This is not going to be a shopping blog, but I had to do a brag on our tight budget this week. I've got some thing that I won't use, but can give as gifts. Why purchase stuff you don't use? Because you get it for free and you create store credit to pay for things you need but don't have the money for. Make sense?

Here's the deal. If you don't know what the abbreviations stand for, scroll to the end of this section.

4 boxes of Excederin
$7.96 minus four $2 cpn = -0.04 OOP + 4ECB's
2 Febreeze Noticeables
$13.98 - 1 BOGO = $6.99 OOP + 5ECB's + $13.98 rebate
2 Pepcid AC (sale 7.99)
$15.98 - 2/1 cpn = $7.99 OOP + 5 ECB's + $5.50 rebate in cpn circular
2 Tylenol PM (1.72 clearance)
$3.44 OOP (had to get these... they were so cheap)
3 Essense of Beauty (CVS brand) toe separators (.99 ea)
$2.97 OOP + 5 ECB's
14 J&J Buddies Easy Grip (.99 ea)
$13.86 - $14 cpn = -.14 OOP
10 J&J Baby Shampoo Trial Size (.99 ea)
$9.90-$10 cpn = -.10 OOP
2 J&J Baby Lotion Trial Size (.99 ea)
$1.98 - $2 cpn = -.02 OOP
2 Softsoap Spa (4.99ea)
$9.98 - 1.50 cpn - 1.00 cpn = $7.48 OOP + 9.98 ECB
CVS Paper Towels 3pk $1.99
CVS Toilet Paper 4rl $1.59
Honey Wheat Bread $2.39
Eggs, 1 dozen $1.79 (I was hesitant here because I love our farm eggs that we're used to getting. Too bad I sold them all this week!)

Subtotal: $28.57 - 4/20 cpn = $24.57
Paid for with 3 bonus ECB's + 10 ECB's

FINAL TOTAL: $11.57 OOP + 28.98ECB's + 19.48 rebates
(actually, I split up the purchase so that I could use some of the ECB's earned on the first one to pay for the second one, so my total out of pocket was actually only $4)
VALUE: $87.81 (including sale prices)

I'll use my ECB's on my next purchase and send in for those rebates!

AND CHECK THIS OUT:
Walmart has Zantac for $3.98. Use this coupon for $5 off. Make $1.02! I purchsed 2 of them!

Here's the list of abbreviations to clear up the confusion: