CVSing for $1.15

Here's the short story:

In three different transactions at CVS I was able to buy everything pictured above. The first transaction cost $1.08, the second was six cents and the third was only a penny. The total amount before savings was $68.02 plus tax. What I bought included:

3 bags of diapers
2 boxes of Kotex Lightdays
2 bags of Hershey Bliss
1 box of Hershey's Reese's cookies
1 package of peanut butter M &Ms
1 Intuition razor
1 box Tums
1 glucose meter

The long story:

I have been trying to learn the ropes of "CVSing" since January, but until last month I haven't done that well. I started out this week with $25 of Extra Care Bucks which were about to expire, so it was either use 'em or loose 'em. The first time I went to the store I was looking for something that I could use my $10 ECB for. The glucose meter was on sale for $10 and the Kotex were on sale two for $5, so I bought those. Between a Kotex coupon, a CVS coupon and the ECBs the total was $1.08 and I got $10 ECBs back. (Just fyi, the meter I will give to my diabetic brother-in-law.)

The next day I went back with a list of possible things to buy which were both on sale and that I had coupons for. I was trying to look for things that would generate ECBs so that I could roll over the ones that would expire. I also knew that diapers were on sale buy three, get the third free and I wanted to buy those.

In the first transaction that day, I bought the razor for 9.99 with a $4 off coupon, the Tums for 4.69 with a $1 off coupon, the two Hershey Bliss* with a BOGO coupon for 4.28 each, the Hershey Reese's cookies for $2, and when I realized that I needed something else about fifty cents I bought the M&M's for 0.79. I also used three different CVS coupons, and the 10 ECBs from the day before, which brought my total down to six cents. These purchases generated ECBs totaling 15.69, which I can use any time within the next month.

With my last purchase I bought three bags of diapers and with one of them free the total was 17.98. I used a three dollar off CVS coupon which brought me down to $14.98. I had Extra Care Bucks totaling 14.97, so I only had to pay one cent. Don't ask me why they didn't charge sales tax: I am completely baffled by that, but am not complaining. With this transaction I wasn't able to "roll" any ECBs, but that's fine since they were about to expire, and we need diapers anyway.

My husband pointed out that this actually cost me $4.15 because I had spent $3 on Sunday papers to get the coupons, but that is still a good deal. Besides they also have lots of other coupons for other things that I can get (or have already gotten) free or almost free.

*I usually don't buy junk food like cookies and candy, but they were generating ECBs and I am trying to potty train Happy Boy. I bribe him with something if he is able to go in the potty, but I needed a bribe and this is it. If I don't bribe him, he doesn't go.