How I Got Mascara for $0.49 and Other CVS Couponing Gems

Happy Saturday!

Since it's absolutely frigid in Chiberia Chicago, I'm having a pretty uneventful day.  Jeremy and I slept in, went to one of our favorite breakfast places for some indulgent pancakes, and went to CVS before heading home to watch the Patriots game.  (Meaning we're snuggled up under our favorite blanket, he's watching the game, and I'm blogging.)

So, now you're likely wondering why the CVS run, and whether I've gotten so old that the one of the highlights of my weekend involves a trip to the local pharmacy.  Well, sadly, it does, and here's why:  They were having some crazy good deals.  I had some crazy good coupons, and the marriage of the two resulted in me getting a lot of awesome household stuff for very little money.  I literally giggled on my way out, as it almost felt like stealing.

Just a few of the goodies I snagged at CVS today

So, let me tell you about some of the deals I got.  I'll start with the Ricola cough drops, which were originally $3.19 each.  CVS had them on sale today for 2/$3, making them $1.50 each.  I combined the sale with a $1 off of 2 manufacturer's coupon that I had, which made the cough drops $1 each.

Next, I got two large bottles of Tresemme Shampoo, which originally retailed for $4.99 each.  CVS had them on sale for 2/$8 (or $4 each.)  I had two manufacturers coupons for $2 off each bottle, making them $2 each.

Jeremy wanted some Balance bars, which are great snacks (or meal replacements) on the go.  Originally they were $1.87 each.  CVS had them on sale for Buy 1, Get 1 50% off, making them about $2.80 for two.  We had a manufacturer's coupon for $1 off two bars, so we ended up spending just 90 cents per bar.

Next, we got a super amazing, but sort of complicated, deal on Gummy Vitamins, Aleve, and One A Day Men's Vitamins.  Let me do them one at a time.  The Gummy Vitamins were originally $9.49 and were on sale for $7.  Then we got the Aleve at retail price for $10.99.  We had a manufacturer's coupon for $3 off of it, bringing its price down to $7.99.  There was a Buy 1 Get 1 50% off offer bundled with the Aleve and the OAD vitamins for Men.  So the OAD vitamins, which retailed for $7.99, were $3.99.  We had a $3 manufacturer's coupon for the OAD vitamins, lowering the price further to $0.99.

THEN we had a coupon for $10 off all three of those products (Gummy Vitamins, the Aleve, and the OAD vitamins.)    So at this point, we paid $7 for the gummy vitamins, $7.99 for the Aleve, and $0.99 for the OAD vitamins, which totaled $15.98.  The $10 off coupon made all three items $5.98.  And if that wasn't enough, we then had the purchase of all three items generate $6 worth of Extra Bucks, meaning we made two cents on the three items.  Not kidding.

Finally, let me tell you about my favorite deal of the day.  It was on some Maybelline LashSational mascara, which is the newest mascara in their line.  Originally, the mascara retailed for $7.99 each.  CVS had a Buy 1 Get 1 50% off Sale on Maybelline products.  I bought two mascaras, so one mascara was $7.99 and the other was $3.99.  Together they totaled $11.98.  I then had some manufacturer's coupons for $3 off each mascara.  This lowered the total to $5.98.  The sale generated an additional $5 in Extra Bucks, meaning the two mascaras cost me $0.98, or $0.49 each.

Needless to say, I am continuing to shamelessly hoard mascara in my vanity.  And I'm not sorry.  My purchases today reignited my love of couponing, and got me excited for all of the great deals still to come!

What have you saved crazy money on recently?

Car Buying - Tips and Tricks

We finally did it!  After several years of big city living, in which we regularly rode the subway, walked, and occasionally opted for a ZipCar, Jeremy and I finally bought a car of our very own.

Since we're moving back to the Boston area, we had to have some very real conversations about where we'd live and how we'd commute.  While living in a city is great in that you don't need a car, we're getting to the point that living in the middle of a large city isn't for us anymore.  It's great to be within walking distance of the grocery store, shopping, and subways, but city living can be very expensive.  And you typically don't get a lot of space for that money.  While we haven't decided exactly where in the Boston area we'll live, we do know that we'll want more space.  I think it's a safe bet to say that we won't be living right down town, and having a car will be a good idea.

While we were home for the holidays, Jeremy and I did some car shopping, and ultimately decided to buy a VW Passat TDI.  (If you don't speak Car & Driver, like me, that means it runs on diesel instead of gasoline.)  We're really happy with that decision, since our car will get around 40 miles per gallon.  Aside from that, our car has some nice leather interior, a moonroof, roomy interiors, and an absurd amount of trunk space.  (I think this might mean shopping trips are in order!)

After having visited many car dealerships prior to our purchase, I've compiled some car buying tips for any of you who might be car shopping.

1. Know your budget.  First, unless you can afford to buy a car outright (ie. have no car payment), you're going to need to figure out how much you can afford for a car payment.  Make sure that before you arrive at this number, you've factored in a car payment, car insurance, parking fees, excise taxes, tolls, warranty payments, and fuel costs.  
2. Do some math.  Now that you know how much you can afford for a car payment, you can figure out the general price range you're looking in.  Be mindful that you can stretch out a car loan as long or as short as you want.  In general, I think most financially savvy people would agree that if you cannot pay off your car within 60 months maximum, you can not afford the car.
3. Know what kind of features are important to you.   Everyone has different priorities.  For me, I cared about getting a car with great fuel efficiency, strong resell value, spacious interiors, and great safety ratings.  To be honest, I also really wanted a car with all-wheel drive for New England winters, but I wasn't spending the money on an Audi A6, the Audi A4 was too small, I wasn't going to pay for a Mercedes or a BMW, I didn't trust the Subaru salesman as far as I could throw him, and I didn't want a gas guzzling SUV.  So, I compromised on that one.  What's important is to know what matters to YOU and what you're willing to compromise on.
4. Go to a reputable dealership, and bail if something seems fishy to you.  This is so important.  Unfortunately, not everyone is blessed with a strong moral compass, particularly in the business world.  Trust your gut.  If you're seeing or hearing things that are concerning, do business with someone else that you can trust.  When shopping, Jeremy and I strongly considered Subarus.  They're among the only non-luxury sedans that come with all-wheel drive, and they're generally regarded as safe, dependable cars.  However, when we went to the dealership, we were really disturbed by what we saw.  The salesman didn't ask us any of the proper questions (what are you looking for, why do you need a new car, when do you need the car, what's important to you, etc.)  What few questions he did ask (like "What is your budget"), he directed at Jeremy only.  Whenever I spoke, he rudely cut me off.  He bragged endlessly about how fantastic of a salesman he was, that he drove a BMW, and that the dealership sold more than 10 cars per day.  He had almost no inventory to show us, and except for a used car that had not yet passed safety inspections, he did not show us the interiors of any car.  He then demanded we put down a deposit on a car.  (He didn't seem to care if the deposit was for the used car that we did not test drive or a car that we saw from the outside only.)  When we told him we were not comfortable doing that, he dismissed us as not being serious about buying a car.  I've majorly digressed here, but my point is that if something feels wrong, walk away. 
5. Make sure you know what your warranty covers.   And then decide whether or not you'd like to purchase an extended warranty.  Gap insurance is also a good idea if you're buying a new car.
6. Negotiate.   Remember that you don't get 100% of all of the deals you don't try to negotiate.  See if the dealership is flexible on the price of the car or extended warranty.  Even if you negotiate $500 off the cost of the car, that's $500 in your pocket.  All they can say is no, and all you can say is that you tried.

Happy shopping!

Xoxo,
Cathy