cvs actual trip :)

so i went to cvs tonight and ok i spent more than $1.50 but here is how it played out:

DEAL: dove spend $20 get $10 ebc.
$21 (for 3)
-
$4 manufacture coupons
--------
$17 OOP (out of pocket)
-
$10 ecbs
--------
$7 for 3 after ecbs


DEAL: revlon nail $3 ecbs
$3.99 1 bottle
-
$1 manufacturer coupons
--------
$2.99 OOP
-
$3 ecb
---------
FREE after ecbs


DEAL: St. Ives Facial Products spend $10 get $5 ebc
$12 for 3
-
$2 manufacture coupons
----------
$10 OOP
-
$5 ecb
----------
$5 for 3 after ecbs


DEAL: colgate tooth paste $2 ebcs
$2.99 for 1
-
$1 manufacture coupons
------------
$1.99 OOP
-
$2 ecb
------------
FREE after ecbs


DEAL: loreal hair color on sale $7.99
$15.98 for 2
-
$5.00 manufacture coupons
------------
$10.98 for 2 OOP


DEAL: tooth brush on sale
$2.99 OOP

according to my receipt
spent $29.05 OOP
"saved" $42.83 {yes they mark stuff up but thats why you coupon and do ecbs!}
got $20 in ecbs

~ dont forget i had $13.50 in ecbs from an earlier trip as well as $5 off a $25 purchase.

heres the explanation for it if it helps:

dove is on sale with ecbs back. by $20 worth and get $10 ecb. i had coupons for dove so i got 2 HUGE bottles of body wash and 1 ~ 6 pack of bar soap. i paid $21 for all of these. had coupons for $4 off so thats $17 out of pocket. and i got $10 ecb. so thats $7 dollars after ecbs for all of that!

1 bottle of fun nail polish. it was $3.99 with $3 ecb back and i had a coupon for $1. so i only paid $2.99 for it and i got $3 back. so thats FREE after ecbs.

my hair color is on sale right now for only $7.99 and i had coupons one for $3 off and one for $2 off. so i got 2. i paid $10.98 for two! {if you consider i could get my hair done in a salon thats really a savings of $300+ :) }

toothpaste is one sale for $2.99 with $2 ecbs back. i had a coupon for $1. i got it for free after ecbs.

tooth brushes are on sale and i really needed one :) $2.99 (no deals on this except it was on sale)

st ives facial scrub has a deal right now if you spend $10 you get $5 ecb. i had 2 coupons worth $2 so i got 3 of them for $5 after you add the ecbs.

cvs

another reason it "pays" to be an extra care bucker :) just for using my card and getting my meds there i get $6.50 free money. AND i get a $5.00 off any $25.00. i know i know. that means you have to spend $25.00. well yes but not really.......the way it works at cvs is you ring up all the purchases FIRST! then you give them the $5.00 off. then you give them all the manufacturer coupons you have, which you should have for every item you are buying (or dont buy it), THEN you give them the extra care bucks you have from previous trips. right now i have about $7.00.

so with the above i could get "$25.00" worth of stuff for probably nothing. {again this is just a pretend trip but its pretty realistic}

$25.00
-
$5.00 (above coupon)
-----------
$20.00
-
$5.00 (manufacturer coupons)
----------
$15.00
-
$7.00 (ecbs from earlier trip)
----------
$8.00
-
$6.50 (ecbs for the quarter shown in the pic above)
----------
$1.50 total out of pocket

i will probably get more ecbs bc i always do :) so really they paid me this trip :)

how CVS works :)

some of you have asked me to write about how i save money at CVS each week so here you go. if what i write here does not make sense (it probably wont) go to moneysavingmom ~ CVS to read more.

so first you need to get a CVS card. when you get this you will now be able to take advantage of the deals they have that are specific to CVS. they also have what are called extra care bucks (ECBs) that you canonly earn with your card and purchasing items with these offers. you may be asking well doenst CVS mark up stuff and does "saving money" actually make you buy things you dont need? good questions, yes they do often mark up stuff and yes you could buy things you dont need. that is up to you. as far as the marking up thing, you just need to be smart and shop around and watch your coupons. CVSing is all about deals that CVS is already having, accumulating ECBs and using your manufacturers coupons.

so where do you get coupons? the sunday paper, online, ask your friends and family for theirs if they arent using them. you can go here to learn more about tricks to stashing lots of coupons.

this is what i do each week to prepare for shopping: i read the CVS circular (you can view an online version here), I read moneysavingmom, i read livingasmom.com, and iheartcvs.com. then i read through the coupons in the sunday paper. you can view the coupons that you can expect each week in the sunday paper, ahead of time here!!

i found that in the past if i read the paper first, i may not cut all the coupons that i need for what specials are going on. ~ well do you really need those things then erin, if you didnt clip the coupon? good question...maybe yes, maybe no. but you can always donate things you dont need to shelters etc. i get toothpaste and shampoo for almost free all the time so what not get it and donate it!

so the first thing you should do is get a CVS card, then go online and sign up with your email address and you will get an automatic $4 off $20.00 purchase.

then check out the above. pay close attention to what deals CVS is running that include ECBs back. lots of times on sunday and monday they will have a special 2 day deal that include things for you to purchase that will give you the EXACT amount back in ECBs, so you pretty much get your money back to buy something else.

one trick to note to shopping at CVS. give the cashier your card, then your purchases, then your coupons and THEN your ECBs. dont give your ECBs first other wise you will use more ECBs to pay for things that you will save on if you use the coupons first. also dont use a $5.00 ECB on a purchase that is less than that bc you will loose that money they dont give ECBs back if you spend one that is more than the amount owed!

let me give you an example of my most recent trip to see if this helps:

pantene shampoo and conditioner: 2 for $7.00 with $2.00 ECBs back
pantence curls mousse: $3.50
listerine agent mouth wash (pre brush) for kids: $2.95
listerine agent mouth wash (post brush) for kids: clearance price $1.47
sally hansen hard as nails polish and nail strengthener: $2.99 & $1.49. *SH was BOGO 50% off.
yellow highlighter: .01 cents

i had a coupon for:

$1.00 off 2 pantene products, this made the shampoo and conditioner only $6.00
$1.00 off any pantene styling product this made the mousse only $2.50
2~ $1.00 off any sally hansen products
$1.00 off the listerine smart rinse pre brush, this made it only $1.95
BOGO coupon for any listerinse smart rinse so i got the clerance item for FREE!
2 ~ $5.00 CVS ECBs from a previous trip

all total i would have spent (this is total retail price) $34.78
instead i only spent $4.49 for all of this:


















now GO and save some money!!