Late Night Shopping at Walgreens and CVS

As I mentioned in my earlier post, after the kids were in bed and my list had been matched to coupons as best I could (which of course was near 11 pm on Monday night!) and went into West Leb & Hanover to visit the 24-hour Walgreens and CVS stores before midnight.  Well, that was the plan at least.  In fact, I only made it to Walgreens before midnight.  This complicated my CVS shopping as you'll see below. ;)

Walgreens:

 

Conair hair dryer -- sale price $10

Register Receipts earned = $10

(Monday 12/22 special offer)

Total OOP = $0.00!

CVS:

As I said, got here after midnight so the deals I wanted to do that were Sunday/Monday only were questionable.  When I asked the staff, he said they might still ring up even though it was after midnight.  So I gathered my items that were part of the free after ECBs deals in one part of the cart + monthly/weekly deals or other stuff I needed in another.

1st order --

The first order was an experiment to see if the special promo ECBs printed.  Most did not, only the Right Guard deodorant.  I promptly returned items that were more expensive, that I did not have an immediate use for, that I didn't use a coupon with or that I could not get reimbursed for by the healthcare flexible spending account.  The photo shows what I ended up keeping.

* Order 1 total after coupons (Benefiber $2, A&H Essentials $1, Halls Naturals $0.35, Zantac $1) and ECBs used = $42.96...this total includes what I paid for the items that I then returned...
ECBs earned = $6 (for Right Guard) + $10 off $50 coupon

*Returned items (Sally Hansen nail polish, L'oreal eye shadow, zipfizz, Alteril sleep aid, EAS 4pk shakes, slimquick)
Total $ back for returned items = $41.44 (nearly all I had paid OOP!)

Order 1 OOP = $1.52 (I made $4.48 when you factor in the ECB earned + will submit Arm & Hammer Essentials try me free rebate)

2nd Order --

• kids band-aids $0.99 x 3 (tried to use the CVS diabetes booklet coupon for $1 off Johnson & Johnson, but didn't work - still a good deal for stocking stuffer)
• crest pro-health toothpaste $2.99 x 2 -$1 coupon
• complete contact solution $8.99
• Bodi Heat 3 ct pks $3.99 x 2 - $1 peelie coupons x 2
• Rolaids 3 roll pks $2.49 x 5 
• Rolaids multi-sympton 3 roll pk $2.99 - $1 coupon
• Rolaids softchews 12 ct $2.89 - $1 coupon
• Chapstick $2.99
• Right Guard Clinical $6 x 4

- $10 off $50 coupon from order 1
- $6 ECB earned from order 1
Paid total of $49.24 (most of that was cash from refund)
ECBs earned -- $1 for Chapstick, $4 from 2 Crest Pro-Health toothpastes, $6 for 2 Bodi-Heat, $8.99 for Complete solution, $10 for Rolaids, $24 for Right Guard = $53.99
Order 2 OOP = I made $4.75 after earning ECBs!

So I think I did pretty well, even though I got there after midnight and couldn't get all the deals I wanted.  I also went over the limit for the Rolaids ECBs (limit was 5) as the softchews and multi-symptom rolls were counted in the same offer, even though the price was different.  After ECBs, the regular 3 roll pks were $0.49.  I had expected $2 ECB back for the softchews and MS pk as well, but no big deal, as we will still use them.

The other thing I need to do is to make sure I submit these receipts to our healthcare flexible spending account (FSA), as many items ($21.56 from order 1 and $38.27 from order 2) qualify for reimbursement.

It truly helps to do your homework and have your list and coupons ready!  One of my goals for 2009 is to find a way to track my savings throughout the year to "justify" the time and energy to clip coupons, read the flyers and blogs, and make the trips to the stores.  Have any ideas?  What system do you use?