CVS!!!

The biggest thing to note this week was my shopping trip to CVS. I was able to spend $36.32 OOP, for a value of $137.01 in products. That's a savings of $100.69 or 73%.

Here's what I got:

2 boxes of Fiber One cereal
1 Dawn ultra concentrate dish soap
2 Pantene Mouse hair styler
2 Pantene Hair spray
2 Pantene Conditioner
1 CVS Shampoo
4 Dove Shampoo
1 Dove Men+Care Face/Body wash
2 Nice 'N Easy hair color
2 Nice 'N Easy hair foam color
2 Oral B Cross Action powered toothbrushes
1 Softsoap Body wash

That's a total of 22 items which works out to $1.65 each and I used 21 coupons.

I did 6 deals, got $27 in ECB, with $5 left to use on my next purchase.

For my own benefit

Ok, just so everyone can see the total numbers on one page and also because I need to know myself exactly how much I spent/saved...here it is.

Total Spent:

Base costs: $250.00
Metro Card: $50.00
Meals: $100.00
Shopping: $285.27
Groupons: $136.00

Grand Total: $821.27

Total Saved:

Hotel discounts: $550.00
Shopping Sales: $467.50
Groupon: $273.00
Splitting base costs: $250.00

Grand Total: $1,540.50

47% savings.

Holy cow! I knew it was a lot, but I wasn't prepared for it to all come together that way. Even looking at each individual catagory adding up, it just didn't seem like it was that much money overall.

I hope that you all have enjoyed reading about my trip and the savings. I know that this will always be a trip to remember for me.

Now to plan the next one!

The long awaited Groupon post

Ok, so as I have mentioned in my previous posts, I decided that I would embrace the concept of the Groupawn (see liveoffgroupon.com) and try my best to incorporate as many Groupons as possible on our trip. This particular posts focuses only on the amount spent and saved on the Groupon itself. This does not include additional spent or saved outside of the Groupon.

For approximately 2 months prior to our trip, I began watching the deal sites and trying to find deals that were on our route or close enough that it made sense. I was able to purchase 1 deal from Living Social and 10 deals from Groupon.

This is how the reality of those deals breaks down:

Living Social:
Purchased 1 deal for Mama Mexico in Englewood Cliffs, NJ
Total upfront cost: $25
Total Value: $50
Total Saved: $25

During the holiday months, ShopDiscover was having additional cashback bonuses on certain merchants. Groupon usually gives 15% cash back, but for my trip purchases, I received 20% cash back.

In chronological order of use again:

Groupon #1 Beanwood Coffee
Upfront cost: $9
Total Value: $18
20% Rebate: $1.80
Total Saved: $10.80

Groupon #2 Maratene's Fine Wine and Spirits
Upfront cost: $10
Total Value: $20
Used $1 Credit on Groupon Account
20% Rebate: 1.80
Total Saved: 10.80

Groupon #3 Floyd Hall Arena-Ice Skating Package
Upfront Cost: $29
Total Value: $58
20% Rebate: 5.80
Total Saved: $34.80

Groupon #4 Gencarelli's Cucina
Upfront Cost $20
Total Value: $40
20% Rebate: $4.00
Total Saved: $24.00

Groupon #5 The Body Shop
Upfront Cost: $20
Total Value: $40
20% Rebate: $4.00
Total Saved: $24.00

Groupon #6 Velocity 17
Upfront Cost: $48
Total Value: $100
20% Rebate: $9.60
Total Saved: $61.60

Groupon #7 The Bagel Store
Upfront Cost: $10
Total Value: $20
20% Rebate: $2.00
Total Saved: $12.00

Groupon #8 Via Dei Mille
Upfront Cost: $10
Total Value: $20
20% Rebate: $2.00
Total Saved: $12.00

Groupon #9 La Petite Coquette
Upfront Cost: $35
Total Value: $75
20% Rebate: $7.00
Total Saved: $47.00

Groupon #10 ZPizza
Upfront Cost: $10
Total Value: $20
20% Rebate: $2.00
Total Saved: $12.00

This brings our Groupon grand total to:

Upfront Cost: $200
Total Value: $409
20% Rebate: $40
Total Saved: $249

the shopping...

I don't know if you guys get as excited as I do about shopping, but man, do I! I mean, I'm sorry, but who doesn't like shopping? (my sister ;) )

To clarify, when I say out of pocket, that does not include the amount spent on the Groupon.

In chronological order:

12/30
When we arrived in NJ, I had to pick up 1 last Christmas gift for one of my sister-in-laws. I found out that she really likes Hollister, so in I went.

Hollister was having a sale 40% off everything in the store. I purchased a hoodie for her (reg $39.99) and 2 tanks tops for myself that were already on clearance (reg 19.99, marked down to 12.95).
After 40% off:
Hoodie $23.70
Tanks: $7.74 each
Total: $39.18 with NO TAX!!!

I was able to purchase 3 things for less than the price of one! YAY!

My daughter loves Disney. I decided since I was already in the mall, I'd check to see what they had on sale. Her favorite princess right now is Ariel and my in-laws had themed her whole Christmas around Ariel. They had an ornament (Reg $9.50) with a mark down tag for $4.50. Already this was a good deal. I took it to the counter and when the clerk rang it up, it was actually only $2.99!!! Wow! After adding the 7% tax of $.21, I paid $3.20 for an Ariel ornament that was orginally $9.50!

Deciding that I would explore the mall some more, I ventured into the Sock Drawer. Aerin and I had just been saying we needed to buy socks and they had some decent deals, so why not?

I got 2 pairs of leggings: $25
2) 3packs of socks $10
Total: $35 with NO TAX!

12/31

We went to Maratene's Fine Wine and Spirits to get some libations for the NYE celebration.

I purchased 2 bottles of wine and 1 bottle of Shane's favorite beer and 1) 4 pack of mini champagnes.

The wine was on sale: regular $20 and $15.
I paid $20 for both.
$ 8 for the beer
and $15 champagne
Total: $43
Groupon -$20
Total due $23

Towards the end of the night we realized that my 1 memory card for my camera just wasn't going to cut it. Even though we were downloading the pictures onto Aerin's laptop each chance we got. So we stopped by Wal-Mart on our way to John and Crystal's to get another one.

I purchased an 8 GB SD card.
$19.88
Tax$1.66
Total $21.54 - Paid with gift card I received for Christmas.

1/1

This is one of the deals that I am the most proud of. We went to the Body Shop to use the Groupon I had purchased. I love the Body Shop because they have a large line of products that do not contain artificial dyes. I am allergic to the most common, Red # 33-40. We happened to get there just at the right timing because they had 1 XL Complete Body gift set left. I asked how much it cost and was told $100, but everything was on sale being after the holidays, so they would check the price. It indeed was on sale for 50% off. That made it $50! I used my Love Your Body discount card which took another 10% or $5 off, making the new total $45.

Original Price: $100
Sale -50%
New total: $50
Discount Card-10%
New total: $45
Groupon -$40
Subtotal: $5
Tax $3.77 (8.375% NY sales tax)
Total out of pocket $8.77

To sweeten this deal even further, I looked up all of the products online. The total value of everything I received in the gift set, if purchased individually, $160.

I had another gift to buy and stopped by the calendar kiosk in the middle of the mall. Everything was 50% off. I purchased a calander and a gift envelope for my aunt.
Calendar: 13.99(reg) 6.99 sale
Envelope: 1.00 (reg) .50 sale
Total: 7.49
Tax .63
Total due: $8.12

Forever21. How I love this store! Even more so that the one in Times Sqare is FOUR FLOORS!!! OMG. Now, I didn't get any insanely good deals in here, but what I bought wasn't expensive either.

I got 2 knit coverups for work. They were $6.80 each (cheap for work clothes!).
Subtotal: 13.60
Tax: .60 (4.375 % NY clothing tax)
Total: $14.20
The good news about this is even though it's not the best deal, I can write it off on my taxes at year end.

1/2

Probably my biggest accomplishment of the entire trip was my purchases at La Petite Coquette. In French, it means "the little flirt". It's a ladies lingerie store.

I purchased 2 pairs of panties, 3 bras and a nightie.

Regular Prices:
$20
$25
$30
$79
$24
$85
Subtotal: $263
tax would have been: $11.50
totalling: 274.50

Sale Prices:
$10
$10
$10
$10
$20
$20
Subtotal: $80
Groupon -$75
New Total: $5
Tax: $3.50
Total due: $8.50

WOW!

We stopped to get tea at Argo Tea.

I purchased a travel infuser mug and a fall tea gift set.
Mug: $19.95
Tea: $9.95
Subtotal: 29.90
Tax:$2.50
Total:$32.40

Later that evening, we went back to Times Sqare to shop some more.

The Disney Store in TS in AMAZING. We purchased a Belle jacket for Caylie. It's a size too big, but I did that so she would be able to wear it this winter and next.
Regular Price: $39.99
Sale Price: $19.99
Tax: .87
Total: $20.86

We also stopped in to Toys-R-Us on a mission to find a yo-yo for Caylie. She has started to like them and I have a good friend that is on Team Duncan USA. He is also the National Sales and Marketing Coordinator for Duncan Toys. So, of course, I was looking for a Duncan. I found a blue Duncan Butterfly.

Price: $5.99
Tax: $.53
Total: $6.52

Next we went to Aeropostale. Shane found a shirt and I got a hoodie that said NY or Times Square.

Shane's Polo Regular Price $34.50
Sale Price: $12.99

My Hoodie Regular Price $44.50
Sale Price: $24.99

Subtotal: $37.98
Tax: $1.66
Total: $39.64

American Eagle had a LOT of good sales going on, but at this point we had spent a good bit of money. So, I limited myself to a small purchase.

Their Aerie Department (which is undergarments and pj's) had the best deal. $15 for 5 pairs of Aerie favorite panties.

So, regular priced at $7.50 each, that would make a savings of $4.50 each or $22.50 total, making them $3 a piece. I grabbed 5 of those.

They also had socks on sale, Regular $8.50 each, Marked down to $4.16 each.

So, 5 pairs of panties at $15
2 pairs of socks $8.32
Subtotal: 23.32
Tax: $1.02
Total: $24.34

Also, you got an additional pair of panties for FREE! So, that brings the total down to $2.50 each, saving $30 just on them alone!

Ok, so to recap on our shopping.

We spent out of pocket: $285.27

Breaking that down:
$31.82 was Christmas gifts
$14.20 Business Expense
$30.58 gifts for Caylie
$21.54 was spent on a gift card I received for Christmas
$187.13 was spent on myself and Shane


Total Savings from Sales:
$467.50 plus the respective sales taxes. (this does not include the Groupon Value)

The meals...

OK, so in my day by day blog, I told you about the meals we had.

Here I will break down the cost.

Dinner at Sonic 12/29: Shane's meal, approx $7, mine was covered by Aerin since she owed me for a previous meal.

Breakfast at hotel 12/30: included in hotel cost

Beanwood Coffee: We had a Groupon for $18. We got 3 mochas and 1 hot chocolate. Also 4 chocolate chip cookies. After the Groupon, I paid under $2.

Lunch at Mr. Pizza Slice: Aerin also paid as a portion of her trip costs. (Our portion was $10)

Dinner at Mama Mexico: Our Living Social deal was for $50, our meal did go over this amount, but my mother-in-law, was kind enough to pay for the remainder of our tab. :)

Breakfast at hotel 12/31: Included in hotel cost

Lunch/dinner at Gencarelli's Cucina: Our Groupon was for $40.
We had an appetizer: Nonna's Arrancini (Rice Balls) $11
House Salad (to split between Shane and myself): $10
Pollo Rustica (me) $20.95
Cavatelli Ricotta (shane) 17.95
Our total: $59.90

Aerin had Gnocchi Bolognese $17.95
Justin had Calamari Verdura $13.00
Their total: $30.95

Combined total: $90.85
Groupon          -$40.00
Tax:                   $2.31
New total due:   $53.16

Late night dinner from Frank's Pizza: $15.63+ $2 tip for 4 slices and 1 pizza dough.

Breakfast 1/1: Included in hotel cost

We decided to skip lunch.

Dinner at my in-laws: Yum-O!

Breakfast: 1/2 Picked up Bagels and Cream Cheese from The Bagel Store. Used Groupon.

Brunch: Via Dei Mille. Had a Groupon for $20.
Shane and I each got a sandwhich and coffee. We shared a tiramisu for dessert. Our total was around $40, I believe, but again, my wonderful mother-in-law, Sandy, was amazing and paid for the remainder of our bill.

We weren't eating dinner until late, so I did get a Sabrett hot dog and soda. $10

Dinner at ZPizza:
We got 1 small California Pizza (me) $9.95
a Napoli Pizza (Shane) $9.95
Also, a California Salad $8.50
and 2 sodas. $1.65 each
Total: $31.70
Groupon: -$20.00
Tax: $1.04
New Total due: $12.74


Breakfast: 1/3  bagels

Lunch at Wendy's somewhere in VA. $15 for Shane and myself.

Total spent out of pocket on trip: $94.37. I will round this up to an even $100 because of snacks or various food things we may have gotten that weren't involved with a meal.

The funds...

Starting out planning this trip, I immediately came up with a budget.

Knowing how much gas usually costs on our visits, it was easy enough to figure out how much additional to add for taking my car and the extra driving. When we take Shane's car (2008 Ford Focus) We get a little bit better gas mileage because his car is smaller and has a 4 cyl engine. My car, (2005 Chevy Malibu LS) would cost more because it is a midsize sedan with a V6 engine.

We would also be taking a different route than usual because of the stops we were wanting to make and taking into account the trips to all of our Groupons, would add a few miles as well.

Once we had determined that there would be 4 people going on the trip, I quickly added up the hotel costs, estimation for gas and tolls and figured out our base cost per person.

My beginning estimations were as follows:

Gas: $250
Tolls: $10
Hotel: $150

Total: $410

Knowing this was the absolute minimum we would be paying, I decided to add some cushion to the budget. I would rather be overprepared and not need it (extra spending money!) than get there and not have enough for basics.

I quickly decided to have the cost per person be $125. This would give us a total of $500.

There are always bumps in the road and unexpected costs along the way. Since we decided to add another hotel stay, tolls were a bit different on our new route, and some unexpected parking expenses got added, it was a good thing I made those adjustments.

We had to get gas 7 times. The total amount spent on the trip was $237.06.

Parking came to a total of $35.00.

Hotel for all stays was $201.47

Tolls $25

This brings our grand total to: $498.53, which was $1.47 under our budget of $500.

I don't know if I could've been that spot on without seriously planning.

Now, you have to remember, this was only for the basic costs, in addition to that were all of the fun things.

Between Shane and myself we spent $50 on MetroCard for the subway while in NY. We did have a couple of mess ups that caused us to lose a bit of our fares, and we also have some left on the card for our next visit.

Day 5...we say goodbye

So, it had arrived. Too soon, of course. The dreaded day we had to return home and back to reality.

I had just drifted off to sleep when the alarm began buzzing to get up. 3 am...dang you.

So, back to yesterday. Aerin and Justin went off on thier own way to meet up with Aerin's friend Ann who lives in NYC. They spent the whole day out on thier own...you have to let them fly sometime... :)

So, I sent Aerin several text messages about what time we would be leaving so that I knew she'd be back in time. 3:09 am, she and Justin walk into the hotel room. Gotta love 'em.

We made it out by 4 am, which was only 30 mins later than I wanted to. There wasn't a whole lot of traffic out at that time of the day, so we made good time getting out of the city and through NJ. I took over around the time we were getting to DE. One of my best friends had just moved that weekend to Glen Burnie, MD and we were going to stop to see her and tour Washington, DC on our way back.

We picked up Jennefer around 8 am and drove into DC. DC is a funny place. We decided to just drive around instead of parking and getting out and about. Apparently, you can't drive within a couple of blocks of the white house. I did not know this until that day, then again, I've never been to DC before. So, we drove in circles, partly because of my lack of knowledge on where we were going and also due to a lack of sleep.

Around 11 we dropped Jennefer back off and said our goodbyes. (I do miss her a lot!) and then it was back on the road to get home.

We made a stop as we got into VA to get some food and gas. Aerin took over driving. She made it all the way to Roanoke where we stopped again for gas and a stretch. She decided that she wanted to continue driving and we were able to make it all the way home by 9 pm.

It was a lot to do in such a short trip, but I don't think I would've had it any other way. We had great friends with us, did some amazing things, and all-in-all, the trip was a huge success!