Getting the Most from Your Money - CVS

While I've had my website for about six months, I hadn't taken the time to do an explanation of how to work the various drug stores.  This is my first in a series of "Getting the Most from Your Money".  Each post will highlight a different store.

CVS's rewards program is called Extra Care Bucks or ECB's for short. ECB's are basically CVS money which can be used on almost anything in the store. The usual limitations such as, “Prescriptions, alcohol, gift cards, lottery, Money Orders, Postage Stamps, Pre-Paid cards, and Tobacco products” are excluded.

CVS was not the first drug store with which I became acquainted, but it was shortly my favorite. It is easy to use and easy to learn.

To get started, you'll need to go to CVS and get a CVS card/key-tag. Each time when you go into CVS, scan your key tag/card at the price checking machine. It will spit out coupons for you. Because these coupons are store coupons, you can combine them with manufacturer's coupons for more savings. Also, the first time you go to the store, ask the clerk what the stores policy on ECB's is. Do they allow you to use them after their expiration date or do they hold you to the date? My CVS will let me use any ECB from any date, but I've read of plenty that hold you to the expiration date on your ECB's.

Before you head to the store, you want to grab your CVS circular. Flip through the circular looking for items which generate an ECB. You'll often times see something along the lines of “Pantene 2/$6.98 - $2 ECB. It's like getting it for $2.99 each!” You want to look for two types of deals. (1) Look for deals which are free after your ECB. You may see, “Colgate toothpaste $2.99. Get $2.99 ECB's. It's like getting it for free!” Circle these deals. (2) Look for deals which are close to free after you get your ECB. Perhaps you'll see “Johnson and Johnson Bandaids $1.99 each. Get $1 ECB. It's like getting it for $.99” Circle these deals too.

Once you've gone through the whole circular having done this, choose the ones for which you have the greatest need. When you start out working drug stores, you may need most of the deals with perhaps the exception of some of the OTC medicines. Start small. Try one or two deals the first week. Find one or two items which are free after ECB or close thereto and purchase those. If you have coupons that go with these, make sure you use them.

Let's use our example of toothpaste. “Colgate toothpaste $2.99. Get $2.99 ECB's. It's like getting it for free. Limit 2” So you pick up two tubes of Colgate toothpaste. You have two coupons for $1 off each. When you go to the counter, the cashier will scan your tag. You hand her your two tubes of toothpaste and your two coupons. You will owe $4 for two tubes of toothpaste. This first week, you'll need to plunk down some cash. You pay your $4 plus tax. When the cashier hands you your receipt, at the bottom of it, you'll find your ECB's. In this case, you'll have $5.98 in ECB's. It may not seem like a great deal to pay $4 for two tubes of toothpaste and get a piece of paper which says $5.98 Extra Bucks in return, but you'll like it soon enough. Just remember, the first few weeks, keep it simple. Only buy one or two items.

Next week, do the same thing with the circular. First look for your items which are free after ECB's. Circle them. Then look for items which are close to free after ECB's and circle them. Keeping in mind that you have $5.98 in ECB's from last week, you want to purchase at least $5.98 so that you don't loose any value from your ECB's. Let's say that this week, Nivea Body wash is on sale for $4.99 with a $4.99 ECB, and Skintimate shave gel is on sale for $1.99 with $1.99 ECB. You purchase the Nivea body wash for $4.99 and the Skintimate shave gel for $1.99. When you go to the counter, you hand the cashier your items and a $1 coupon for Nivea, but you don't have a coupon for the shave gel. At that point, the cashier will tell you that you own $5.98 plus tax. Now, you hand her your $5.98 ECB from last week. Now you owe only tax. After you pay, when you look at the bottom of your receipt, you'll have two ECB's for $4.99 and $1.99. Not only have you gotten almost free body wash and shave gel, you've grown your ECB's from $5.98 to $6.98.

Your goal each week should be to earn as many ECB's as you spend. After you've been doing a CVS run once a week for about a month, you're ready to start considering those items which are not free after ECB's but instead are almost free after ECB's. The reason that these are still very valuable is that sometimes you'll have a coupon which covers the difference. Make up may be on sale for $4.99 with a $3 ECB. If you have a $2 coupon, the make-up will be free after your ECB. As long as your coupon and ECB come close, if not equal to or greater, than the price of the item, you'll keep your ECB's at a fairly consistent level.