Tracking My Finances In 2011: May Week 2
I have decided to post my weekly spending for the previous week on Fridays so you know how my cash has been flowing for the week. Please note that I get paid on the last day of the month so my cash flow net effect will usually be negative until the last day of the month.
This does not mean that I am adding to my debt, it just means that the money coming in is less than the money going out because bills are due starting on the first but I don’t get paid until the last day.
CVS Haul: 22 April 2011
On this trip I paid $7.31 out of pocket for $34.97 worth of items. My goal for 2011 is to not spend any money out of pocket, while using coupons and ECBs to get tons of items at CVS, with an initial gift card of $50.
Today I actually messed up because I ended up spending money out of pocket due to not planning for this trip. I had some ECBs from the last time that were expired and I was so excited when the cashier smiled at me and said that she would accept them that I just lost my mind. I used up all of the gift card so I will need to be on the lookout to redeem some more points for another gift card…even though I fell off the wagon by using my own money to pay for items today.
CVS Haul 20 March 2011
On this trip I paid $0.00 out of pocket for $6.48 worth of items. My goal for 2011 is to not spend any money out of pocket, while using coupons and ECBs to get tons of items at CVS, with an initial gift card of $50.
I basically got one item free today because the total cost of the ECB and the coupon I used were more than the cost of the item!!!! I lost $3ECB from last time because they expired since I had not been to CVS in a long time.
Transaction 1
Item: Colgate Toothpaste
No CVS Shopping Today
The only thing that I am remotely interested in at CVS this week is the toothpaste. I am stockpiling toothpaste to send off to my father but it is rainy today and I do not want to leave the house. I don’t have any reason to go outside today so a trip to CVS is just not worth it this week.
I might go later in the week if I have something to do in that area and I might still get the toothpaste since I have coupons and ECBs to spend.
CVS Haul 1/2/2011
On this trip I paid $0.00 out of pocket for $16.76 worth of items. My goal for 2011 is to not spend any money out of pocket, while using coupons and ECBs to get tons of items at CVS, with an initial gift card of $50. I earned $0.50 ECB by scanning my card when I entered the store and applied that to my purchase today.
Transaction 1
Item:Glade Lasting Impressions starter kit
Price: $6.00
Item: Glade refill kit
Price: $4.00
CVS Extra Care Bucks earned: $3 for spending $10 on Glade
Getting Ready To Save Money At CVS In 2011
I recently got another CVS gift card worth $50 by redeeming some rewards points and I am all set to start my money saving adventures at CVS in the upcoming year. For 2011 I plan on using strictly my:
-gift card
-coupons and
-ECBs to purchase items.
I attempted late in 2010 to see how far I could go using only those methods but then faltered a few times and ended up spending money out of pocket. I am going to be on a mission in 2011 to not spend ANY money out of pocket and see how much I can get for the year. I have added a Total Item Cost column to my CVS spreadsheet for the upcoming year and will put the total cost of the items I buy (including tax) so that I can track the total value of items for the year.
Coupon Schedule For 2011
Here are the upcoming dates for the different coupon inserts for 2011. Please use this as a guide for the best times to purchase the Sunday newspaper so that you can get coupons to help you save money.
I will be using this guide to assist with all my CVS shopping as well so that I know when coupons will be available. I tend to get the papers when there will be all three different inserts OR when there are multiples of one type so that I can maximize my purchase, so January 2nd will be a great day for me to buy the paper, while January 23rd will not be a good day.
How I Save Money At CVS: 14 Nov 2010
On this trip I paid $9.97 out of pocket for $26.97 worth of items. This may be my last trip to CVS unless there is something that I really want in the next two weeks. I will be taking a break and not doing any CVS shopping through December and will start again with my Zero out of pocket challenge in January.
Transaction 1
Item: Aussie 3 minute conditioner
Price: $2.99
CVS Extra Care Bucks earned: $2.00
Item: Venus razor refills
