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!