Free photo book at CVS during the week of July 13

Update #2: Alas, the books must be created in-store. Check out I Heart CVS for all of the deets.

Update: It looks like you might have to create the photo book at the store. I'll let you know if I am able to confirm this.

I Heart CVS is reporting that during the week of July 13, photo books will be free after ECBs. From the preview posted, it looks like you'll be able to get one 4x6 photo book ($3.99 with $3.99 ECBs) and two 6x8 photo books ($7.99 with $7.99 ECBs). There were Kodak coupons for $3 off 6x8 photo books in the Sunday paper recently, which would make these an even better deal. I think the sale price of $7.99 is good even without ECBs, so I will probably get three 6x8 books since I have three coupons, even though I won't get ECBs on the third book. These will make excellent grandparent/great-grandparent gifts.

This will be my first time using CVS's Photo Center, but if it's like other online photo services that I've used, you can upload your pictures and create and save albums ahead of time. So why not spend a little time over the next couple of weeks preparing the albums you want to order so that when the week of July 13 arrives, all you have to do is click the "order" button?

If you're a new CVS Photo Center customer, you might also get free prints by using your ExtraCare card. Money Saving Mom reports that she got 50 free prints!

I'll say it again: I love The Drugstore Game!

Walgreens water filters work in Brita pitchers

I found out from A Full Cup that the Walgreens brand water pitcher filters fit Brita pitchers, as well as PUR and Culligan pitchers. So I got all excited, because you can get one filter for free after rebate during the June EasySaver period, which ends tomorrow. I was getting all set to head to Walgreens again tomorrow when I spotted the fine print in the picture: "This product is not for sale in California." Uh, why not?

It's obviously a bummer for me, but maybe you can get a deal.

My Walgreens trip

I went to Walgreens today, even though I still haven't received my rebate gift card from last month. I decided to change the scenario I'd originally planned out, since I have plenty of cereal, and bought trash bags and napkins instead. Additionally, the Walgreens I went to didn't seem to carry any chewable Maalox. But I love this Walgreens because the employees are so nice. There's a bigger Walgreens a couple of miles to the north, but I try not to go there since the employees aren't nearly as nice.

So here's how my scenario went:
1 Walgreens brand 250-count napkins - $2.39
1 Hefty 38-count trash bags - $6
2 Dixie paper plates - $7.98
1 Lysol toilet bowl cleaner - $1.50
1 Lysol kitchen spray - $2
2 Lysol wipes - $6
1 Walgreens GlucoShot - $1.99
Subtotal before coupons: 27.86
Coupons: 75 cents off Hefty; B1G1 at $3.79 Dixie plates; 50 cents off toilet bowl cleaner; 75 cents off kitchen spray; $1 off 2 wipes; $5 off $20 purchase (coupon total: $12.19)
Total after coupons & tax: $17.21

The wipes and GlucoShot qualify for monthly rebates ($1 for two wipes and $1.99 for the GlucoShot, respectively).

I also got the Catalina coupon for $3 off my next purchase of two Dixie plates. Since the cashier was so nice, I went back for four more packages and did two additional transactions using the Buy One, Get One coupon and the Catalina coupons (each purchase triggered another coupon). The cashier joked that I could be there all day repeating the transaction on the plates!

I paid $1.10 for each plates-only transaction, so my total at Walgreens today was $19.41, and I'll get $3.28 back as a gift card rebate . . . eventually.

Meanwhile, if I need to get the kids out of the house tomorrow and can't think of where to go . . . we might just head back to Walgreens for more paper plates. :)

You can find more drugstore deals at The "Cent"sible Sawyer.

Friday coupon for Walgreens: $5 off $20 purchase

The June 27 "Friday only" coupon is available at the Walgreens web site now. Note that it again contains the language requiring the pre-sales tax total be $20 after coupons.

I was planning to go to Walgreens anyway on Friday, but I wasn't planning on spending $20 after coupons, so now I'm trying to decide if there's anything worth spending money on. I will probably do the following deal, especially if my gift card with last month's rebate finally arrives in tomorrow's mail.

1 box Honey Nut Cheerios + 2 boxes Cinnamon Toast Crunch - $7 (there's a weekly deal for buy 3 for $7, get $2 Register Rewards)
2 Dixie paper plates - $7.58
1 Lysol Antibacterial Kitchen - $2
4 Lysol wipes - $12
1 Lysol toilet bowl cleaner - $1
Subtotal: $29.58
Coupons: 50 cents off Honey Nut Cheerios, $1 off 2 General Mills cereal, B1G1 Dixie coupon from ad, 75 cents off Lysol kitchen spray, 2 $1 off 2 Lysol wipes, 50 cents off Lysol toilet bowl cleaner, $5 off $20 purchase
Total after coupons: $16.04
Get: $2 RR for cereal, $3 Catalina coupon on two more Dixie plates, & 2 $1 monthly rebates for the wipes

I would take the $2 RR and do one more transaction:
2 Dixie plates - $7.58
1 Lysol kitchen spray - $2
Subtotal: $9.58
Coupons: B1G1 on the plates, 75 cents off the spray, $3 Catalina, $2 RR*
Total after coupons: 4 cents

Finally, there's one more wrinkle to the first transaction. There's supposed to be an overlap deal on Friday and Saturday, when the June and July EasySaver booklets are both in effect and you can use coupons from both books on the same item. On Friday and Saturday, Maalox 35-count chewables will reportedly be $3.99. There are $2 off coupons in each EasySaver booklet, and I have a $1.50 manufacturer coupon (there are apparently $2 manufacturer coupons out there also), so I would get overage of $1.51. I would buy two Maalox, since I have two manufacturer coupons, so my total overage would be $3.02, bringing my subtotal after coupons down to $18.02. To get back over $20, I would use the $1.99 weekly ad coupon for Edge shaving gel, along with a $1 manufacturer coupon, and the 2 for $1 Walgreens brand aluminum foil weekly ad coupon. That would get my new total up to $20.01, or $15.01 after the $5 off $20 purchase coupon.

*I've emailed Mercedes of Common Sense with Money (who knows everything about Walgreens) to see if it's going to be a problem that I have more coupons than items. I'll update when I hear from her, but it might not be before Friday since she's going on a trip. Mercedes says that since the Catalina coupon is off two items, the register might read it as two coupons. She recommends I bring a small "filler" item to the register, have everything but the filler scanned. If the coupon beeps, then I should have the filler scanned, then have the coupon scanned again. So that's what I'm going to do. Thanks so much, Mercedes, and have a wonderful trip!

Free subscription to LEGO Magazine

You can get a free subscription to LEGO Magazine (selected countries only, but not limited to just U.S. and Canada). Click on your country in the right sidebar, which will take you to a form to fill out. My boys will be thrilled!

Via The Centsible Sawyer.

My latest plays in The Drugstore Game

CVS
I mentioned last week that I had to pick up a prescription and would at least get the free Revlon nail files while I was there. And I did go to pick up my prescription. This CVS has a big "we accept competitor prescription coupons" sign out front, but I was half-expecting them to refuse to honor the $20 Kmart coupon that I'd found online. (I have lots of transferred prescription coupons, but really had to hunt down one for a new prescription.) Fortunately, the manager didn't bat an eye. Which is why I didn't argue when he told me that the nail files weren't a "tool" and that I couldn't use my coupons on them (even though he was totally wrong). So my only purchase at CVS last week was my new prescription.

I made up for it on Sunday, though. We were still a little low on toilet paper so I knew I wanted to do the Charmin/Bounty/Duracell deal (buy $20 worth, get $10 ECBs). I had one 25-cent coupon on Charmin but that was it. I also had three "buy two, get one free" and $1 off four coupons for SoyJoy bars. There's a deal this week to buy four bars for $4 and get $4 ECBs, so with the coupons, it was a money-maker. At the end of the day, I had 20 SoyJoy bars, four 12-big roll packs of Charmin, one 2-pack of Duracell C batteries, two canisters of Lysol wipes, two boxes of CVS brand bandages, and one stick of Brut deodorant. I started with $13.98 in ECBs and ended with $8. I didn't actually pay anything out of pocket because I had gift cards, so I essentially got all of these things for free. I will have to go back later this week, though - both CVS stores I went to were out of SmartRinse, and as I mentioned last week, I actually really like the stuff, so I want to make sure I get the maximum number of free bottles.

Walgreens
It turns out I hadn't scrutinized the fine print closely enough, so the deal on Walgreens brand maxi pads that I had envisioned didn't pan out. The Buy One, Get One offer was only good on lower count packages, while the monthly rebate is only good on higher count packages. The only product the offers jointly worked on was the 40-count box of Walgreens brand tampons, and I'm picky about my tampons so I didn't buy any. Snuggle was also regular-priced at $3.99, not on sale for $1.99, so I completely struck out at Walgreens. I'm not intrigued by any of this week's deals, so I'm not planning on going. But I'll keeping an eye on Common Sense with Money, since Mercedes has become the Walgreens deal queen.

RiteAid
RiteAid is weird in California. I had completely forgotten that the weekly deals are in effect Friday through Thursday instead of Sunday through Saturday. So when I popped into RiteAid on Friday, Frosted Flakes and Frosted Mini Wheats were no longer Buy One, Get One Free. But the cashier was really nice and got an override to push the deal through for me anyway. You can bet I'll be going back to that RiteAid in the future (just not this week).

Read about more drugstore deals at The "Cent"sible Sawyer.

Free book: The Word of Mouth Manual: Volume II

Earlier this month, I joined Bzz Agent, a word of mouth marketing company (mostly because I could earn additional MyPoints - I'll write more about Bzz Agent after I've been with them for a while). Because I'm an agent, I learned that Bzz Agent's founder, Dave Balter, recently published a book called The Word of Mouth Manual: Volume II. It's just what the title says, a book about harnessing the power of word of mouth. If you're interested in marketing, and especially if you are or will be selling your own product, the book is worth a read - and best of all, it's free! You can download a PDF version over at Seth Godin's blog. Or you could buy a fancy printed version for $25 at Amazon. And no, there is no Volume I - that's just another marketing gimmick!

This week in The Drugstore Game: CVS, Walgreens and Rite Aid

CVS
As I mentioned a few days ago, I'm not too excited about the deals at CVS this week. I do have to go pick up a prescription, so if they have Revlon emery boards, I'll probably pick those up. (They're Buy One, Get One this week and at $1.99 each, I can get all four for free with four $1 coupons.) But I'll have $4 in coupons for a $3.98 total, and I hate calling attention to my coupon use with overage (when the value of the coupon is higher than the purchase price). So I'll probably pick up a small filler. I might pick up a pack of gum. Or I might do the following transaction if they have everything in stock:

4 Revlon files, $1.99 each - $7.96
2 Energizer batteries, $4.99 each - $9.98
1 Listerine SmartRinse - $3.49
1 CVS brand bandage - $1.99
Total: $23.42
Discounts: $3.98 Revlon, $4.99 Energizer (both are Buy One, Get One this week)
Coupons: Four $1 off Revlon, two $1 off Energizer, $1 off SmartRinse
Total after discounts & coupons: $7.49
I'll use a $6.99 ECB and pay 46 cents out of pocket on a gift card. I'll also receive the following ECBs: $3.49 for SmartRinse and $1.99 for the bandages. It does hurt a little to lose ECBs, but I think of it as paying $1.51 in ECBs plus 46 cents for all of these things, which isn't bad at all. The batteries alone would cost $4.74 after coupons and tax at Target.

As an aside, I really like using the SmartRinse for myself. Regular Listerine literally burns off the top inner layer of my cheek, but this stuff isn't nearly that strong.

Walgreens
I'm also thinking of going to Walgreens, even if I haven't received my new rebate gift card yet. The big draw is that Snuggle dryer sheets are supposed to be $1.99 for a box of 40. (I spotted a post on a deal forum about the sale price, but I've scoured the weekly ad and don't see it listed, so it's possible that this sale isn't happening in LA.) I have a $1 off coupon which would make the box 99 cents. Ever since we got our new washer, I've been using liquid fabric softener. But Marc says he's been using dryer sheets since the new bottle of All that we opened has such a strong smell. And I'm not about to complain or argue with him, since he's doing laundry. But we're running low on dryer sheets, so this is a good way to get them inexpensively.

If I'm there anyway, I might as well get the free after Register Rewards Oral B power toothbrush. There was a Buy One, Get One coupon in Sunday's paper. I could use the Register Rewards to buy the Snuggle and four packs of Walgreens brand maxi pads, which are also Buy One, Get One this week. I think the 36-count pack is $4.99, so it would be four packs for $9.98. And there's a monthly rebate deal of Buy 3, Get a $10 Rebate (it's #13 in the book). Here's how it would look:

Transaction #1:
B1G1 Oral B power toothbrush - pay $5.95 (after taxes), get $5.50 RR (for two toothbrushes)

Transaction #2:
1 Snuggle - $1.99
4 Walgreens maxi pads, $4.99 each - $9.98
Total: 11.97
Coupons: $1 Snuggle + $5.50 RR
Out of pocket: $5.47 ($5.92 after taxes)
Total out of pocket for both transactions: $11.87 after taxes

When you factor in the $10 plus 10% that I'll get back as a rebate on a Walgreens gift card, my total cost is 87 cents for all of these items.

If I were to go in and buy just the box of Snuggle, I would pay $1.15 after taxes. And that's the beauty of The Drugstore Game: I save money by buying stuff that I can use or give away.

Rite Aid
I rarely go to Rite Aid, but I took the boys this week and was so bummed that the NexCare character bandages, which are on sale for 99 cents, were all out of stock. I have three $1 off coupons, so I was going to get three boxes for free. Which makes it good and bad that I have to go back to return the cereal that I bought, because I just grabbed the boxes that were on the shelf without reading them. The Malt O Meal version of Frosted Mini Wheats were on the shelf above the Buy One, Get One sign for Kellogg's cereals and I thought I was buying Kellogg's. It wasn't until I got out of the store that I realized I'd bought the wrong cereal, and I just didn't feel like dragging the kids back in. So I will get to another Rite Aid by Saturday to return the cereal and pick up Kellogg's brand - and hopefully the bandages as well. Needless to say, I'll be heading to a different Rite Aid to do the return.

It's worth noting that one advantage of living in a huge city like LA is that I have access to everything, including multiple CVS, Walgreens and Rite Aid stores. So I'm definitely lucky, even if CVS hates LA.

Why does CVS hate LA?

Alright, maybe "hate" is too strong. But seriously - this is the second time in the four months that I've been playing The Drugstore Game that everyone else has gotten deals that I haven't (along with everyone else in the Los Angeles area, if not all of Southern California).

At the end of May, CVS had an ECB deal with Revlon nail polish. For the first two days of the week, they gave $3 ECBs - except here.

This week, I keep reading about the Oral B power toothbrushes everyone's buying. They give $3 ECBs and are free after ECBs when you use the Buy One, Get One coupon that was in Sunday's paper. I have the coupon. But my circular omits the Oral B power toothbrush deal. Take a look at this page of the New York circular at I Heart CVS. The ECB deal in the upper left is simply missing from my circular.

I am thinking of skipping CVS completely this week. But the Revlon Buy One, Get One beauty tools deal is very tempting, since I could get four packages of nail files for free. (They are $1.99 each, and I have four $1 coupons.) The Buy One, Get One Energizer batteries are also an excellent deal - since I have two $1 coupons, I would pay $2.99 for two packages, which isn't bad at all.

So I'm thinking about going . . . but I'm also wondering, why does CVS hate LA?

Can you make money online with affiliate programs?

I've previously mentioned Zac Johnson and his blog, Make Money with Super Affiliate Zac Johnson. I'm always interested in how people make money, so I'm glad Zac blogs about how he does it with affiliate programs, since I know very little about them. It actually took me a while to figure out that by "affiliate" programs, Zac didn't mean something as basic as Amazon Associates. No, he meant affiliate programs for a specific product that pay quite a large sum.

For example, he's currently pushing a product called "Ultra Green Tea Lean." For each lead, he receives $26. A "lead" is someone he refers who signs up for a 30-day free trial. You can read about his initial offer description and today's update.

To put that payment in perspective, Amazon Associates pays 4% to 8.5% for most products. Some select products give 10%. So if someone bought a $50 video game through my Amazon link, I would receive anywhere from $2 to $4.25, depending on how many items I sold that month. Even at 10%, I would have to sell $260 worth of products on Amazon to earn the $26 that Zac is earning for getting people to sign up for this free trial.

And yet, I'm not the least bit tempted to sign up for the Ultra Green Tea Lean affiliate program. Why? Because I wouldn't be comfortable trying to get people to sign up for the free trial. I happen to be very skeptical of supplements in general. And I don't think a green tea supplement is the key to losing weight. So I would have trouble sleeping at night if I were to ask CFO readers to sign up for this deal. Even if I created a new page that wasn't associated with CFO and no one knew who I was, I couldn't do it. I'm just not wired to do sales that way. And most of the lucrative affiliate programs seem to be pretty similar to this campaign, in the sense that it's for stuff I wouldn't want to recommend.

I don't mean this post to be a criticism of Zac for running with this affiliate program. In fact, I'm a little envious that he's brought in $4000 in less than two weeks from it. Obviously, this is something he's comfortable with, and as far as I know, he's not forcing anyone to sign up for the free trial. (That would undoubtedly violate the terms of the affiliate agreement.)

What I am saying is that these types of affiliate programs are not for me. I simply can't recommend or try to sell in any way something that I don't believe in or wouldn't try for myself.

What about you? Are you or would you want to be a super affiliate?

Wells Fargo "Someday Stories" Contest

Wells Fargo is sponsoring the "Someday Stories" contest, with a grand prize of $100,000, plus five $10,000 and twelve $1,000 winners. To enter, simply write your own "someday story" of 250 words or less and submit it here. For more info and the official rules, visit the "Someday Stories" site.

Happy Anniversary to Mommin' It Up!

Mommin' It Up! is celebrating their first blogging anniversary by giving away a Target gift basket full of merchandise, and a $25 CVS gift card. What does it say about me that I'd rather win the gift card than the basket? To enter the contest, just leave a comment here.

PSA: Check your Walgreens rebate gift card balance before you use it

I ended up not going to Walgreens on Friday to use the $5 off $20 coupon because my gift card hadn't been loaded with last month's rebates yet. I checked the email I had received from Walgreens stating that my rebate had been processed and was a little irritated. The email was sent on June 7 and said the rebate would be credited to my gift card within four days. Friday was June 13, so six days had actually passed. But, I figured, it was no big deal, since my need for the things I planned to buy wasn't urgent.

Fast forward to this morning. Today's circular has a pretty good cereal deal: 4 boxes of my family's favorite Kellogg's cereals for $10 plus a $2 Register Rewards coupon. I could take the $2 RR, apply it to two Lysol wipes, and still get the $1 monthly rebate on two. With my $1 off two Lysol coupon, I'd pay $10 for cereal and $3.98 for the Lysol and get $1.10 back next month - not bad, but not great either. What would make the deal really sweet would be using the $7.68 that should be on my gift card to pay for the cereal.

So I called the automated system and was more annoyed than before that the rebates still haven't been credited to my card. This time I pressed the buttons to talk to a person, and eventually learned that there's some kind of glitch in their computer system that's prevented them from crediting gift cards, so they're mailing me another gift card. The CSR could only vaguely tell me that they were sending the card out sometime during the next five days, so I probably won't get it in time to do the cereal deal.

What's especially strange about all this is that the online submission system to get the rebates was fantastic. All I had to do was register and input the information on my receipts. I promptly received an email telling me that I had bought qualifying items, even though I didn't complete the submission process in case I bought more qualifying items. I didn't, so a couple of days into June, I submitted the rebates, and within a few days, I had that email telling me my rebates had been processed and listing the items and applicable amounts. So everything up until the actual receipt of the rebate money was perfectly smooth and easy.

To sum up: Don't assume that your Walgreens rebate gift card has been credited with your monthly rebate in a timely manner. Always call to verify the balance before you go shopping!

Is anybody else having problems?

CVS Clearance: 3-pack of Pampers Clean 'n Go for $2

I'm sure every CVS has different items on clearance, but I had to mention this one because it's so good. I found two 3-packs of Pampers Clean n' Go wipes for $2 each. I couldn't believe it. I would have gotten more, but they only had two left. I'm picky about diapers but not so much about wipes, so I'll definitely use these. (In fact, I use wipes for everything now - I can see myself buying them for the rest of my life.) If you have any $2 off 2 coupons from the June 1 P&G circular, you could get two packs for $1 each. For reference, the regular price on these is $5.99 at Target and $7.99 at CVS. So if you're headed to CVS, don't forget to check the clearance endcaps!

What have you found on clearance lately?

More on tomorrow's Walgreens $5/$20 coupon + my deal scenario

One Money Dummy Getting Smarter reports that tomorrow's Walgreens $5 off $20 purchase coupon can be used on stamps and photos. That actually makes it a pretty good deal for me, even with the new restrictions, since I have some money on a gift card from last month's rebates. So I've worked out the following deal:

1 Walgreens Gluco Shot - $1.99
2 Lysol wipes ($3.99 each) - $7.98 (I have a $1 off 2 manufacturer coupon; these make cleaning Alex's potty super fast and easy)
1 book of stamps - $8.40
2 canisters Quaker Oatmeal - $3 (using coupon in weekly ad)
Subtotal after coupons = $20.37
Use: $5/$20 coupon + approximately $7.50 on gift card
Total spent = approximately $8 plus tax

It's an excellent deal, when you consider the stamps alone are $8.40. And I'll get some money back for purchasing some rebate items this month: $1.99 for the Gluco Shot (#2 in this month's catalog) and $1 for two Lysol wipes (#34). I'll be giving the Gluco Shot to one of our grandmothers, who is diabetic.

$5 off $20 purchase at Walgreens

Thanks to The Centsible Shopper, I learned not only about Walgreens' new $5 off $20 purchase coupon for Friday only, I also learned that it has some new fine print:

Minimum subtotal must equal $20 or more before sales tax; subtotal must include all other applied discounts and coupons.

As Bethany points out, the coupon could still result in a good deal if you are picking up the free after rebate items. I think it could also be a good deal if you have a gift card (from previous free after rebate purchases) and there are some things you need to pick up. But otherwise, I would recommend going only if there are a lot of things you need to buy that happen to be on sale at Walgreens this week (and you don't have a CVS nearby).

John Chow is giving away a "Bag of Stuff"

John Chow's latest contest is for a "Bag of Stuff" - but it's cool stuff, courtesy of Market Leverage. The "stuff" includes a Flip video camera, a $200 Market Leverage Amex Rewards card, a USB drive that is also a pen, and an iPod Nano. Find out how to enter by checking out the contest post.

Get free songs from Amazon for Father's Day

Thanks to Freebies for Mom for letting me know that Amazon has a free Father's Day Sampler of downloadable songs. You can download even more free songs by scrolling to the bottom of this page.

Get a free Bruder catalog and DVD

Thanks to A Full Cup, I learned about Bruder's free "How It's Made" DVD. Bruder toys look cool, but I'm not a big fan since the forks on Alex's forklift broke and didn't stay on, and the sideloader garbage truck is also more fragile than it seems like it should be. We've told Alex that we won't buy him any more Bruder toys because they're too expensive and not well made.

But he still likes looking at the pictures in the catalog, and I think he'll enjoy watching a DVD of the Bruder factory. So I ordered it, and it arrived in just a few days. We haven't watched it yet, because we're saving it for a special occasion. But in the meantime, if you think your kid will enjoy it, why not order one yourself? After all, it's free!

An Island Life is giving away a Zune!

I love portable MP3 players that also play videos. They're fantastic for the car, especially when I'm trying to get home before nap time. Alex will watch a favorite video and stay awake until we pull into the driveway. Tyler's almost old enough for his own video player, which will help ensure that Mommy and Daddy can make the most of nap time!

Why am I telling you this? To encourage you to head over to Kailani's great blog, An Island Life. She's giving away a Microsoft Zune Digital Player from Best Buy just in time for Father's Day!

Buy $100 of Dockers clothing or accessories, get $75 (maybe $85) back

A couple of blogs I read, including Money Common Sense, have posted about getting a $75 gas card when you purchase $100 of men's* Dockers clothing or accessories (not shoes). To get the gas card, you have fill out a tear pad form and send it in as an entry to a contest where the grand prize is a Toyota Prius. The entry is also your rebate form for the gas card. According to Consumer World, you may also get a $10 Sears gift card - the press release about the promotion states that "when customers send in their receipt along with their entry form, Sears will give them a $75 gas gift card and also a $10 Sears Reward card by mail -- so a total of $85.00 back!"

You can find the tear pad form at stores or print this pdf version.

Thanks to lexerdax for pointing out the deal doesn't include women's clothing.

Today Only: Get a free 8x10 from Snapfish

Sorry I'm posting this so late. It's been a busy day!

Use code GREATDAY to get a free 8x10 from Snapfish. You'll have to pay for shipping, but it's only 99 cents! I ordered a print of the boys as a bonus Father's Day gift for my father-in-law.

Via Baby Cheapskate.

CVS: My ECBs didn't print!

CVS has a couple of great deals this week:

• Buy $20 of select Bounty, Charmin and Duracell products and get $10 in ECBs.
• Buy $20 of select Pampers products and get $5 in ECBs.

I did these deals on Sunday, but I broke them up and my ECBs didn't print properly. (Generally, you can accumulate the required amount over separate transactions.) So I had to call CVS on Monday morning, and finally got my ECBs today. You can read more about the call to CVS over at Chief Family Officer. The post at CFO includes additional Drugstore Game resources and printable coupon tips as well.

I didn't realize that my ECBs were going to print as a total of $15 instead of separate ECBs of $10 and $5. It messed up my planned transactions, and I even had to abort my first modified transaction because the store was out of the Oral B toothbrushes that are free after ECBs this month. But, I got what I needed and didn't have to spend a cent out of pocket since I have a gift card that I acquired for filling a prescription, so I can't complain. Here's how my transaction went:

2 Swiffer refills, $6.99 each - $13.98
2 Lysol wipes, $3.49 each - $6.98
2 Dawn, 2/$2 - $2
Total: $22.96
Coupons: $4 off $20 purchase CVS coupon, $1 off 2 Swiffer, $1 off 2 Lysol & 2 25-cents off Dawn
ECBs: $15
Out of pocket: $1.58 (on gift card)
ECBs received: $5 for Swiffer, $1 for Dawn

It wasn't a great transaction, since I lost $9 in ECBs, but we really needed the wipes (to clean the potties) and I didn't want to miss the Swiffer deal. And I was lucky enough to win a $10 CVS gift card from My Good Cents, and the $25 gift card that I ordered through MyPoints finally came, so I could afford to burn some ECBs. (I'll publish a review of MyPoints next week over at Chief Family Officer.)

What I really love about playing The Drugstore Game is that I can really stretch my dollars. And thanks to ECBs and gift cards, I'll be buying a lot of things my family needs for free!

Read about more great deals at The "Cent"sible Sawyer.

Walgreens: 10 cans of shaving gel, 1 package of printer paper, 1 Kashi bar & 3 mini body washes for $3

Actually, my out of pocket total was $3.07. I hadn't even planned to go to Walgreens this week, but Money Saving Mom reported that there was a Gillette shaving gel deal. The gels are on sale through tomorrow for $2 each, and there is a $1 off coupon on page 7 of the June EasySaver catalog. The gels are part of a deal where you get $5 in Register Rewards if you buy $20 of participating products. $1 for a full size shaving gel is a pretty good price, and I had a gift card from April's monthly rebates, so off I went.

My first transaction went like this:
7 Gillette Series shaving gel (men's)
3 Satin Care shaving gel (women's - it comes in "Alluring Avocado")
Total: $20
Coupons: $10 EasySaver coupons & 3 55-cent coupons on Satin Care (from Sunday's paper)
Used: $8.78 on gift card
Total out of pocket (incl. tax): $1.22

In my second transaction, I got:
1 package of printer paper - $4.49
1 Kashi bar - $1.99 (I thought it was on sale, but must have read the price wrong)
3 Gillette trial size 2-in-1 men's body wash - 99-cents each
Total: $9.45
Coupons: $5 RR & 3 $1 coupons for the body wash (from Sunday's paper)
Total out of pocket (incl. tax): $1.85

We really needed the printer paper, so I'm happy we got all of these things for less than the cost of one ream!

Read about more great deals at The "Cent"sible Sawyer.

Free Gillette Fusion Power razors at Target

Thanks to Mommy Making Money, I knew that Target has an advertised deal through Saturday where they give you a $10 gift card if you buy two Gillette Fusion or Embrace razors or cartridges at $9.44 each. But I learned this morning from Money Saving Mom that some stores have the Fusion razors at $7.99. That was the price at my store. If you have two $4 off Fusion razor coupons from this past Sunday's newspaper, you can buy two for $7.98 and get a $10 gift card. It worked for me earlier today. The razors were actually labeled as $7.99, but if your store doesn't have the sign up and you're wondering what the price is, just take it over to the scanner. The scanner should also indicate that you'll get a gift card when you buy two.

Free Head & Shoulders at Rite Aid

Thanks to one of my favorite blogs, Mommy Making Money, I've learned that I can get some free Head & Shoulders at Rite Aid this week. I'll be using Rite Aid's Single Check Rebate program for the first time. With the SCR program, you purchase an eligible item, then submit your purchase information online and get a check in the mail. You can only receive one check per month, so it's best to wait until the end of the month to request your check.

This week, Rite Aid has Head & Shoulders on sale for 2 for $8, with a single check rebate for $4. Sunday's newspaper had a Buy One, Get One free coupon for Head & Shoulders, so with the coupon, I'll pay $4. Then I'll get $4 back from RiteAid, making the entire purchase free (except for tax). That's a better deal than I scored at CVS a couple of weeks ago!

Chief Family Officer's Third Anniversary Celebration: Giveaway #2 - Heels.com $50 gift certificate

Head over to Chief Family Officer to win a $50 gift certificate to Heels.com!

One Million & Beyond is giving away an Amazon gift certificate . . . but should you root for Matt or not?

One Million and Beyond is giving away an Amazon gift certificate, but with a catch. If Matt doesn't stick to his weekly budget during the next four weeks, he'll give away a $25 Amazon gift certificate that week. But if he does stick to his budget for all four weeks, then he'll give away one $50 Amazon gift certificate.

Although the odds of winning are better if Matt doesn't stick to his budget, I hope he does. There's just something special about accomplishing a goal, no matter how big or small.

If you want to enter Matt's contest, check out his contest post for instructions. And good luck!

Chief Family Officer's Third Anniversary Celebration is underway!

Chief Family Officer turns 3 on Saturday, and I'm thanking all of my readers with some great giveaways. The first one is a KABOOST chair booster, and you can enter to win it now!