This was a lite week for me at CVS. I learned an important lesson. If you max out all your monthly freebies at the beginning of the month, it gets harder to put together deals towards the end of month. Then again, if you wait too long, they are out of stock. There has to be a balance… any suggestions?
Receipt #1
1 Almay i-color eyeshadow
2 Dial 3-pack soap
2 Oral B indicator toothbrushes
Used $3/15 coupon
$1 Almay coupon
2 0.60 off Dial
2 0.75 off Oral B
Paid: $2, $5 ECB
Total OOP: $1.77
Saved: $16.80
Earned: $5, $1, $2 ECB
Receipt #2 (This time I showed my Mom how it’s done)
4 Sobe Life Waters (only 3 pictured, since I drank 1 on the way home)
1 Almay i-color eyeshadow
1 Garnier Fructis shampoo
1 Betty Crocker Fudge Brownie mix (May deal)
Used $3/15 coupon
$1 Almay
$1 Garnier
2 BOGO coups for Sobe Life
Paid $9.37 ECB
Total OOP: ZERO
Saved: $19.83
Earned: $5, $1, $1, $2
Grand Total: Paid $1.77 OOP for $36.63 worth of stuff, and just about broke even on my ECBs.
Now, my Mom, on the other hand, doesn’t take this game all too seriously. She spent around $40 OOP for $76 worth of stuff, but was quite pleased. She insisted upon buying a “table top” grille for my family, including a bag of charcoal. Thanks, Mom!
Now we can legally call ourselves residents of Texas (we did not own a grille). She got several other needed items, and I made sure she threw in some makeup, toothpaste, and Rolaids to earn some ECBs. Of course, I gave her some coupons as well.
Newbies, take note: my Mom made a rookie mistake. I caught her handing over ECB’s BEFORE her coupons! Luckily, I snatched up the ECB before the cashier scanned it and gave her a firm lecture. The order in which you hand things to the cashier is uber important.
Memorize this:
1st- scan Extra Card
2nd- ring up merchandise
3rd- hand over $/$$ CVS coupons
4th- hand over any CRT’s and manu. coupons
Lastly- Pay with ECB’s
This will get you the lowest OOP total possible. It also gives you a chance to grab a filler if necessary. I always eyeball the total as each coupon scans.
I so wish Mom would give up the Golden State and move here to Texas, but I am not holding my breath. CVS is much more fun with a shopping buddy! Do you have one?
I am going CVS shopping with my sister today. SHe is trying to learn. The one thing she doesn’t get yet is that you have to sometimes buy things you don’t need and that you cannot be brand-loyal.
I find that if I find a monthly deal, I’ll at least pick up one because you never know when they are going to be out of stock. However, this month, I was totally surprised that they were all in stock, so maybe that is all it is!!
I don’t have any CVS shopping buddies here!! It’s sad. I have tried telling some of the ladies at church about it, and keep the college guys stock piled with toothpaste 🙂 But everyone thinks it’s “too much work” … my husband is quite enthusiastic about it, which is nice 🙂 And so is my mum, but she lives in Canada, and there is no CVS!! She is coming for three weeks to visit in July, and is looking forward to CVSing with me then 🙂
I learnt the hard way too about maxing out monthly deals at the beginning of the month!! Dumb, dumb, dumb!