Coupon Frenzy!

So I am a bit addicted to say the least lol. I am now shopping at Rite-Aid, Walgreens, and CVS to get the best deals on everything! It's like my new hobby...kinda sad haha. Well here is what I got at CVS today!

6 Lady Speedstick (2.50 each)
1 Kotex U click tampons (4.99)
2 Aveeno Positively Ageless SPF 70 Sunscreen (11.99 each)
4 SoBe lifewaters (0.88 each)
2 Arm and Hammer Laundry Detergent (2/$7)

Total Before Coupons: $54.49
Total After Coupons: $24.98 ($28.02 with tax)
Extra Care Bucks earned: $17 (can use for next weeks purchases)
Total Cost: $11.02

But! I have a mail-in rebate offer for Kotex where I can get $4, so actually total spent is $7.02!!!

Here is what I got at RiteAid!

2 Purex 3-in-1 laundry detergents (2/$6)
2 Reach toothbrushes ($3.99 each)
2 Right Guard Deodorants ($2.50 each)
2 Nivea Body Wash for Men ($1.99 each)
1 Colgate Total Advance ($3.00)
2 Acidophilus treatments ($6.99 each, B1G1 free)

Total Before Coupons: $32.95
Total After Coupons: $13.98 ($15.91 with tax)
RiteAid Rewards earned: $5
Rebate offers: $5.98

Total OOP: $4.93

My First Time Shopping with Coupons!

I am so proud of myself! Using coupons, customer rewards (CVS Extra Care Bucks and Walgreens Register Rewards) I managed to score all of this stuff worth $95.55 for only $28.27! I think I have a new addiction for sure! It is hard to see everything in the picture so I will list it and how much I got it for after coupons!

Retail price listed first, and after-coupon price listed in bold!

Walgreens:

Head and Shoulders Shampoo (2) $8.00 $4.00
Cotton Swabs 500ct. $2.99 $2.99
Dawn dish soap $0.99 $0.74
Revlon Stainless Steel Nail File $3.99 $1.00
Revlon Blackhead Remover $4.99 $3.99
Dr. Scholl's Blister Stick (2) $15.98 $5.98
Colgate Total Advanced Whitening (4) $13.96 $11.96
Pilot Easy Touch Pens 3-pack (2) $3.98 $1.98
Dr. Scholls Rough Skin Eraser (2) $13.98 $3.98
Reese's $0.69 $0.69

TOTAL: $69.55 $37.31


Total Register Rewards (RR) earned: $20
Total Out of Pocket (OOP): $17.31 (excluding tax)

CVS: Retail Price After Coupon:

Revlon Nail Color $3.99 $2.99
Revlon 12 Hr Eye Shadow $6.99 $5.99
Celsius Green Tea (4-pk) $7.99 $7.99

TOTAL: $18.97 $16.97

Total Extra Care Bucks (ECBs) earned: $11.99
Total OOP: $4.98 (excluding tax)



All in all a great trip, I'd say! :) I can't wait to see what I get as I get better at couponing!

It's All Good...

The trip to LSU went well, but I didn't really care too much for what I saw of Baton Rouge. It seemed really rough and dirty, but maybe I just didn't see the good parts. It seems that everyone who comes to talk to us about graduate school is trying to intimidate us with horror stories. It's definitely working on me. I am so excited about taking some time off after graduation. I really need to reevaluate what I want to do for the rest of my life. I mean how can I really be sure unless I have been out of school for a bit? I want to really make sure I am doing what I love, because otherwise I don't think graduate school will be worth all of the hard work and time.

On another note, Friday was my last day to collect data for my experiment! It feels so good to be done! Now for the writing (ugh) of the rest of my thesis, which is due August 2nd. If I can just make it till then, I will have a good two and a half weeks to relax before the Fall semester starts. Also, mom and Geddy are coming up that week to help me get situated at the new place! I am so excited about moving, and I really can't wait to decorate and make it homey. Luckily, I found a couch, loveseat, chair, end tables, and coffee table all for $500 off of craigslist. Finances are a bit tight now after that investment, but I am so happy to have my own furniture. Mom told me yesterday that I may have to pay a deposit to get the electric in my name, and I am crossing my fingers and hoping that is not the case. I definitely will be strapped then, cause who knows how much that would be.

Last night and today I got to spend some time with Roman :). I love when he stays over, but I hate when he has to leave. Sometimes I wish we could live together, but I know it is way too soon for that. We had a little movie marathon watching Up in the Air, The Invention of Lying, Black Dynamite, and When Harry Met Sally. We also went and looked around at an antique store today, and found so much stuff we wanted to buy. It's amazing how easy we get along and how much we have in common. I hope the day does not come when we will get complacent and used to each other. I love him so much, and I really want to be with him forever.

Great weekend so far!


Britny :)

Healthy Changes

After going to the doctor Monday and discovering that I now weight 182 lbs (gasp), I have decided to make some changes. I knew that I was overweight, but I have been avoiding the scale cause I was afraid to know exactly how much. I have tried to "diet" in the past, but realistically I just need to eat healthier for the long haul. I am not going to completely deprive myself or anything, but I am definitely going to try and stop eating out so much and start cooking my own meals. As soon as I get rid of all the unhealthy foods I have already bought, I am going to start with a clean slate and make my pantry more healthy.

I have thought about this a lot this past few days, and I am realizing that I have been making excuses for how I eat. Living alone makes it easier for me to take the easy way out and eat boxed dinners and fast food instead of cooking. Tonight I finally cooked on my George Foreman grill my mom gave me when I moved in to my apartment a year ago. I made chicken (marinated in teriyaki sauce), hoppin john blackeyed peas, and herbed mashed potatoes. It only took about 15 minutes to cook, and I have enough leftovers for dinner tomorrow night as well. The food tasted so much better too. I have also been exercising more this week. I really want to keep this up this time. I think putting it down in writing will strengthen my commitment (crosses fingers).

I am also starting to get into couponing! I have decided that I will start budgeting for food every month, and whatever I don't use as a result of coupon savings I will put towards a vacation to Disney World for spring break 2011! I have never been to Disney, so I am so so excited and hope I can save up enough to go!

This week has definitely been a good week so far. I only have one more day of data collection for my thesis, and then I will start writing the results and discussion! Also, tomorrow the McNair program is taking us to visit LSU's graduate school. I plan on applying there, so I really hope I get something out of this trip.

Well, I guess I am about to clean up and get ready for tomorrow. We have to leave early, and I value sleep way too much to stay up late.


Britny :)

Thoughts

Lately, I have been thinking a lot about the past. I have become really nostalgic thinking about high school and college. Its weird how the things that you disliked in the past become the things you miss. I hated eating in the cafeteria 3 times a day for 4 years; the bad food and lack of variety (red beans and rice more than once a week) was something my friends and I complained about relentlessly.

What I didn't realize was that there was something special about eating in the cafeteria every day and sharing a room with a roommate (made annoying by the lack of privacy and dealing with clashing personalities). Although the cafeteria food was not the greatest and living in a dorm was not always grand, I miss the conversation and time with friends that came with living and eating together on campus. Living in an apartment definitely has its perks, but I do feel a lot more lonely now that I am off-campus. I love having my own place, but it just doesn't feel as homey as I would like.

I am definitely looking forward to my new place. I plan on decorating and making it feel more like a home than my current place. I have three roommates here, and I will only have one roommate at the new place so I think it will feel more like my own space. I do wish animals were allowed, though. I really miss having pets, and I would love to have a kitten!

Anyways, one of my new goals is to learn to embrace my alone time. Instead of feeling lonely and sad about it, I really need to use that time and appreciate the privacy that I do have. I don't know why it is that I am so against being alone. I find myself filling up my time as much as possible to keep from going home. Needless to say, that gets tiring and I end up getting stressed out with all of the stuff I have to do all the time. I want to feel more independent and less needy, cause I feel like I am more clingy with Roman than I should be. I get so sad when he has to leave, and I kinda feel pathetic about it. He says he doesn't think I am clingy, but what if that changes? We have only been together for a few months so a lot could change as we get to know each other better.

First Entry

I have tried the whole blogging thing previously, and failed miserably. Even before blogs, I had trouble keeping up with a journal. This time I really want to succeed. It's so fun to go back and read about yourself in the past. Its amazing how much a person can forget about their own feelings and thoughts as time goes on. I am determined to stick to the blog this time around.

This summer has been one of the most hectic I have ever experienced. Since I am in the McNair Scholars Program, I have been taking GRE prep Monday-Thursday every week this summer. I have also been busy doing research for my thesis as part of the program. It has been rough, but I am hoping all this work will pay off in preparing me for graduate school. I still can't believe I only have one more year of college left.

Unlike most of my friends, I have decided to take at least a year off when I graduate. I plan on joining Americorps, an organization where volunteers aide in different community programs. The prospect of having no school for a year is mind-boggling, and I am very excited. I just hope my plans work out how I hope.

This summer has also been one of the happiest I have had in awhile. I met the most amazing man online a few months ago, and I am very much in love. Roman has made me want to appreciate every moment and live life to the fullest. I don't get to see him as much as I would like due to our busy schedules, but when we do see each other I feel like nothing can possibly go wrong.

Well, I guess for a first blog entry this is getting a bit long and drawn out. I didn't realize how much I missed getting my thoughts out. Anyways, I look forward to my next post!


Britny :)