I didn’t start shopping at CVS until about a year ago, beyond the occasional prescription pick up or run for milk. I thought they were overpriced, and couldn’t imagine getting a “bargain” there. I was so wrong! It does take a few “learning experiences” to get used to shopping at CVS, and sometimes I still need a refresher. I’m hoping this post will tell all of my new coupon shoppers get some great CVS deals, and inspire some of you who are experiencing burnout to get back in the game.

*This post is long, and for those of you CVS pros you may be better suited not to spend time reading through it. I’m happy for anyone to read it, of course, but my main goal was helping those of you who haven’t taken the plunge into CVS shopping.

Shopping CVS: The Beginning

To get the best bargains at CVS, you must get an ExtraCare card. This is simply a store loyalty card that will reward you for your purchases. The card is free, and you can sign up in store and begin using the card immediately. It is best to sign up before you start shopping, just to avoid any potential hassle. You must use your card every time you shop; the rewards you receive cannot be used with someone else’s card. CVS suggests one card per household. The limit is one card per person. Make sure to create an account online so that you are getting the store coupons and notice of sales and promotions.

The rewards you get at CVS are called Extra Care rewards, and are given to you in the form of ExtraCare Bucks. I will refer to these as ECBs on this site. These can be earned through online shopping at CVS.com or by shopping in the store. I do my shopping in-store. Each purchase you make will get you 2% back, which is paid out in the form of ECBs each quarter. For every 2 prescriptions you fill, you will receive $1 ECBs.

Each week, the CVS sales ad includes items that you can purchase and then receive ECBs at the end of your transaction. For instance, I recently purchased Tyelenol for $3 (example only) and received $2 in ECBs to shop next time. CVS will have individual items with ECB rewards as well as promotions that require a purchase of a certain amount of product. An example of this would be “purchase $20 in Brand X, get $10 ECBs”. You do not have to buy all of the $20 in one transaction. You can split it up as long as you make the purchase during the promtoional period. When you reach the limit you will see it printed on the bottom of your receipt.

Using Coupons at CVS

There are 2 types of coupons accepted at CVS: manufacturer’s coupons and CVS coupons. You can “stack” these by combining a store coupon with a manufacturer’s coupon for maximum savings!! Store coupons can be found in a magazine called “Reinventing Beauty” found only at CVS (select locations), in various booklets around the pharmacy, in national magazines, by e-mail, or on the bottom of your receipt. Stacking these is a great way to walk away with items for mere pennies or even free!

CVS also often issues coupons for $ off of a $ purchase, such as $4 off of a $20 purchase. You will see these as $4/$20 on this site, for example. These can be combined with the store and manufacturer’s coupons, and let me tell you how great the savings can be! Often the best way to get this is by e-mail, which is why you should sign up your ExtraCare card for e-mail updates and news from CVS. These are the key to super savings at CVS!

CVS accepts 2 manufacturer’s coupons and 2 store coupons for a BOGO sale, and also accepts internet printable coupons. They have the right to refuse any coupon, which unfortunately happens quite a bit. If you feel like your coupons are legitimate and they are still refused (it has happened to me) make sure you call corporate or ask to speak to a manager.

The way you hand over your coupons to the cashier at CVS will affect your total, so a lot of sites will advise you to use your ECBs before your manufacturer’s coupons to lessen your taxes. However, the CVS stores in my area will only accept manufacturer’s coupons first. YMMV with this, but here is the best way to hand the coupons over and still comply with their rules: $/$ CVS coupons, manufacturer coupons, CVS CRT coupons, then ECBs. I don’t want to advise you to do something that will give you problems, but you shouldn’t have a problem doing this because the $/$ coupon doesn’t specify that it must be used AFTER other coupons. I will warn you that the CVS coupon policy gives stores the leeway to alter it to their liking, and some stores take advantage of that. If you have more than 1 store in your area, figure out which is the best and stick with it. Maybe you will luck out and both will be good!

CVS will occasionally issue coupons that you can utilize to get a gift card for a new or transferred prescription. Often they are $25. CVS also accepts competitor coupons for prescriptions. They will also match the $4 Walmart list of generic drugs at Walmart!! Transferring your prescriptions to get gift cards is great, but make sure you keep track of where everything is at so you can let your pharmacist know of all the medications you take to avoid interactions.

Working CVS: Your Transactions

I mentioned that you do not have to buy all items needed in one transaction; you can buy the items in separate transactions to make your OOP lower and to “roll” your ECBs. For instance, say you’re working on the “Spend $15 on candy, get $5 ECBs” deal this week, but you’re also doing other deals like the school supplies. Rather than buy everything at once, and being stuck with tons of ECBs to use, you can buy 1-2 school supply items at a time, get the ECBs and then use them to buy more. When you’re done buying the school supplies, you can use those ECBs to buy the candy. I will give you an example shortly; I think it’ll be easier to learn that way.

Know your totals before you hit the register. I often forget to do this, and it’s a huge source of frustration once I try to check out (for me and my husband!). The reason is that when you try to use ECBs you must use the full amount of the ECB. Your pre-tax total is what you’ll be concerned with. For instance, a couple of days ago I bought a few items totalling about $15.50. I had $14 ECBs I was going to use ($10, $4) and pay the rest in cash. However my pre-tax total was less than $14 so I had to buy a pack of gum at the register to get my total above $14. Bargain Briana has a CVS Worksheet to help you plan your transactions before you get to the store.

Take a small calculator with you, too, in case your prices are different. I can’t tell you how much gum I have had to buy because I was a few cents away from where I needed to be The items you purchase to get your total to your ECB threshold are called “fillers” because you’re filling in the gap between the items you need to buy with your ECBs and the actual amount of the ECBs. Strategically plan your ECB fillers to include your grocery staples whenever possible, like eggs and milk, and you’ll not only get more out of your ECBs but you’ll stretch your grocery budget.

I’ll be honest, I don’t have the patience to do more than 3 transactions at a time, and 3 is REALLY pushing it! When I started shopping at CVS last Summer, I spent $30 OOP as my investment (on Soy Joy bars) and haven’t spent anything since. I’ve had a lot of ECBs to deal with at once but that is easier for me. Most people aren’t like that but if you have small kids with whom you’re shopping, or you’re just impatient, you may relate.

The best way I can teach you to shop at CVS is by example, perhaps because I learn more easily this way myself. Using this week’s ECB deals, here’s how to work it from the ground up for someone with no ECBs. I’m going to break these down pretty far but you’ll be able to see how you can combine them into larger, fewer transactions fairly easily.

Transaction 1: *School supply deals are example only, they were 3-day deals*

Purchase:

2 Caliber or It’s Academic Book Covers, 99¢ each (get $.99 ECB each)
Caliber or It’s Academic Scissors, $2.99 (get $2.99 ECB each)

Purchase:

2 Caliber or It’s Academic Compass/Protractor, $1.50 (get $1.50 ECB each)
2 Caliber or It’s Academic Flexi Ruler, 99¢ (get $.99 ECB each)

2 Poly Portfolio, 49¢ (get $.49 ECB each)
2 Caliber Sticky Notes 2 ct., Pen Eraser, or Glue Sticks 3 pk., 99¢ (get $.99 ECB each)
2 Caliber or CVS/Pharmacy 1 Subject notebook., 99¢ (get $.99 ECB each)

Total: $4.94
Use: $4.98 ECBs (adjusted down, most CVS will do this for a tiny difference like $.04)
Pay: $0 plus tax OOP
Receive: $4.94 ECBs

Have you noticed how each item prints out separate ECBs? This makes shopping much easier as well because you don’t have one large ECB to try to spend at once. ECBs expire one month from printing; some CVS will accept expired ECBs but this is YMMV, not company policy.

This will allow you to buy all of the school supplies on sale at CVS this week, and have $4.94 to roll on other promotional items. Here’s what I would do next:

Transaction #4 (Let’s throw in some coupons, shall we?)

Purchase:

Blink Tears eye drops $7.99 (get $7.99 ECB)
$3.00/1 Blink Tears or GelTears RP 8/02/09

Total: $4.99 plus tax
Use $4.94 ECB from above
Pay $.05 plus tax OOP
Receive: $7.99 OOP (MONEY MAKER!)

Transaction 5

Purchase:

5 boxes of Electrasol @ $4.50 each (get $10 ECB)E
Use (5) $2.50/1 Finish/Electrasol Quantum, Powerball Tabs or Gelpacs SS 7/12/09

Total: $10 after coupons
Use $7.99 ECB from above
Pay $2.01 plus tax OOP
Receive $10 ECB (making them FREE)

You could keep going with the transactions until you buy everything you need for the week, and save your remaining ECBs, or you can start over each time and use your ECBs at the end of the day for something you really need like diapers or OTC meds. Either way you are saving a lot of money playing a “game” that gets more and more fun as you master it.

I hope seeing the transactions help you. From now on, I will try to devise a strategy that will help you each week make the most out of shopping at CVS, whether or not I’m going to shop CVS. As you can see, there’s no need for a large initial investment if you have the patience for small transactions.

The key to the 3-day sales is to get there ASAP before it sells out. If you have the money but lack patience, consider doing one or two large shopping trips to get your ECB stash funded and you won’t have to worry about getting more anytime soon because you can keep rolling them. My initial investment for the Soy Joy bars is still allowing me to shop at CVS only paying tax on what I buy. If the week is bad for deals at CVS, you may find yourself stuck, though. There are always 2 or more sides to every argument huh?