I received a check in the mail Friday for $64.00 for doing my decoy mail* assignments for the Winter quarter (Dec07-Feb08). They are catching up after falling behind on payments, so that is why I have received 2 checks so close together. I am only paid 4 times a year by them and now I am all caught up so I don't expect another payment for 2-3 months or so. Anyway, this is "extra" money so it is all going toward paying down my goal CC.

New Balance 0% CC: $7,416.70

*See my 6/15 post for an explanation of what this is.

I am so bummed. I just received an email from Pinecone explaining that they are "phasing out" the $5 surveys and will be replacing them with $3 per survey plus an entry into a monthly $500 sweepstakes.

The $3 is not bad, but I was hoping I could stay "grandfathered in" at $5. I guess that was a little too much to ask for.

They sent me a survey asking if I want to switch to this other payment option now or stay at the other option and eventually stop getting survey offers altogether. I am choosing to switch. I will miss the $5, but at least I can stay on the panel and continue to earn a little extra to put toward the debt.

I had to go out and buy a birthday gift for a party my daughter is going to tomorrow - of course she tells me this tonight.

Anyway, she has been driving my husband and I bonkers sniffling for the last couple weeks. Tonight in the car on the way to the toy store I hit the end of my sniffle patience. So we stopped by CVS to pick up some allergy medicine for her, and I figured I'd attempt to locate the elusive CrossAction toothbrushes my husband so dearly loves and which are FREE after ECB this month.

Well, I looked through all the toothbrushes and there were none - again - so I went up to the counter to pay and decided to ask about the rain check they had given me previously. The raincheck had the sale price listed but no mention of the ECB so I wanted to get it straightened out since I have looked in 4 different CVS stores and no one seems to have any. The clerk was so friendly and helpful! She says, "I know someone just bought those so I think we may have just gotten them in. Let me go look for you". She brought back 2 packages for me just the type I wanted (by the way, a little dental hygiene advice here, always buy SOFT bristles). Plus, she fixed my rain check so that it says I can get them for FREE next time. WooHoo!

I was so excited that when my daughter asked for a disposable camera that was on sale for $5 I totally caved and bought it for her. *LOL* I am also trying to cultivate the creative side of her normally very analytical mind, so I figured it could be a good thing for her.

Here are my purchases today:
2 2-pk Vitalizer TB
1 CVS brand allergy syrup
1 27 exposure camera
2 bottles of Coke (my husband's addiction)

I redeemed $12.99 ECB, and the Coke is BOGOF this week. Total oop $16.03, and received $13.98 in ECB...so net cost of $2.05. Not too shabby for a newbie CVSer.

I am really enjoying my new hobby!

Yesterday was a very long day. I worked from 8:30am to 8pm, then I had a meeting to attend. I was at the meeting until about 9:15pm and proceeded home to finally eat a late dinner. Boy, was I hungry!

On my way home my cell phone rings and it is my husband telling me that a dentist I interviewed with over 6 months ago called at 9pm and will be calling me back at 9:30pm. He really wants to talk to me.

I walk in the door and about 10 minutes later the phone rings. This DDS wants me to work for him one day each week from now on and will pay me $2/hr more than I am making at my full-time office. WooHoo!

I obviously took him up on the offer, but I do have some mixed emotions about it. I am thrilled that I will have more money to put toward debt repayment on a regular basis, but I am also sad because it is summer and my daughter is out of school, and now I will be working even more hours. She and my husband have been having all this fun without me...as I toil away, working my poor fingers to the bone. *sigh*

Okay, yes, I am totally being melodramatic, and the money will definitely come in handy! So overall a great outcome.

The ones place and change from my paycheck today is $8.14, so this will be sent to the 0% CC.

New Balance: $7,480.70

In other good news, I worked some extra hours the last few weeks so I will be able to put an additional $125 toward this CC this month. My payment of $175 is automatically send from my checking account on the first of the month, so on July 1st it will be $300 instead of $175. I will update the balance from that transaction after it is officially made on July 1st. Don't want to count my chickens before they're hatched and all...but I am excited that I am making headway.

I made my second trip with my brand-spankin' new CVS card today.

I spent $18.43 and received $19.97 back in CVS Extra Care Bucks (ECB)! WooHoo!

Needless to say I am a little bit excited about having come out ahead on this trip. It's not too often you go into a store and come out with merchandise and more "credit" than you went in with...well, legally anyway!!! *LOL*

Here is what I got today:
(2) Listerine Smart Rinse
(1) 2-pk Oral-B Cross Action toothbrushes
(2) Oral-B Power toothbrushes
(2) bottles of Coke
and I made a $1 donation to ALS Therapy Alliance.

I had (2) coupons for $1 off the Smart Rinse, the Coke was on sale BOGOF, I had a coupon for BOGOF on the power toothbrushes, and I used $3.98 in ECB I earned last week. Hip-Hip-Hooray!!!

I received my Fall check from the decoy mail* place yesterday for $71.50 and I also received a refund from overpayment to my Capital One card for $0.06 (yes, it cost way more to print and mail the check than the actual check is worth...another reason credit card companies are renowned for their idiocy).

New Balance on 0% CC: $7,488.84

*A mail decoy is someone who gets mail delivered to them under "strange" names and records when it was delivered and in what condition. I am paid a small fee for each piece I enter.

Boy, where does the time go?! It is already more than a week into the month and I have not reconciled my ING interest yet. I am usually right on top of that because I put that earned interest toward the Goal CC and that makes me happy.

I earned $16.12 in interest for the month of May which will be going to pay down that evil CC you see to the left. WooHoo!

New Balance on Goal CC: $7,560.40

I received a paycheck this week and the dollars place plus change will continue to go to the 0% Goal CC, $9.65 this week.

I also forgot to post that I put $4.56 from my paycheck 2 weeks ago toward the Goal CC.

My automatic monthly payment of $175 also went through this week.

Total new balance on the 0% CC: $7,576.52

I worked alot this past week, so I have been neglecting my poor blog. I have been trying to keep up with reading all of your wonderful blogs though.

Someone on DebtProofLiving.com mentioned a blog called "Money Saving Mom" which I started reading last night and could not get enough of. I have been curious about all of the different people who have mentioned saving TONS of money at CVS. We have 2 in our town and 1 in the next town over but I do not usually shop there since they are not on my regular route to/from work.

Anyway, MSM's blog got me all excited and I just had to go to CVS today and see what deals I could start off with. I stopped by a store in my town first and picked up:

(2) Kotex pads - on sale 2/$5 plus I had a manuf coupon $2/1 - making them $1.50/each (AWESOME!)

(2) Sea Breeze astringent - $5 BOGO Free plus I had a manuf coupon for $0.55/1 - making them approximately $2.23/each (A STEAL!)

Total Spent: $7.44 out of pocket (oop)

The very first thing I made a bee-line for as soon as I walked in the store was the 2pk of OralB CrossAction toothbrushes that were advertised for $6.99 plus get $6.99 back in Extra Care Bucks (making them FREE after the ECB). My husband loves these and they are super expensive. The first store had none in stock, so I headed over the store in the next town over. They did not have them either. I asked the cashier and he gave me a Rain Check, however, I asked if I would be able to get the ECB's and he said "Yes"...but I really doubt that unless I can pick them up before the deal ends at the end of this month. We shall see about that. While I was there I picked up another "Free-bate" type deal:

(2) 40ct bandages - $1.99 x 2 + $3.98 plus tax so $4.12 oop and my ECB for $3.98 printed right there on the end of my receipt.

If I had known I was going to get the bandages, I could have purchased those at the first store and then used the $3.98 toward my $7.44 purchase to save myself the money today. Like I said, this is my very first attempt at shopping at CVS with their rewards program so I'm not gonna beat myself up about it.

As it is I spent $11.56 out of pocket and earned back $3.98, so a net out put of $7.58 for 6 products. I really think that is pretty good considering I had no ECB's to start with. I can't wait to find some really great deals on shampoo & conditioner. My daughter goes through gallons of conditioner each month with her super curly hair!