Monday, February 7, 2011

Drugstore Bootstrap Challenge: One out two is... well... not that good

I'm doing the Drugstore Bootstrap Challenge (join me!), where I'm trying to build up my collection of Register Rewards from Walgreens and Extra Care Bucks from CVS.

I had two goals in mind when I created this challenge: first, I had barely any ECBs and RRs at the beginning, due to doing the Clean Out the Cupboards Challenge the previous month, so I wanted to get a nice collection of them, to be able to use them to get more deals week to week. And second, I wanted to do it without spending much cash out of pocket.

Well, the first goal has been quite successful.  The second, not so much.

I made the same mistake twice in Sunday's trips to CVS and Walgreens, and because of that, I spent far more out of pocket than I had hoped.  I am kind of bummed about that, and I hope all of you who have joined me in the challenge are doing better than I am!

Here's my latest stats:

Walgreens:

Total cash paid: $20.18
Total tax paid: 64¢
RRs started with: $0
RRs on hand: $27

Products purchased:
2 Natrol melatonin
4 Vicks Sinex
4 Butterfinger Snackerz
2 Royal gelatin
1 Arnicare gel
1 Blink Tears
5 Gain dish liquid
4 Skippy peanut butter
2 Ragu pasta sauce
3 Lipton tea
1 Veripur hand sanitizer

CVS:
Total cash paid: $14.72
Total tax paid: 96¢
ECBs started with: $4.99
ECBs on hand: $13.99

Total items purchased:
4 Herbal Essences shampoo
3 Rice Chex cereal
2 Quaker instant oatmeal
2 Speed stick deodorant
1 Tums

How are you doing on the Drugstore Bootstrap Challenge?  Leave a comment below!

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4 comments:

Debi @Bluegrass Savers February 7, 2011 at 4:14 PM  

Great job getting more Drugstore cash. I think I ended up using almost everything i started off with and not getting as much back! We are perhaps in the same boat then. LOL I'll be sharing my Rite Aid trip on my blog soon.

grace February 8, 2011 at 3:41 PM  

I think I have done pretty good with my Walgreens trips these last two weeks. I have broken them down week 1 and week 2 and probably will continue on this way to watch how I do in the future.
Are you doing your transactions in one deal each week or doing in a couple of small deals.
here is a link to my walgreens transaction this week and a recap to both weeks
http://couponloversunite.blogspot.com/search/label/Walgreens%20%245.00%20Challenge

Rosebuds and Ladybugs February 11, 2011 at 2:47 PM  

Debi @ Bluegrass told me about this challenge! What a great idea! Do you have a Rite-Aid by you? I LOVE shopping at Rite-Aid! That is where I get most of my deals!

Unknown February 11, 2011 at 3:08 PM  

@Holly - unfortunately there are no Rite Aid stores within 300 miles of my house. I love to read about all the savings people get there - and I am a little jealous!

@grace - it depends. Usually at CVS I do one big transaction because it doesn't matter which ECBs you use. At Walgreens, I'll usually do several smaller transactions so that I don't use an RR from a specific manufacturer for a transaction with a product from that same manufacturer, which is not allowed at Walgreens.

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