Start Saving Part 5: Shopping at CVS

In this Start Saving series, I’m trying to share some of my experiences and advice with people who are new to the couponing world. If you missed the first four parts of this series, you can catch up HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE.

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CVS was such a mystery to me for so long. I’ve had my CVS Extra Care Card for years, and I used to get the Extra Care Bucks for picking up prescriptions. But I’d just spend them the next time I was in to pick up a prescription. I’d pick up something I needed anyhow and pay part or all of it with the Extra Care Bucks. Then they were gone until the next round of printing.

Now I view these little slips as so much more than something I should rush to spend. They are my ticket to getting health & beauty items and household items free or almost free. But how?

Let’s walk step-by-step through the goldmine of CVS together.

Step 1: Get a CVS Extra Care Card.
You can get an Extra Care card by applying on the CVS website (HERE) or at your local CVS store. I recommend getting your card at your local store, because you can use it immediately. This Extra Care card is your ticket to getting rewards for certain items you buy. Without the card, you don’t get the rewards.

CVS rewards come in the form of Extra Care Bucks (ECBs). These coupons print at the bottom of your store receipt, and they can be spent like cash at CVS. ECBs are earned when you purchase specific items. We’ll talk more about how to earn these later.

Step 2: Register your Extra Care Card online.
You can register your card at the CVS website (HERE) to get extra coupons and deals via email. I’ve found that they email coupons every other week. I also haven’t gotten spammed from signing up for this program online.

Step 3: Check the weekly sale ad.
Each week you will see items that are advertised as ECB-generators. For example, this week’s CVS ad shows that you can buy Garnier Fructis shampoo for $2.99. When you buy this shampoo, you will receive $2.00 in ECBs at the bottom of your receipt. You can spend that $2.00 on anything in the store (except gift cards, prescriptions, and a few other restricted items).

Step 4: Pair coupons with ECB-generators.
If you’re a coupon-clipper, you have a better chance of getting items free or almost-free at CVS. If I buy the Garnier shampoo for $2.99 this week, I’ll use the $1.00 off coupon that I have for this item. I will pay $1.99 for the shampoo, and I’ll get $2.00 ECBs back.

Step 5: Roll your ECBs.
To sweeten your ECB-generating deals, you’ll want to “roll” your ECBs. That means that you pay for items with last week’s ECBs. In the Garnier example, I would get the $2.99 shampoo, use my $1 coupon, and end up with a total of $1.99 when I check out. Rather than paying for this out-of-pocket, I would pay with $2-worth of ECBs from last week. That means that I wouldn’t pay anything (or maybe just tax) out-of-pocket for the shampoo, and I’d get my $2 ECBs back. I get my shampoo without much cost.

Step 6: Pair ECB deals with CVS store coupons.
As you check out at CVS or sign up for their email alerts, you’ll start receiving CVS store coupons. Sometimes these are similar to manufacturers’ coupons, and they are good for a certain amount off of a specific product. The beauty of these coupons is that you can pair them with manufacturers’ coupons.

If I had a Garnier $1 off CVS store coupon, I could use it along with my $1 off manufacturer’s coupon. That means that I would get the $2.99 shampoo, use my $1 CVS store coupon, use my $1 manufacturer’s coupon, and end up with a total of 99 cents when I check out. I would still get the $2 ECBs back. Technically I would have “earned” $1.01 on this transaction! (I don’t get actual cash, but I can spend the ECBs like cash at CVS!)

CVS also offers dollar off your order coupons from time-to-time. Some of the ones you’ll most likely see are $3 off any $15 purchase or $5 off any $30 purchase. These will print at the bottom of your receipt, and they will come via email. These are like GOLD! Use them wisely!

Let’s use a $4 off any $20 purchase coupon as our example. To use this wisely, you’ll need to find $20-worth of merchandise that you need. (Remember, you may not need it right now… You may need the items in the future.) This $20 total is BEFORE coupons! For example, this week you might buy the following items:
1 Garnier Fructis shampoo for $2.99
2 All laundry detergents for $7.49 (They’re buy-one-get-one-free this week.)
2 Crest Cavity toothpaste for $1.99 each ($3.98)
2 Lady Speedstick deodorants for $6.00

Your subtotal would be $20.46.

You would immediately hand the cashier your $4 off any $20 purchase coupon, bringing your total down to $16.46.

Now it’s time to hand over your manufacturers’ coupons. Here’s what you may have from recent newspaper inserts:
– $1.00 Garnier shampoo coupon
– $1.00 All coupons x 2 (Use 2 when you have a buy-1-get-1 deal.)
– $0.75 Crest toothpaste coupons x 2
– $.075 Speedstick coupons x 2
You have used a total of $6.00 in manufacturers’ coupons, bringing your total down to $10.46.

When you pay, you will find several ECBs at the bottom of your receipt. They are:
$2.00 from Garnier shampoo
$2.00 from the 2 Crest toothpastes
$3.00 from the Speedstick deodorants

You would pay $10.46 out-of-pocket and get back $7.00 in ECBs to spend on your next trip.

These deals are much harder to put together if you’re a novice CVSer, especially if the store is out of an item that was on your planned list. So, start small and build up to these bigger deals. As you gain confidence, you will be amazed at the scenarios that you build.

Once you have ECBs to “roll,” you will be able to continue to buy other ECB-generating items for free!

Miscellaneous CVS Information