Saving At CVS
Here's how I got started: First, I got my Extra Care card. You can go to your local CVS store to sign up or do it on line. It's quick and easy! Be sure to put your e-mail address on the application and opt-in to recieve e-mails for even more updates and surprise savings.
Got your card? Ok, let's get started! First, you need to know the lingo. What areExtra Bucks (ECB's)? ECB's are rewards that you get--instantly--for purchasing certain products. You can find these qualifying products each week in the CVS weekly ad found in your Sunday paper or at the CVS website. When you purchase items that reward ECB's, you must present your CVS card when you first arrive at the cash register. (Make this a habit--sometimes you get surprised with discounts even if you aren't expecting them!)
After purchasing items that reward ECB's, the corresponding ECB's will print out at the bottom of your receipt. These will correspond uniquely to your Extra Care card. On later purchases, you can use these ECB's like cash. (In fact, make an effort to keep them in a safe place--treat them as cash! They do expire, so use them or lose them!)
*Be sure you understand that you cannot use your ECB's for certain restricted purchases. Go here and scroll down to find what is excluded.
Now you can start rolling over those ECB's! What do I mean? Basically, once you have started to get ECB's, you will want to try to buy products using your ECB's and get that many--or the same amount of--ECB's back. Your goal each time you shop is to use as little out of pocket (OOP) money as possible. For the first few weeks of shopping this way, you might pay a little bit OOP to start building up your ECB's--but it is worth it! Once you're on your way, you'll find that you pay very little to nothing for needed products!
Here's an example of what "rolling" your ECB's could look like.
The weekly ad shows a sale on Allegra D allergy medicine for $6.99 with a return of $6.99 ECB's. You buy the product and receive your ECB's. To roll those ECB's, you would look for a deal where you could use your ECB's and then get some back. For example, let's say the next week there's a deal for Clairol Hair Coloring for the same: $6.99 with $6.99 ECB's. You use your ECB's from the previous week, paying $0.00 OOP and receiving $6.99 in ECB's. Now, you won't always necessarily find such clean deals, but you'll get the hang of looking for ways to roll those ECB's!
It really gets fun and exciting when you have coupons to maximize your savings!
You can really maximize your ECB savings and pay nothing OOP with coupons--and sometimes even "earn" some money. CVS will accept one manufacturers coupon and one CVS coupon per product. If you spend some time making a plan before you go to the store, you'll have it all ready!
Here's an example from my shopping experience:
On sale: Allegra, 5ct. box $6.99, with a return of $6.99 ECB's
Manufacturers coupon: $2.00
Total cost: $4.99
Paid with ECB's ($5.00--so I lost a penny--but 0 OOP.)
ECB's Returned: $6.99
Final cost: $0.00 with a return of $6.99
Now, I can use those $6.99 towards another purchase and keep rolling and building my ECB's. (I usually try to make an effort not to lose even a penny--but here and there it works out best for my situation to let it go!)
Click here to learn more about coupons at CVS.
I hope that this has been of some help to get you started! Happy savings! Really, it all depends on your own desire and economic situation. Sometimes I don't mind paying a little OOP to get some ECB's for a later savings, but sometimes I plan it all out very well so I pay NOTHING...and still get some ECB's back. Have fun and may your savings make your day a bit sunnier!
Got your card? Ok, let's get started! First, you need to know the lingo. What areExtra Bucks (ECB's)? ECB's are rewards that you get--instantly--for purchasing certain products. You can find these qualifying products each week in the CVS weekly ad found in your Sunday paper or at the CVS website. When you purchase items that reward ECB's, you must present your CVS card when you first arrive at the cash register. (Make this a habit--sometimes you get surprised with discounts even if you aren't expecting them!)
After purchasing items that reward ECB's, the corresponding ECB's will print out at the bottom of your receipt. These will correspond uniquely to your Extra Care card. On later purchases, you can use these ECB's like cash. (In fact, make an effort to keep them in a safe place--treat them as cash! They do expire, so use them or lose them!)
*Be sure you understand that you cannot use your ECB's for certain restricted purchases. Go here and scroll down to find what is excluded.
Now you can start rolling over those ECB's! What do I mean? Basically, once you have started to get ECB's, you will want to try to buy products using your ECB's and get that many--or the same amount of--ECB's back. Your goal each time you shop is to use as little out of pocket (OOP) money as possible. For the first few weeks of shopping this way, you might pay a little bit OOP to start building up your ECB's--but it is worth it! Once you're on your way, you'll find that you pay very little to nothing for needed products!
Here's an example of what "rolling" your ECB's could look like.
The weekly ad shows a sale on Allegra D allergy medicine for $6.99 with a return of $6.99 ECB's. You buy the product and receive your ECB's. To roll those ECB's, you would look for a deal where you could use your ECB's and then get some back. For example, let's say the next week there's a deal for Clairol Hair Coloring for the same: $6.99 with $6.99 ECB's. You use your ECB's from the previous week, paying $0.00 OOP and receiving $6.99 in ECB's. Now, you won't always necessarily find such clean deals, but you'll get the hang of looking for ways to roll those ECB's!
It really gets fun and exciting when you have coupons to maximize your savings!
You can really maximize your ECB savings and pay nothing OOP with coupons--and sometimes even "earn" some money. CVS will accept one manufacturers coupon and one CVS coupon per product. If you spend some time making a plan before you go to the store, you'll have it all ready!
Here's an example from my shopping experience:
On sale: Allegra, 5ct. box $6.99, with a return of $6.99 ECB's
Manufacturers coupon: $2.00
Total cost: $4.99
Paid with ECB's ($5.00--so I lost a penny--but 0 OOP.)
ECB's Returned: $6.99
Final cost: $0.00 with a return of $6.99
Now, I can use those $6.99 towards another purchase and keep rolling and building my ECB's. (I usually try to make an effort not to lose even a penny--but here and there it works out best for my situation to let it go!)
Click here to learn more about coupons at CVS.
I hope that this has been of some help to get you started! Happy savings! Really, it all depends on your own desire and economic situation. Sometimes I don't mind paying a little OOP to get some ECB's for a later savings, but sometimes I plan it all out very well so I pay NOTHING...and still get some ECB's back. Have fun and may your savings make your day a bit sunnier!