My shopping addiction

Josh and I are working toward financial freedom by following the principals of Dave Ramsey. We are trying to "live like no one else so that later we can live like no one else", translated: We are working toward being debt free so that we can live the life that we want to later. We have a budget, which we both agree on and we both stick to. We don't use credit cards, we don't even have one. And we will never borrow money again. I know, shocking! This has been the number one best thing that we could have done for our marriage. We never fight about money, ever! We don't have to, we both know how much money we have at all times because we can look at the budget. Josh and I have been hard at it for about two years now and we are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. It has been hard and we have had to give up things that we like (Cardinal season tickets, shopping at the mall, etc). We only have one student loan to pay off and then we will be debt free except for our mortgage. When we pay off this debt it is going to be a happy day!! We can't wait.

I am a girl. Girls like to shop. Girls like to get good deals. And because our budget is tight and we want to save as much money as possible, shopping for the sake of shopping is not allowed (unless we have it budgeted). But I have found that I can still get the "shopping high" from buying things that we need and getting it at awesome prices. I do this by shopping at CVS. They have a rewards program where you can earn "CVS Money" called Extra Care Bucks (ECBs) so I can get alot of things for free, and I love free!! Anyhoo, I starting reading Crystal's blog Money Saving Mom and she shows you how you can really save some money by shopping at CVS. I am now addicted! LOL!

Here is my complaint...

There is only one CVS in my area. And if you don't get there on Sunday when the sale starts you are not going to get the good stuff that is on sale (the items that produce ECBs). There must be some SERIOUS CVSers in my area that go in at midnight and just buy the store out!! It seems that the last few weeks when I have gone to work my deals, they are out of everything. I mean, the shelves are bare!! So, if you shop at the CVS in Edwardsville, please leave some stuff for me!!

Here is the best part of CVS shopping...

I have a big enough stockpile that I can share it with others. My "CVS Free Shelf" in the closet it full and I can share my stuff with others. Remember my sister Marcea? She is in college and working really hard. I gave her a goodie bag full of stuff that I got for free at CVS (toothpaste, deodorant, lip gloss, body wash, etc) and she was very grateful to receive it. It makes me feel good to be able to help her out. I have also given items to my other sister, Leslie and to my Mom. It is like Christmas when I give it to them, they are so excited to see what is in the bag!! I love it!!

I also like to come home and tell Josh how much money I spent. If Josh is not available, I usually call my Mom. I always say, "I got all of this for ____!!" They are always very impressed. Like last week, I got two big bottles of laundry detergant with ECBs and coupons for 27 cents. I know, Can you believe it!!!??? When the cashier gave me my total, I think that I squelled in excitment (I know, I need to get out more).

So there you have it, My name is Myssie and I am addicted to CVS.

If you are curious in all of this and want to learn more, visit this webite. And if you want to find out how to have financial freedom, visit this website.