CVS - October 10, 2009

Question: What do you get when you have some great coupons to your local CVS that just opened a new store and some really helpful manufacturers' coupons on top of that, along with $17 ECBs (extra care bucks)?

Answer: About $50 (retail) worth of merchandise for just $2.50 cash + $10 ECBs left over to spend at the store on my next visit.

Too bad I can't get a deal like that every week!!

CVS - September 28

I've discovered that the deals at CVS aren't always worth my while, so I don't go every week...but I had to go this week. I had a $5/25 coupon for filling out a flu survey on their website and wanted to put it to good use. Here's what I got.

CoverGirl make-up - 1 Foundation/Powder compact - $8.49
1 Blush - $7.49
Used a BOGO (buy one get one free) coupon
Used a $1 coupon
Received 5 ECBs
Vaseline Sheer Infusion Lotion - $7.99
Used a $1.50 coupon printed online
Received 7 ECBs
Gillette Fusion Razor - $9.99
Used $4 coupon
Received 5 ECBs

Out the door.....I paid $16.32 ($11 of which was ECBs)
Received 17 ECBs back.

I was pretty happy about that.

CVS - Take 3

I'm really just posting this stuff for my own benefit, so I can keep track of how much I'm spending/saving in one location....so if this doesn't interest you, come back later!! :)

This week I bought:

1 Schick ST3 Sensor Razors - $6.99 - had $3 off coupon, received $4 ECBs (FREE!)
1 Crest with Scope toothpaste - $3.49 - had $.75 coupon, received $2.50 ECBs ($.24!)
2 Old Spice Deodorants - $4.50 - had $1 coupon, received 1 ECB ($1.25 each)
1 VO5 conditioner - $.77

Paid with $11 ECBs from last week, + $.72 cash.
With the new ECBs and what I have left over from last week, I still have 11 ECBs.

Looking forward to seeing what deals I can figure out for this next week! I was especially glad that this time, they had everything that was advertised, so I didn't have to get a rain check. I managed to get the last package of razors, Whew! I felt pretty successful coming out of the store.

CVS - Take 2

The kids and I made our second trip to CVS today.....after I had spend WAY too much time trying to figure out all the coupons and possible deals and ECBs. At this point, I'm still not convinced that it's worth all my effort and time...but I'm hoping that I'll get better at it with practice and I'm not giving up just yet.

So.

Today I walked away with the following:

1 Glade candle - $6.99 - with $6.99 in ECBs. I had a $3 coupon printed from online also, so I MADE $3 on this one. Cool.
1 Pantene hair gel - $3.49 - with $1.50 ECBs. I had a $1 coupon.

Subtotal came to $7, I paid with $6.99 ECBs from last time, and ended up with some weird little tax charge of $.52. Still can't quite figure that out, but I wasn't going to put up a big fight over a piddly amount like that. Especially since I got an extra $2 ECBs on my receipt, just for shopping at CVS. :)

Okay, so then I asked about toothpaste, because I couldn't find what was advertised in the flier. Turns out they didn't have it, but they would match the price with other tubes. So I got:

2 Colgate Max Fresh toothpastes (6 oz each) for $4.99, with $2 ECBs - I had a $.75 coupon, so I paid with $4.00 of ECBs and another $.51 cash.

Basically, I spent $11 of ECBs and $1 cash and got back $12.50 in ECBs. I have a candle, spray gel, and 2 tubes of toothpaste, all for free.

Can't complain about that. Except for the time and energy spent figuring all that out....and the hassle of dragging the kids to the store to try to find the exact right products. Worth it? I dunno. But like I said.....I think I'll get better at it.

CVS--Here I Come!

I've been reading about the great deals to be had at CVS Pharmacy from Money Saving Mom and Life as Mom for quite awhile now.....but since we didn't have CVS around here, I'd just sigh with envy and move on.
A few months ago, however, CVS decided to invade our area (despite the multitude of Rite Aids and Walgreens we have...I mean...how many pharmacies can there be in a town, anyways?) and I was delighted! Now I could play the CVS game and score incredible bargains with all these other ladies around the country!
There are actually two CVSs nearby...although the closest one isn't open yet. Should be soon.
I've been perusing their weekly ads for about a month now and pondering if I could muster up the guts to jump in and just do it. It takes a bit of practice to get used to their system of Extra Care Bucks (ECBs) and to figure out all the math to make the most of your money. (Basically, ECBs are CVS store credit....so you can come back within a month and spend the credit as cash. Every week they have items that you can essentially get for free.)

Today I took the plunge.

One thing I failed to take into account was how prices are different around the country....so the deals that one lady got in California won't necessarily be the same deals I get here.

I'm sure there could have been more savings somehow for me, but for my first try, I feel pretty decent about how I did.

First, I went here and filled out a short survey to get a $5/25 coupon. Easy breezy.

Then I searched through my coupons and found that I had 2 $3.00 coupons for Huggies diapers.

Armed with these and my ad, I went to CVS, filled out my paperwork for my free ECB card, and got to shopping.

What I got:
2 packs of 150 sheets of filler paper - $.99 each, with $.99 ECB each
2 pencil boxes - $1.99 each, $1.99 ECB each
1 Phillips Earhook headphones - $6.99, $6.99 ECB
2 packs Huggies diapers, $11.99 each (more expensive than I anticipated)
1 set Playtex Insulated cups - $7.99 (not planned purchase...saw them and loved them...we needed them anyways.)

Total: $44.92 + tax

Coupons Total: $11.00

I Paid: $35.92

ECBs - $13.00 (printed on my receipt and I have until 9/17 to spend it)

Final: $22.92

Not great.....but not too shabby either. Upon reflection, I could have done 2 transactions, getting the ECBs to print on the first one and using them to help purchase the diapers on the second one. Then my out of pocket would have been less....but I wouldn't have the ECBs to spend next time, so I guess it all evens out. The idea is to use those ECBs to buy more things that earn you ECBs and therefore you end up spending very little out of pocket, once you get into it.

We'll see how I do next week. Hopefully the ads will be good, and I'll get some more good coupons to help lower my costs.