My #VowVoxBox

What is Influenster?

Influenster is an online community where you can have the opportunity to receive boxes of products to try out and review completely for FREE. After signing up, you pick themed badges and do tasks relevant to that badge to increase your chances of being chosen to receive a voxbox. Once you are chosen to receive a box, you complete review tasks on brand sites and social media to unlock brand badges which give you opportunities to win prizes from the brands.

Now, without further ado, I present to you:

#VowVoxBox

This beautiful box was just bursting at the seams with goodies geared towards people who are getting married, standing in a wedding, or being a guest at a wedding. I happen to be a future blushing bride, so this box was just perfect for me :)

What's in the box?? I'll start with my favorite

Olay Regenerist Luminous Tone Perfecting Cream

Who cannot love a freebie that retails for over $20?! (actually $23.99 at Target to be exact). Olay is a wonderful brand who makes quality facial products. I hadn't tried this before receiving it in my box, but I knew it was going to be great because it was Olay! I have been using this product for over a week now and it leaves my skin so soft and dewy! I don't have much for dark spots, so I can't vouch for the lightening factor, however I would say my overall skin tone has evened out a bit since I started using this product. I have super sensitive skin but have not had any issues with this making me break out. Though the product is expensive, it lasts a long time as just a little bit goes a long way. After more than a week I've barely made a dent into the jar! Overall I'm satisfied with this product and will definitely purchase it when I'm finished with my freebie.

Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Barracuda Shade

This nail polish is absolutely beautiful and would definitely make a great 'something blue' at that very special event ;) I don't wear nail polish on a regular basis as I get so frustrated with spending all that time to do my nails only to have it chipping away by the next day. Of course I had to try out this new polish, and was pleasantly surprised with how long it lasted. It wasn't until day 4 before wear started to show at my nail tips. By day 6, there was enough wear and tear to warrant removing. Definitely about 3 days longer than any other nail polish has lasted on my fingers. This is an all in one product, so you can slap it on and go. The only thing I didn't particularly like about the product is that the coverage is quite thin. I put on two coats and my nails still weren't as fully covered as I would have liked. I plan to definitely save this product to put on my toesies for that special day as my 'something blue'

My lovely self inflicted manicure. You can see how despite two coats the coverage is quite thin. Still a pretty color though!

Pure Silk Shave Cream

First of all, I'd like to say that I'd be lying if the desire to just eat this stuff didn't cross my mind a time or two. It smells that good! As for the correct use of this product, well, nothing really stood out to make this better than any shaving cream I've used in the past. It does, however, work just great to make shaving as effortlessly as possible. It minimizes razor burn and reduces the chance of nicks and cuts. I just happen to be the type of girl that uses *gasp* plain ol' soap to shave, and there wasn't anything about the product that makes me want to run out to spend money on a product that I particularly don't need. Except for the smell...oh if only I could eat it...

Tide To Go Instant Stain Remover

Ok, who doesn't need one of these? We've all had those little mishaps whether it's dribbling coffee down your shirt, having your pen leak on you, or your kids putting their dirty shoes where they don't belong (ON YOU)...wait, those don't happen to you regularly? We don't get to choose when these little oopsies will occur (or better yet choose for them to NOT occur) so it's definitely great to be prepared just in case with a Tide To Go stain removing pen. When those magical moments of mortification occur, you just grab your pen, smear the bajeezus out of the mess and just like that, more often than not your beautiful blouse (or in my case tattered tee shirt) is saved. Keep one in your purse...you will definitely thank me (well more like you'll be thanking Tide).

EcoTools Pure Complexion Facial Sponge

The box of this thing says it's handmade with 100% natural ingredients (I'm totally down with that), including Konjac vegetable fiber. HUH? Whatever it is, it gives a misleading first impression as when you take the sponge out of the packaging, its quite hard to the touch. The box says it softens when wet, but I was rather suspicious of the claim. I figured it would scour the heck out of my face (though with this acne lately that necessarily wouldn't have been such a bad thing). True to its claim, it got very soft when wet, like a normal sponge. The texture was a bit weird though...felt a little gelatinous. It ended up being very gentle on my face, even more so than my normal washcloths that I use. I very much liked it and plan on using it in the shower every morning when I need a more gentle approach to my face. As for the evenings...is it ok to wash your face with sandpaper?

Riley & Grey 

Riley & Grey is a site where you can create a customized webpage for your upcoming wedding. It has easy to navigate templates to help you create a one of a kind experience to get your future guests just as excited for the big day as you are. After creating a custom domain name, you can get busy creating pages for your guest list, your wedding party, your special day agenda, and whatever else your heart desires. You can also use it to collect potential guest addresses for the formal invitations as well as obtain RSVPs! It really is a neat site to check out if you are planning a very special day in the near future. I happen to be getting married...at some point, but since it's my second time around, I don't think it will be anything fancy schmancy to warrant a beautiful site like this, but hey, you never know! Check it out at Riley & Grey. If you decide it's for you, use the promo code RGINFLUENSTER to get 50% off! You sure can't beat that deal!

CVS Challenge

Completed 4/6/14!!

A little twist on my CVS shopping trip brags...

So, as you may be able to tell, I got a little bored with my CVS show and tells. I didn't get any feedback on them, so I have no idea if anyone even looked at them...and who wouldn't get bored taking a lot of time to lay out the details of shopping trips to an nonexistent audience? I decided to do a little twist on my show and tells and make it into a game for myself.

Peter went to CVS in the wee hours of the morning on Christmas day to get stocking stuffers for me and paid *GASP* full price for a few things. While he did a great job at picking out stocking stuffers (horrible job at remembering), I couldn't keep products that I knew I'd be able to get a way better deal on. I returned a few things and decided that I'd stuff the money I got back into my CVS coupon organizer and use it towards my couponing. I figured my blog would be a great place to keep track of just how far I could stretch that money. 

CVS Challenge

Start Date: 1/12/14

Start Amount: $30

(also still have $17 ECBs)

Shopping Trip #1:

I can't believe the butterfinger made it this long...

*1 Butterfinger Bar

Sale Price: $.79 (save $.40)

*2 Dawn Olay Hand Renewal Dishsoap

Sale Price: $.99 ea. (save $.68 ea.)

*1 Colgate 4pk Travel Size Toothpaste

Reg. Price: $3.39

*2 Eucerin Intensive Hand Cream

Sale Price: $5.50 ea (save $.29 ea)

*1 Nivea Men's Lotion

Reg. Price: $8.29

*1 Nivea Lotion

Reg. Price: $8.29

--------------------

Subtotal: $33.74

-$5.28 (20% off reg prices coupon)

-$7.50 in coupons

-$17 ECBs

Out of Pocket Cost: $3.96 + Tax =$5.34

Total saved: $32.12 (89%)

Received $11.79 ECBs

Money Left: $24.66 + $11.79 ECBs

Shopping Trip #2: 1/20/14

I'm obviously not a professional photographer

*1 Lady Speedstick Deodorant
Sale Price: $1.99 (save $1.70)
*1 Speedstick Deodorant
Sale Price: $1.99 (save $2.50)
*1 Palmolive Dish Soap
Sale Price: $.99 (save $.68)
*2 Colgate Optic White Toothpastes
Sale Price: $3.00 each (save $1.79 each)
*1 Colgate 360 Toothbrush
Sale Price: $3.00 (save $2.49)
-------------------------
Subtotal: $13.97
-$2 off $8 or more of Toothpaste, brushes etc. CVS Red Coupon Machine Coupon
-$1.50 off $4 Deodorant CVS Red Coupon Machine Coupon
-$2.99 BOGO Speedstick Coupon (from 1/19 Sunday Ad insert *note this deducted the max value of the coupon rather than the $1.99 sale price, so extra score!!)
-$2 (2) $1 off Colgate toothpaste printable coupons from coupons.com (I think there is a similar coupon in 1/19 sunday ad insert)
-$.25 off Palmolive Coupon from 1/19 ad insert
-$.25 off Palmolive CVS Red Coupon Machine Coupon
-$3.79 ECBs
Out of Pocket Cost: $.19 + Tax = $1.03
Total Saved: $24.73 (99%)
ECBs Received: $6

I spent $1.03 + $3.79 ECBs = $4.82 which means I EARNED $1.18 on this transaction!!

Money Left: $23.63
ECBs Remaining: $14

Shopping Trip #3: 1/25/14

probably my worst photo yet...ugh...
OMG my finger is in the picture!!

Though this trip's haul doesn't look spectacular (and I don't mean just because of the less than stellar picture), whenever I can get good makeup for dirt cheap, I pick it up. I've just joined a swapping group on meetup, so the makeup will make great swapping items. They also make great gifts, so if you can ever duplicate these deals, go for it! I made two trips in the same week due to receiving a 25% off regular prices CVS coupon in my email. I didn't mind burning a few ECBs in order to pay minimal out of pocket as I knew this purchase would get me over the $50 mark in my beauty rewards total to trigger a $5 ECB reward. I also had a CVS red coupon machine coupon that was expiring soon that I wanted to use. 

*1 CoverGirl Bombshell Mascara

Reg. Price $11.99

*1 CoverGirl Eyeshadow Pot

Reg. Price $4.99

*2 Nivea Lip Butters

Reg. Price $3.99 ea.

*1 Nivea Lip Balm

Reg. Price $2.99

------------------

Subtotal: $27.95

-$3 off CoverGirl Bombshell Mascara coupon from Sunday ad

-$5 off $15 or more Cosmetics purchase from CVS red coupon machine

-$5.74 (25% off regular prices emailed coupon)

-$14 ECBs from previous purchases

Out of Pocket Cost: $.21 + $1.03 tax = $1.24

Total Savings: $27.74 (99%)

ECBs Received: $10 + $5 beauty rewards triggered

Money Left: $22.39

ECBs Remaining: $15

**The ECB deal on Nivea was buy 3 Nivea Lip products and get $5 ECB. I chose the above combination to keep everything at regular prices so that the 25% off would work on them. If you buy 2 or more of the lip balms they are $2.75 each and if you buy 3 or more of the lip butters they are $3.66 each (which count as sale prices). I chose the better deal of keeping them at regular price and getting 25% off.


*Note: Did some shopping for a client and got her some mega savings on Pantene Shampoo thanks to the buy one get one free coupon in the newspaper ads. As a bonus I got myself $10 ECBs in the process :) A win for both of us. So my new ECB balance is $25 :)


Shopping Trip #4: 2/1/14

I loooove cashews! Not pictured: light bulb that I already installed.
 LET THERE BE LIGHT!

I didn't mind burning some ECBs on this recent trip since, as mentioned above, I got a bonus $10 in ECBs for doing some shopping for a client. I was starting to get low on paper towel so used some deals to stock up. I had received a $5 off when you spend $25 CVS coupon in my email, so I decided to make a second trip this week as there doesn't seem to be much in next week's sales that I feel like getting.

*1 24 pk Just the Basics Bottled Water

Sale Price: $2.44 (Save $1.55)

*1 GE 20W Light Bulb

Sale Price: $2.99 (Save $4.00)

*1 Colgate 360 Toothbrush

Sale Price: $2.99 (Save $2.50)

*1 Colgate Total Toothpaste

Sale Price: $2.99 (Save $.80)

*1 Gold Emblem Cashew Halves & Pieces

Sale Price: $2.99 (Save $3.00)

*3 Wet & Wild Nail Polish

Price: $2.47 (they are buy one get one 50% off, so two were .99 and one was .49)

*1 Sparkle Paper Towel

Reg. Price: 8.99

------------------------

Subtotal: $25.86

-$2 (2) $1 off Wet & Wild coupon from newspaper insert
-$1 off GE Light Bulbs coupon from newspaper insert
-$1 off Colgate 360 toothbrush coupon from newspaper insert
-$1 off Colgate Toothpaste coupon from newspaper insert
-$2 off Sparkle Paper Towel CVS coupon machine coupon
-$1 off Oral Care CVS coupon machine coupon
-$5 off $25 or more total purchase emailed coupon
-$10 ECBs from prior purchase
Total Out Of Pocket: $2.86 + $.75 tax = $3.61
Total Saved: $35.35 (93%)
ECBs Earned: $2 for toothpaste, $2 for toothbrush

Money Left: $18.78
ECBs Remaining: $19


Shopping Trip #5: 2/5/14

do I really HAVE to add a caption?

Had I not been in a hurry, I could have done this in two transactions, the skintimate in #1 and the rest in #2, resulting in only spending a few cents out of pocket. Oh well, we pay the price when we do things in a hurry.

*1 Glade Plug-In

Sale Price: $5 (save $5.99)

*2 Jergens 3oz Lotions

Reg. Price: $5.14 ($2.57 ea.)

*1 Skintimate Shave Gel

Reg. Price $3.79

--------------------

Subtotal: $13.93

-$3 Glade Manufacturer Coupon (from 1/12 SS)

-$3.79 Free Skintimate Coupon (from BzzAgent Campaign)

-$5 ECBs from prior purchase

Out Of Pocket Cost: $2.14 + .54 tax = $2.68

Savings: $17.78 (89%)

ECBs Earned: $5 for Jergens, $2 for Skintimate

(also redeemed $3 on Checkout 51 app for the Glade purchase)

Money Left: $16.10

ECBs Remaining: $21

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Progress Report

I figure since I'm just about halfway through my $30 in cash, I would do a quick progress report of my savings thus far:

Total Spent Out of Pocket (before tax): $9.36
Total Reg. Price Value of items: $148.08
Total Savings: $137.72 (93%)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shopping Trip #6: 2/18/14

Not Pictured in Class Photo: M&Ms

*2 Angel Soft 12 Big Rolls

Sale Price: $10  - $5 ea. (save $7.98  -$3.99 ea)

*1 Sparkle Paper Towel 8ct

Sale Price: $5 (save $3.99)

*1 M&Ms

Sale Price: $.75 (save $.44)

*1 Culturelle Children's Probiotic 30 Ct.

Sale Price: $10 (save $17.99)

-----------------------------

Subtotal: $25.75

-$5 off Children's Culturelle Printable coupon (no longer available)

-$2 off 1 Angel Soft Printable Coupon (no longer available)

-$1 off 1 Angel Soft Printable Coupon (no longer available)

-$1 off 1 Sparkle Printable Coupon (no longer available)

-$15 ECBs from previous purchases

Out of Pocket Cost: $1.75 + tax = $2.47

Savings: $54.40 (97%)

ECBs Earned: $10 for Culturelle, $5 for TP and paper towel, $.75 for M&Ms

Money Left: $13.63
ECBs Remaining: $21.75


Shopping Trip #7: 2/20/14

Maybe I can save enough money to hire a photographer....

*1 CVS Sleep Pants

Sale Price: $7.99 (save $2.50)

*1 Nivea Kiss of Care & Color

Reg. Price: $4.99

------------------------------

Subtotal: $12.98

-$4.99 Coupon for Free Nivea Kiss of Care & Color received in email from CVS

-$7 ECBs from Previous Purchases

Out of Pocket Cost: $.99 + tax = $1.47

Savings: $14.49 (94%)

ECBs Earned: $3 for CVS Sleep Pants

Money Left: $12.16

ECBs Remaining: $17.75
* I did some couponing for a friend and received some extra ECBs in return, so my new
ECBs Remaining: $23.75


Shopping Trip #8: 3/5/14

I really burned some ECBs on this trip, but Payton was quite sick so the Pedialyte was much needed. Plus I knew that I'd be reaching my Beauty Club threshold again soon, so that means another extra $5 ECBs would be heading my way.

Caption, caption, who needs a caption?

*3 Glade Sprays
Sale Price: 3/$3.00 (save $2.97)
*1 Almay Single Eyeshadow
Reg. Price: $4.99
*2 Pedialyte 1L
Reg. Price: $11.98 ($5.99 ea.)
*1 Almay Liquid Lipbalm
Reg. Price: $5.99
*1 Benefiber Powder 38 dose
Reg. Price: $10.99
--------------------------------
Subtotal: 36.95
-$3 (2) $1.50 off one Pedialyte printable coupon
-$2 off 3 Glade Sprays printable coupon
-$2 off Benefiber newspaper coupon
-$1 off 3 Glade Sprays coupon from CVS coupon machine
-$6.61  20% off reg. prices emailed coupon from CVS
-$21.75 ECBs from previous purchases
Out of Pocket Cost: $.59 + tax = $1.83
Savings: $39.33 (99%)
ECBs Earned: $5 for Benefiber, $2 for Pediasure, $4 for Almay

Money Left: $10.33
ECBs Remaining: $13

Shopping Trip #9: 3/12/14

I received $3 in ECBs via the Beauty Club for my birthday so my ECBs is up to $16. I Had a 20% off coupon loaded to my card that should have come off the Maybelline cosmetics, but the cashier forgot to apply it, so I ended up spending a little extra ECBs than I should have. I really need to go during less busy times so I can pay better attention and not be so rushed. But I shouldn't complain as I got all this for free.

Not pictured from class photo: Maybelline Eye Shadow Single pot

*2 Almay Eyeshadow Trios

Sale Price: $11.98 ($5.99 ea) (Save $4.00)

*1 Lancaster Raspberry and Cream Candies

Sale Price: $3.99 (Save $.70)

*1 Maybelline Single Eyeshadow

Reg. Price: $4.29

*1 Maybelline Mascara

Reg.Price: $7.99

-----------------------------------------

Subtotal:  $28.25

-$5 off 2 Almay Printable Coupon

-$2 (2) $1 off 1 Maybelline Manufacturer Coupons

-$1.50 off 1 Lancaster Candies Manufacturer Coupon

-$2 off 1 Lancaster Candies Red Coupon Machine CVS Coupon

-$3 off $12+ Maybelline Cosmetics Red Coupon Machine CVS Coupon

-$14.75 ECBs from previous purchase

Out of Pocket Cost: FREE plus $1.30 tax

Savings: $32.95 (100%)

ECBs Earned: $6 For 2 Almay Products, $3 for spending $10 on Maybelline

Money Left: $9.03

ECBs Remaining: $10

Shopping Trip #10: 3/20/14

I needed some sleep pants for Gabriel so I picked some up and got back $3 ECBs to add to my stash. Since this was an absolute necessity and not a planned trip, it came out of my regular household shopping money, rather than my CVS fun money. My ECBs total is now up to $13.

I'm so over captions.

*2 Softsoap Body Washes

Sale Price: $7.00 ($3.50 ea.) (Save $1.98)

*1 Butterfinger 

Sale Price: $.88 (Save $.31)

*1 Crest ProHealth Toothpaste

Sale Price: $2.99 (Save $.80)

*2 Crest SensiRelief Toothpaste

Sale Price: $9.98 ($4.99 ea) (Save $2.00)

------------------------------------------

Subtotal: $20.85

-$2 (2) $1 off SensiRelief Printable Coupons

-$2 off $12 Oral Care CVS Red Coupon Machine Coupon

-$4 off $20 total purchase CVS emailed coupon

-$11 ECBs from previous purchases

Out of Pocket Cost: $1.85 + $.68 tax = $2.53

Savings: $24.09 (93%)

ECBs Earned: $4 for Softsoap, $2 for Crest ProHealth, $4 for each Crest SensiRelief = $14 total!

Money Left: $6.50

ECBs Remaining: $16

Shopping Trip #11: 3/29/14

I had a $3 off $15 Hair Care CVS Red Coupon Machine coupon I was going to use on this trip, however the total for the items ended up being $14.97 which is close enough to trigger the ECBs for this purchase, but not enough to use the coupon....so again I burned a few more ECBs than originally planned, however I knew that I'd hit the beauty club $50 mark soon to get a $5 ECB plus quarterly rewards get distributed in a couple days, so I really didn't care

death to captions!!

*1 Dove Conditioner

Reg. Price: $5.99

*1 Clear Conditioner

Reg. Price: $5.99

*1 Clear Shampoo

Sale Price: $2.99 (buy 1 get 1 50% off Save $3.00)

-------------------------------------

Subtotal: $14.97

-$2 off Dove Manufacturer Coupon

-$5 (2) $2.50 off 1 Clear Coupon

-$7.97 ECBs from Previous Purchase

Out of Pocket Cost: FREE + $.90 tax

Savings: $17.97 (100%)

ECBs Earned: $5 for $15 Clear/Dove Hair Care

Money Left: $5.60

ECBs Remaining: $13

**I hit the Beauty Club $50 mark so I received an extra $5 in ECBs sometime in between these shopping trips, and on April 1st Quarterly Rewards were issued and I received another $4.50 ECBs, plus another $5 for couponing for a friend which bumps me up to $22.50 (horrible grammar but I DON'T CARE)

Shopping Trip #12: 4/6/14

Since I was nearing the end of my money, I figured it was time to close out my CVS challenge. It's been a good run, but I had started to get bored with it. There are a few good sales this week that are perfect for ending the challenge, plus I had received a 25% off coupon in the mail that expired today. When I got to the store, luck was on my side as when I scanned my extracare card, the red coupon machine spit out another $5 in ECBs. Apparently I had hit the beauty club threshold again. Go me!! I was a bit nervous when the register total was $70, but luckily today was one of those days where everything worked out right. The deodorant and the shaving items ended up being moneymakers, so they helped cover the cost of the Zantac. Since Peter uses it nearly daily, I always jump on the chance to pick some up for super cheap, like I did today. Darn fire breather...

Anyone need deodorant....anyone??

*1 Right Guard Extreme Clear Deodorant

Sale Price: $3.00 (Save $1.79)

*1 Dry Idea Deodorant

Sale Price: $3.00 (Save $2.49)

*1 Skintimate Shave Gel

Reg. Price: $3.79

*1 Gillette Venus Razor

Reg. Price $7.79

*1 L'oreal Butterfly Mascara

Reg. Price $8.99

*1 L'oreal Eyeshadow

Reg. Price $7.99

*1 Zantac 150 24ct

Reg. Price $10.79

*1 Zantac 150 65ct

Reg. Price $22.99

---------------------------------------

Subtotal: $68.34   (I started to sweat a bit at this point...maybe get a little shaky)

-$3 off L'oreal butterfly effects mascara manufacturer coupon

-$2 off L'oreal eye product manufacturer coupon

-$4 off Zantac 24ct or higher manufacturer coupon

-$5 off Zantac 65 ct printable coupon (no longer available)

-$4 off Gillette Venus Razor manufacturer coupon

-$1.50 (this had me stumped as the only thing it could be is one of the deodorant coupons, but the ones I had were both $2 off, so....?0

-$2 off Right Guard Extreme deodorant

-$3 off $15 cosmetics purchase from CVS Red Coupon Machine 

-$3 off $10 Shaving items from CVS Red Coupon Machine

-$1 off $4 Deodorant purchase from CVS Red Coupon Machine

-$14.56 via 25% off coupon from mailer

-$24.50 in ECBs from previous purchases/rewards

Out of Pocket Cost: $.78 + 2.96 tax = $3.74

Savings: $71.84 (99%)

ECBs Earned: $10 for Zantac, $2 for Deodorant, $5 for L'Oreal, $5 for Venus razor, $2 for Shave gel

Money Left: $1.86 (all in change at this point so I'm calling it quits)

ECBs Remaining: $32

*Insert HUGE Sigh of Relief Here*

THE FINAL RESULTS:

MONEY SPENT: $28.14 (INCLUDING TAX)

TOTAL REGULAR PRICE VALUE OF ITEMS: $408.11

I. AM. AWESOME.

What did I get with my $28.14??

1 Zantac 24 ct.

1 Zantac 65 ct.

1 Pack of sleep pants

2 Body washes

4 Packages of Candy

4 Travel size toothpaste

6 Regular size toothpaste

2 Toothbrushes

2 Regular size lotions

4 Small lotions

3 Dish soaps

4 Deodorants

2 Conditioners

1 Shampoo

2 Mascaras

5 Lip products

7 Eyeshadows

24 Rolls of Toilet Paper

16 Rolls of Paper Towel

3 Bottles of Nail Polish

2 Shave gels

1 Razor

3 Glade sprays

2 Bottles of Pedialyte

1 Benefiber 38 doses

1 Pack of bottled water

1 Jar cashews

1 Light bulb

1 Glade plugin

1 30 count Culturelle for kids


What I have learned when it comes to working the CVS ExtraBucks system:

-Plan ahead
-Allow time to work out scenarios
-Go during odd hours when the store is not busy so you don't feel rushed at the register
-Find the stores that have the friendliest cashiers and stick to those if you can. It helps to have cashiers that work with you and don't make you feel like a nuisance because you have multiple coupons.
-Anticipate having to go to multiple stores due to sale items being out of stock
-Check for availability of higher priority items first in case you have to go to a different store
-Watch checkout process carefully
-Don't rush or you will make mistakes that cost you money
-ECBs will trigger if you are a few cents shy of a spending threshold (ex. $14.98 will trigger ECBS that require a $15 purchase), however you MUST hit the threshold to use a dollar off coupon (ex. $14.98 will not allow you to use a coupon such as $3 off $15 or more in a category)
-Slow sales weeks are usually followed by decent sales weeks, and vice versa. If you don't see anything you particularly want or need, hang on to your ECBs for the next week.
-If you shop regularly, you'll get emailed coupons quite often (I get one nearly every week)
-Once you get the hang of it (as long as you don't blog about it), it only takes about 15 minutes of your time to plan out your trip for the week.


I'm sure my elation at completing this challenge will dwindle and I'll be trying to figure out my next mission. I'd love your input. What do you want to see next??

Swagbucks Review

Swagbucks: 

EASY way bank up some extra cash for next Christmas!

Thumbs rating: UP!

Swagbucks is something that I signed up for awhile back and didn't pay much attention to it (dumb of me as I could have done even more awesome with my holiday shopping this year had I not given up!). At first I really didn't get it. I stumbled across it during a time when I was only on the internetz occasionally, so after visiting the site a couple of times, I gave up. I believe at the time I only looked at the sweepstakes portion of the rewards section and figured it was a waste of time as I didn't want to use a site where my time was only rewarded with a very slim chance to win prizes. Yeah, my bad! As my interwebz usage started increasing due to my need to coupon and search for deals, I started to see more and more mention of swagbucks. I decided to head back over and give it another go.

I started back up in October, and by the time I was in the swing of things with holiday shopping come mid November, I had already banked up enough to redeem $20 worth of Amazon codes. I redeemed those to snag some pretty sweet deals on gifts for the kids. Since then I have earned enough to redeem another $15 in Amazon codes and that's with a considerable reduction of time spent on there due to the busy nature of the holidays. Plus, once I was done with my Christmas shopping I wasn't in such of a mad rush to bank up.

I'll start with the good stuff and the question that's probably most important, what kind of stuff can you get with what you earn? The answer is pretty much just about anything. For only a few points (swagbucks) you can enter sweepstakes or even donate to charities. While they have gift cards for nearly everything on there, I choose to use my swagbucks for Amazon credit because it's the most bang for your buck. 

*My Gift Cards section on Swagbucks (I did it in two transactions as I wanted to see if they were instant rewards. After submitting the first $5 one I then saw that it stated 8-10 business days for you to receive your rewards so I submitted the rest immediately to ensure I got it in time for holiday shopping)

For 450 swagbucks you can get a $5 Amazon credit code sent to your email. A $5 code to other popular retailers costs 500 swagbucks, which is still a good deal if you don't use Amazon. There's even a paypal cashout option, but that doesn't start until 2500 swagbucks for $25. So basically, Amazon credit aside, it's a penny a swagbuck, with a $5 cashout threshold. A great rate in the world of paid tasks and survey sites, plus the low cashout threshold is a bonus.

How do you earn swagbucks? There's lots of different tasks you can do on the site to earn credit. There's a daily poll you can answer for 1 swagbuck, a No Obligation Special Offers (NOSO) path that you click through daily for 2 swagbucks, swagbucks earned for completing surveys, watching videos....many ways to earn. You can also use the site as a gateway to the printable coupon site coupons.com and earn 10 swagbucks for every coupon redeemed, and if you online shop frequently, you can shop through swagbucks and earn swagbucks per dollar spent. You can also earn by using their search bar for your everyday web browsing. Instead of opening your browser and directly typing the webpage in, go to swagbucks and search for where you need to go. You are randomly awarded swagbucks for searches. The site says the amounts are random from 1-1000 but from my experience it generally averages from 6-13 swagbucks. There are lots of ways to earn, but I stick mainly to the search bar, surveys and the daily tasks. It would take a long time to really describe them all, so go check them out for yourself! Also, there's special contests that the site has throughout the year where you can win a few extra SBs.

Swagcode: At least once daily (sometimes multiple times in one day) Swagbucks will release a code that you can enter on the site for bonus swagbucks. These are a varied amount (I just entered one for 14pts today). For the best chance of catching these, like Swagbucks on facebook, as well as like SwagCodez as it's a facebook page dedicated to updating on the latest code. Once released, the code is only good for usually 2 hours or so, so you  have to be quick to catch it. It's a great and easy way to add a few points to your daily tally.

I'm sure the next pressing questions you have are: how easy is it to earn credit and how much time do you have to spend to really earn anything? When telling people about swagbucks, I usually tell them this: If you did ONLY the two most basic tasks, the daily poll and click through the NOSO path (it can range from 1 to 5 different offers you have to click through (just choose skip to go to the next one) and quite often there's only one offer to skip) you will spend maybe a half of a minute on the site and earn 3 swagbucks. If you do only this every day, by December 1st (345 days from the time I'm writing this) you will have earned 345x3=1035 Swagbucks + 50 SB bonus on your birthday = 1085 Swagbucks which is good enough for $10 worth of gift cards for holiday shopping. It doesn't sound like much, but that's also for less than a minute of time a day. Now if you take your time commitment and up it by only 1 to 2 minutes to do some searching in their search bar (sometimes you get SBs on your first search, sometimes you have to do many searches to be awarded) and even if you only earned 6 extra swagbucks a day, you are now up to 3155 swagbucks by next holiday shopping season which will get you $30 in gift cards (or $35 in amazon credit).  That's just a low ball number too as frequently I get 8 or more SBs on a search.

Currently, swagbucks has a daily goal program where you are given two goal thresholds to hit for the day. It looks like this:

If you reach the goal, you are awarded the qualifying bonus. Above is my first daily goal for today. If I earn 30 SBs today, I will get 3 bonus SBs. Once I hit 30, it switches to my second goal for the day which for today is 90. If I hit that, I will get an additional 9 SBs. You don't get the bonus SBs right away, rather they are awarded monthly, which can make for a nice surprise. Sometimes they start you off at a low goal of 20, sometimes the first goal is ridiculously high like 100 or more. Whenever it starts off at 20 or 30 I try to hit that goal if I have time to. It really doesn't take a whole lot. I just do my few minutes of searches a couple of times throughout the day, do my daily tasks, click through the watch and earn clips, etc. I do surveys whenever I can as well, but you aren't credited right away for them, so surveys will not generally count towards your goal for that day, except for the fact that you do earn 1 SB for every time you do not qualify for a survey (you are limited by the number of times you can get this 1 credit per disqualification credit...I think it's 5 per day).

So as you can see, you don't have to be unemployed with all the free time in the world to make some extra spending money for the holidays on this site. You can be a super busy, working, single mom like me and still manage to make a few bucks towards extra things by taking just a few minutes out of your day.

Just a few minutes a day...and I've already got $15 in Amazon credit for next Christmas :)

-- UPDATE: I've recently downloaded their SBTV mobile app on my android phone and run it every day for easy peasy SBs!! (I do it while I'm at home and connected to my wi-fi so I don't use up a lot of data). All you have to do is keep it running videos and you earn 2 SBs for every 5 that you watch. For the most part it auto plays, but you have to check it every once in awhile as it gets stuck on an ad and you have to click the X to move on. You can earn 32 SBs per day with this app, so I get pretty close to my daily goal by running this app alone! If you can remember to run the app every day, you can earn 960 SBs per month (which is two $5 amazon gift cards)!!

If you decide to give swagbucks a try, sign up here:

swagbucks.com/refer/lmvancoi

I get credit for the referral ;) And if you try it out and love it like I do, use your own link to refer friends and get credit for your own referrals. Good luck, happy earning!

12/2 CVS trip

Free for me!!!

This week I hadn't really planned a full blown shopping trip to CVS as my first glance through the sale previews didn't show anything real stellar. I pretty much expected this after last week's pre-black Friday deals. I did, however, plan to stop in to grab the children's Triaminic that would wind up free after using a printable coupon and ECBs. While cruising the net on Sunday I discovered another great deal on CVS brand razors and I needed one more for stocking stuffers anyway, so another win for me. This was all I was going to get. I was slightly disappointed at my list as I had loaded a coupon for $4 off $20 or more purchase from my email, however I thought it expired Sunday, and after my long trip home from NC on that day, getting to CVS was not a high priority. When I got to the store on Monday though, I scanned my card and the coupon showed up as good until 12/5 so I winged it a little.

Photo montage:

The deets:

1 Arizona Tea Reg. Price $.99

1 Children's Triaminic Reg. Price $8.49

-Sale Price $4.99 (save $3.50)

1 Trident Gum Reg. Price $1.49

-Sale Price $.99 (save $.50)

1 ACT II Popcorn 3ct mini bags Reg. Price $1.00

2 Colgate Total 4 pk. Travel size Reg. Price $6.78 ($3.39 ea.)

1 Men's CVS 5 Blade Razor 1ct. Reg. Price $6.99

Subtotal: $21.74

-$1.00 off Triaminic printable coupon

-$3.00 off CVS 5 Blade Razor printable coupon

-$.50 off Arizona Tea CVS coupon machine coupon

-$4 off purchase of $20 or more CVS emailed coupon

Total after coupons: 13.24

*Used 13.25 in ECBs from previous purchases

Total Out of Pocket: NOTHING :)

This purchase triggered $3 ECBs for each of the Colgate toothpastes, $4 ECBs for the Triaminic and $4 ECBs for the Razor totaling in $14 ECBs for a future purchase. Oh hey look, I technically made money ;)

Triaminic Coupon:

http://www.triaminic.com/sign-up.shtml

CVS Razor Coupon

(if coupon doesn't show up try changing ZIP code to 33033)

If you haven't signed up for CVS emails, DO EEEET!!! That's how I got my $4 off $20+ coupon and I currently have one in my inbox for 25% off regular priced items that I will use for next weeks trip.

Have I helped you save money yet? Comment if I did. I'd like to know that I'm not talking to a virtual wall ;)

11/24 Awesome CVS Trip!

Christmas came early!!!

(For me at least...is it lame that I consider amazing deals a gift?)

86% SAVINGS!

(If you took into account the ECBs I earned, it would actually be a money maker. As you should know by now, however, I only factor in the actual out of pocket costs for this purchase as the ECBs earned are a part of  future purchase savings scenarios.)

I am particularly excited about this trip because I was able to snag some items that would work great as stocking stuffers at Peter's family Christmas (specifically the razors, mascara, baby wipes and travel sized toothpastes). Peter also REALLY needed heartburn pills (because I feed him way too well) and getting things I immediately need for very cheap really makes me happy :) Yes, I am a dork (and proud of it), but at least a money saving dork!

I did this trip in two transactions to roll some of the ECBs to get more savings. I probably could have done more transactions to save more, but that's quite tedious and 86% is kick bootay enough for me. Plus, I had a 25% off regular priced items coupon from CVS in my email inbox that I used, so separating regular priced items into a separate transaction made things a bit more organized for me.

The nitty gritty:

Transaction #1

Colgate 4pk Travel Size Toothpaste 

Reg. Price $3.39

(2) Maybelline Mascara 

Reg. Price $11.98 ($5.99 ea.)

-$2 (2 $1 off Maybelline cosmetics manufacturer coupon)

-$2 ($2 off $8+ cosmetics from CVS coupon machine from a previous week)

CVS Men's 5 Blade Razor 

Reg. Price $6.99

Gillette Fusion Proglide Razor 

Reg. Price $9.99

-$3 (Manufacturer coupon)

Total: $32.35 (Boooo!!)

-$8.09 (25% off coupon)

-$7 (coupons))

-$15 ECBs from previous purchases

Out of Pocket Cost: $2.26 

Total Savings: $30.09 (93%) (Yippee!!)

ECBs Earned: $16

($3 from Colgate, $3 from Maybelline, $5 from Gillette and $5 from CVS razor)

Transaction #2

(2) Single Roll Sparkle Paper Towel

Reg. Price $2.98 ($1.49 ea.)

Sale Price $2 ($1 ea.)

-$1 (Buy one get one free printable coupon)

Kraft Macaroni & Cheese

Reg. Price $1.99

Sale Price $.99

(2) Zantac 150 24 ct.

Reg. Price $21.58 (10.79 ea.)

Sale Price $17.98 ($8.99 ea)

-$10 (2 $5 off manufacturer coupons)

Theater Box Candy

Reg. Price $1.67

Sale Price $.99

CVS Pantiliners

Reg. Price $1.27

Sale Price $.99

Colgate 4.0 oz

Reg. Price $3.79

Sale Price $3.00

-$2.50 (CVS coupon machine coupon -prints this week)
(there's also a $.50 coupon in this week's paper which would make this item completely free)

Children's Advil 1 oz

Reg. Price $2.57

Sale Price $2.37

Glade Scented Oil Warmer

Reg. Price $2.37

Sale Price $1.25

-$1 (Printable coupon)

4 ct. Film Coated Advil

Reg. Price $.99

CVS wipes 12 ct Travel Size

Reg. Price $1.19

Sale Price $.99

CVS Probiotics 15 ct.

Reg. Price $10.79

Sale Price $9.99

Visine w/ Hydroblend

Reg Price $8.79

Sale Price $5.49

-$4 (Printable coupon)

Regular Price Total: $59.98 (Yuck!)

-$12.95 (sales)

-$20.00 (coupons)

-$16 (ECB from Transaction #1)

Out of Pocket Cost: $11.03 (Fist Pump!)

Total Savings: $48.95 (82%)

ECB Received: $26.05

($1 from each Sparkle, $.99 from Kraft, $2 from each Zantac, $.99 from candy, $.99 from pantiliners, $2.37 from Children's Advil, $.99 from Advil, $.99 from wipes, $9.99 from probiotics and $1.49 from Visine)

For both transactions, the total regular price was $92.33 and I spent $13.29 out of pocket for a savings of $79.04 (86%). 

I. Am. Awesome.

11/17 CVS Trip

Another week, another successful trip to CVS :)

(Okay, so I'm not going to win a photography contest anytime soon...)

How much did I save today? 

Guess!

no really, guess....

I SAID GUESS!

83%!!!!!

 That's $51.13 worth of items for $9.10!

(Tired of exclamation points yet? Sorry, I'm not done with them)

AND I received a total of $15 in ECB for next week!!!!!!!!

Now, I could have done this in multiple transactions to minimize my out of pocket costs even further, but I was happy with these numbers already and wanted to have lots of ECBs on reserve for after Thanksgiving deals.

Alright, to the stats we go...

Transaction #1

(2) Dial Body Washes Reg. Price $5.99 = $11.98

(2) Nivea Post Shave Balm Reg. Price $7.79 = $15.58

(2) Simple Face Wash Reg. Price $8.29 = $16.58

Subtotal: $44.14

-25% off total purchase coupon (CVS email) = -$11.04

-$2 off $8 or more body wash or bar soap coupon from CVS coupon machine

-(2) $3 off Simple product printable coupon

-(2) $3 off Nivea product printable coupon

-$10 ECB from last week

Total Paid: $9.10

ECB Received: $5 for $15 of Simple products, $4 for $10 Dial products, $5 for 2 Nivea Products

*I'm realizing as I'm itemizing this out for you that I had a dial product coupon that ended up not getting scanned. Apparently I wasn't paying attention enough at the register, a big no no since this wasn't a huge order. Make sure you pay attention during cashout!

Transaction #2

(1) Nature Made VitaMelts Reg. Price $9.29

*Sale Price $6.99

-$3 Printable coupon

-$4 ECB from Transaction #1

Total Paid: NOTHING :) FREEEEEEEEEEEE

ECB Received: $5 for purchasing 1 Nature Made product

*I did this in two transactions in order to turn the $4 ECB from transaction #1 into $5 ECB. Also, the 25% coupon I had only applies to regular priced items, so it wouldn't have affected the VitaMelts price anyway.

Coupons Still Available:

Dial

11/10 Red Plum Newspaper Insert has $2 off 2

www.coupons.com has $1 off 2 printable coupon 

Nivea

10/27 Red Plum Newspaper Insert for $2 off 1 coupon

Simple

www.coupons.com has $2 off 1 Simple moisturizer or cleanser

11/17 Red Plum Newspaper Insert has coupon for buy 1 cleanser or moisturizer and get a package of wipes free

Nature Made VitaMelts
11/3 Smartsource Newspaper Insert has $1 off 1 coupon

Now go forth and save!

11/14 CVS Trip

79% Saved!!

(on stuff I actually needed right this minute)

*Payton and her tower*

This week's CVS trip once again doesn't look very impressive at first appearances. I promise, however, after you see the numbers you will feel that hint of excitement deep down in your chest. If not, then you aren't a savings guru in training like me.

The Numbers:

(2) 8 pk Sparkle Paper Towel

-Reg. Price: $8.99 or $17.98 for 2

-Sale Price: $5.00 or $10 for 2 (Saved $7.98)

-Used (2) $1 off 1 Sparkle printable coupons (Saved $2)

-Total Price: $8 (Saved $9.98)

(1) 9 pk Quilted Northern

-Reg. Price: $6.79

-Sale Price: $5.00 (Saved $1.79)

-Used $.75 off 1 Quilted Northern printable coupon

-Total Price: $4.25 (Saved $2.54)

Total Price of all Items: $12.25

-Used $7 ECB from previous purchases

Total Paid out of pocket: $5.25

That's a total savings of $19.52 or 79% on things I NEEDED for the household!!

*This purchase also triggered a $5 ECB reward for my next purchase. Most savings sites will factor this into the savings saying I only technically spent $.25 for everything. I, however, go by what I actually paid out of pocket since the $5 ECB earned will go towards my next deal scenario.

The sparkle paper towel coupon can be found here:

http://sparkletowels.com/

*The printable Quilted Northern coupon is no longer available, but it it still a good deal without it. You can, however, use this deal with all Sparkle if you have access to a second computer to print off a third Sparkle coupon which actually makes for an even better deal.