CVS

As a wife, mother and missionary one of my main goals is to keep this family afloat on as little as possible. I clip coupons, buy only sale items (the kids hate this when they want a specific thing!), and do my best at sticking to the budget. My friend Carisa is also a thrifty shopper and told me one day about CVS and their "Extra Bucks" rewards program. Shortly after she told me about it it was featured on the CBS 11 o'clock news. I rarely shop at CVS because I can usually find the item I want much cheaper elsewhere. Not so anymore! Tonight I made my first CVS run - this could prove to be addicting! It is a game of finding the right coupons to match the right products to get the most rewards dollars! It is interesting and confusing, but so well worth the effort! For example this is what I got tonight:

Hershey Kisses (9.2 oz) 2/$5
Dimetapp Cough & Cold 2/$9.98
Children's Motrin (4 oz) $6.99
Motrin IB Tablets (100+50 bonus) $9.69
Head & Sholders Shampoo (23.7 oz) $7.39
Garnier Nutritioniste Lotion $12.99
Garnier Facial Cleanser $5.99

The total before using their card was $62.99
After card $59.01
Coupons used (- $22.50) $36.51

I paid $36.51 out of pocket, but I received $25 in Extra Bucks that I can apply to my future purchases (by 12/14/07)! How cool is that! I am in no way an expert in the area of math, but I love trying to figure out the best deals. The cool thing is that the Internet has the ad for next week up already and I can try and figure out what to get and where to find the coupons!

One reason to save money is for our car. As I was about to head out tonight for CVS the car refused to start! I was so bummed! Thankfully, Carisa graciously offered to take me to CVS. Andy believes it is the fuel pump. We hope to get it fixed this week. Please pray with us that this car would last at least another year - if not two or three! Or that God would place a better car within our price range in our midst. He has always proven faithful - we have never lacked for any need. He knows what we need and when we need it. There is always a reason for everything - tonight I got the blessing of spending a few minutes with a good friend! A good trade I'd say!