CVS Newbie Talk Follow-Up

After Wednesday’s post on the basics of CVS shopping, I got some really great questions via comments and emails. I’ll answer a couple of those questions now.

“What do they [ECBs] look like? And what if you lose them? Is there a track or record where they can be reprinted?” -Amie

ECBs are printed on the same paper as your receipt, at the bottom after your purchases. The ECB will list your name, the product your purchased to receive the ECBs, value, and expiration date. Then you’ll see a bar code. (The bar code links the ECBs to your Extra Care card.)

Here’s a picture of ECBs.

I had already ripped it from the rest of the receipt.

Unforunately, if you lose ECBs, there’s no way to retrieve them. I misplaced one a few weeks ago, and that was just lost “money”. :( (Edited note: Actually, The Frugal Homemaker just informed me that you can actually get your lost ECBs back. Can anyone else confirm this?)

On the CVS site you are able to track the ECBs you earn. And you can actually print your quarterly ECBs there as well, if you wish. But you can’t print ECBs that have already been printed at the store.

(I think that’s something I forgot to mention in my other post- quarterly ECBs. You get ECBs for the special sale items you buy. But you also get 2% of your total money spent at CVS back in ECBs. These print out quarterly, and look just like any other ECBs. You also earn 1 ECB for every 2 perscriptions you have filled at CVS. These too print out quarterly.)

Hope that helps, Amie!

“Are the ECB’s are a separate savings tool in addition to merchandise coupons that print out? What about the cash savings coupons we get?Are those my ECB’s? Or are the ECB’s like a little CVS bank account to be managed/maximized?” -Penny

Great question! ECBs are seperate from merchandise coupons. Often, when you make purchases, you will get coupons at the bottom of your receipt, in addition to ECBs. They look pretty similar to ECBs but they work differently.

Merchandise coupons from CVS can be used to get money off of a specific item. For example, you may get a coupon at the bottom of your receipt for $1 off any Colgate toothpaste. That coupon works just like a coupon from the paper would work. (Except you can use both the CVS coupon and a manufacturer’s coupon both on the same item.)

You may also get coupons at the bottom of your receipt once in a blue moon that say something like, “$3 off a $15 purchase”. Those are also different than ECBs. That’s just a coupon that can be used on any item, instead of just one specific item. You can use these coupons in addition to ECBs to pay for your purchases.

ECBs look very similar to those coupons, but instead you can use them like cash. I treat ECBs like a gift card. After all your items have been scanned and your coupons handed over, you can pay for the rest of your total with ECBs. For example, we’re almost out of milk, so I need to buy some more tomorrow. I can go to CVS and buy some milk, paying only with ECBs if I wish. I won’t get a discounted price on the milk, as I don’t have a coupon, but I can use the ECBs as I would cash, to pay for the purchase.

Yes, ECBs are almost like a CVS bank account to be managed and maximized. Except you have all the ECBs in your possession. The ECBs not stored away in an account by CVS, like your bank account, but rather you have them on hand. I always know my ECB “balance”. Then I shop using ECBs (withdrawals) and then earn more (deposits) by buying ECB sale items. And my ECB goal is typically to increase my balance so I have “emergency fund money” (ECBs) to buy necessities if I need to.

I hope that answers your questions, Penny!

Do you have any other CVS questions? Leave a comment or send me an email!