CVS, Walgreen’s

A good week at CVS:

1 Garnier Fructis Shampoo @ 2.99
1 Garnier Fructis Conditioner @ 2.99
1 Venus Embrace Razor (finally!) @ 9.99
1 Johnson’s Buddies EZ Grip Soap @ .99

= 16.96 original total

Coupon: .99 off Johnson’s buddies soap
CVS ECB’s: $5 off purchase
CVS: 5/15 store coupon

= $5.97 OOP; earned $6 ECB (razor) + $4 ECB (shampoo’s)

I don’t generally patronize Walgreen’s unless the deals are really good. This week wasn’t bad:

1 Yes to carrots Body Butter @ 12.99
1 Garnier Fructis Hair product @ 3.99

= 16.98

Easy Saver Rebate will reimburse $9.99 on the body butter and 3.99 on the hair product, bringing the overall cost to $3.00.

Rebates, Walgreens and CVS

On the rebate front: I should be getting $7.98 back from Kraft LiveActive, making my aforementioned cheese purchase free.   

The following items from Walgreens are also free after rebates:

1 Garnier Fructis Conditioner $3.99
1 Softsoap Spa Radiant Body Wash $3.74 (w/ $.45 coupon)

Walgreen’s TOTAL = $7.73

OOP TOTAL = $0

And although my CVS purchases are NOT free after rebate, I got some pretty good deals:

1 Garnier Fructis Shampoo +
1 Garnier Fructis Conditioner = $10 ($5 in ECB)
1 Stayfree Item = $3.29 ($3.29 ECB)

1 $1.00 Stayfree Coupon
$2 CVS ECB

= $10.77 w/ tax — $8.29 ECB

CVS OOP TOTAL = $2.49 

It just goes to show that while there is nothing inherently wrong with buying the least expensive generic-brand shampoos, being frugal doesn’t necessarily mean limiting oneself to them. In fact, with the right combo of store deals and coupons, the name-brand items end up being better deals.

Just an example: The cheapest priced toothpaste in my area is arguably Aim, at $.99 a box. I have purchased about 7 tubes of Colgate and Aquafresh Advanced in recent weeks and while I can’t give you the actual breakdown in price — they were combined with other deals — the cost was nominal: far less than $.99 per box.