CVS Coupon Saving

Saving Money at CVS

CVS is a coupon lovers paradise.  In my opinion, it is the easiest store for a beginner.  

The first and most important component of saving money at CVS is to get an Extra Care card.  You can get this card by either signing up on the CVS website or by signing up with the cashier inside the store.  Only one card is allowed per household.

Once you have the Extra Care card in your hand, you hold the key for savings at CVS.  You should make certain that you sign up with cvs.com and register your Extra Care card.  They periodically email special coupons to card holders.

The next thing to know about is the magic coupon machine.  This is a large red machine, normally found near the front counter at all CVS stores.  The reason couponers call this machine magic is because all you have to do is scan your card and it will spit out coupons.  Important note: Scan your card until the machine tells you that no more coupons are available.  Normally you can scan 3 times.  

This is what the coupons will look like that come from the machine.  The best coupons will normally expire quickly, possibly even the same day, so check expiration dates.

EXTRA CARE BUCKS aka ECB's

Extra Care Buck, or as couponers call them, ECB's are at the heart of any real saving at CVS.  These are special offers that CVS offers weekly.  They are CVS's reward for shopping inside their store.  ECB's are basically coupons for $ off if you purchase a specific item.

For Example:  CVS is offering a $2.00 ECB when you purchase Pantene shampoo.  Pantene shampoo costs 2/$6.97.  You purchase and pay $6.97 but when you get your receipt, an ECB for $2.00 will be attached to the receipt.  This $2.00 ECB is like a coupon to purchase any other item in the store (certain items such as prescriptions are excluded).

ECB's can be used during your next visit to the store or can be used the same visit on another purchase.  If the store is not very busy, you can do multiple purchases during the same visit and pay very little out of pocket.  

Using our Pantene shampoo example, let's say that Pantene shampoo has a limit of 2 for the extra care deal.  You buy one and pay $6.97 for the first 2 but for the second 2 you use the $2.00 ECB from the first purchase and you only have to pay $4.97.  So you get four bottles for $11.94.

The best thing about CVS is that you can combine CVS coupons and manufacture coupons.  ECB's are considered as cash and can be used in any combination. 

Now, let's go back to our Pantene scenario.

Using this ad, if you have a manufacturer coupon for $2.00 off two bottles.  We would use the $2.00 of two coupon and we would pay $4.97 but we would get a $2.00 ECB making our total out of pocket cost be $2.97 for two bottles of Pantene shampoo.  Can you beat that?  

Of course you can!  Remember that coupon we got when we scanned our card when we first got in the store?  What did that coupon say?

Let's pull it out and see.

WoW!  We get $2.00 off two shampoo.  Well, lucky us, we just bought two bottles of Pantene shampoo.

Now we can stack this CVS coupon with our Manufacture coupon and here is our final deal.

Two bottle of Pantene on sale 2/$6.97

Use $2.00 off two shampoo CVS coupon from the magic coupon machine

Use manufacture coupon for $2.00 off any 2 Pantene products

Pay $2.97 plus tax

Get $2.00 ECB

Total out of pocket $0.97 plus tax for two bottles of Pantene shampoo.

Now, we are happy couponers.

Until next time, keep looking for those deals.  Be sure to add thriftylivin on Facebook.

Little Changes Reap Large Rewards

One huge part of saving money in a household is simply by enlisting the help of the whole family. If everyone is involved it can become a great bonding experience for the family unit. My family loves to go bargain hunting. My six year old can spot a yard sale sign from a half mile away. A great Saturday outing is going thrift store shopping. Even my teen daughter loves a bargain. She is thrilled by going to the Goodwill and finding a whole cart full of clothing for what her friends pay for one outfit at the mall. We do enjoy the mall but only for the people watching. LOL

We also try to recycle. I think that is a natural part of saving money. Why buy trash can liners for those small bathroom cans when you get tons of them every time you go grocery shopping? We also normally use cloths for cleaning instead of buying disposable anything. We use natural cleaning products such as vinegar for most cleaning jobs. Why poison the environment and waste money on toxic chemicals when vinegar, baking soda, and a little elbow grease will handle most cleaning jobs equally as well?

The value of a vegatable garden

Vegetable gardens are an invaluable resource when considering how to live within a budget. Now I understand that not everyone is blessed to have acreage on which to plant a large garden but even if you have just a balcony with a few pots you are saving money.

One of the easiest plants to grow is a simple tomato plant. The grow great in a garden or in a pot. You can put up stakes so that the plant will grow up and thus it will take up minimal space. Other plants to consider are cucumbers, squash, zucchini, all types of beans and peas, melons, and herbs.

Seeds are so inexpensive that I believe anyone watching pennies should consider a garden. It is a wonderful treat to be able to go over to your freezer in the dead of Winter and pull out a ziplock of freshly grown goodness. OF course my all time favorite is home made vegetable soup with canned tomato juice and tons of home grown veggies. Super inexpensive and good for you to boot.