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Using your CVS Extra Care Card

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Last week I shared my 94% savings at CVS, including the spend $20 on Excedrin products and receive $10 in Extra Bucks. If you are asking what are Extra Bucks, then let me explain. Extra Bucks (EB) are store credit coupon(s). If you look through a CVS sales ad, you will find deals for Extra Bucks (i.e. spend $20 on Excedrin products and receive $10 in Extra Bucks). I’m going to use the Excedrin deal for an example, but this deal is not currently available. So, please do not try to work this deal at CVS today because it will not work. The point here is to see how the sales and promotions work at CVS. Let’s begin:

1.       Go to CVS with your Extra Care Card. Don’t have a CVS Extra Care Card? No worries. Just ask the cashier when you arrive. You will fill out a short form and be given your card to use immediately. (NOTE: I give a junk e-mail account that I check often. CVS will e-mail you often with internet savings, store sales, and money saving coupons that you can only get via e-mail. I usually only want the coupons. I use the junk e-mail, so my regular account is not bogged down with sales notices.)

WHY DO YOU WANT AN EXTRA CARE CARD? Your card will give you the sales prices and generate your Extra Bucks. Each EB deal has a limit. Your card will keep track of your purchases. So, if the store you are in only has 2 more Excedrin products, then you could purchase them here. Then go to the next CVS store and purchase the remaining 1-3 products needed to get your total to $20. Once your total amount spent on Excedrin products reaches $20, then your $10 EB coupon will print. You do not need to purchase all the required items in one transaction. Knowing this information is a great tip to saving money!

2.       Scan your CVS Extra Care card at the Coupon Center. The Coupon Center is red machine usually located at the front of the store. The machine is also a price checker. I have found the machine at the front register, at the front of one of the aisles, and in the middle of the floor between the front registers and the aisles. If you scan the area and do not know what you are looking for, then just ask one of the cashiers.

SIDE NOTE: Get to know your cashiers. They are great! Most of them want to help you save money and get great deals. They want you to come back. At my local CVS, I know the employees by name, and I do not hesitate to ask for help when needed.

3.       Look at the coupons that printed on the side of the Coupon Center. Some people have found that they can scan their card twice with additional coupons printing. I have tried, but I always get “You have printed your coupons for today. Please come back tomorrow.” I still try to scan it a second time. Who knows . . . maybe you will get a special card.

4.       See if you can use any of the coupons with your current Excedrin deal. These coupons that print are store coupons. You can use a store coupon and a manufacturer coupon on each item purchased. Let’s say, that one of the coupons that printed was $3 off when you purchase $10 of pain relief medication. Then you could use this store coupon with your Excedrin deal. However, if the coupons that print do not work with the planned deal (i.e. Excedrin), then I just place the printed coupons in the back of my CVS labeled envelop.

5.       Go to the pain reliever aisle, and find the Excedrin. Make sure the total amount will be at least $20. Then proceed to the checkout counter.

6.       Hand the cashier your Extra Care card. She/He will scan it. This action will cause your EB to print at the end of your transaction. The cashier will then ring up your Excedrin products. If you have manufacturer coupons, then hand those to the cashier. She/He will scan them to deduct those amounts. You will then pay the remainder of the balance.

7.       The cashier will then hand you a receipt. At the end of your receipt, you will find a coupon for $10 Extra Bucks. You can then spend that coupon on just about anything in the store. You cannot use EB on prescriptions, alcohol, gift cards, lottery, money-orders, postage stamps, and tobacco products.

8.       You will now have $10 in store credit to either save for next week or apply to transaction #2.

If this system seems confusing, then just take it slow. The drugstore game is complicated. Each store plays by different rules. Once you get to know the rules, the game becomes strategic. I will share my strategies with you and hope you can also pay little to nothing for items you need.

CVS: My 94% Savings

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Today I am going to share my CVS adventure from this week. These sales and deals are available through the end of today. However, I had been holding some very valuable coupons that I was able to use to my advantage this week. If you were to take my list to CVS this afternoon, you probably will not see the same amount of savings. You would still save, but remember, I’ve been playing the drugstore game for a couple of years. I will be sharing all my tips and tricks with you, but I recommend starting small. My list is not starting small. But I hope that when you see the possible savings, you will get excited about purchasing items without paying full price.

Before working on any deals this week, I knew I needed to shop at CVS. I had $2 in Extra Bucks (store credit) that was to expire on Tuesday. Since I do not make a habit of throwing away money, I was looking for a way to spend that $2 for what I needed. I found a number of items to purchase, and I broke it up into 3 transactions. In the up-coming weeks, I will explain the “rules” to the CVS game, but for today, I will just share the transactions and savings.

TRANSACTION #1:

  • 2 Oral-B Cross Action Power Toothbrushes

(DEAL: $3 Extra Bucks when you purchase 1 Cross Action Power Toothbrush at $6 each) Limit 2

(EXPLANATION: Purchase 2 for $12 and get back $6 in Extra Bucks (store credit))

(COUPONS:   1 – Buy One Get One Free Oral-B Cross Action Power Toothbrush (from the 1/30 Proctor and Gamble insert in the newspaper)

1 – $3 off Oral-B battery toothbrush (from the 2/27 Proctor and Gamble insert in the newspaper)

(BREAKDOWN: $12 – $6 – $3 = $3 + $6 EB)

 

  • 2 Extra Strength Excedrin and 2 Tension Headache Excedrin products

(DEAL: $10 Extra Bucks when you purchase $20 any Excedrin starting at $4.79) Limit 1

(EXPLANATION: Purchase 4 at $5.89 each for $23.56 and get back $10 in Extra Bucks)

(COUPONS:    2 – free bottles of Extra Strength Excedrin up to $5.99 (registered on-line for coupon to be mailed. I used two computers to get 2 coupons. Not sure when I requested these coupons. I’ve been saving them for a great deal.)

2 – free bottles of Tension Headache Excedrin up to $5.99 (registered on-line for coupon to be mailed. I used two computers to get 2 coupons. Not sure when I requested these coupons. I’ve been saving them for a great deal.)

(BREAKDOWN: $23.56 – $11.78 – $11.78 = $0 + $10 EB)

SUBTOTAL: $3 – $2 in Extra Bucks (EB) from previous week (due to expire) = $1

TAX: $2.13 (Yeah, paid more in tax than the subtotal.)

TOTAL: $3.13 which I paid on a CVS gift card. I then received $6 EB (toothbrushes) and $10 EB (Excedrin).

 

TRANSACTION #2:

  • 2 Crest Pro-Health toothpastes

(DEAL: $3.29 EB when you buy Crest Pro-Health Toothpaste, 4.2 oz., at $3.29 each) Limit 2

(EXPLANATION: Purchase toothpaste for $6.58 and get an EB for $6.58)

(COUPONS:     $1 off Crest Pro-Health in the Proctor and Gamble 1/30 insert

$1 off Crest toothpaste 4 oz. or larger in the Proctor and Gamble 2/27 insert

(BREAKDOWN: $6.58 – 1 – 1 = $4.58 + $6.58 EB)

 

  • RevitaLens Multi-purpose Solution (for contacts)

(DEAL: $5.99 EB when you buy RevitaLens, 4 oz. at $5.99 each) Limit 1

(EXPLANATION: Purchase the solution for $5.99 and get a $5.99 EB)

(COUPONS:       None)

(BREAKDOWN: $5.99 + $5.99 EB)

SUBTOTAL: $10.57 – $10 EB from transaction #1 = $0.57

TAX: $0.75

TOTAL: $1.32 which I paid on a CVS gift card. I then received $6.58 EB (toothpastes) and $5.99 EB (contact solution).

 

TRANSACTION #3:

  • Bounce Dryer Ball refill

(DEAL: Bounce Dryer Ball refill on sale $3.99 each)

(EXPLANATION: Buy one for $3.99)

(COUPONS: $.50 off from newspaper)

(BREAKDOWN: $3.99 – $.50 = $3.49 + I will also submit a Bounce rebate for $5.)

 

  • 3 Herbal Essences Hair Care

(DEAL: $2 EB when you buy any 2 Herbal Essences Hair Care products. I also used a rain check from a previous deal which was $2 EB when you purchase any Herbal Essences Hair Care product at $2.99 each – Limit 3)

(EXPLANATION: Purchase 3 Herbal Essence Hair products at $2.99 each = $8.97 and receive $2 EB from current deal and $6 EB from rain check.

(COUPONS: 3 – $1 off coupons from coupon booklet received in the mail)

(BREAKDOWN: $8.97 – 1 – 1 – 1 = $5.97 + $2 EB + $6 EB)

SUBTOTAL: $9.46 – $6.58 EB from transaction #2 = $2.88

TAX: $.78

TOTAL: $3.66 which I paid on a CVS gift card. I then received $2 EB, $2 EB, and $4 EB (The cashier forgot that I purchased 3 from the rain check, so she gave me 2 separate EB coupons ($2 and $4) rather than combining them together into one $6.)

 

CVS Savings on February 28, 2011

RECAP: I purchased $69.97 worth of products, paid $8.11 ($4.45 + $3.66 tax) with gift card, and saved $65.52 (determined from subtotal – $69.97 –$ 4.45 = $65.52) which is a savings of 94%.  Plus, I will get $5 from the Bounce rebate and have $19.99 Extra Bucks to spend before March 31 on what my family needs. Therefore, I made $9.88 ($19.99 EB remaining – $8.11 spent – $2 EB started with) today by purchasing 2 toothbrushes, 2 toothpastes, 4 Excedrin, 1 contact solution, 1 dryer bar, and 3 shampoos!

Learning the drugstore game took me a good 6 months to a year. However, the time spent learning has been worth it, especially when I see the savings stack up week after week!

Homemade Baby Wipes

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When I was expecting our first born, a very dear friend granted me this recipe for Homemade Baby Wipes. Having made hundreds of batches, I know this recipe has saved our family hundreds of dollars.

The wipes are very gentle. All three of my children have skin sensitivities, but none of them suffered from on-going diaper rash. I continue to use these wipes when I am at home. I found that they dry out in the small wipe holders that I carry in the diaper bag.

For the diaper bag, I purchase Huggies wipes. Our pediatrician highly recommends the Huggies brand since all items are fragrance free. I still remember the first diaper place on both my son and my oldest daughter. The nurses used Pampers diapers available at the hospital, and both of my children had bright red bottoms for the first few days. Once switching to Huggies, I had no more skin irritation issues.

Though I am loyal to Huggies brand, I choose to use the cheaper homemade wipes at home. When I make the wipes, I follow the recipe and allow it to cool for a few hours. I then fold the wipes in about 3-inch accordion-style folds and place them in a gallon-size Ziploc bag. As the wipes in the wipe warmer run low, I use the folded wipes to refill. Though I prefer to use the wipe warmer, the homemade wipes can be dispensed from the center of the container at any time.

My container has the wipe recipe fully taped on the outside. So when the container gets wet, the recipe will still be intact. As I give expecting parents the gift of Homemade Baby Wipes, I also use packing tape to fully adhere the recipe to the air-tight container.

This gift has been a continuous money saver for me. Does anyone have a different recipe for homemade wipes that work for you? Do you have any other money saving tips for baby wipes?

Money Saving Tips

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Saving money in the long run may require spending money at the onset. For example, I took my car to the mechanic for routine maintenance. The car needed an oil change and tire rotation. Since I get free tire rotation where I bought the tires, I paid for the oil change and drove to Discount Tire.

When the tires were rotated, the Discount Tire technician found my new front tires were worn down. The recommendation was to apply the credits from our warranty on the existing tires to purchase two new tires.  With the credits, I would owe $130 for two new tires, which is about the price of one.

Though I could have driven with the existing tires, I would have worn them out in about a year and had to purchase two new tires at full price, costing around $260. My husband and I chose to pay the $130 now to save $230 in the long run. My husband then took the car for a front-end alignment which should correct the wear on the tires.

I love to save my family money. Whether it is finding deals on items, events, memberships, or insurance policies, I desire to get the most out of each dollar spent.

Did you know you could get free toothpaste at CVS this week? Yes, in the CVS sales flyer (Feb. 13-19), All Colgate Sensitive 6 oz. or Total Advanced 5.8 oz. tubes are on sale for $3.79. After purchasing the toothpaste with your CVS card, your receipt will print with a $3.79 Extra Bucks (which is store credit) at the end. You could then use the $3.79 Extra Bucks for anything you need at CVS.

The scenario above would be getting the toothpaste minus tax for free. Since I currently have two coupons for Colgate Total in the amounts of $1.00 and $.75, I would use the coupons and get two tubes (limit of 2 per the advertisement). I would checkout with $3.79 (one tube) + $3.79 (2nd tube) = subtotal: $7.58. Then I would use my two coupons: subtotal $7.58 -$1.00 (coupon)-$.75 (coupon) = total $5.83 + tax. I would pay around $6.20 and receive a store coupon on the end of my receipt for $7.58 ($3.79 for each tube). I would have made $1.38 in store credit and have 2 tubes of toothpaste.

The cabinet under our bathroom sink houses the 30+ tubes of Colgate toothpaste I have acquired by playing the drugstore game. Stay tuned each Saturday as I share more  money saving tips.