A couple of days ago I gave Money Saving Mom a “Your Blog is Out of the World Award”. Here’s why: thanks to her blog, I’ve learned how to get CVS to PAY me to shop there! Not in actual dollars, but in CVS “Extra Care Bucks”, which you can use like cash at CVS stores. I am going to give you the short version of how I do this, click here to go to Money Saving Mom for the long version.
First, you have to apply for one of CVS’ free Extra Care cards. Just go in the store and getcha one. This card allows you to get the sale prices at CVS and also to get “Extra Care Bucks” (ECBs) back on the purchases of certain items they have on weekly and monthly specials. There are usually at least one or two monthly items that are “free” after ECBs. For instance, this month there is a new mouthwash by Sensodyne called “Oasis” that is on sale for $5.99, and you get $5.99 ECBs back when you purchase it. So it’s like getting the item for free, but if you happen to have a manufacturer’s coupon for the item, you can actually “make money” on the deal. I had a manufacturer’s coupon for $1.50 off the Oasis mouthwash, so when I bought it I “made” that dollar fifty. CVS also often has store coupons for say, $2 off a $10 purchase or $4 off a $20 purchase that you can stack with manufacturer’s coupons to “sweeten the deal”. Here’s an example of a transaction I did Sunday at CVS.
I bought one of those Oasis mouthwashes, a Gillette Fusion Razor, and a Febreze candle. The total before tax & coupons was $22.97. I used a CVS $4 off of $20 coupon, a $4 Gillette manufacturer’s coupon, a $1 Febreze manufacturer’s coupon, and that $1.50 Oasis coupon. That brought the total down to $12.47. I used $11.99 worth of ECBs I had from a previous purchase, and paid $2.04 out of pocket, including tax. Great deal, huh? Especially since I got $16.99 back in ECBs as well! ($6 for the razor, $5.99 for the mouthwash, and $5 for the Febreze candle. Although I should mention you had to purchase $10 worth of Febreze to get this benefit – I had purchased the other Febreze products on a previous transaction).
So, now I am an official, full-on, CVS nerd! I live for the weekly and monthly CVS ads so I can get out my calculator and my coupons and start figuring out my deals! I’m like an addict, always ready for my next high. I’ve even got my husband into it. He got his own Extra Care card so we can do some deals more than once if they have a limit. Here is a picture of ALL the stuff I got at CVS on Sunday. I did it in three transactions, using both my and Bobby’s Extra Care card.
I spent about $60 in Extra Care Bucks and got about $34 BACK in ECBs. The total dollar amount in real money I spent out of my pocket was…drumroll please…$6.94!!! WOOHOO!!
That’s right my peeps, I got five 100 oz. Tides, two jumbo packs of Pampers, two swiffer wet refills, two swiffer dry refills, some Kashi crackers, Febreze fabric refresher, air freshener, and candle, the Fusion razor, a four-pack of Charmin, and four Oasis mouthwashes for $6.94. HOLLA!
So now, get started with your CVS deals! Head over to Money Saving Mom to read her CVS 101, and check with her every week for the CVS deals and coupons! Other places that are helpful with coupons are the CVS forums on SlickDeals and Deal of Day.
And, because I love you dear readers, here is the $2/$10 some coupon link to get you started!
CVS $2/$10
Happy Shopping! I look forward to hearing your bargain tales!
Wait, I’m confused. How much did you pay for the Snickers bar?
Tony read my mind – I was just going to comment on the fact that you forgot to mention the Snickers bar…
Oh yeah, sorry, that was filler…my first transaction was too little money so the cashier was like, “uh, you need to throw in a candy bar!” (Because I had sooo many ECBs) – the transaction ended up being 77cents. And the Snickers bar was sooooooooo yummmy after a hard day of shopping!! 🙂
hi, I would like to add i am also a cvs junkie. lol last year they had on the toys buy one get one free. I had gotten like 6 or more of my gifts free. Cool .
We don’t have a CVS. *sniff, sniff* Great frugal shopping!
I became a CVS junkie recently also! I just found your blog and read your girls 100 lists and was cracking up. lol! I am also a 20 something mom in Ohio, where do you both live?
Yeah, that’s all well and good, but if they catch you counting cards, the CVS pit boss will boot you out on your ass and you’ll never set foot in another CVS again. I go CVSing for fun. I go in with $20 and I know that I’m gonna lose it. Once it’s spent, I leave. Winning yourself “just one more ECB†is a slippery slope. I’m concerned about you Jenny.
😉 p.s. Again, I LOVE the picture. I can tell you are so very proud of your spread of household products and took great care in arranging them for ease of viewing. You crack me up with these!!!
WHo’s the nerd now???
BTW- you can find my daughter picture on CVS brand diapers size 4. Well she is now 4, but at the time she was 7 months.
That’s so neat Jill.
Okay, this rocks! I just discovered our CVS and love it! I am going to come back when I’m home and print those nifty little coupons and go start shopping to save! LOL!!
Absolutely brilliant my dear!
Saving money is always good! CVS took over a lot of the Eckerd stores in Ft Worth when JC Penney sold their interest in that chain. They seem to have good deals, especially with that card! 🙂
Holy friggin crap! You are my herO!!! Holla is damn right! That is great stuff. Thanks for the tip.
Wow! You go girl! I was a CVS junkie for awhile. Right now I hardly have time to SPELL “CVS” much less put together the coupons with the deals and track it all. But that’s ok, because I did what you are doing and I’m STILL living off all of my cheap (or free) stuff.
You did great! One question: the $2/$10 coupon that I can print on my computer with your link…can I print several and use them with different transactions with the same CVS card?
Thanks,
KarenM in NC
Impressive!
Great work! Through Crystal’s blog, I discovered the amazing things you can get at CVS as well. It really is amazing that I just started in October, and I pretty much have all the supplies I need for like a year. Now, I’m doing my CVSing to keep up my stash and also give to others.