Newbie Talk- CVS

I started shopping CVS deals several months ago. And I found it to be a confusing process at first. I felt like I was always messing up the deals- not getting the ECBs back that I thought I would be receiving and spending too much out of pocket.

CVSing can take some time and practice to learn. But here’s a quick explanation of shopping at CVS for those of you who are new to the “game”. (Don’t know if you have a CVS near you? Check here.)

First, sign up for a CVS customer card, called an Extra Care Card. This is critical to getting good deals. You can sign up for this card in-store or online.

Then check your weekly sales ads. Each week CVS runs sales. Some of these sales are just normal sales like you would find in any other store. 99 cents for Dawn dish soap, B1G1 Post cereal, etc. Then there are Extra Care Bucks (ECBs) sale items. The ECB items look something like this: Buy X item for X cost, and receive X ECBs back. For example, buy 1 Covergirl foundation for $6, get $6 ECBs back.

Extra Care Bucks (ECBs) are “coupons” that print at the bottom of your receipt. They’re similar to a gift certificate. You can use them as you would cash on your next CVS purchase. So when you buy a sale item that generates ECBs after you pay out of pocket for the item, you will get “reimbursed” on your receipt.

I suggest beginners start out small. Begin with an item or two the first week that you’ll get for “free” after ECBs print out and coupons. (The weekly ad found in the paper or in stores, or this blog, will let you know the free items and any helpful coupon matches.) If you start out with even just a few dollars out of pocket, you will be surprised how much you can profit!

Find the items you plan to purchase. Then see if you have any coupons that match the sales items. For example, if a product costs $5 and gives you $5 ECBs back (free), but you also have a $1 manufacturer’s coupon, you can actually pay $4 and get $5 ECBs back. That’s how you’ll increase your ECBs.

After you make your first purchase earning ECBs back, use those ECBs to go shopping the next time at CVS. Once again, buy the items that are free or very close to to it, and pay with the ECBs from your last shopping trip. Limit your out of pocket expenses as much as you can, especially if you aren’t buying necessities. (I try to limit my out of pocket to $1 each CVS trip.) Continue your CVS shopping like that each week.

Eventually you’ll grow your ECBs. For example, if you started out with $8 ECBs, you may soon have $12, by combining ECB deals with coupons. Then, if you would need to, you can use this profit to buy things you need for your household, such as milk or diapers, at no expense.

Periodically, CVS will also send out coupons by email or snail mail. You’ll also often get coupons at the bottom of your receipt or by scanning your Extra Care card at the price scanner if your store has one. You can use CVS coupons in addition to manufacturer’s coupons on the same products. This is a great way to grow your ECBs!

Make sure you always notice the expiration date on your ECBs. Typically ECBs expire 4 weeks after you receive them. So make sure you use them before they expire! Yes, this may mean that you buy items for “free” (items that produce the same amount of ECBs that you spent) that you won’t use just for the purpose of rolling your ECBs over before they expire. So donate those items to a local charity or an individual who could use the product.

Another thing to note about ECBs is that you won’t get cash back if you don’t use the whole amount. For example if your total at the register is $5 but you have an ECB for $6, either you must spend that extra $1 on a “filler” item, or you will lose the ECB at the register when they adjust it down.

So always plan ahead before going to the register. Do the math yourself first, and see how your ECBs fit into that plan. Do you need to buy another item to use up the whole ECB you planned to pay with? How much should you owe out of pocket? Figure this all out ahead of time. You’ll make better use of your money and slow up the line less.

One final hint for those new to CVS- there’s a specific order to checking out to make sure all your totals come out correctly. When I’m at the register, here’s my routine. First, I give the cashier my Extra Care card. Then I give him my items to ring up. After watching the items ring up on the credit card machine to make sure the prices are correct, I will give the cashier any $X/$X CVS coupons I might have. (For example, $3 off a $15 purchase.) Then I will give him any other CVS coupons I have, followed by my manufacturer’s coupons. Next, I hand the cashier any ECBs I am using. Finally, I pay with my credit card or cash for any money I actually owe out of pocket. This order can be pretty important, so keep it in mind!

I am sure I neglected some important points in my CVS explanation. (Notice the posting time!) So chime in if you notice anything I missed! Or do you have any CVS questions that I didn’t answer? Leave me a comment!