CVS

CVSing (yes, it's a verb) is an art form. I'm not going to attempt to explain it all today because I don't have the brain cells (they were sucked out this morning by my cranky two-year-old) and it's going to take me a little time to organize my thoughts to figure out the best way to communicate it.

That being said, here's what I got on my CVS run today.

Total Cost Out of Pocket:  $3.76

Now, like I said, CVS is an art form and it takes a while to figure it out and develop your strategies. Let me give you the run down on what I did today and then I promise, within the next week, I'll give you the scoop so you can start trying this yourself.

Herbal Essence x 4 $2.88each--

then I used 2 "$3 off 2" coupons for a total of $6 off. 

That takes the total to $5.52 for all four.

THEN (and this is where it can get confusing) I received $4 in Extra Care Bucks back.

***Extra Care Bucks (ECBs) are CVS' way of getting you to come back to the store. They choose special items, put them on sale and then when you buy them, they print out a receipt that gives you a particular dollar amount to spend the next time you come in the store. Today the deal was $1ECB for each Herbal Essence you buy. The entire trick of CVSing is combining sale items with coupons and paying for them purely in ECBs. But more on that later. ***

So for the shampoo deal, if you subtract the ECBs from the price, I actually got four bottles of shampoo/conditioner for $1.52. Not bad, eh?

Okay, hopefully you're still with me...moving on...

Crest Pro-Health Toothpaste 1@  $2.99

--then I used 1 "$.75 off" coupon

That brought the toothpaste to $2.24

And then I got $2ECB back making the toothpaste actually $.24

Still there?

Vaseline Total Moisturizing Lotion 1@  $3.69

--then I used a "$1.50 off" coupon

That brought the lotion to $2.19

And then I got 2 ECB back making the lotion actually $.19

Now, in addition, I found some coloring books for a dollar as well as a sticker book and I had a few ECBs that I needed to use because they were going to expire, so I used them on the goodies for the kids. Those goodies brought my total up $4.00.

I used $10.98 worth of ECBs from a previous trip to pay and then the total leftover was the $3.76 I paid out of pocket (henceforth abbreviated OOP).

Now, if you're new to CVSing, that probably will make little sense at best. Hang with me and I'll get you going. If you can build up your ECBs then you can stockpile them for diapers. I have a friend who hasn't paid OOP for diapers in a year. You do end up "buying" things you don't need, but there are always shelters that are happy to accept donated toiletries. I pass a lot of things on to my family and friends as well.

Also, each drugstore has it's own "customer retention" program. Rite Aid has one, Walgreen's has one. I'll fill you in on Rite Aid's this week--I'm familiar with their program. Walgreen's I'm just learning about so I'll keep you posted!

Hang with me for more drugstore info!