Coupon Crazy and Crazy "Housewives"

I've heard of people who have a wrapping room in their homes. I just might need a permanent coupon processing station.

I've been Grocery Gaming with varying levels of diligence for around 4 years, so by now I should be more streamlined in my system. I'm not. I love that I can save $40-50 on every order by using coupons purposefully on sale items to maximize the discount, so it's worth taking the time to plan each shopping trip.

When Jen posted about CVS recently, I read with interest, called Gretchen for a pep talk, and decided to try it. In the past, I would forget to use the receipt coupons before they expired or I didn't shop frequently enough to earn money back. It seemed to take forever to get organized (mainly because I had some technical difficulties with printing coupons), but I'm pleased with my CVS results.

I spent about $29 (including the magazine, which technically should not be included), saving $23.46 with coupons and sale prices; however, I also received $10 in Extra Care Bucks for my next visit. I could have improved my stats, but I think I misread the Aveeno sale sign (I thought it said $3 ECB back on each bottle). Nevertheless, I still saved over $4 with coupons and earned $3 Extra Care Bucks on the lotion purchase. The plan is to spend and earn Extra Care Bucks each trip.

Also, while I was organizing coupons, I allowed myself to get sucked into the train wreck that is The Real Housewives of Atlanta on Bravo. Have you seen this???? If this is what being a "real housewife" is, . . . {shaking head}.