Total Paid for all this stuff? $15.98!!!! (the diapers alone are worth more than that)
Total I would have paid without coupons and sales? $53.94
Total Saved? $37.96!!!!!!!
I was all set to do a blog on how to gather and organize your coupons, but then I went to CVS and decided to get everyone excited about all that can be saved before I dive into the specifics. So let me take you through my recent trip to CVS.
I really needed diapers and I also had a coupon about to expire for $5 off a purchase of $15. So I checked out my favorite blog http://www.moneysavingmom.com/ for any deals she could tell me about. She had quite a few although not all worked for me due to price differences and lack of stock but I did score some good stuff. Here is how I rang it all up.
For my first transaction, I got three bottles of tylenol, 4 SOBE vitamin waters, and 1 thermacare heat wrap product. The complete total without sales and coupons would have been $27.89.
The tylenols are usually $5.99 each, but they are on sale this week for $3.99. Then I had 2 coupons for the tylenol; one was for $2 off 1 bottle and then a $3 off 2 bottles. This brought my cost for each tylenol bottle down even more. With sales and coupons the original total of $17.97 minus tax (3 x $5.99) for the tylenol became $6.97. Still a great price especially because I needed tylenol, but wait, it gets better! I got something on the end of my receipt called extra care bucks (ECBs) for purchasing the tylenol. Basically, extra care bucks are CVS money to use for future purchases. This month you can get $2 ECBs per bottle of tylenol you purchase up to 3 bottles. So I paid the $6.97 for the tylenol but got back $6 ECBs on the end of my receipt for my next transaction (I will cover that in a minute)which means I basically paid $0.97 for 3 bottles of tylenol.
Next I got the SOBE waters. I have wanted to try those anyway but not at $1.49 per bottle when I can drink water for free. 4 SOBEs at normal price would have been $5.96. But this week they are on sale for buy one get one free (B1G1) which is already tempting, but wait! I had two coupons printed from the internet (known as IPs) that were also B1G1 thus making my bottles free. Make sense? Let me walk through two of the bottles: With CVS sale, I would pay $1.49 for the two bottles since one was free. Then I gave a coupon also for B1G1 which made the second one free as well. Then I did it again for the next two which gave me all four for free.
The Thermacare heatwrap did not ring up as it should have but was still a good deal. It was on sale for $2.49 and I had a coupon for $1 off. I was supposed to then get $2.49 ECBs back but it did not print for some reason so I need to go back and have the store fix it. Had it printed, I basically would have made money on the whole thing since it was free with ECBs plus $1 was taken off my total due to my coupon. As it was I only paid $1.49 which is still a good price.
So I rang those all up and got my receipt back with my $6 ECBs on the end of my receipt. I tore those off and stuck with my coupons for my next transaction.
For the next transaction, I had the two packs of diapers and a package of cookies rung up. The total without sales and coupons would have been $25.37 minus tax. But the diapers were on sale for $8.99 which is good for Huggies. They were cheaper even than CVS brand which I often get. On top of that, I had two coupons for $1.50 off 1.
But before I gave those coupons, I gave a coupon that printed off one of my previous receipts (from the week before) for $5 off $15. I gave this first so that there would be no question about my total being high enough. Once that coupon was applied, I gave the two diaper coupons. Then I gave my ECBs from the first transaction bringing my grand total to $6.05. It would have been even less had my ECBs from the Thermacare printed off.
Hope that explains it all. . .or at least begins to. The crazy thing is there are so many more deals and free things there this week if I was more organized and they restocked stuff that other couponers like me had already wiped out. I plan to go back to mine or visit another nearby CVS before the sales go off to get more stuff but we will see how the budget is looking. I will post those deals if I do go.
Let me know your questions as you think of them. This can feel a bit overwhelming at first, but I promise you can soon do it in your sleep like me. Just ask my husband who has to hear about my CVS trips all the time!
This is not a profound tip on how to be frugal but it sure helps. I have noticed that people often get their new CVS Extra Care card at the checkout so the cashier hands back the form and customers often don't fill it all out and completely register the card. This can be a big mistake as CVS.com sends out frequent coupons by email. By not registering your card with an email, you will miss out on some great coupons. So make sure you register your card immediately if you have not already. Simply go to http://www.cvs.com/ to register your card. Along with that, make sure you regularly check your email to get those coupons so you can use them in time.
