Photograph Credit: CVS
Last Saturday, I made a shopping trip to my CVS only to discover a company policy change regarding uploading the next week’s sales.
Prior to last week, my CVS activated the new week’s sales at noon on Saturdays. Now the new sales are loaded into the system, but the computer does not activate those sales until 4:00 p.m. on Saturday.
It was a little setback as I arrived at 3:30 p.m. and had gathered my items in about 10 minutes. Never fear, I used my time wisely to exchange one of our propane tanks at Bi-lo, which is next door. When I returned to CVS, it was after 4:00 p.m.
Do you want to see what I purchased and how I stretched my dollars? I thought you might, so I took a picture. Here are the items I purchased:
To keep my out-of-pocket (OOP) total to a minimum, I purchased these 6 items in 3 transactions.
Transaction #1
1 Zyrtec – 5 count for $5.99
1 Irish Spring Deodorant – $3.99
Scanned my green bag tag to earn a $1 Extra Buck after 4 visits – $0
Subtotal: $9.98
Used $2.50 coupon for Zyrtec
Used $1 coupon for Irish Spring Deodorant (printable)
Used $5 Extra Bucks due to expire from a previous visit
New Subtotal: $1.48
Tax: $0.09
Total: $1.57 – paid using the gift card received from filling a prescription
OOP: $0 and received Extra Bucks: $5.99 (Zyrtec) and $2 (Irish Spring)
Transaction #2
1 Revlon nail polish – $4.99
1 Hershey’s Bliss Chocolates – $5.99
Subtotal: $10.98
Used $1 coupon for Revlon
Used $1 coupon for Hershey’s
Used $5.99 Extra Bucks from Transaction 1
Used $2 Extra Bucks from Transaction 1
New Subtotal: $0.99
Tax: $0.03
Total: $1.02 – paid with gift card received from filling a prescription
OOP: $0 and received Extra Bucks: $3 (Revlon) and $6 (Hershey’s) – on Saturday the Hershey’s Extra Bucks ($5.99) did not print, so the employee manually issued the Extra Bucks for $6.
Transaction #3
2 Jumbo packages of Huggies diapers – $8.99 each
Subtotal: $17.98
Used $3 coupon for Huggies
Used $3 coupon for Huggies
Used $6 Extra Bucks from Transaction2
Used $3 Extra Bucks from Transaction2
New Subtotal: $2.98
Tax: $0.18
Total: $3.16 – paid $1.48 from remaining balance on gift card
OOP: $1.68 (cash) and received Extra Bucks: $2 ($1 for each package of Huggies)
By purchasing items in multiple transactions, I am able to stretch our dollars to keep the out-of-pocket expense low. I willingly spent the $2 on diapers, nail polish, and chocolate. The Zyrtec and deodorant were a bonus money-maker and freebie. I purchased $43.56 worth of product for $1.68 which is a savings of $41.88 or 96%.
These are the results of my shopping trip. What great deals have you seized to stretch your dollars? Remember to start slow. You will get to great savings as you learn from each shopping trip. Keep up the great savings!