Free Items at CVS

Okay, so I saw that someone voted in my poll mentioned last post.  One of the things they voted on was more posts about saving money.  To congratulate the first voter, I will continue (finally) on my series of how to save money.  Which is good, because I'm running a really long code for research I'm doing and need something to do while it runs (no lie, it takes about 10 minutes to run 1 step in SAS and I currently am running a series of 3).  So writing a new post it is! Or at least starting one since most posts take me around 2 hours to write.

So now I'm going to tell you a little secret: you can shop for FREE at CVS.  That's right, FREE.  After working there for 3 years now, I have mastered this system so when my personal stockpile runs low on things, I can get them on the cheap at CVS.  I think the easiest way is to do this in steps and explain below each one.

Just a note first:  ECB = extra care bucks.  These print on your receipt so always look at your receipt before throwing out.  Also to note: the ECBs have an expiration date so make sure you use them before they expire.

So now some basic rules if you are to play the CVS game.

1. Get a CVS extracare card.
• This is essential in order to get discounts and the ECBs which I will explain later.  It's easy to get one.  Most stores will just hand you one without making you fill out the form.  It's basically just a points card.  Also, put down your email address.  CVS will occasionally email you coupons (but I will get to that later).
2. Scan your card EVERY time you shop at CVS. 
• Ideally, you will do this twice when you're there: once at the card scanner which will print out random coupons AND when you get rung out which will give you any sale prices, coupons/ECBs, and credit towards quarterly ECBs
3. Buy the Sunday paper.
• This will help you save money because you can use 1 manufacturer AND 1 CVS coupon per item.
• Coupons have helped me actually earn money on items at CVS (i.e. CVS paid me to take items off their shelves)

So here is the way I play the game:

• First I look through the weekly ad for CVS to see what items are on sale and what items give you ECBs for
• Next, I look at the binder of coupons that I have in my possession to see if I have any that match any of the items listed above
• This is also why it's a very good idea to save previous week's coupons instead of throwing them away.  I have found that I really didn't need toothpaste one week but then was on sale and had ECBs in a couple weeks that with the coupon I paid under $1 for.
• The absolute best items to buy are the ones that give you the cost of the product back in ECBs.
• So for example, Colgate toothpaste has been on sale many times for $2.99 and you get $2.99 in ECBs for future purchases.  If you have a $1 off manufacturer's coupon, you still get the $2.99 ECBs so you're essentially being paid $1 to take a toothpaste off the shelf.
• Other good items to buy are the ones where you spend a certain amount on a particular product/brand and get a number of ECBs. 
• I'm not 100 percent sure on this but I think the amount is before you add any manufacturer coupons so even if you use them, you will still get the ECBs since you technically bought the amount of product.  If it doesn't work, then you can always do another transaction with the item because it's the total amount spent for the whole week, not just in a transaction.
• So now that I confused the hell out of some of you: lets say that if you buy $10 of product X you get $3 ECBs.  Okay, so Monday you go to CVS and spend $6 on product X and use a $1 coupon.  On your receipt it'll state how much more money towards product X.  It should say that you need to purchase $4 more of product X (if I'm correct about using coupons).  Then if you go to CVS later that week (let's say Friday) and you buy $4 more of product X, then you will get the $3 ECBs printed on your receipt.
• Occassionally, you will receive a coupon from CVS that's spend $15 get $3 off or spend $20 and get $4 off.  When using these coupons, make sure you hand them to the cashier first and then all your other coupons.
• At the end of each quarter, ECBs will print off based on the amount you bought for the quarter at 2%.  So if you bought $100 worth, you get $2 in ECBs.

So how does this all get you shopping free at CVS?  Well, it doesn't the first few times you shop.  You end up spending money for the first few trips while you build up your ECBs.  Eventually, you will spend less and less when you use the ECBs (and all your coupons!) on purchases. 

The best things to buy using this system are: toothpaste, shampoo, body wash, candy, and soap (well for me at least) since these are usually the items with the highest amount of ECBs attached to them.  I will add more tips as I think of them but, I'm getting sick of running my code so time to move on to other things.