give you $1 Extra Buck. So you get it for $0.99!
- Scrubbing Bubbles & Fantastik are on sale at CVS for 2/$5. I had $1 off coupon for Scrubbing Bubbles and a $0.75 coupon for Fantastik. Then CVS will give you $1 Extra Buck. So each was about $1.12!
- Kotex gave me $2 Extra Bucks.
- Diet Wild Cherry Pepsi wasn't on sale, but I really wanted it, so went for it.
- I also bought a card for Mary B. who had her last day at J. Crew today (assuming they won't use her on-call tomorrow).
- I used a $4 off $20 or more CVS coupon, and $12 in Extra Bucks I had > $16 Extra Bucks!

Guest Post from Sophie on Allergy Medicine

After figuring out last night that I am suffering not from a cold but from allergies, I knew I had to get to the Duane this morning. I went in expecting to spend somewhere between $8 and $10 dollars for 10-12 pills. A 10-count box, as you will see from the chart (which I cannot take credit for), is $7.99. You only take one a day, so I figured 10 would be enough. But THEN, I saw that with your Duane Reade Dollar Rewards Card** you could get the 30 count for $9.99, I jumped on it. Am I going to need 30 pills between now and November, when they expire? Hopefully not, but if I do, I will certainly have them!

**One point for every dollar you spend, 100 points=$5 coupon

Free Sample!

Quaker's new granola bars, they look pretty tasty. As I was browsing RealSimple.com, I saw an ad on the side for a FREE sample. All you have to do is fill in your name, address, and email address. Simple as that! And it should only take 4-6 weeks to get to you.

Get a Free Sample!

"eCONEomic relief" at Ben & Jerry's

Because yes, I am a subscriber of Ben & Jerry's emails, or as they call it, "CHUNKmail" since I submitted a flavor idea to them once. Cookie Cake, like chocolate chip cookie dough but with bright colored frosting swirled about it too, I have heard no response from them. Anyways, I got an email about this wonderful little event going on tomorrow. Help a good cause and get a B&J cone for $1! Maybe try my favorite, Cherry Garcia frozen yogurt (you know-keep it low cal. when you can esp. if you're going to have a cone since they are so good)!

"Visit a scoop shop [Ben & Jerry's] on March 24th, donate
a non-perishable food item and receive a
scoop for $1! All donations will be supplied
to your community's local food pantry."

A quick morning shopping trip

Happy Sunday! Since I've been waking up early due to my body clock thinking 7:30AM is the time I should get up everyday, I decided to not lay in bed for an hour or two, but rather get up and go get some stuff before Phil (my DADerz for those who don't know) joins me today at the gym for my personal training session. I've been trying to get him to come for a while so he can see how hard I workout, he thinks he's fit...wait till 2:00. Anyways, today was a great day for the recessionista in me, I saved $21.29 not including CVS Extra Bucks, which brings the savings to $37.29!

CVS is having some great deals this week!! I saved $13.50 in the store today and got $16 in Extra Bucks back - so essentially saved $29.50. I paid around $27 in the store today including tax, but have the $16 for next time, so it was really like paying $11 for three $4 face scrubs/body wash, two $8 face washes, and one $8.50 box of 36 tampons! If you spend $10 on St. Ives products, you'll get $5 Extra Bucks plus I had a $1 off coupon! If you spend $15 on John Frieda products, like my favorite Biore facewash, you'll get $5 Extra Bucks back! There's a coupon for $1 off Playtex tampons, including the Sport ones which are my favorite - they really are so much better for working out and bopping around. CVS will then give you back $2 Extra Bucks for buying them as well! I also got Mentos fruity gum because I had a $1 off coupon, making it something like $0.69. If you can't tell, I've been on this fruity gum kick. I'm not sure why. A closer breakdown of the total is as follows: I had $6 in Extra Bucks from last week, plus the couple of coupons, and a CVS coupon for $4 off the purchase of $20 or more.

Second stop was Target. Bic Soleil disposable razors are were on sale for $4.49 plus I had a $2 off coupon from the paper. I was able to get the Juicy Fruit for FREE from a coupon. And I had a $2 off a purchase of 3 individual packs of Stride gum, costing $0.97 each, it was like buy ONE get TWO FREE! I used two Target coupons from the flyer I mentioned in an earlier post. They got me the Palmolive dish soap for $1 off, so I paid $0.47 and the Purex laundry detergent was $1 off and I got the limited a time 20% more free bottle, I'll theoretically get 56 loads for $4.64, so about $0.08 a load! My subtotal was $15.96, and I saved $7.79! So, with tax all this cost me $9.99!

And kids- Look for the Price Chopper coupons that DOUBLE any manufacturer coupon up to a $3 value!! Cut, cut, cut!!

Book a trip while eating your homemade lunch

Guest Post from Sophie in New York: As I always like to keep people abreast of money-saving opportunities, I would like to share that Liberty Travel is having some very good sales on flights. Peru? Phuket? Paris? You decide. I will caution you to stay away from Spirit Airlines. Also, please remember to use sun protection.

Today's post will end with ideas to spice up a brown bag lunch. As you know buying lunch everyday adds up all too quickly at $5-$10 a day. Boston Globe's article Pack a Lunch and Save a Bundle provides jazzy alternatives to a peanut butter & jelly sandwich, although who doesn't love Smart Balance crunchy peanut butter (Omega-3's!!) with sugar-free strawberry preserves (20 calories per serving and bits of strawberries!) on wheat bread? I know I do! They also have an article on how to then eat your homemade lunch with style in Eat in Style. I'm thinking about investing in one of these snazzy little containers with dividers to bring my lunch in Boston, when I'll be schlepping lunch with me in my tote on the T.

The last deal comes from Liz in Chicago: MySkins.com has 20 different nude shades so that you can find the perfect tone to match your skin and undergarments (for a lack of a better word)! White shirts and white pants, which oddly enough we've had J. Crew since the Resort Collection came out in January, can finally be worn and with worries about anything showing through! And thanks to Liz, save 40% by entering DEALCANDY at checkout.

A little delayed, but a bit to report.

Yesterday and today were pretty hectic, a bunch of hours at the store and classes. But, I have a bunch of savings to report.

First off, yesterday ended the Dunkin' Donuts month long or so offer for a free medium hot or iced coffee on Wednesdays. I grabbed an iced Vanilla with skim milk and a Splenda between leaving the gym and going to the computer science lab before my second class.

After class I had took my first trip to the grocery store since starting the blog. I went to Price Chopper so that I was able to take advantage of the Polar Seltzer and Dannon yogurt deals that were mentioned in Sunday's post. Among other notable savings were in the produce department, Dole salad mixes were buy 1 at $2.49, get one free, Green Giant 1 lb. bag of carrots 2/$3. And lastly, Quaker chewy granola bars (10 pack) for $2 each and I had $1 off coupon, making each box $1.50, originally $3.19. Of course I got the 90 calorie mixed packs. Mixed packs are great if you can't decide what you want, now I have the option of cinnamon rasin, chocolate chunk, or honey nut. I actually just had a chocolate chunk one not too eariler this evening as a little dessert. With the coupons and Advantage card savings, I had a total savings of $24.70, cutting my bill by 37%.

If any reader is planning on having a party, let me know and I'll forward the email with a coupon that must be presented at checkout at Party City for $10 off a purchase of $30 or more. Julie - I'll be sending this along so that you can use it to gear up for William's birthday party!

Leaving CVS with money!?

Today's shopping excursion at the CVS in Newton Plaza was spectacular, definitely blog worthy. I purchased the products pictured blow:
Colgate Max toothbrush (as some of you may know I have a toothbrush and toothpaste in my bag at all times, so I can never have too many!), waterproof Band-Aids, Neosporin, and a Diet Green Tea (they say green tea is good for your metabolism, although at the same time I know there are people who will say the Splenda in it will kill you). Anyways, here is a break down of how CVS essentially paid me $0.83 to go home with these items...
The grand subtotal was $14.16
- $1.00 Band-Aid coupon (mentioned in Sunday's blog)
- $1.00 Neosporin coupon (also mentioned Sunday)
- $2.00 CVS Extra bucks (from last week when if you bought Crest Pro-Health toothpaste you got $2.00 in Extra bucks, which was $2.99 plus my $1.00 coupon for Crest Pro-Health, making it FREE)
- $5.00 CVS Extra bucks (from last week when Garnier products were 3 for $10, and then for spending $10 on that brand you got $5.00 in Extra bucks, which made $4-5 hair care products $1.66 each)
I paid $5.16 but got back $5.99 Extra bucks (The toothbrush was $2.99 and if you bought it you got that $2.99 back in Bucks & for spending $7 or more on Band-Aid brand or Neosporin, CVS will give you $3 in Bucks), making it so that I am now $0.83 richer for obtaining $14 worth of namebrand goods!

Be on the lookout for the Target coupon booklet that came in the mail today! Of course the offers are only good at Target and until April 20, 2009. Notable deals are on $1 off Palmolive dish soap or dishwasher detergent, $1 off Purex laundry detergent, and $1 off St. Ives face scrubs!

And as a friendly reminder - tomorrow is the last day to use the Dunkin' Donuts coupon that entitles you to a FREE medium coffee every Wednesday until March 18, 2009. It's been a good month/month and a half, thank you DnD!

Guest Post by Sophie : a$paragu$

In a town where asparagus seems to pop up on every menu and its many virtues -- low in calories, no fat or cholesterol, very low in sodium -- are touted with frequency, an asparagus sale is like manna from the "Gods." This past week, not one, but two major New York grocery stores had it marked down.

At Whole Foods, it was $1.49/lb. A produce section employee I chatted up suggested I'd better get some, as the discounted veg was going like hotcakes. I did so, gathering two bundles (each a bit more than 3/4 of a lb) and hightailing it home. A drizzle of olive oil, a little salt and pepper and those bad boys were laid out on a baking sheet, ready to hit the oven.

Across town at Gourmet Garage, asparagus was going for $1.99/lb. Now, let me make it clear: I would never willingly pay 51 cents more for something unless I was absolutely in a pinch. But, this particular GG is located a mere two blocks from my apartment, as opposed to Whole Foods which is just under a 10-minute walk. Also, the lines are usually nonexistent and I was in a hurry.

This was last week. On Saturday I went to Whole Foods to get a Strawberry C Monster Odwalla Juice (2/$5, and you are high on drugs if you think I didn't take advantage of that). The asparagus sale was already over. But back at lil' old Gourmet Garage, I made the exciting discovery that $1.99/lb was the set price for the ENTIRE MONTH OF MARCH! A celebration of St. Patrick's day? Eying the coming of spring? A little nod to the color of money? We'll never know (until I ask the manager).

P.S. Some people claim asparagus makes their pee smell. I have never noticed this with my own.
P.P.S. Asparagus is an excellent source of folic acid potassium, dietary fiber and rutin.

A little help from my Friends

This first wonderful savings opportunity comes from my good friend Liz, who is representing the recessionistas of Chicago. If you've never heard of shopbop.com, now is the perfect time to check it out or take a second look if you've already frequented the site. There, you will find the fashionable stylings of designers such as Derek Lam, Marc Jacobs, Donna Karan, Chloe, and other names of such caliber. By entering "20OFF70" at checkout, you will be saving an extra 20% off items already priced at 70% off, therefore you will be saving 76% off the original price. Hurry this ends March 19, 2009!


This next offer is for Clinique's FREE gift offer this spring at Boscov's. In order to get the gift you will need to purchase $21.50 of any Clinique product or products. You will be able to chose from a lip or an eye gift, each valued at $50. You will be paying $21.50 for a total of $71.50 worth of Clinique products! This offer is good until March 29, 2009, however there is a limited supply of these gift packs.

Cafe Madison & Buca di Beppo, the recessionista way.

Monday ended with the discovery that the ValPack had arrived at the apartment earlier today. There was a coupon for Cafe Madison, a great local restaurant that serves breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner, and of course desserts! They actually offer two coupons, one for Buy 1, get one at 1/2 off breakfast or lunch, and another for the same deal but for dinner. The only catch is they are invalid on weekends. Recommendations for breakfast are the reaspberry oat pancakes or the apple fritter type dish. In conclusion this will cut your food bill by about 25% ad you'll be supporting a cute little establishment.

On the flip side there is a coupon for $10 off a food bill of $30 or more at Buca de Beppo. This is a wonderful deal considering that their menu is family style. $30 of food there could probably feed 4 people and with the coupon making it $20, that would be about $5 per person. Definitely make sure to get the garlic bread with mozerella cheese melted on top for an appetizer or with your meal, you won't regret it!

And as always, remember to tip on the total before the discount is applied! :)

Gap / Banana Republic/ Old Navy - Friends & Family Weekend

Being a J. Crew-er, we are fortunate enough to be friends with the nice people at Banana Republic since we share the same hallway, a little ironic that our brands are competitors. Anyways, this weekend was one of their Friends & Family weekends. This discount will only be good until 11:59PM tonight and is valid at gap.com, bananarepublic.com, piperlime.com, or oldnavy.com. Enter the code "BCKQRPZ8W11D" and you will get 30% off your entire purchase!

Some of my favorite things

As you all may know, thanks to the circulars included in Sunday newspapers, today is the best day for finding deals and steals. Today was no different, here are some great deals for the modern girl living in the recession.

Two of of my favorite things that I always have stocked in the fridge I will get at HALF price this week and you can too! They will lead this post:

Dannon 6 ounce Single-Serve Cups: Look for the $1.00 off 10 cups coupon, then add to the savings by purchasing them at Price Chopper where they are on sale for $0.50 from $0.79 with the PC Advantage card, therefore you can get 10 Dannon Light & Fit (or as Sophie and I call it "our" yogurt) single serve cups for $4! So essentially, you will chop the bill in HALF, getting 10 yogurts for $4 instead of $7.90

Polar Seltzer or Soda: This spectacular deal will require a coupon from the Price Chopper circular and your Advantage card and is good for 6 pack bottled seltzer or the 12 pack of 12 ounce cans of seltzer or soda. The deal with your Advantage card is to buy 4 of any of the packs mentioned previously for $11. The coupon will then get you 1 FREE! So you can get up to 60 cans of seltzer (Raspberry Lime or Pomegranate are my personal faves as you can see) for $11! That's approximately $0.18 per can or $2.20 per pack, when they range from $3-$5 at full price!


Wrigleys Slim Pack gum: Look for the coupon for a FREE pack of doublemint, Juicey Fruit, Spearmint, Big Red, or Winterfresh with no purchase necessary! This will get you a $1.19 pack of gum packaged slim enough to fit in your pocket for FREE!

Colgate MaxWhite toothbrush OR 4.6-6 ounces of toothpaste: Another great deal at CVS, if you buy one at $2.99 or more, they'll give you back $2.99 in Extra bucks! Yes, that's right, you will get it essentially for FREE!

Band-Aids and Neosporin: The first one relates to the title of today's post because this deal is too good to pass up. There are 2 coupons to look for, "Save $1.00 on any one Band-Aid brand adhesive bandages," and "Save $1.00 on the purchase of any Neosporin product (excluding trial sizes)." The $2.00 savings would be great in and of themselves, but sweeten the deal by purchansing them at CVS, where if you spend $7.00 on Band-Aid brand bandages or Neosporin, they will give you $3 in Extra bucks, thus making your total savings $5! On average the Band-Aids will cost $4.19 and Neosporin's original ointment will run about $5.49, so you'll be paying around $5 after the discount, cutting the price of both in HALF or another way to look at it is buying one, getting one FREE!

Thanks to Eileen Cataldo and Sophie Friedman for their blogging skills and Recessionista ways.

* All prices are before tax and subject to change.