I had no idea about the deals that could be had at CVS. Be sure to visit Crystal’s blog post about how to get the most for your money. Read this and come back here, please.
I got my CVS card in the store and then added my e-mail address online. That gave me a $4 off a $20 purchase.
I went through the weekly flier and saw I could get $10 extra care bucks (ECB) when I spent $20 on certain cold remedies. Jackpot. I want to stock up on cold medicine before we get sick…not during.
I had coupons for all of the products, and what’s better, there’s a rebate offer going on right now for $5 back on certain cold remedies.
Here’s what I bought:
- Tylenol Sinus $6
- Tylenol Cold $5
- Children’s Motrin $5.50
- Children’s Tylenol $5.50
I had $1 off coupons for each, making my total $18. I got those coupons in the Sunday newspaper, but you can print your own cold remedy coupons here. I needed to spend $2 more so I could use the $4 off $20 coupon.
Darn. I guess I’ll just have to buy some candy! So, I got:
- Bag funsize Milkyway $2
- Bag funsize 3 Musketeers $2
I had a $1 off two bag coupon, so that was $3 out of pocket. This candy was a strategic purchase, because when you buy 2 bags, you get $2 ECB.
Total price before coupons/ECB: $26
- $4 off $20 ECB = $22
-$5 in coupons = $17 paid out of pocket
-$5 mail-in rebate = $12
-$10 ECB and $2 ECB generated at this sale = Final price $0.
Yeah! So, if you look at it one way, I got all this loot for free. Or, if you look at it another, I got it all for $12 out of pocket, and I have $12 toward my next CVS purchase. Of course, I plan to use coupons and generate more ECB next time, so the savings continue.
For even more tips on the CVS system, visit this site.
Thanks for stopping by my blog! You’re blog is very well-written and informative :) I’m looking forward to coming back and seeing what other great deals you get! I haven’t been to CVS yet, butseeing everyone get these great deals is making me want to clip coupons and go!
trader joes has organic bananas 29 cents/lb, regular bananas 19 cents/lb!! i immediately thought of you. AND i didn’t buy yogurt there b/c i remember you saying you bought some for .33 each. WHOOOO!
Hey Tammy-Thanks for commenting. Be sure to let me know if you go to CVS! I just picked up the monthly sale booklet, and I found some offers I can actually make money off of. I’ll be sure to post about it once I buy the stuff.
Jameil-Thanks so much for letting me know about Trader Joes! I haven’t been there yet, but I hope to go this week. I’m going to have to stock up on .19/lb. bananas and make some banana bread.
Kacie..Why would you buy children’s medicine? I know you, and last I heard, no babies for you yet! :) -It’s your fav cousin in WI.
Hey fave cousin in Wis. Thanks for commenting! I was wondering who would call me out on that. There’s no babies for me, but I figure I can give them away. Although, they don’t expire until forever, so maybe I’ll have a sick kid by then :)
Woohoo! I wish I still had a CVS nearby. I loved Extra Care Bucks. I don’t think Long’s Drugs does anything like that.
And smart move on the cold medicine. It sucks having to make the trip to the store when you just want to stay in bed.
Coming from Crystal’s blog, I just wanted to let you know when you use a $4 off $20 coupon you don’t have to spend more than $20 to use it. When you give your coupons, make sure you give the $4 off of $20 first and not any other coupons, and you should not have any problem.
Read my post again, not to confuse, but just use the $4 off $20 first, and THEN use other coupons. I almost always never spend more than $20 each transaction and have never had a problem.
Thanks, Lyn! I wasn’t entirely sure how that worked. You just saved me some money. I appreciate it!
You’re welcome (I learned all of this from Crystal though, not my own accord). :)
For example, say you purchased the $20 of cold/flu/allergy products.
4 @ $5 each - $1 coupons; one for each item.
I used $4/off $20 and then some previous ECB’s.
I gave in order:
$4/off $20
$4 in manuf. coupons for these
ECB’s for the remainder
My total was less than $1.
Hi, I’m new to your blog, and I wanted to leave a comment. I’m just starting to learn how to use coupons and ECB’s to save money. I’ve only tried it once so far, and though i didn’t save huge amounts of money, it saved enough for me to keep trying to get better at it! I’ll make sure to stop by here regularly to check on your deals and advice!
Happy shopping!
RW
Hi Rebekah! I’m new to CVS deals, too. Keep at it! Thanks so much for stopping by.