Ignoring most of the FREE and inexpensive deals at the drugstores for most of 2013, I was lured into CVS this week by the FREE chocolate.

Limiting my CVS trips to great sales on diapers, pull-ups, and Mountain Dew last year, I was glad to snag a freebie. You, too, can pickup FREE M&Ms through January 11, 2014, by combining a sale with a store coupon.

Miss 3 and I planned to stop by CVS on Wednesday morning, but one of our other errands took a bit longer than expected. So, we bumped that errand to Thursday morning where we stopped at a local CVS location.

Finding the Coupon Machine

With my keychain, housing my CVS loyalty card, in hand, Miss 3 went to the red coupon machine and scanned our card. She then waited beside the output slot for the coupons to emerge. After getting the coupons, she scanned the card again, but no more coupons printed.

Photograph Credit: CVS (from e-mail message)

Gathering the Product

Looking over the coupons, we received the $.75 off Mars Chocolate Singles.

Though we could have chosen a Snickers, Twix, 3 Muskateers, or Milky Way bar, Miss 3 chose her favorite plain Nim&Nims (M&Ms).

The Nim&Nims is a cute “–ism” that we enjoy and are not yet ready to correct. 😉

Using the Coupon

Teaching Miss 3 how to use her coupon, I helped her organize her items. She proceeded to checkout with the loyalty card, her coupon, and Nim&Nims. As we shop during non-peak hours, we had the place to ourselves, so we could take our time.

The cashier enjoyed her 3-year-old customer, who proudly presented the items in the correct order

1. Loyalty card
2. M&Ms (on sale for $.75)
3. Coupon (store coupon for $.75 off)

Smiling, the cashier took her items, gave her the receipt, and thanked her for shopping at CVS. As Miss 3 was admiring her package of M&Ms, I retrieved my keys before leaving CVS.

I enjoyed this shopping trip as Miss 3 is gaining confidence in using coupons. She completed the transaction without needing money while getting a reward for her efforts.

If you are new to couponing, are teaching someone how to use coupons, or just need a chocolate pick-me-up, then swing by your local CVS to see if the coupon prints for you. Our coupon had an expiration date of January 17. However, the Mars singles are on sale through Saturday, January 11, 2014 at the $.75 price which makes the item FREE.

TIP: As CVS limits the number of prints for store coupons, you may or may not get the $.75 coupon from the coupon machine. When the print limit is reached, that coupon will no longer print. I share this because sometimes the limit is reached before the sale is over.

In using time wisely, this deal may not fit into your schedule. If that is the case, then let it go. There will be other deals. Believe me, I passed on so many great deals last year, and we still saved more than we spent in 2013. I’ll be sharing those results in tomorrow’s post.

Getting back into coupons, I was glad to have a very easy transaction that resulted in Miss 3’s confidence, a few minutes of time, no out-of-pocket cost, and a reward to share. In stretching our dollars, I couldn’t pass up FREE chocolate and a teachable couponing session. Happy savings!

Question: If you went, did you get the FREE Mars Chocolate coupon?