Ask any serious couponer what their favorite drug store is and every single one of them will have an opinion. Drug stores are wonderful places to build up stock in basic necessities, learn how to coupon, and save a ton of money all at once. My store of choice is CVS and since I know the most about it I wanted to start there.
The very first thing you need to do before you being shopping is to go get an Extra Care card. Either go to the front desk or request one online. After you obtain said card, go to cvs.com and register it. You'll automatically be sent a $4/20 coupon to use on your next purchase. Registering your card makes it a lot easier to keep track of various rewards and means you'll automatically have coupons sent to your inbox.
Once you register your card, you need to opt into the Beauty Club. This allows you to recieve a $5 coupon for every $50 you spend on health and beauty products. The best part is that they count the full price of the item and you never pay the full price!
And while you're at the store you need to go get a Green Bag Tag. These are little leaf tags that attach to reusable bags or keychains. You scan it once a day when you shop and opt to use a reusable bag or skip one altogether and every fourth scan you get a $1 coupon back!
Now you can finally go shopping. The very first thing you should do when walking into the store is to go to the Red Box of Love. It has a fancier name, like the Extra Care Center somethingorother, but all you need to know is that once a day you can scan your Extra Care card and coupons will pop out the side. Usually they're for candy, but sometimes you can get really great things. Yesterday I got a coupon for a free bottle of vitamins up to $9.99 in value and another woman got a $3/15 purchase coupon. This is also where your beauty rewards print off. It hasn't been confirmed, but it's been noted that people who frequent CVS tend to get better coupons, so don't be discouraged and keep on scanning.
I won't lie to you - if you just walk into CVS and buy whatever it's going to be more expensive than if you went to, say, Wal-Mart and purchased it. The way you get items for free and/or cheap is to carry over Extra Care Bucks (ECB). Every week there are different items that if purchased will yield coupons on the end of your receipt. These coupons can be used just like cash and can really make a dent on your final bill. Most weeks there are items that will return the same amount you spend, and almost always one of those items has a coupon making it a money maker (MM in the biz) because you pay less than you get back. As far as other items go, it kind of varies based on the deals going around at the time and what you need to purchase. It is always better to use your ECB to yield back more ECB. Sometimes you'll end up with more than you had, sometimes less, but ultimately you always want to have some and receive some.
When you get to the register, hand them your Extra Care card, then your items. You may find it cheaper to break your trip into smaller transactions. I've never had a problem doing this, but use some common sense and don't try to do 20 different transactions. I've done 3 before without issues, but some people have done 4 or 5 and it just kind of depends on how quiet the store is and what all is going on in each transaction. Generally, if you have a dollar amount off coupon (like $4/20) then give that one first, then your manufacturer's coupons, then your ECB.
Once the transaction is done, you'll get your receipt and on there you'll find TONS of information. At the top is your store info, purchases, ect. Then after all the normal info you'll find How much you saved on that trip, then how much you've saved to date. Hopefully that's a scary number. Your card will also keep track of how much you've spend each quarter, and at the end of the quarter you receive back 2% of what you've literally given out of pocket. Then your Beauty Club spending and your Extra Buck deals. These usually change weekly, but some are month long deals. The first item will be your bag tag count, then any deals you've done that week. This is helpful when you don't get a print out because you can prove that you either did or did not do the deal. After that will be all of your ECB. These will print out separately per deal. When you use your ECB you have to use the full amount per coupon - you can't use part of one. So if you have an ECB for $10 you need to make your transaction have $10 or more than needs covered. You certainly can use larger ECBs on smaller amounts, but you'll never see the difference again.
That was awfully wordy, but hopefully that covers the majority of it. I'll probably go back and do a Q and A section on CVS to cover some of the nuances that I didn't cover. If you've made it through all of that then pat yourself on the back and go get couponing!
Monday, June 20, 2011
Things No One Tells You About Raising Chickens
My in-laws decided that we should all jointly raise chickens once Seth left for Academy. I secretly suspect it was a "Keep Colleen Occupied So She Forgets Life Sucks Right Now" project, but the thought of free organic eggs had me researching chickens. There are some things the internet will not tell you about raising chickens, and since chickens are second only to gardening on the homesteading front, I figured I'd share the little that I've gathered along the way.
Chickens Can Fly
It sounds kind of stupid, but most chickens that are raised for eggs can't fly once they've reached adulthood. They're simply too chubby. But when they're young and much slimmer they can hop that fence you made without a second thought. This wouldn't be such a big deal except...
Chickens Are Fast
Again, since adult chickens are chubby, you don't usually think of them being so speedy, but those suckers are really hard to catch. Luckily they can usually be herded, but plan accordingly that you won't be able to catch them once they're out.
Chickens Are Tasty
This one really should be obvious, but I didn't realize how hard it was to keep things from eating your chicks. You would think if chickens have survived without coops forever they'd be able to keep themselves alive IN a coop. Not so. Everything within a 5 mile radius will find your chickens delicious.
Chickens Take Months to Lay Eggs
Most importantly, if you're expecting a fast return then you should look elsewhere. It can take chickens up to 6 months to lay eggs, and if that 6 month marker falls too closely to winter they'll hold off until spring. This is why it's important to get your chicks early and account for 90% of them to either be eaten or to turn out to be boys.
It's Really Hard to Sex Chicks
Or, rather, if you get your chicks at a farm supply store they tend to not bother sexing them. Some online sources are much more accurate. At least most of your roosters will end up eaten one way or another.
With all of that being said, chickens are relatively low maintenance once you side step the whole predator thing, and farm fresh eggs are wonderful sources of vitamins and protein. If you've never had the real thing then you don't know what you're missing. For one, farm eggs are about 10 times darker in coloring than commercial eggs and taste about 100 times better. And once you taste them it's almost impossible to go back to the store stuff.
Chickens Can Fly
It sounds kind of stupid, but most chickens that are raised for eggs can't fly once they've reached adulthood. They're simply too chubby. But when they're young and much slimmer they can hop that fence you made without a second thought. This wouldn't be such a big deal except...
Chickens Are Fast
Again, since adult chickens are chubby, you don't usually think of them being so speedy, but those suckers are really hard to catch. Luckily they can usually be herded, but plan accordingly that you won't be able to catch them once they're out.
Chickens Are Tasty
This one really should be obvious, but I didn't realize how hard it was to keep things from eating your chicks. You would think if chickens have survived without coops forever they'd be able to keep themselves alive IN a coop. Not so. Everything within a 5 mile radius will find your chickens delicious.
Chickens Take Months to Lay Eggs
Most importantly, if you're expecting a fast return then you should look elsewhere. It can take chickens up to 6 months to lay eggs, and if that 6 month marker falls too closely to winter they'll hold off until spring. This is why it's important to get your chicks early and account for 90% of them to either be eaten or to turn out to be boys.
It's Really Hard to Sex Chicks
Or, rather, if you get your chicks at a farm supply store they tend to not bother sexing them. Some online sources are much more accurate. At least most of your roosters will end up eaten one way or another.
With all of that being said, chickens are relatively low maintenance once you side step the whole predator thing, and farm fresh eggs are wonderful sources of vitamins and protein. If you've never had the real thing then you don't know what you're missing. For one, farm eggs are about 10 times darker in coloring than commercial eggs and taste about 100 times better. And once you taste them it's almost impossible to go back to the store stuff.
Time Flies When You're the Only One at Home!
WOW I got really side tracked these past few months. And a LOT has happened! Seth is already most of the way through Academy - his graduation is on July 8th so we're almost home free! I cannot wait to have him home all the time. The extra help around the house is really valuable (not to mention, when he's here all the time he won't drop everything in on Friday and pick it back up on Monday morning, leaving everything to sit there for days on end) not to mention I just kind of miss him. Completing Academy is also a huge career milestone for him and will earn him much more respect as an officer once his training is complete.
In addition to the whole Academy thing, we've celebrated our first anniversary, started house shopping, planted a garden, planned a bridal shower for my best friend, done a little traveling, and welcomed a new baby into our family. Her name's Chloe and she's a boxer/beagle/golden retriever mix. She's already twice the size she was when we got her and she's terrorizing everyone in our house. I've never had a puppy before and it was kind of a shock. Did you know they just come with worms? I didn't. Not that I never expected to have to deal with it, and ya know, it happens, but there was a whole week where I was terrified of anything near her bottom.
I've been diligently couponing as always, but have been horrible about posting any of it. I'm going to need to write an article on how to coupon, as I've had a lot of inquiries lately and should just bite the bullet and write my own piece. Hopefully here shortly I'll be able to put together some couponing and homesteading entries.
In addition to the whole Academy thing, we've celebrated our first anniversary, started house shopping, planted a garden, planned a bridal shower for my best friend, done a little traveling, and welcomed a new baby into our family. Her name's Chloe and she's a boxer/beagle/golden retriever mix. She's already twice the size she was when we got her and she's terrorizing everyone in our house. I've never had a puppy before and it was kind of a shock. Did you know they just come with worms? I didn't. Not that I never expected to have to deal with it, and ya know, it happens, but there was a whole week where I was terrified of anything near her bottom.
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| The horror. |
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