CVS 101 - Let me introduce you to your new BFF!

Allow me introduce you to your new Best Friend – CVS. Yes, the drug store chain. I have to admit, in the past, I recycled these Sunday ads without so much as a second glance – I felt CVS was overpriced and not worth my time. You heard it here first, I WAS WRONG!!! (you won’t hear that very often!).

I now plan a CVS trip every week and I continue to be amazed at the items I get FOR FREE each week (the same goes for Walgreens – more on that in a different post). If you follow the simple steps below, you will get most of your HBA items for free (or only pennies on the dollar). Imagine the benefit to your family budget if you got all of your shampoo, toothpaste, deodorant, etc. for FREE (or really, really cheap) each month. It’s not a gimmick or trick. It’s not a MLM scheme…this is for real and it’s easy, once you learn the basic steps.

• CVS card – just like many other store chains out there, CVS has it’s own customer card. It’s free. Just ask for one when you walk in the door or get one sent to you via their website. Once you have it, be sure to have them scan it EVERY TIME you shop there….they track your usage (just like all stores with cards) and will reward you with extra coupons….also, some sales are only available to card holders, so just get in the habit of handing it over each time you check out.
• Register this card – Once you get the card, BE SURE to register it on their website. They often email high value coupons to their card holders (I just received an email with a printable $4 off of a $20 purchase). This step only takes a few moments and you won’t get any spam from them.
  ECBs – Extra Care Bucks – these print out at the bottom of your receipt. Cut them off and treat them like CASH with an expiration date. This is a store credit you can use toward your next purchase. Here’s an easy way to remember…ECB = Expiring Cash Back.
• How do you get these ECBs? ECBs are earned by purchasing specific products each week or each month (CVS has weekly AND monthly deals – more on this later). Look through their next weekly ad from your Sunday paper and you’ll see certain items have deals like this: “Buy $15 worth of these products and get $10 in ECBs”. Here’s where the offer gets even better…you can combine items with ECB offers with manufacturer coupons. For example:
  · Buy $15 worth of L’Oreal products and get $5 in ECBs
  · Use two $2 off of L’Oreal coupons from your Sunday paper
  · So, you spent $11 out of pocket, got $15 worth of L’Oreal products and have $5 to spend at CVS on just about anything you’d like to buy.
• PLEASE NOTE – Careful not to waste ECBs! You cannot use a $10 ecb on an $9 purchase and keep the extra $1 for next time. Your purchase must be equal to or greater than (before tax) the ECB amount. You will not get cash back and your ECBs will not be carried over. ECBs can be used on anything in the store except the usual exclusions (Prescriptions, tobacco, stamps, gift cards, etc.). Just remember – use them or use them.
• Ultimate Goal – To “Roll” your ECBs. In other words, use your ECBs to buy products that give more ECBs. That way, you’ll always be getting some super cheap items and have more ECBs to spend on next week’s deals. Follow this blog each week and you’ll see what I mean….trust me, you’ll get the hand of this really quickly and it’s SO worth it!
• Coupon Order - When shopping at CVS it is best to give your coupons in this order: $ off of $$ (eg. $4 off $20) => manufacturer coupons => CVS coupons (from weekly ad) => ECBs. This way there is no confusion over whether your total meets the $ off $$ requirements and you also can make sure your total is high enough to use your ECBs effectively.
• Weekly & Monthly Deals – CVS has a Sunday ad, but it also offers Montly deals. Each month CVS puts out an Extra Value Book with ECB deals that are good all month long, this book is available at the front of the store, near/at the stand with the weekly ad. Some of these deals are featured in the weekly ads. Make sure to pay attention to the limits. If it is limit one in the monthly ad and is featured in the weekly ad at limit one that means it is limit one for the whole month. In other words, you can’t double dip and get the same deal twice.
• One last note - I don't advocate buying things that you know you will never use, but I DO suggest letting go of any brand loyalty that you might have and trying some new brands if these items are free or very cheap. One of the key things with these sales is building your "stockpile". No, you won't use 5 tubes of toothpaste in the next few weeks, but you will need them over the next year and if they are free or close to it...get it while you can and start your stockpile....then when you DO need it and there aren't any good deals that week, you won't have to pay full price. Perish the thought.