CVS trip

I got a $10 off of $50 coupon on my last transaction--why do the smaller coupons (like $4 off of $20) seem easier to work with? I did stick to my rule of only buying what we will use (like favorite deodorant brands and cents). It's not a killer oop, but is what we needed.

4 14 oz packs of M&M's $10 (to make Monster cookies)
2 Degree deodorants $3.98
1 Hello Kitty Bandaids $2.99 (for the queen of bumps, bruises and scrapes)
1 Charmin 12 double rolls $6.49
2 Stayfree maxi pads $9 (stocking up for when baby arrives)
1 Tylenol Extra Strength $6
Mylanta $5.50
1 CVS pantiliner $.99
1 20 oz deluxe nuts $4.99 (a favorite snack)
Plastic cups $2.99 (for a meeting tomorrow--original purpose of trip)

Total: 52.93

Minus: $10/$50
0.25 Charmin
1.00 Tylenol
4.50 BOGO Stayfree
1.00 off 2 Degree
1.00 off Bandaids

Total: 34.68 plus 2.41 tax: $34.09

Minus: 3.00 ECBS from previously

Earned Extra Care Bucks:

$5 (from $10 candy)
$10 (from buying $20 J&J products)
$2 (from Bandaids)
$0.99 (from CVS pantiliners)

Total: $18.10 (Total paid minus ECBs earned)

If I didn't have the $10 off of $50, and you wanted to do the $5 CVS challenge, you could do multiple transactions like this:

Transaction 1:
2 CVS pantiliners 1.98
1 Bandaid product 2.99
minus Bandaid coupon -1

total OOP: 3.97+tax
Earned ECBs: 3.97

Transaction 2:
2 Stayfree pads $9
J&J products totalling $11 (bath buddies are cheap ($1) and if you use the 2/$2 coupon, they're free)
BOGO coupon -4.50
J&J coupons from company website or here
ECBS -3.97
OOP: variable + 0.53 + tax
Earn $10 in ECBs

Transaction 3:
Photo DVD (think Christmas present!) $9.99
-$10 ECB
0 oop
Earn 9.99 ECB
Can repeat this transaction several times.
NB: I tried a photo deal last week, and it was kind of a pain. Definitely put all the pics you want on a single memory card, and upload the whole thing to save time.