Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Remove Silk from Corn the easy way



I had a friend tell me about this tip and I have to admit I had my doubts but living in the country and putting up lots of vegetables from the garden, I just had to give it at try.  Anyone who has spent a day preparing corn for freezing knows that the worst part i trying to get all the little strands of silk off the cob.  This tip makes that super easy.  All you have to do it put the whole ear of corn, yes shucks, silks and everything, into the microwave for 8 minutes.  My friend told me to do two ears at a time but I tried it with up to six and it worked fine.  After 8 minutes, allow it to cool in the microwave for a few minutes.  Take out with a towel because the will be hot.  Use the towel to push the corn out of the shuck.  You will be amazed at how it will come out perfectly clean, no silk.


Hydrogen Peroxide for cleaning


Just a quick post to let you know about a new cleaner I have discovered.  Mix equal parts hydrogen peroxide and water in a spray bottle.  It is a great general purpose cleaner but it is by far the best on those little crevices around sinks and showers.  Spray it on, allow the bubbles to do the work, and come back later and rinse away.  And best of all it's super cheap.

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

CVS Coupon Saving


Saving Money at CVS

CVS is a coupon lovers paradise.  In my opinion, it is the easiest store for a beginner.  

The first and most important component of saving money at CVS is to get an Extra Care card.  You can get this card by either signing up on the CVS website or by signing up with the cashier inside the store.  Only one card is allowed per household.



Once you have the Extra Care card in your hand, you hold the key for savings at CVS.  You should make certain that you sign up with cvs.com and register your Extra Care card.  They periodically email special coupons to card holders.



The next thing to know about is the magic coupon machine.  This is a large red machine, normally found near the front counter at all CVS stores.  The reason couponers call this machine magic is because all you have to do is scan your card and it will spit out coupons.  Important note: Scan your card until the machine tells you that no more coupons are available.  Normally you can scan 3 times.  

This is what the coupons will look like that come from the machine.  The best coupons will normally expire quickly, possibly even the same day, so check expiration dates.





EXTRA CARE BUCKS aka ECB's

Extra Care Buck, or as couponers call them, ECB's are at the heart of any real saving at CVS.  These are special offers that CVS offers weekly.  They are CVS's reward for shopping inside their store.  ECB's are basically coupons for $ off if you purchase a specific item.


For Example:  CVS is offering a $2.00 ECB when you purchase Pantene shampoo.  Pantene shampoo costs 2/$6.97.  You purchase and pay $6.97 but when you get your receipt, an ECB for $2.00 will be attached to the receipt.  This $2.00 ECB is like a coupon to purchase any other item in the store (certain items such as prescriptions are excluded).



ECB's can be used during your next visit to the store or can be used the same visit on another purchase.  If the store is not very busy, you can do multiple purchases during the same visit and pay very little out of pocket.  

Using our Pantene shampoo example, let's say that Pantene shampoo has a limit of 2 for the extra care deal.  You buy one and pay $6.97 for the first 2 but for the second 2 you use the $2.00 ECB from the first purchase and you only have to pay $4.97.  So you get four bottles for $11.94.

The best thing about CVS is that you can combine CVS coupons and manufacture coupons.  ECB's are considered as cash and can be used in any combination. 


Now, let's go back to our Pantene scenario.


Using this ad, if you have a manufacturer coupon for $2.00 off two bottles.  We would use the $2.00 of two coupon and we would pay $4.97 but we would get a $2.00 ECB making our total out of pocket cost be $2.97 for two bottles of Pantene shampoo.  Can you beat that?  

Of course you can!  Remember that coupon we got when we scanned our card when we first got in the store?  What did that coupon say?

Let's pull it out and see.



WoW!  We get $2.00 off two shampoo.  Well, lucky us, we just bought two bottles of Pantene shampoo.
Now we can stack this CVS coupon with our Manufacture coupon and here is our final deal.

Two bottle of Pantene on sale 2/$6.97
Use $2.00 off two shampoo CVS coupon from the magic coupon machine
Use manufacture coupon for $2.00 off any 2 Pantene products

Pay $2.97 plus tax

Get $2.00 ECB

Total out of pocket $0.97 plus tax for two bottles of Pantene shampoo.

Now, we are happy couponers.

Until next time, keep looking for those deals.  Be sure to add thriftylivin on Facebook.











 

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