I can't believe it took me two years to figure this one out. Unfortunately, it won't work for everyone. But if you have a 'spending account' card, it will work for you.
In case you don't know, a spending account card comes from your insurance company. At the beginning of the year, you put a certain amount in the card. It's your money. This is like a debit card, except that it has a specific purpose. In my case, to buy medical things or services. Everything medical that is not covered by my insurance can be paid for with this card. (You have to use it up within the year or you lose it. And it comes right off the top as a tax deduction.)
That includes most OTC meds, which is where the CVS trick comes in. The other day, I used the card to stock up on some cold medicine, bandages, etc. One product gave me $3.00 in ECBs. I was also picking up some fabric softener that was BOGO (yes, I use vinegar and baking soda, but sometimes I just want something that smells nice), which made it 2 for 3.99. So I used the $3.00 ECB and got the softener for about 50 cents a bottle!
I hope this helps a few people out there to save a little money!
Showing posts with label CVS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label CVS. Show all posts
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Thursday, February 05, 2009
Thrifty Thursday
It's Thrifty Thursday day over at Thrifty Jinxy!
http://thriftyjinxy.blogspot.com/2009/02/thrifty-thursday-living-on-cheap-feb-5.html
My little donation today is just this: when it comes to being frugal, it doesn't have to be all or nothing!
You don't have to spend an entire Sunday doing the Once a Month Cooking thing. Every little bit you do ahead of time will help you. Examples: brown ground beef and repackage it according to how much you would need for a meal. Then freeze it! You could even add Italian, Mexican or other spices! Can I tell you how great it was to have my ground beef all ready to go last night for spaghetti, especially since I found out earlier in the day I was working in the evening?
Cut up your vegetables when you bring them home (or soon after). Don't cut and wash berries--you probably already know this, but wet berries get all gooky. Nothing like reaching into the produce drawer to make a salad...and all you have to do is throw it together!
I love couponing and spend quite a lot of time on it, but I consider it a hobby that pays me back. You don't have to do this. Think what you would really like to save money on, and concentrate on those items--diapers, for example! (I'm awfully glad I haven't had to buy diapers in years.) We all use shaving products, and the very-high-value coupons for them show up quite often. It is great to get a 9.99 razor for half price by combining sales and coupons--especially if you also get Extra Care Bucks from CVS, LOL!
Speaking of CVS, I've written about this before but it bears repeating. If there is one rule to remember for the ECBs thing, it is this: look at your receipt after each purchase and immediately put the coupons into your wallet! That way, they are there for you next time you shop, not left on the kitchen counter.
Just a couple of little things, but boy, oh, boy, they make life easier!
(BTW, if you like the OAMC on Sunday thing, cool--but I actually like cooking and wouldn't want to do it all in one day. I do, however, like to have some things made ahead of time for those days I'm just not in the mood to put a meal together!)
http://thriftyjinxy.blogspot.com/2009/02/thrifty-thursday-living-on-cheap-feb-5.html
My little donation today is just this: when it comes to being frugal, it doesn't have to be all or nothing!
You don't have to spend an entire Sunday doing the Once a Month Cooking thing. Every little bit you do ahead of time will help you. Examples: brown ground beef and repackage it according to how much you would need for a meal. Then freeze it! You could even add Italian, Mexican or other spices! Can I tell you how great it was to have my ground beef all ready to go last night for spaghetti, especially since I found out earlier in the day I was working in the evening?
Cut up your vegetables when you bring them home (or soon after). Don't cut and wash berries--you probably already know this, but wet berries get all gooky. Nothing like reaching into the produce drawer to make a salad...and all you have to do is throw it together!
I love couponing and spend quite a lot of time on it, but I consider it a hobby that pays me back. You don't have to do this. Think what you would really like to save money on, and concentrate on those items--diapers, for example! (I'm awfully glad I haven't had to buy diapers in years.) We all use shaving products, and the very-high-value coupons for them show up quite often. It is great to get a 9.99 razor for half price by combining sales and coupons--especially if you also get Extra Care Bucks from CVS, LOL!
Speaking of CVS, I've written about this before but it bears repeating. If there is one rule to remember for the ECBs thing, it is this: look at your receipt after each purchase and immediately put the coupons into your wallet! That way, they are there for you next time you shop, not left on the kitchen counter.
Just a couple of little things, but boy, oh, boy, they make life easier!
(BTW, if you like the OAMC on Sunday thing, cool--but I actually like cooking and wouldn't want to do it all in one day. I do, however, like to have some things made ahead of time for those days I'm just not in the mood to put a meal together!)
Sunday, October 19, 2008
CVS Today
I walked into CVS today with $9 in ECBs and bought:
1 Schick Quattro for Women razor 9.99-$2 mfr coupon=$7.99-- received $3in ECBs...final cost 4.99
1 Twin Pack G.U.M. toothbrushes-3.99--received $3.99 in ECBs...final cost FREE!
2 Cans Maxwell House--BOGO--final cost 4.99 for 2
Tootsie Pops (for work, I'll get reimbursed) 1.99 (orig. 2.49)
A little bag of sunflower seeds $1 (original price 1.69)
So, basically, I got over $29 worth of stuff for about $11.
Yep, sometimes CVS works!
1 Schick Quattro for Women razor 9.99-$2 mfr coupon=$7.99-- received $3in ECBs...final cost 4.99
1 Twin Pack G.U.M. toothbrushes-3.99--received $3.99 in ECBs...final cost FREE!
2 Cans Maxwell House--BOGO--final cost 4.99 for 2
Tootsie Pops (for work, I'll get reimbursed) 1.99 (orig. 2.49)
A little bag of sunflower seeds $1 (original price 1.69)
So, basically, I got over $29 worth of stuff for about $11.
Yep, sometimes CVS works!
Monday, April 21, 2008
A CVS deal this week
At CVS, if you buy a Soft Soap Radiant Spa bath gel for 4.99, you get back 4.99 in ECBs. If you look through your coupons, you might have the $1.50 off any Soft Soap bath gel (I actually think it's called 'shower gel.') I already cut mine out and forgot to record where I got it from, but I think it was Smart Source, and some time in March. Anyway, use this coupon and you end up making $1.50 profit!
As for me...I have to check a different CVS. The one I went to yesterday (as much for this deal as anything else) didn't have any on the shelf. But I'm not discouraged. I would say there are at least 3 CVS stores within a mile or two of my house, LOL!
BTW, I didn't forget my Saturday Sewing Tip. I'm going to make it a weekly tip...whatever day i feel like doing it, LOL!
As for me...I have to check a different CVS. The one I went to yesterday (as much for this deal as anything else) didn't have any on the shelf. But I'm not discouraged. I would say there are at least 3 CVS stores within a mile or two of my house, LOL!
BTW, I didn't forget my Saturday Sewing Tip. I'm going to make it a weekly tip...whatever day i feel like doing it, LOL!
Thursday, March 13, 2008
CVS: Extreme Basics
There are some wonderful places to find detailed information on how to do the whole CVS thing. I couldn't do such a good job here. There are bloggers out there who have this down to a science. But I can give you what I feel are the most basic rules!
1. Get a CVS card--duh. Hey, I said this was basic!
2. Check the Sunday circular. The week's ECB deals are clearly marked, usually with a yellow square that tells you what you'll get if you buy a certain product. Also check your coupon stash to see if you have a manufacturer's coupon for the same product, for additional savings.
3. Use the card every time. If you forget it, you can give them your phone number and they'll look it up.
4. When you leave the store and get in your car, check your receipt before you even start the engine. (But don't get so excited about your potential savings that you forget to buckle your seatbelt!)
At the bottom of the receipt, you'll see a bunch of coupons printed out. These are called Extra Care Bucks, or ECBs for short.
There will be some ECBs that don't interest you. Forget those. But tear off the ones you like, especially the ones that are plain ECBs with no product named on them. You can use these for just about anything in the CVS store. Also save the ones that say something like "$2 off any $10 CVS purchase." And, of course, save the ones for money off products you like.
5. Put those ECBs right in your wallet. And get in the habit of checking your wallet every time you return to CVS.
6. I have been told by 2 cashiers that CVS will take outdated ECBs, so if you find one you forgot about, be sure to check if you can still use it.
So, what's this whole rollover thing? Here's a simple example:
Let's say CVS has Colgate toothpaste on sale for $2.99, and the circular tells you that you'll get $2 ECBs back.
And, being smart and lucky, you happen to have a $1 Colgate toothpaste mfr. coupon!
So...you buy the toothpaste, which costs you $1.99 after the mfr. coupon. And you find a $2 ECB at the bottom of your receipt.
You put this receipt in your wallet.
Next Sunday rolls around. You've been noticing more gray in your hair, so you decide it's time to go "Honey Ash Blonde." Excellence by L'Oreal is on sale for $5.99, and you get $3 ECBs back. And you have a $2 off mfr coupon!
So you combine the $2 mfr with the $2 ECBs you had from last week, and the haircolor costs you $1.99...but you get back $3 in ECBs! So you've actually made a profit.
And then the next week comes, and you start all over again...
I have shown the use of ECBs for only one product at a time, but of course you can do as many ECB deals as your heart desires. Some weeks, you'll find a lot. Some weeks, there won't be much of any.
Oh. one more thing: you get ECBs every quarter based on your purchases. So, I believe, the next one should come up after the first of April. Be on the lookout!
1. Get a CVS card--duh. Hey, I said this was basic!
2. Check the Sunday circular. The week's ECB deals are clearly marked, usually with a yellow square that tells you what you'll get if you buy a certain product. Also check your coupon stash to see if you have a manufacturer's coupon for the same product, for additional savings.
3. Use the card every time. If you forget it, you can give them your phone number and they'll look it up.
4. When you leave the store and get in your car, check your receipt before you even start the engine. (But don't get so excited about your potential savings that you forget to buckle your seatbelt!)
At the bottom of the receipt, you'll see a bunch of coupons printed out. These are called Extra Care Bucks, or ECBs for short.
There will be some ECBs that don't interest you. Forget those. But tear off the ones you like, especially the ones that are plain ECBs with no product named on them. You can use these for just about anything in the CVS store. Also save the ones that say something like "$2 off any $10 CVS purchase." And, of course, save the ones for money off products you like.
5. Put those ECBs right in your wallet. And get in the habit of checking your wallet every time you return to CVS.
6. I have been told by 2 cashiers that CVS will take outdated ECBs, so if you find one you forgot about, be sure to check if you can still use it.
So, what's this whole rollover thing? Here's a simple example:
Let's say CVS has Colgate toothpaste on sale for $2.99, and the circular tells you that you'll get $2 ECBs back.
And, being smart and lucky, you happen to have a $1 Colgate toothpaste mfr. coupon!
So...you buy the toothpaste, which costs you $1.99 after the mfr. coupon. And you find a $2 ECB at the bottom of your receipt.
You put this receipt in your wallet.
Next Sunday rolls around. You've been noticing more gray in your hair, so you decide it's time to go "Honey Ash Blonde." Excellence by L'Oreal is on sale for $5.99, and you get $3 ECBs back. And you have a $2 off mfr coupon!
So you combine the $2 mfr with the $2 ECBs you had from last week, and the haircolor costs you $1.99...but you get back $3 in ECBs! So you've actually made a profit.
And then the next week comes, and you start all over again...
I have shown the use of ECBs for only one product at a time, but of course you can do as many ECB deals as your heart desires. Some weeks, you'll find a lot. Some weeks, there won't be much of any.
Oh. one more thing: you get ECBs every quarter based on your purchases. So, I believe, the next one should come up after the first of April. Be on the lookout!
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