*NOTE: Click on the video above to start watching. Or if you don’t see the video, click here to watch it on youtube.
*If you liked the video, click here to Subscribe to future videos.
Hello! I just uploaded a quick shopping trip I did at CVS this week. Click on the above video to watch it. The total for this trip was $1.06 (before tax. After rebate, coupons, rewards). Scroll down to see show notes from the video. If you are new to Couponing in general, check out my Video Couponing Class Here.
Click here to see the Weekly Deals for CVS This Week (2/22). And Click Here to see all recent and additional CVS deals (scroll down) to see. For show notes (deals from this video and their coupons, keep scrolling down to see):
- Got a Coupon Question? Click Here to Ask Me. 🙂
- Subscribe on YouTube For Future Videos
Show Notes:
I love CVS. I love how flexible it can be and how easy it is to roll rewards. No need to wait. No limits on how many ECBs you can use in a transaction. There are two strategies to couponing at CVS: You can roll with a lot of ECBs (ExtraBucks) from week to week, or you can do what I do, which is to minimize ECBs.
My strategy is to hold on to as little ECB as possible from week over week. I do that because they have expiration dates, and I don’t like having the mental pressuring of “Needing” to go to a store. My goal at the end of the week is either to have no ECBs left over, or just a few ECBs. If given the choice, I prefer lower denominations in ECB values than higher denominations. It’s easier to spend $1 ECB than it is to spend $10.
The other thing is I don’t plan out transactions before going to the store. I go in with a rough idea of what I may be interested in buying. I’ll clip and bring those coupons with me. I do this because a lot can happen once you’re in the store – they could be out of stock, have different price (which will throw your math off).
I plan actual transactions when I’m in the store. There are different ways to breakup transactions, depending on how much ECB you are starting with. I can go into more detail of my in-store strategies in a future post. But here’s a quick summary:
- Make my list at home. Gather the coupons. First thing in store: see what coupons print from the CVS Redbox coupon machine.
- In store: load up my cart of each item, after I review each item’s price and availability.
- List out every item I’m buying. List out next to each item, the cost after coupons. And on the last column, how much ECB it gives back (if any)
- I look at the two columns, and group items such that I would maximize the amount I can roll. The goal is to pay as little as possible out of pocket.
For this week, I split my purchases into 3 transactions. Here’s what I did:
Transaction 1:
►Buy (1) PayAnywhere Credit Card Reader = $9.99
Pay: $9.99
Get Back: $9.99 ExtraBucks (limit 5)
Final Price: Free
Note: I wouldn’t have gotten this if it was just $10 with $10 ecb. Because you would still have to pay tax on the item. Notice there is a $10 rebate on the box after you activate the card reader and process one transaction.
Transaction Summary:
- I paid $9.99 + $0.80 tax
- I got back $9.99 ecb
- I will also get back $10 Rebate (inside box)
Transaction 2:
► Buy (2) Irish Spring Gear Body Wash (15 -18 oz) @ 2 for $7.00
Use (2) $2/1 Irish Spring Gear or Signature Body Wash = -$4.00
(Or use $2/1 Irish Spring Signature Body Wash (SS 2/22, x3/14))
Pay: $3.00
Get Back: $2 ExtraBucks (limit 1) for buying (2)
Final Price: $0.50 each or $1.00 for both
► Buy (1) Campbell’s Tomato Soup (10.75 oz) = $0.79
(or Chicken Noodle)
Pay: $0.79
Get Back: $0.50 ExtraBucks (limit 1)
Final Price: $0.29
► Buy (1) CVS Nutritional Shake (8 oz) = $1.25
Pay: $1.25
Get Back: $1.25 ExtraBucks (limit 1) for buying (1)
Final Price: Free
► Buy (1) Benadryl Itch Relief Stick (0.47 oz) ($3.49-$3.79)
(Regular price. Vary by store location)
Use (1) $1/1 Benadryl Topical Product = -$1.00
Pay: $2.49-$2.79
Get Back: $3 ExtraBucks (limit 1)
Final Price: Free + ($0.51 to $0.21) Moneymaker
► Buy (2) Xtra Laundry Detergent (30 loads) @ 2 for $3.00
Use (1) $1/2 Xtra Laundry Detergent = -$1.00
(or $1/2 Xtra SS 2/22, x4/4)
Final Price: $1.00 each ($0.04 per load) or $2.00 for both
Transaction Summary:
- Total after coupons was $10.83 + tax
- (I had forgotten the Benadryl $1 off coupon. So my total after coupon was suppose to be $9.83. If this was the case, I needed to add a cheap filler to bump my total to above $9.99)
- I used $9.99 ecb from Transaction 1 to pay.
- I paid $0.84 + $1.10 in tax
- I got back $6.75 in ecb from the 5 items combined.
Transaction 3:
► Buy (1) Huggies Pull-Ups = $7.99
Use $2/1 Huggies Pull-Ups = -$2.00
And use (1) $2.50/1 Pull-Ups CVS coupon = -$2.50
Final Price: $3.49
Transaction Summary:
- I bought two Huggies Pull-Ups. My total after coupons was $6.98. (plus tax)
- I had $6.75 in ecb from transaction 2. This made me very happy!
- My total after ecb and coupons was $0.23. YAY! Tax was $1.28.
Trip Summary:
All in all, here’s what we did in total:
- I had spent a total of $11.06 ($9.99 + $0.84 + $0.23) before tax. Out of pocket
- No extrabucks left
- I have $10 rebate.
- Thus making the final price after rebate to be $1.06 (before tax) !!
- Total Tax was: $3.18 ($0.80+$1.10+$1.28). Making the total after tax to be $4.24
I was a happy girl
- Got a Coupon Question? Click Here to Ask Me. 🙂
- Subscribe on YouTube For Future Videos
