Big THANK YOU!

Over the weekend I cleaned out my bathroom cabinets and replaced all the old crap with the many bags of CVS products that I had accumulated in the last few weeks. I say crap because the stuff was so old that on the rare days that I wanted to pamper myself with a facial, I would pour the cleanser into my hands and wonder if the less than pleasant smell was do to the degradation of the chemicals in the product and if my face would melt if I used it. I tossed make-up that I have had since before my children were born. All these things I previously valued too much to get rid of. Spending money on some of these luxuries was just not something I did very often. There were always more important things like school, kids, and house repairs. I have been shopping at CVS now for about ten weeks and am utterly amazed at the difference it has made. I get to try new things that previously I would not have even thought about buying due to the cost. I have filled my cabinets with fantastic, expensive cleansers, make-up and tons of toothpaste and shampoo for practically nothing.

As August comes to an end, I realize that I am close to spending my target of $400 for groceries and toiletries for our family of five with three dogs and one cat. Three months ago, I thought I was saving money with coupons, but when I added up our purchases it was twice that amount. I knew something had to change in this ever tightening economy. I spent far less in August, but I feel like we have so much more. So thank you to all those bloggers who by dishing out their advice helped me get to this point and to CVS, Kroger and Publix for having such great programs!