Saving Your Cents
Presents
CVS 101
An In-Depth Guide For Shopping At CVS
I have had many of you email me and ask me to explain how I am able manage to get such good
CVS deals. The best way that I can show you is by telling you my history with shopping at
CVS, sharing everything that I know about
CVS, and creating a scenario for you to see how it actually works. Don't shoot me for this one (the length) but I feel that it is necessary to give you as many details as I can about how I shop at
CVS in hopes you understand the process better.
The History: How did I get started?Two years ago I had just started a new job and
CVS was just down the street. I filled a prescription there and picked up a pack of gum on my way out. I will never forget this day! I ended up getting in line behind a lady armed with a coupon binder and a buggy full of treasures. She turned to me and said "You can go ahead and check out since you only have that pack of gum. I have coupons and it'll take me a while to check out." Intrigued with what was fixing to happen I simply asked her if she would go ahead and check out while I watched. She accepted and the miracle began.
Everything was rung up in one transaction. Her total was $187.94 (I told you I couldn't forget this day). She handed coupon after coupon to the cashier. Back then they didn't have the screens like they do now so I had no clue what her total was going to be! A few minutes later the cashier said "OK, you owe me a whopping $.83!"
EIGHTY THREE CENTS! I could not believe what I had just heard. I was floored. Neither the cashier nor the lady showed any emotions and acted like it was the normal thing to do! I thanked the lady for letting me watch and talked a little with the cashier after she left. I was told that she wasn't the only one, that there were many like her that came in each week and bought things for free.
I knew at that point...that I too was going to pay $.83 for $187 worth of items one day and vowed to do so...and now I am that lady with her coupons in hand and a buggy full of treasures each week!
To make a long story short I actually learned how to play the
CVS game before I took it to any other store (even the grocery stores). After about 6 months of trial and error I learned it to the "T". Don't get me wrong...I still make mistakes...everyone does!
CVS has thrown a few wrenches in the mix (like changing their coupon policies, limits, and the way tax works etc) but I was able to adapt each time pretty quickly!
Why You Buy What You Buy At CVS:There are only 3 things that I think about when I create my
CVS Shopping Scenarios each week.
1. What can I buy to profit from.
2. What can I buy to break even on.
3. Is there anything that I really need this week but don't want to pay for anywhere else?
Why do I think like that?It's all one huge game to me. I try to buy the most that I can each week (from any store) for the smallest amount I can spend out-of-pocket. By doing this I haven't paid retail prices for any items in over 2 years, my stockpile is out of this world, and I can give like I have never been able to give before!
I know that there seems to be no rhyme or reason for me to buy some of the things that I buy but I can assure you that they do get used! Most of the time I use the items that I purchase to give as gifts or to donate. No I don't need a gazillion Bayer Contour Blood Glucose meters but often they are moneymakers...so I buy them...and donate them!
As crazy as it seems...the key (for me) to
CVS is to buy things that you don't need to build your Extra Care Bucks up to be able to buy the things that you do need without actually spending cash!
On average I roll about $50-$80 Extra Care Bucks each week. At any given time I could buy a box of trash bags or milk or whatever and get it for free by using my surplus of Extra Care Bucks! This was my mission...to have
CVS pay for the things that I needed for spur of the moment purchases and to get tons of free stuff in the mean time!
How can CVS give so many things away for free each week?CVS's Extra Care program is funded by the manufacturer's of the products included in the Extra Care Buck sales. Every time you receive an Extra Care Buck the manufacturer is technically giving you that money. Not only are the manufacturer's paying you the Extra Care Bucks but they are reimbursing the stores for the coupons that you use along with it. The only time that
CVS takes a hit on a promotion is when the Extra Care Bucks come from store brand items OR when they give out the $5/$25 coupons that we use there! That's it! So technically
CVS isn't giving it to you for free the manufacturer's are! When you think about the mass quantity of products that the manufacturer's produce of each and every item on the market the numbers are pretty small when it comes to us "Coupon Users" getting the items for free!
Things You'll Never Pay For Again By Playing The CVS Game:1. Toothpaste: I can't tell you how many tubes of FREE toothpaste I have received over the last 2 year at
CVS!
2. Razors: Some to note: Bic
Soleil, Schick Titanium, Schick
Quattro, Venus Embrace (the good razors!)
3. Medicine & First Aid Products: I have tons of band aids and any type of medicine that you can think of!
4. Make-Up: Tons of make-up is free each year!
5. Air Fresheners: Glade, Air Wick,
Febreeze...you name it!
6. Shampoo & Conditioner: All types and brands!
7. Cleaners: For any room in the house!
8. Candy: There is always a great candy deal!
9. Glucose Meters: Each time one goes on sale with an
ECB you get it free and usually make money off of the purchase!
10. Pretty much anything you can ever think of! The items above are just some of the common items that are free each month!
Teaching You How To Play The Game:CVS is one of the hardest games to teach. You have to know how to improvise and I can't teach that...you have to learn it yourself based on your analytical capability (running numbers) and the surroundings in your particular store (items in or out of stock).
You may write a scenario down and plan to follow it only to find out that half of the things on your list are out of stock. At this point you have to be willing to either get rain checks and walk out of the door or you have to be able to improvise and come up with another scenario right on the spot.
There have been many times that I have had to improvise in my office at
CVS (the pharmacy waiting area, the cashiers always laughed at me for saying this). I always take a small notebook, a calculator, and a pen in just for this reason. You may have rain checks and plan to use them in your scenario. What if the item isn't in stock yet? You may plan NOT to use a rain check but notice that this item is in stock. What do you do? What if someone gives you a scenario online and you don't have the same
ECB's to start out with? How do you create a transaction of your own?
These are the questions that I can't answer directly for you but they are the same questions that you will learn how to answer for yourself over time once you learn the process!
The
Nitty Gritty: A Step-By-Step
CVS Showdown Guide
1. You need a
CVS Extra Care Card. You can get one the next time you visit
CVS (just ask the cashier for one or look up front by the weekly ads...they usually have some out there). You have to have this card scanned at the beginning of each transaction in order to play the game. You can also sign up for the card
here!
2. You need to sign up for email alerts and link your email address, street address, and phone number with your Extra Care Card number. If you forget your card one day they can pull your account up by your phone number. When you sign up for email alerts you are allowing yourself to receive notices and valuable coupons from
CVS that you will use in the future. You can go
here to sign up and link your account! You can also call 1-800-
ShopCVS to register your information!
Step 2: The Language & The Definitions OfIt'll do you no good to read posts (weekly coupon
matchups) on various blogs if you have no clue what the abbreviations stand for so let's get those out of the way next!
ECB: Extra Care Buck
Coupons that print out at the bottom of your receipts when you buy certain advertised items each week. These are can be used as "Cash" on your next transaction.
CRT: Cash Register Tape
This term is often referred to as the "CRT" coupons that may or may not print out with each transaction that you do.
CVS will often give you coupons for $ off of certain items!
YMMV: Your Manager May Vary OR Your Mileage May Vary
A term used to describe a deal that may or may not be available in your store. For example: My store may have diapers on clearance and if they do I will let you know...but I will type YMMV at the end of the notice because your store may not have the same thing on clearance!
Rain Check: A Rain Check allows you to purchase a particular item for the sale priced listed once they get it back in stock! If the store is out-of-stock on an item you will need to be sure to get a rain check on this item in order to take advantage of the sale and
ECB (if they apply) when the item comes in.
ECB's will be printed manually by the cashier when you use a rain check!
BOGO: Buy One Get One Free
OOP: Out-Of-Pocket
WYB: When You Buy
PG: Proctor & Gamble Coupon Inserts
RP: Red Plum Coupon Insert
SS: Smart Source Coupon Inserts
GM: General Mills Coupon Inserts
GBT: Green Bag Tag
Step 3: Extra Care Bucks: Details you need to know!
1. If a promotion requires you to spend "X" amount of dollars to get "X" amount of
ECB's back you need to know that the total "X" amount of dollars is based on the
pre-coupon price.
Example: Buy $20 in Medicine and Get $10 ECB's Buy 4 products @ $5 each Total: $20 (this is the amount that the promotion runs off of!) Use: 4 - $2.50/1 coupons Total Out-of-pocket: $10 Receive $10 ECB's Even though you only pay $10 for this transaction the promotion initially required you to purchase $20...and you did!
2. You do not have to purchase all of the promotional items in the same transaction OR at the same store. If you only purchase $15 worth of the above products one day you can go back the next and purchase the other $5 worth and at that point you will receive your
ECB's. You will be able to keep track of the totals at the bottom of your receipt. It keeps the total for you there!
3. Extra Care Bucks can be used to purchase anything in the store except the following items...
Postal Stamps
Gift Cards
Prescriptions
Tobacco Products
Lottery
Pre-Paid Cards
Or Alcohol
4. Extra Care Bucks can only be applied to the
pre-tax total. You cannot use them to pay for taxes.
5.
CVS will not give you cash back when you use
ECB's. If you have a $10
ECB and your
pre-tax total is only $9.87 then you can either choose to have the cashier adjust the
ECB down (they will manually enter $9.87 for the
ECB and you will loose $.13) or you can choose to purchase a filler item to make up for the difference. I always recommend choosing to purchase a filler item rather than loosing money!
6. Extra Care Bucks expire 4 weeks from the day that they are printed!
7. If you have an Extra Care Buck that has expired you can call 1-800-
ShopCVS and ask them to re-issue that
ECB. They can see that you have not used it and the next time you make a purchase the
ECB will print out on the receipt. More recently the store managers have been able to re-print expired coupons if they are only a day or two past the expiration date. Ask them first!
Step 4: Extra Care Buck Monthly & Weekly DealsCVS puts out a monthly Clip-Free Coupon Booklet. You will find these booklets up front with the weekly ads. If you don't see any...just ask the cashier and more than likely they will have some extras behind the desk! Inside you will find monthly Extra Care Bucks deals that you can take advantage of at any time during the month.
Tip: Beware! Sometimes you will see these monthly deals advertised in the weekly flyers but you will ONLY be able to do them the limit of times the monthly flyer advertises! If you try to buy the product again your ECB's will NOT print out!CVS has a new weekly ad each week. In these ads the weekly Extra Care Buck Deals will be different. Each deal will have the limits posted under the advertisement.
Step 5: The Bottom Line: How to roll over ECB's (I will show scenarios at the bottom of this post for a detailed explanation of Step 3 and Step 4!)
The idea is to look in your current weekly ad to see what is free after
ECB's. Usually there are at least one or two of these items each week. You will actually pay for that item up front but then you will receive the money back in the form of an
ECB to use like cash on your next transaction.
Week #1: Let's say that you buy an item for $10 and it generates (on the bottom of your receipt) a $10
ECB. You will pay $10 in cash (or debit/credit etc) and once your receipt prints out you now are a proud owner of a $10
ECB. You have gotten this item for free after
ECB'sWeek #2: Let's say that this is all you buy the first week and now it's your second week. You open your ad up and see that there are 2 items "Free after
ECB's" that will cost you $5 each and you get $5 back in
ECB's each. You buy both items for a total of $10 and you pay with the first $10
ECB that you earned last week and you get that $10 back in
ECB's. In two weeks you now have purchase 3 items (worth $20) for an initial investment of $10! Not too bad right! That's 50% off.
The main goal of shopping at CVS is to use the ECB's that you acquired in your last transaction to pay for the next transaction (whether it's to get the same amount back or to get more than you spent)!Step 6: The Non-Coupon Policy at CVSI know this is kind of in the middle of it all but I wanted to explain the coupon policy before I talk about using coupons.
CVS does not have a corporate coupon policy but the same practices are upheld at each
CVS store (unlike most grocery stores). You can pretty much follow these rules at any
CVS store.
- CVS accepts all manufacturer (including internet printable coupons) coupons.
- CVS does NOT double coupons. They are taken for face value ONLY!
- CVS offers "Store" coupons (you will find these in the emails that you signed up for along with finding them on the bottom of your receipt).
- CVS allows you to stack 1 manufacturer's coupon with 1 store coupon on the same product.
- CVS allows you to stack 1 manufacturer's coupon with 1 store coupon AND a $/$$ ($4/$20, $5/$25 etc) coupon all in the same transaction.
- CVS requires you to purchase as many items as you have coupons for. If you have 5 coupons then you will need to have 5 items.
- If there is a Buy One Get One Free Sale you can use a Buy One Get One Free Coupon and get both items for FREE (the first item rings up at full price and the second rings up at $0.00. When the coupon prompts for the amount to be taken off the cashier will then enter the full price of the first item making both of them free)
- CVS allows you to do back to back transactions all at one time (once you really get into shopping at CVS you will see yourself doing 2 or more transactions in one trip)
- CVS allows you to get a rain check on an item if they are out of stock! (you will be getting a lot of these!)
Step 7: How to profit on your ECB's using manufacturer's coupons (increase the dollar amount of
ECB's that you acquire each week.)
This is where coupons come into play. We will start off simple and say that there is an item listed "Free After ECB's" and the cost is $10. Let's say that this time you have a manufacturer's coupon for $3 off of this product. Instead of paying $10 you will hand over the coupon and pay $7 out-of-pocket and still receive the $10 ECB. You have just profited $3 off of this transaction.
Step 8: How to profit even more by "Stacking" coupons at CVS (using CVS store coupons in conjunction with manufacturer's coupons to save even more money)
We need to use an actual product for this one so how about one from the past? Let's say that Colgate Total Toothpaste is $2.99 and will be "Free After ECB's" (you'll get $2.99 back). Let's say that you have a $1 off manufacturer's coupon that you printed from the internet AND CVS has given you a coupon (in the form of a CRT or email coupon) for $1.50 off of Colgate Toothpaste.
Here's how it works:Buy 1 Colgate Toothpaste @ $2.99
Use: 1 - $1 off printable manufacturer's coupon
Stack With: $1.50 off CVS coupon
Total Out-Of-Pocket: $.49
Receive: $2.99 in ECB's
On the end of your receipt you will receive an Extra Care Buck for $2.99! You have just profited $1.99 on this tube of toothpaste!
Step 9: How to profit more than ever by using a manufacturer's coupon, "Stacking" it with a CVS store coupon for that product, and "Stacking" a dollar amount coupon...all in one! GOT THAT?
Now we are at the most complicated step in coupon usage at CVS. We will use the same $10 item that will be "Free After ECB's".
Remember when I told you to sign up for email alerts on CVS.Com in the first step? This is why. CVS will randomly email out, offer a survey, or give you a coupon at the bottom of your receipt for a dollar amount off of your purchase. They are all common and will come in the following increments...$2/$10, $3/$15, $4/$20, $5/$30, $10/$50. You never know when you will or when you won't have access to one of these coupons but it always means "good times" when you do!
Let's say that you buy that $10 item and it will generate $10 in ECB's. Let's say that you have a $2/$10 CVS coupon, a $1 off CVS CRT Coupon, AND a $2 off manufacturer's coupon.
Remember that you have to have as many items in your transaction as you do coupons so you will need fillers.
Tip: Blow pops are the cheapest item in the store. They are usually priced at $.25 each and are located up front with the candy. Occasionally you might find something cheaper on clearance but it's a good idea to keep these in mind. The second cheapest thing in the store are the little individually packaged caramels located on the cashiers counter. These are $.33 each! From time to time you will need to use these items to bring your total amount up to a certain number!Here's how it works:Buy $10 item
Buy Filler @ $.25 (blow pop)
Buy Filler @ $.25 (blow pop)
Total: $10.50
Use: $2/$10 CVS coupon
Stack With: $1/1 CVS store coupon off of that specific product
Stack With: $2/1 Manufacturer's coupon
New Total: $5.50
Receive: A $10 ECB
You will receive an Extra Care Buck in the amount of $10 (on the bottom of your receipt) for a profit of $4.50 off of these 3 items!
Step 10: Order In The Court: Your Coupon Order That Is!If you noticed in the scenario right above this I listed the coupons in a certain order. You always want to hand the cashiers each coupon individually in a specific order so that you will be able to use them all without the register beeping!
Here is the order...- Any $/$$ coupons ($2/$10, $5/$30 etc): You ALWAYS want to hand them this type of coupon first. If you don't they will scan your other coupons and the total may go below the amount allowed for this coupon and the register will beep.
- Any CVS store coupons need to be handed to the cashier after the $/$$ coupons.
- Any manufacturer coupons need to be scanned 3rd
- Any ECB's that you will be using to pay the final total with will need to be last! You don't want to hand them a $10 ECB first when you really only needed to use a $5 one!
Know that this order isn't exactly per specification to the CVS cash registers. You can hand #2 or #3 in any particular order BUT I recommend making a habit out of handing the coupons over in the above listed order to keep confusion (you or the cashier) to a minimum. The $/$$ coupons can be given even after the total is below the specified amount BUT you may get a cashier that argues the use of that coupon. I have even had cashiers tell me that I can't use a manufacturer's coupon before I use the CVS coupon to stack with it...so to make it simple...just follow the steps above and you should be fine!Tax: Figuring out how tax works at CVS is truly a complicated matter. If you would like to venture into the explanation I have written an article previously that you can read here! It is not completely necessary to understand how tax works but it may explain why your total is more or less than you expected! If you are doing each transaction and keeping it under $1 you are doing pretty good!Step 11: Scenarios: Putting It All Together!This scenario will be for today's ad (starting on 12/6). I want you to go
here and flip through the ad yourself to familiarize and to be able to refer back to what the deals look like in the ad itself!
The first scenario will be for a beginner...meaning that you have NO Extra Care Bucks!
CVS Beginner Scenarios for the week of 12/6/09Here is a list of the items we are going to be purchasing. You always want to familiarize yourself with what the item looks like before you buy it! It is crucial that you purchase the item exactly as it is described (size/brand etc). If you do not purchase the correct item you will not receive any ECB's!
Zantac 150 24ct: $8.99 (limit 1) ($8.99 ECB's back)
Merry Brite Santa Hats: $3.99 (Limit 2) ($3.99 ECB's back off of each one)
Merry Brite 12ct mini ornament sets: $1.99 (Limit 2) ($1.99 ECB's back off of each one)
Emergen-C double pk: $3.99 (Limit 1) ( $3.99 ECB's back)
Tip: This is the part of the process where you have to run numbers. You are looking at each of the deals and trying to figure out what purchase combination will allow you to spend the least amount of money out-of-pocket. You have to take into consideration the Extra Care Bucks that will print out after each transaction and how to apply them to the next transaction so that you can spend the least amount of cash!Transaction #1Buy 1 Merry Brite Mini Ornament 12ct set for $1.99.
Total Due: $1.99 out-of-pocket plus tax
Receive $1.99 back in ECB's
Since the limit is 2 on this item you are going to buy it again!
Transaction #2Buy 1 Merry Brite Mini Ornament 12ct set for $1.99
Pay for this item with the $1.99 ECB that printed out from your first transaction!
Total Due: $0.00
Receive: $1.99 in ECB's
At this point you have bought 2 sets of ornaments for the price of 1 AND you have a $1.99 ECB which technically means that you have purchased both of the ornaments "Free after ECB's"!
Transaction #3Buy 1 Merry Brite Hat @ $3.99
Use: $1.99 ECB from Transaction #2
Pay: $2 Out-Of-Pocket plus tax
Receive: $3.99 in ECB's
Again...there is a limit of 2 on this particular item so you will do another transaction.
Transaction #4Buy 1 Merry Brite Hat @ $3.99
Use: $3.99 ECB from transaction #3
Pay: $0.00 OOP
Receive a $3.99 ECB back!
There are 2 more items that are free after ECB's in this particular ad so we are going to take advantage of those also!
Transaction #5Buy 1 Emergen-C Dbl Pack @ $3.99 (Limit 1)
Use: $3.99 from transaction #4
Total Due: $0.00
Receive: $3.99 back in ECB's
Transaction #6Buy 1 Zantac 150 24ct @ $8.99 (Limit 1)
Use: $2/1 printable coupon here
Use: $3.99 ECB from transaction #5
Total Due: $3 plus tax
Receive: $8.99 back in ECB's
OK in all 6 of these transactions your total Out-Of-Pocket expense is $6.99 plus tax and you would have an $8.99 ECB to "Roll Over" to next weeks ad! You just purchased $24.94 worth of items for $6.99 and still have $8.99 in play money left! Not too bad right!
Listen Up: You very well could have bought all of these items in one transaction BUT your total would have been $24.94 plus tax. You would have used the $2/1 Zantac coupon to make it $22.94 plus tax and you still would have gotten back $24.94 back in ECB's. Remember the idea is to come out-of-pocket as little as you can in the beginning...for these transactions it was $6.99 instead of $22.94! See how big of a difference it made by breaking the transactions down so that the ECB's could be rolled over into each transaction!Now, Let's go to next weeks ad with the $8.99 in ECB's that we have in hand! Go
here to view the ad for the week of 12/13 - 12/19!
Scenarios for week #2: 12/13 - 12/19Now that you have a larger amount to start off with (instead of nothing) your transactions will be a little bigger! You want to make sure that your total after coupons comes as close to $8.99 as you can so that you can use the ECB you have.
Here are the items that we are going to purchase. The ones that are "Free after ECB's".
Advil PM 4ct: $.99 (limit 1) ($.99 ECB's back)
Merry Brite Bows 12 ct : $2.99 (Limit 2) ($2.99 ECB's back for each one)
Merry Brite Tissue Paper (20 ct red & green): $1.99 (Limit 2) ($1.99 ECB's back for each one)
Merry Brite Peel N' Stick Gift Tags 32-50 ct: $1.99 (Limit 2) ($1.99 ECB's back for each one)
Transaction #1Buy 1 Advil PM 4ct @ $.99
Buy 1 Merry Brite Holiday Bows 12ct @ $2.99
Buy 1 pack of tissue paper @ $1.99
Buy 1 pack of tissue paper @ $1.99
Buy 1 pack of tags @ $1.99
Total: $9.95
Use: $8.99 ECB from last weeks transactions
Pay: $.96 plus tax
ECB's Received: (note that duplicate product ECB's will combine...you will see this with the Tissue paper in this transaction!) $.99 from Advil, $2.99 from Bows, $3.98 from 2 packs of tissue paper, $1.99 from Tags: A total of $9.95 in ECB's back.
You more or less received all of the items for "Free after ECB's" plus tax on the $.96! You spent $8.99 in ECB's and you paid $.96 OOP which totals up to $9.95...what you have left in ECB's for the next transaction!
Transaction #21 bag of tags @ $1.99
Use: $1.99 ECB from previous transaction
Pay: $0.00
Receive $1.99 back in ECB's
Transaction #31 bag of Bows @ $2.99
Use: $2.99 from transaction #1
Pay: $0.00
Receive: $2.99 in ECB's
In the end you have purchased $14.93 worth of items for $9.95 (you used an $8.99 ECB, Paid $.96 OOP, and have $9.95 in ECB's left! It all equals out to basically getting everything for free again this week!)
The following week you will have a $2.99 ECB (bows), a $1.99 ECB (tags), a $.99 ECB (Advil), a $3.98 ECB (from both tissue papers combined) = $9.95!
In 2 weeks worth of shopping trips you have purchased $39.87 for $7.95 OOP plus tax and you still have $9.95 in ECB's to roll over to the next week! You are still ahead $2 and everything that you have bought is "Free After ECB's!
Where to find CVS Store CouponsCVS.Com offers a printable coupon page powered by Coupons.Com. The first page or 2 are always full of CVS store coupons (usually for store brand products) and the remaining pages are regular manufacturer's coupons. You can go here to check these each week to see if there are any you might want to use!
On the bottom of your receipt. Each transaction that you make at CVS has the potential of including one or more CVS store coupons on the bottom of it!
In your email. CVS often sends out coupons to cardholders through their email alerts!
At the CVS Coupon Center. Most (but not all) CVS stores have Coupon Centers located either up front by the entrance door or in the middle of the store (by the seasonal items).Coupon Booklets, Brochures, inside, and on products. The pharmacy is an awesome place to look for the brochures. Often CVS will release coupon booklets like the $100 Coupon Booklet pictured!
Coupon Booklets & Brochures: These are most commonly found in the pharmacy area but every now and then the front desk has them! Most bloggers catch wind of the new booklets and will notify you when they come out!
On Products or In Products: Sometimes CVS places their Store Brand coupons on certain products or inside of product packaging. The Playskool coupon was found on a bag of Playskool diapers and the other coupon was found in a bag of CVS brand cottonballs! Always keep an eye out!
For me...the most sought after coupon is the one that CVS releases for a FREE $25 gift card with any NEW or Transferred prescription. Other stores offer similar coupons but they are only for transferred prescriptions.
CVS Resources: Sites and articles that can help you even more!
Every Saturday I post the aritcle "
Drug Stores On A Dime". This article allows other bloggers to link their weekly Drug Store Coupon Matchups. Be sure to check out anyone who has a link for CVS!
Every Saturday I will post beginner scenarios for you to follow
here! I will show you how to get started with no ECB's and I may also include what I plan to purchase. Actually seeing how someone comes up with the weekly scenarios will help you understand the process better. Eventually you will be able to come up with them on your own!
I get my weekly ad information from
IHeartCVS.Com. Erica is the founder and has created an awesome site that shows you everything you need to know to create your weekly scenarios. She has access to future ad scans (so you can prepare ahead of time). She also alerts everyone to the CRT's that are being printed out each week (for you to look out for) and the coupons that cardholders are being emailed! She also share her shopping trips with you (like I do). You will definitely want to bookmark this site and use it as one of your main resources!
If you would like to print this article you can go
here to view the google doc! I have removed the pictures to save you ink! This is a 14 page article so be prepared!
Have More Questions?
Shoot me an email and I will try to get back to you in a timely manner. Please know that I receive quite a few emails each day and my response may be delayed!
SavingYourCents (at) gmail (dot) com
It took me about 5 hours to write this article for you! I wanted to make sure that I shared everything that I could with you! I may come back in the future and tweak the article as I feel necessary but if I do I will let you know! I hope that once you have read ALL 14 pages of my CVS 101 you will have a better understanding of how it all works and be able to start saving even more money at CVS! Thanks in advance to all who take the time to read it!
Photo: To show you how plentiful the coupons are I went into my local Kroger and ended up getting as many coupons as you see in the photo. There were some that I didn't get!
Photo: To show you how plentiful the coupons are I went into my local Kroger and ended up getting as many coupons as you see in the photo. There were some that I didn't get!
Photo Tip: This was a sneaky coupon! Ocean Spray's logo is on the front of their juice bottles. The coupon was actually part of the logo and blended in. Coupons like these are easily overlooked! 
Catalina Machine:
