CVS Shopping--An Unexpected Treasure of Savings!

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Yesterday, I got these items for one quarter of one dollar (yes, that's 25 cents!) AND received $12 to spend next time.  You, too, can get great deals like this, if you know the basics of CVS shopping, and do a little planning!

The regular prices at CVS and Walgreens are not so great on most things, so I didn't know until, beginning my money-saving quest, I learned from others all the money there is to be saved/made at these stores.  I certainly can't keep information like this to myself!

Let's start with the "basics" of saving money at CVS.  If you've read my Walgreens post, some of this will sound familiar.

CVS has what they call "Extra Bucks," which work very similarly to Walgreens Register Rewards, except they are valid for a month (the lady at my CVS says they'll take them even after the month is up) and you have to have a CVS Extra Care card to get the Extra Bucks.  Either go to your CVS store to get one, or to this link to find out more and fill out a form.

Once you have your card, it will work the same as Walgreens Register Rewards.  Your Extra Bucks will print up at the bottom of your receipt.  I haven't heard of CVS having the restrictions that Walgreens has, with needing as many items as coupons and not being able to use the Extra Bucks on the same brand.

In the CVS ad, found in the Sunday paper, you will notice some items indicate that you will receive "Extra Bucks" if you purchase them.  On page 5 of this week's ad, for instance, you can see that if you buy one of the Crest 3-D White products, for $3.99, you will receive $2.00 back in Extra Bucks, good toward your next purchase.  So, it's "like" paying $1.99.  If you had a $1.00 manufacturer coupon besides, it would be "like" paying $.99.

I'll give you the details of my purchase this week in a moment, but first I want to emphasize the importance, when figuring out your total savings, of not counting your Extra Bucks twice.  When you get that $2.00 back, either think of it as "Today it was like I bought that mouthwash for $1.99," OR "I paid $3.99 (or $2.99 if you had a $1.00 coupon) for that mouthwash today, and I have $2.00 to subtract from my total next week."  I prefer to focus on what I'm paying out of pocket each week.  I don't figure in any Extra Bucks until I'm actually using them to purchase products the following week. 

So, here's my CVS purchase from this week, minus the snack my son had to have because he was "starving" and we still had to go to the library! ;)  Here's the photo again:

Now, here's how it worked (ignore the highlighted parts until you see them again toward the bottom):

The two Listerines (p.5) were on sale for $3.99 each, and each had $2 in Extra Bucks.
The Colgate (p.5) was $2.99, with $2.00 Extra Bucks
The Venus Embrace razor (p.11) was $9.79, with $6.00 Extra Bucks

So, the total of the four items above  (rounded up) was $21.  BUT I had a $.75 manufacturer coupon for the Colgate (total now: $20.25) and a $2 coupon for the razor (total now: $18.25) and $18 Extra Bucks from last week.  Grand total: $.25 plus tax! :)

After I paid, at the bottom of my receipt, there was a $4 Extra Bucks (for the 2 Listerines), a $6 Extra Bucks (for the razor) and a $2 Extra Bucks (for the Colgate), for a total of $12 Extra Bucks.  I will cut them off my receipt and use them the next time I shop at CVS (probably next week).

Do you see how I made money?  I only paid $.25, but received $12 to use next time.  If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. :)