Ah, basking in the glow of couponing success!

A few of you, OK probably all of you, know that I have a bit of a couponing addiction. And, not to toot my own horn, but I am pretty decent at it. Thanks to a bunch of good couponing blogs! http://www.moneysavingmom.com/ is my very favorite these days.

Let me explain why I love this hobby. It is a great way to increase my spending power and strengthen or extend our family economy. It also helps me feel successful because the success is quantifiable instead of qualitative. Most of what I do as a stay-at-home mom is harder to evaluate in terms of success. Plus, this hobby helps me to be able to give more to others than I could otherwise. By teaching a few friends how to do this I have helped their budgets and some of them have taught others. It is nice to have things that we can use that we otherwise would not have chosen to spend our money on. Also, I have been able to build food storage which may help my family in a time of emergency. I feel good about that. I think I also like to plan and this takes a bit of planning. There are probably other reasons too, but it's too late to think right now.

So, tonight's trip to CVS- exhilarating! I started out with $16.49 in Extra Care Bucks. I left with all of this(see picture) and 31.46 in Extra Care Bucks. I did 5 transactions(yes WAY more than normal, but it was after midnight and the cashier does the couponing bit too, so it wasn't too obnoxious) and spent .37, .35. .17, .92 and .83 respectively. If I had planned my fillers better I bet I would have saved a dollar or two, but still! So, I did spend literally a few quarters, nickels and dimes, but I was able to get even more than in the picture. I donated toothpastes and razors to a collection box there. No need to hoard or be greedy with free stuff right? I increased my ECB by $14.97 by using that much in coupons. I came up 13.42 ahead (not to mention the products). It may not look like so much, but it was actually 129.80 dollars worth of stuff! Makeup and razors and such add up quickly.

Let me put it another way. I went to the store with 16.49 ECB, spent only 2.64 ,and left with 129.80 worth of product and 31.46 extra care bucks! SIMPLY AMAZING! Thank you CVS for the amazing Thanksgiving deals!

I have a bunch of the extra coupons for these products if anyone wants to try it out.

Also, Coldwater Creek today-
Thank you, mom, for letting me know about the $25 dollar off coupon!(It expired today or I would share the info.) What a fantastic coupon. I got this scarf that was 25.50 for only .53. My mom used the coupons too- she had time to go to two locations, so got 50 dollars worth for free. I actually ran into my mom, and Craig, Lorel, and Ella in the store. My sister-in-law, Lorel, used a coupon too and got a different scarf and had enough money left to buy some earrings. She doesn't have her ears pierced though and gave them to me. She gave them to me in the store and said, "Don't open them until Christmas." She is so funny! Thanks Lorel for sharing with me!

So, 2 stores, great stuff! Which stores will I hit next? Beware Walgreens and Rite Aid! I have my coupons clipped!