Please explain "CVSing to me.....

[maslex]

I really need to start saving some money on my grocery bill (as sure as most of you are) I had done the grocerygame a few years ago but never had CVS on my list.

I do keep hearing about it and I'm intrigued. For the first time the other day, I went in to CVS and swiped my card in the CVS kiosk machine and a coupon came out for $10 off of $50. Granted, I've never spent that much at CVS before but I'm thinking of going this weekend and getting enough stuff to use my coupon. This is one of those weeks where I need shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, laundry soap, dish soap, etc....so I thought I would get the stuff at CVS & use my coupon. I also use coupons from the Sunday paper too.

Anyhow, I'm assuming that you use your regular coupons, any CVS coupons and also the coupon at the end of your reciept? to save the most money?

How do YOU do it?

 

[mybabesuz]

I don't get it either...

 

[deerhart]

First, look at the add and see what is on sale that you need to buy. Try to match up with coupons you have (or can print off online).

Make sure to give your $10 off $50 FIRST before the rest of your coupons.

Last week I purchased (regular price) over $140 worth of product, plus my $23 prescription and payed out of pocket about $50 (prescription went on HSA card, plus got $25 gift card, used all but $8 on gift card and had previously spent the $50). I also still have $3 in EBs and another $5 eb from doing a survey for when the next ad comes out Sunday.

There are several websites that do match ups of items in the ads and coupons

www.couponmom.com

and a local one for me

www.stltoday.com

 

[maslex]

First, look at the add and see what is on sale that you need to buy. Try to match up with coupons you have (or can print off online).

Make sure to give your $10 off $50 FIRST before the rest of your coupons.

Last week I purchased (regular price) over $140 worth of product, plus my $23 prescription and payed out of pocket about $50 (prescription went on HSA card, plus got $25 gift card, used all but $8 on gift card and had previously spent the $50). I also still have $3 in EBs and another $5 eb from doing a survey for when the next ad comes out Sunday.

There are several websites that do match ups of items in the ads and coupons

www.couponmom.com

and a local one for me

www.stltoday.com

So basically, the very first shopping trip (this weekend) I won't see much of a savings because I won't have any ECB's to use yet, right? I do my shopping, give her my $10 coupon first, then the rest of my coupons and then whatever ECB's I earn for that trip I can use next week along with whatever coupons I might have? And then continue doing this and soon I should see a big savings like most of you?

Right now, I do my grocery shopping between Walmart and our local grocery store (which in my opinion is WAY over priced) but since we don't like meats at Walmart, we buy them here. Basically at Walmart I buy my milk, dairy products, cleaning supplies, cereal, snacks, paper products, HBA products. Which products do you think I would find cheaper at CVS?

 

[deerhart]

not really.

The CVS near me opened the 17th of this month. My first trip I had a $10 off $20 grand opening coupon, free 2 liter of coke coupon, and a $3 of a CVS brand coupon. I had no EBs.

I paid (I think)$48 and some change for $102 worth of products.

I purchased 2 bottles of capsule CVS brand tylonel (buy1 get 1 50% off, plus used by $3 CVS brand coupon so the two bottles of 250 each were a total of $3.50 for both), 2 liter of coke, box of duralog firelogs (with card $16.99 instead of $27), dish soap, m&m's, contact solution etc.. I got $2 in EB's back.

The next trip I had my $25 gc from my prescription transfer and I purchased 2 bic disposable razor packs (had coupon for b1g1 free), toothpaste, 2 dove deodorant (had 2 $2 off coupons plus they were on sale), 2 packs of juicy fruit (for the kids) and a few other things that I forgot. I got my entire purchase for the cost of the two razors off my gc.

The EB's are just icing on the cake as the sales are really that good espeically when matched with manf. coupons and (if your lucky) store coupons.

Also, you can use coupons from Upromise on your CVS card

 

[tar heel]

You're not going to find any of those prices cheaper at CVS if you're talking regular prices. CVS is not a place you go and buy whatever you need at whatever price. You match their sales and ECB offers and your coupons. This means buying shampoo, toothpaste, deoderant, etc., on their schedule not yours. There would not be many instances in which I would use a $10/$50 coupon -- it's just too big.

Good offers this week: If you use soft drinks, Pepsis are 6/$20 with $10 back. If you have the $1 off coupon, you can get Ivory soap for free. Your store also may have some of the January specials. If they do, use the BOGOF Oust coupon to get two cans AND get paid to take them. Soy Joys are $6 with $6 back.

You will only see a big savings if you plan your purchases around the sales.

I suggest reading this week and next week's CVS thread and also going over www.iheartcvs. Good luck!

 

[deerhart]

Basically at Walmart I buy my milk, dairy products, cleaning supplies, cereal, snacks, paper products, HBA products. Which products do you think I would find cheaper at CVS?

What you will find cheaper just depends. I find at places like Walgreens and CVS my cleaning supplies, bathroom supplies, kitchen supplies are much cheaper then at the grocery store. I can find them occasionally cheaper at Walmart or Kmart when they aren't on sale at Walgreens or CVS, but Walmart is so far away compared to these two. Though, regular priced, Walmart is cheaper on things like shampoo. One of the biggest problem is that we rarely get Walmart ads in the paper thus I never know what is on sale there and really don't want to drive up there unless I need something else. I will go to Kmart (which is near the CVS) when they have their sales (I also have Kmarts rewards card), but the coupon rules are much harder to figure out (though worth it when they double coupons up to $2.00) and often they are out of the product (and our Kmart just is BAD BAD BAD ewww)

I also dislike meat at Walmart and buy mine at the grocery store.

2% milk at CVS is $2.69 a gallon which is $0.20 to $0.30 cheaper then the both the grocery store and Walmart here. I also bought Welchs Grape Jelly at CVS on Sunday 3 for $5 and had 2 $0.55 off coupons (thanks Grocery coupon train!). This is about the cheapest I can get this for on sale AND to have the coupons!!!

Also, often the deals on cereal is much better then the grocery store.

Now the downsize, if you don't go early in the sale, your likely NOT to find the product. If it's something that is just on sale, you can ask for a raincheck and you will be able to get it for that price later on. Also some EB's are month long promos so you can still get it later on in the same month with a rain check.

 

[minnie1928]

Which products do you think I would find cheaper at CVS?

The things that I get consistently for pennies/free are:

1. Toothpaste
2. Shampoo/Conditioner
3. Body wash
4. Razors
5. School supplies
6. OTC drugs (occasionally)

A PP mentioned Upromise. If you haven't you should really look into that. They often have high value coupons there. All you have to do is activate them and link your account to your CVS card. Once they "see" you've made the purchase, they credit the amount of their coupon to your account. I don't think that will work at Wal Mart, but it will work at CVS and maybe your grocery store (if they participate).

I don't buy much cleaners (I make my own), but I do get some good deals on Tide at CVS occasionally.

Another great site is www.hotcouponworld.com. They have forums dedicated to CVS where they will lay out all the strategy (item + coupon + printable coupon, etc.). They'll also mention if there are any printable $x off $x coupons available.

 

[jmpellet]

I have been CVSing for more than two years I can say that it does take practice to learn the ropes. The single best site to visit is www.slickdeals.net. They have a separate thread for each week usually posted about three weeks in advance and this is how you plan out your deals. FWIW, a $10 off $50 is not a desirable coupon. You can find others such as 3/15, 4/20, and even 5/20 that are better to get you started. Because the key to CVSing lies in the ability to keep rolling your ECBs and the fact that CVS doesn't offer "free after Extra Care Bucks" or FAECB as plentiful as in the past (except during special times like black friday), you have to lower your order totals as much as possible. For instance, next week there is a Men's Dove item FAECB and $5.49 I think with a limit of two - plus a $1 off printable. There are a number of monthly bonus buy deals that are also FAECB or close to it with coupons such as Soyjoy bars and Oust. So a good plan of attack for next might would be..

(2) Men's dove 5.49 X 2 = 10.98 (get 10.98 back)
(1) Soyjoy 6.00 (get 6.00 back)
(1) Oust 3.99 (get 2.00 back - I have buy one get one free coupons from ebay so I might have eliminated the Soyjoy and bought (2) oust)

Total before tax 20.97 - idea is to get as close as possible to the value of your CVS coupon
- $5/20 (found on slickdeals) - give this one first
- $2 (Men's Dove)
= Somewhere in the $14 or $15 range depending on how your state treats coupons

Pay cash the first time, but in my case pay with ECB from previous deals. So pay $15 and get $18.98. And then you roll...

Last thing is that you buy things you don't necessarily need or want (and donate), to get the things you do want...

 

[MickQuinn]

I tried this for the first time last week. Wow.

Flaky posts the matchups for each week here on the BB.

I was amazed at what I got.

(6) 12 packs of diet pepsi reached the $20 needed, and I got $10 ECB, plus I had coupons for $1 off each to bring it down to $14.00. So, with the ECB it is like getting (6) 12 packs for $4.

I also got 2 packages of Crest $1.99 each, $1 ECB plus the coupon for $1off when you buy 2. These were the bonus packs and each included a smaller 2.5 oz travel size tube. Like paying 49 cents each.

And I paid for most of it with the $6 ECB I got back from buying soy joys last week.

I think I am hooked!

Thanks to all who post the deals!

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

I tried CVS'ing but it didn't work for me at all. I never could get to CVS before the cheap, great deal stuff that I wanted was all gone. Plus sometimes I forgot to go back to use my ECB coupons so that was a waste.

Same thing happened to me with Walgreens.

Oh well.

 

[deerhart]

Walgreens isn't as good since they got rid of their rebate program. That was wonderful especially when you could enter it all on the internet and then 3 days later it magically appeared on your rechargeable giftcard with a 10% bonus!

 

[Maddle]

Right - you have to be diligent and organized, and there are many posters on this budget board alone that do just great at CVS. Sadly, I am not one of them - lack of organization skills, I guess. But when I have been COMMITTED to the project, I have saved a few dollars - and I can see that it would be lucrative, if I could just stay focused.

Good luck!

Maddle

 

[floridascgirl]

I learned so much about couponing at southernsavers.com She has her website divided into easy tabs by stores (CVS, Walgreens, Rite Aid, Publix, Harris Teeter, etc...) and she then explains the ins & outs of couponing at each store. There are also tabs for Getting Started and Couponing 101

 

[puffkin]

So basically, the very first shopping trip (this weekend) I won't see much of a savings because I won't have any ECB's to use yet, right? I do my shopping, give her my $10 coupon first, then the rest of my coupons and then whatever ECB's I earn for that trip I can use next week along with whatever coupons I might have? And then continue doing this and soon I should see a big savings like most of you?

Exactly

The key when starting out is to buy all the things that are free after ECB or free after ECB and coupon. You will have an initial outlay your very first trip, but then take all those ECB's and use them to pay next week for more items that earn ECBs (called rolling). Since ECB's expire I try to take advantage of every deal that I can to roll my bucks forward. Over time you will build up quite a stash.

The goal is to not spend more than $1 per transaction out of pocket and to earn back at least as many ECB's as you spend. It takes some practice, but it is really easy once you get the hang of it.

Also, the deals have been very poor lately so it can be harder to get started. We're due for a good week soon!

 

[bridget]

I guess I just have trouble rolling my ECB into things I won't use just because they get me ECB. That's why I'm not "really" good at CVSing!

 

[jmpellet]

I guess I just have trouble rolling my ECB into things I won't use just because they get me ECB. That's why I'm not "really" good at CVSing!

Personal care products and other extras are very much appreciated at shelters and the like.

 

[bridget]

I'm not against giving things away to shelters, but for me personally, it isn't worth my time to plan and cut coupons when there is nothing I will end up using week after week.

I'd rather just go on a week that has something I will use that is on sale w/coupon and then I use my ECB to buy something that I will use.

I still save money, and I end up with exactly what I want.

 

[3boymthr]

You can do really really well at CVS with coupons, and sometimes not so well.

Last week I had $0.00 in OOP expenses for a $65 order. I did that well. I got TP and Soy Joys and toothpaste and batteries and and and...

OTH I spent $10 OOP tonight on $45 worth of stuff and if I hadn't had a $10 GC that I got for a new Rx my OOP would have been $20.

It helps sometimes to break up your runs into multiple trips thru the store on the same day. Go in maximize your coupons, get ECB take the stuff to the car, run back in, and with ECB that you just got get the rest of what you need and do it again if you need to. I went to the register twice tonight and would have gone again if I hadn't need to get to another store before they closed.

My recommendation is to download one of the spreadsheets that people have posted on some of the websites which calculate your totals less your coupons so you can maximize your coupons and minimize your spending.

 

[Anne34]

I tried CVS'ing but it didn't work for me at all. I never could get to CVS before the cheap, great deal stuff that I wanted was all gone. Plus sometimes I forgot to go back to use my ECB coupons so that was a waste.

Same thing happened to me with Walgreens.

Oh well.

This is how it is for me too. I have a CVS less the 2 min from the house, but they never have anything in stock. I don't take the time to run to other stores for 1 or 2 things. I sometimes forget I have the coupons and don't redeam them. Also, most everything is more expensive there or has coupons for things we would never use -- so it really doesn't make sense for our family.


Example: Milk is $2.79/gallon at CVS and Sams is $1.79 a gallon -- well I go through 6 gallons a week, so it isn't cost effective to go to CVS.