First thing that needs to be done is you HAVE to get a CVS Extra Care Card. They are totally free. You can sign up at the register. Make sure to include your phone number because if you lose your actual card, they can look it up by phone number. The Extra Care Card (the card from here on out) will not only get you the current ad prices, but it will allow you earn 2% back on your purchases. And it will allow you to print your own CVS store coupons! It will also allow you to earn something called Extra Bucks. So before you do anything, get a card!
Now that you have a card, you need to go visit the coupon machine, I call it Big Red. In every store usually near the front, there is a large box with a screen it looks like this:
You take your card and you scan it, and out come coupons. Coupons for nail polish, or cleaning supplies, or free candy. You never know. Ok some people find out what is in the machine, I prefer the mystery. Scan this baby until it tells you you have no more coupons. Sometimes one time will be it, sometimes three. Get. All. The. Coupons. Seriously. Even if you dont use them that week, save them. Sometimes CVS gives you a coupon this week, but a better deal next week!
At CVS you can match coupons from Big Red with Manufacturer coupons. This is called a stack. You can use one CVS coupon with one manufacturer coupon on each item. But it gets better.
CVS has something called Extra Bucks (EB). Extra Bucks are awesome. You can get Extra Bucks when you buy certain items. Those EB's print at the end of your receipt, so you use them on your next purchase. They are just like cash. If you lose them, you lose them. But unlike cash they have an expiration date. Letting them expire is just like losing them. Usually they are good for about a month or so. You can use one manufacturer coupon, one CVS coupon, and then extra bucks all in one transaction while earning MORE extra bucks. That is why I love CVS.
For example. This week they had Revlon Nail polish on sale. It was about 5$ a bottle. That's not great. But I had a coupon from Big Red that gave me $3 off a $12 Revlon purchase. In order to use that coupon, I have to buy three. So 15$ minus the $3 coupon from Big Red still means spending 12$ on three bottles of nail polish, still not great. I remember that I grabbed a few $1 off Revlon nail polish coupons from a tear pad a few days ago. I can use three of those, since I am buying three nail polishes. Now I am paying $9 for three nail polishes, well that's not bad! Then I see that if I buy 2 nail polishes, I get $4 in EB's. Well now that is a deal! I get three bottles of nail polish for 9$ plus CVS is going to give me $4 to spend on my next transaction, so I got three bottles for 5$. Basically that is buy one, get TWO free.
Now I have $4EB's to spend! I decide to do another transaction right then and there! CVS has Almay eyeshadow for $5.99, it's normally $7.99 so that's not a bad sale. I have a $5 off two coupon. So instead of roughly $12 I am going to spend $7. That's a good deal! But when I buy two, CVS is going to give me $6 in Extra Bucks! That means after my Extra Bucks I was able to buy 16$ worth of makeup for only a dollar!! Better yet, I can use the EB's from my previous transaction to minimize what I actually have to pay in cash! So instead of that $7 on the second transaction I give them my $4 in extra bucks from my first transaction and I pay $3 and tax. Then I get back $6 to spend next time!!
Recap: 3 Revlon Nailpolishes $15
-$3 off $12 CVS coupon -$3
- (3) $1 off Manu. coupon -$3
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Pay out of pocket $9 plus local tax
Receive $4 Extra Bucks good for next purchase
Transaction number 2:
2 Almay Eye Shadows $12
$5 off 2 coupon -$5
Use $4 EB's -$4
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Pay out of pocket $3 plus local tax
Receive $6 EB's
$27 in merchandise, only paying $12 plus tax and you have $6 in EB's. Even if you don't count the extra bucks, you saved over 50%.
Now the first transactions are always tough because you are paying upfront and the extra bucks come back at the end. Don't get discouraged. just start small with things you need and can afford. After awhile you will be rolling EB's in multiple transactions like a pro and spend $5-10 on $25+ of merchandise each week.
A few general guidelines. You can use as many EB's in a transaction as you want, but they will never cover tax. So if you have a $5 EB but only owe $3 before tax, its better just to pay the $3 than lose the $2. Each quarter you will get an EB worth 2% of what you spent that quarter. Your EB's and CVS coupons are attached to YOUR card. You can not use anyone else's EB's or coupons from Big Red. Extra Bucks are limited. It's often only 1 or 2 per card for the whole week. If you have to buy three of an item but one CVS only has two, you can go to another CVS and buy the third and the EB's will generate, you can see at the bottom of your receipt what deals you have used part or all of. If CVS is out of something in the ad, ask for a rain check! They almost always give them and they never expire. Just a tip, try and attach the ad to the rain check in case the person that writes it makes a mistake. It makes using them so much easier.
CVS does take a bit to learn, but once you get it, you can really score some great deals.
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