I love shopping, especially when I can get such great deals. My shopping excursion today took me to CVS and Rite Aid where I nabbed $117.50(before tax) worth of merchandise for $20.87(+tax). For you math fiends out there, that's a savings of $96.63 or 83.3%.

At Rite Aid I bought:

(1) L'Oreal Vive Pro Shine Shampoo - $3.99
Price $4.99, Coupon $1.00
(1) L'Oreal Vive Pro Shine Conditioner - (-)$1.00
Reg. $4.99, Sale $0 (BOGO), Coupon $1.00
(1) Bounty Paper Towel - $1.04
Price $1.29, Coupon .25¢
(1) Bounty Paper Towel - (-).25¢
Price $1.29, Sale $0 (BOGO), Coupon .25¢

Total Value - $12.56(before tax). Total Cost - $3.78(+tax).


From there I made my way to CVS where I bought:

(2) Vaseline Firming Body Lotion - Net Cost $0
Reg. $7.49/ea., Clearance $3.50/ea., Coupons $1.50/ea., Extra Bucks $2.00/ea.
(1) Vaseline Firming Body Lotion - Net Cost .25¢
Reg. $7.49/ea., Clearance $3.50/ea., Coupons $1.25/ea., Extra Bucks $2.00/ea.
(2) Rightguard Professional Strength Deoderant - Net Cost .88¢
Reg. $9.99/ea., Sale $7.99/ea., Coupons .55¢/ea., Extra Bucks $7.00/ea.
(1) Crest Pro Health Whitening Toothpaste - Net Cost (-)$1.00
Reg. $3.89 Sale $3.49 Coupon $1.00 Extra Bucks $3.49
(3) Duracell AA Batteries 8-pack - Net Cost $4.47
Reg. $8.49/ea., Sale $5.99/ea., Coupons .75¢/ea., Extra Bucks $11.25
(1) Duracell 9-volt Battery - Net Cost (-).51¢
Reg. $5.29, Sale $2.99 Coupon .75¢ Extra Bucks $3.75
(6) Fiber One Cereal - Net Cost $13.00
Reg. $4.89/ea., Sale $2.50/ea., Coupons $1.00 off 3/ea.

Total Value - $104.94(before tax). Net Cost - $17.09(+tax)*.

*Please note that the "net" cost is calculated by deducting the Extra Bucks issued for the purchase of the item. The total is not necessarily what I paid out-of-pocket because I used the Extra Bucks issued from my previous shopping trip to offset the register total.

I'm not sure what amazes more - that fact that this stuff costs so much at regular retail price, or that I'm able to save so much money with careful shopping and some coupon clipping. And, I don't understand why more people don't use coupons to stretch their budget dollars. I know that I would be doing without a lot of the things that most of us consider necessities, and probably all of the things that would be considered "niceties" if it wasn't for coupon shopping. I don't think it gets much more practical than that.