Before this week, I had only ventured out once on Black Friday. The year I got married, the weekend after Thanksgiving, I tentatively left my cozy, warm home because I still didn’t have an outfit to wear away from my wedding. Although I was beating myself up a bit for waiting til the last minute, I was hoping to snag a great deal on something cute to wear. I went to Belk.

I must admit I was shocked at how few people were out and about (it was the Thanksgiving following Hurricane Katrina and many store were still bits of rubble…) so it didn’t seem such a big deal.

In general, my rule has been a good deal is not worth getting out early and fighting crowds during my Thanksgiving break. I preferred sleeping in and eating leftovers, and hanging out at home and staying away from crazy, psycho shoppers!

But, alas, I’m a deal seeking convert, and there were some to be had yesterday. Enough to get me out of bed at 5:00 a.m.! I don’t get up that early for work!

We scored a laptop from Circuit City. I wandered around Shoe Carnival for a bit but didn’t really want to spend the money needed for a “deal” on their shoes. Earlier this week I got a much better deal on shoes.com for two pair of designer shoes and it made their deals look a bit bland.

Then I hit CVS! My favorite store!

Check out my plunder (and please forgive the quality of this photo…I’m waiting on a great deal for a new camera!).

I’m not going to list every transaction I made…that would take awhile, but I will list what’s in the picture, in case you cannot see.

3 Playtex sport tampons
6 G2 Gatorade
1 Bic Soliel razor
1 Schick Quattro razor
4 L’Oreal lip glosses
4 3pk of Coast soap
1 3pk of Dial soap
4 Colgate Total Advance toothpaste
1 Crest Spinbrush
1 2pk 5 Hour Energy shots
2 Maybelline Mineral Foundations (didn’t get the ECB’s for. I didn’t catch it until later.)
2 Sarah Peyton Spa sets
2 Sarah Peyton Memory Foam Pillows
1 Garnier Facial wipes
1 Garnier moisturizer
2 Covergirl smoothers powder
2 Covergirl smoothers foundation
2 Johnson and Johnson lotions
3 Sarah Hansen nail polish
1 Aussie shampoo
2 Aussie conditioner
1 Aussie leave in conditioner
2 Hershey’s Cookies and Cream King sized bars (not pictured…the kids and I ate em up!)
2 ipod headphones
2 crockpots
1 electric griddle
1 3 in 1 grill

Total OOP spent:$45.96
Total value of products: $291.59 (I think…typing in all those receipts were a pain!)
Total ECB’s to roll: $33.00

Did I mention that I love CVS?

I also shopped at Barnes and Noble and Victoria Secret through Ebates, to take advantage of the double earnings at Ebates. I had coupon codes for both stores.

At Barnes and Noble I ordered three books for my oldest daughter…all hardbacks, for $29.77.

At Victoria Secrets, I ordered 1 sweater, 1 scarf, 1 pair of panties, and 1 bra for $25.24.

(Not to mention I’ll earn back 16% at BandN and 8% at Victoria Secrets! Ebates rocks! Sign up now if you haven’t! They pay you to shop!)

It ended up being a rather expensive day, but I got some great deals. And my Christmas shopping is so close to being done I can smell it! I’m waiting on two more CVS deals two weeks from now to tie it all up!

So, did you shop on Black Friday, or sleep, or what? I’d love to know.

Today I went CVSing with my cousin (teaching her the ropes!) I ended up doing quite well, since I bought two of the MP3 players they had as EBC deals this week. My oldest two children are getting MP3 players for Christmas. This makes a pretty inexpensive Christmas present if you need something for someone. My OOP was higher than usual because of the MP3 players and a lack of coupons

Here’s the deal-

Transaction #1
1 Crest Spinbrush $5.29
1 Complete Multi-Purpose Solution $8.99
1 Maybelline Mineral Foundation $8.99
1 Blade Howl Body Spray $1.99
1 Craig 2G MP3 player $24.99

Subtotal – $50.25

Coupons used:

$5/$20 CVS coupon
$2 off any Blade CVS coupon
$2 off Crest Spin Brush MQ
20 ECB’s from last week

New total: $16.25 + $1.28 tax = $17.53

EBS’s earned:
8.99 for Maybelline
8.99 for Complete Multi-Purpose Solution
2.00 for Crest
5.00 for Craig MP3 player

Total ECB’s: $24.98

Profit of $7.45

Transaction #2:

1 Blade Scorpio body spray $1.99

Used 1 $2.00 off any Blade CVS coupon (adjusted to $1.99)

Total: $0.00

Transaction #3

1 Craig 2G MP3 player $24.99

Used:
$24.98 ECB’s

Total: $.01

Earned 5 ECB’s

Transaction #4

1 Maybelline Mineral Foundation $8.99

Used: $5 ECB’s

Total: $3.99 + $.28 tax= $4.27

Todays totals:

Total OOP = $21.81
Total product value: $86.22
EBC’s to roll: $8.99

I had been eyeing the Wal-Mart Black Friday deal on the same MP3 player, but CVS not only had it cheaper, but offered EB’s back on it! Woo hoo! Paying with EB’s made it even sweeter! I had planned on spending $60 OOP to get my kids those MP3 players! Taking that into consideration, I did really well!

My husband keeps bugging me to post my drugstore/grocery deals (I haven’t been to the grocery store in several weeks though! Ack!) so I thought I’d start tonight. I had a pretty decent night, even though my OOP was pretty high…I bought a DVD and batteries! Both expensive items but I got a great deal!

Here’s the breakdown from two CVS stores and Walgreen’s. I was too tired to hit Rite-Aid…I passed it on the way home and waved so long to free toothpaste and Febreze items!

CVS Transaction #1

1 Palmolive Dishwashing Liquid – $1.49
1 Garnier Fructis Curl Enhancer – $2.99
1 Always Infinity Pads – $4.99
1 Glaceau Smart water (1 liter) – $1.49
1 Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Bar – $.50 (needed a filler item and there was a line, so I just grabbed the first 50 cent candy bar I could find.)

Subtotal: $11.46 + .18 tax

Coupons used:
$2/$10 (This is the third one I’ve gotten this week! I think these are my favorite CVS coupons!)
.50 off Garnier product MQ
$2.00 off Infinity MQ
$2.00 off Infinity CVS Q
$5.00 ECB’s

New total: .06 + .18 tax= $.24
ECB’s earned: 5.59

CVS Transaction #2

1 Rimmel mascara – $6.99
1 Rimmel color rush eyeshadow – $5.99

Subtotal: $12.98

Coupons used:
Buy one Rimmel mascara, get one Rimmel color rush eyeshadow free MQ (From All You magazine)
$1.00 off any Rimmel product (from KMart Beauty book)
$5.59 ECB’s

New total: $.40 + tax .45= $.85
ECB’s earned: 4.00

CVS Transaction #3

10 bags of Hershey’s Holiday Kisses – $2.00 each (got a great variety…I love the candy cane ones!)

Subtotal: $20.00

Coupons used:
8 EBC’s

New total: $12.00 + .84 tax = $12.84 (yikes! expensive for me!)

EBS’s earned: 10.00

CVS Transaction #4 (at a different store)

2 Palmolive dish washing liquid – $1.49 each
1 Garnier conditioner – $2.99
1 Always infinity pads – $4.99
3 8pk Energizer Batteries (with free toys inside!) – $5.99 each
1 Rimmel mascara – $6.99
1 Rimmel color rush eyeshadow – $4.99 (cheaper at this store for some reason!)
1 Kelloggs Frosted Flakes – $4.99
1 Kung Fu Panda DVD – $19.99

Subtotal: $65.89

Coupons used:
$10 instant savings on Kung Fu Panda when you buy $15 Energizer batteries
$10/$50 CVS coupon
$.50 off Garnier product MQ
(3) $1.00 off Energizer batteries MQ
$1.00 off any Rimmel product MQ (from KMart Beauty book)
Buy one Rimmel mascara, get a free Rimmel color rush eyeshadow MQ (from All You Magazine)
$2.00 off Always infinity MQ
$2.50 off Always infinity CVS coupon
$16.00 ECB’s

New Total: $15.90+1.95 tax= $17.85

ECB’s earned: 9.00

(The Kung Fu Panda DVD had a peelie for a free box of Kellogg’s cereal, that’s why I have the Frosted Flakes. I forgot to give it to the cashier and he didn’t see it! I would normally NEVER pay $4.99 for cereal. In fact, I’ll probably take it back Monday, get a refund and repay using the coupon! So my OOP really should have been about five dollars less.)

CVS Summary:

I bought $110.33 worth of products
I spent $31.78 OOP
I earned $19.00 ECB’s for next week

$31.78-19.00= $12.78

(Way less than the DVD alone would cost at Wal-Mart! Not bad, even thought that is way more OOP than I usually spend at CVS in a week! But that DVD will make a great, inexpensive Christmas present.)

Now on to Walgreen’s, where I only did one transaction. When I wait to go to Walgreen’s on a Saturday they are usually out of almost everything. Although they were out of a few things I wanted tonight, they were pretty well stocked on many other things I wanted to get. Here’s the deal:

4 boxes Kelloggs Raisin Bran – 4 for $10.00
6 boxes Nestle Hot Chocolate – 2/$2.00
2 Domino Sugar – $3.49 each
1 Hazelnut Coffee Mate – $2.49
1 Mint Coffee Mate – $2.49
2 Carnation Evaporated Milk – $1.59 each
3 Betty Crocker Frosting – $2.49 each
2 Betty Crocker Devils Food Cake Mix – 2/$2.00
2 Honey Maid Pie Crust – 2/$5.00

Subtotal: $45.61

Coupons used:
(4) $1.00 off Kellogg’s cereal
(3) $1.00 off 2 Nestle Hot Chocolate
(2) Domino Sugar for $1.99 WAGS Q
(2) $.50 off any Domino sugar MQ
BOGO Coffe Mate WAGS Q
$1.00 off any Coffe Mate MQ
$.50 off any Coffe Mate MQ
(2) Carnation Evaporated Milk for .99 WAGS Q
$1.00 off any 2 Carnation Evaporated Milk MQ
(5) Betty Crocker Frosting, Brownie Mix, or Cake Mix for $1.00 WAGS coupon
(3) $.55 off any Betty Crocker Frosting MQ
BOGO Honey Maid Pie Crust WAGS Q
$5/$20 Walgreen’s Q

New Total: $15.24+1.92 tax= $17.16

Earned 2.00 in Register Rewards

Walgreen’s Summary:

I bought $45.61 worth of product
I spent $17.16 OOP
I earned $2.00 in Register Rewards for next week

$17.16-2.00= $15.16

Today’s summary:

$155.94 worth of product for $27.94 (if you add in my EBC’s and RR’s, which I do since they are like cash!)

Update: I returned the Frosted Flakes for my $4.99. ($4.99 for cereal! That’s insane!!) I had the cashier rering it using my coupon. I had to pay $.34 in tax. That’s more like what I pay for cereal!

Check out other deals at The Centsible Sawyer:
CVS Superstars
Drugstore Divas