If you haven't read the previous post on getting started saving money with CVS, then please read it first. In that post, I forgot to mention that you need to join the Beauty Club. This is a very important part because you will earn so many more Extracare Bucks (ECB) by doing this. You will earn $3 for every $30 spent - BEFORE COUPONS!! - on hair care, skin care, makeup, and fragrances. Trust me, this adds up VERY fast and they award you the ECBs immediately the week after you've earned them. Last week I earned $6 which I used in my purchases yesterday. I think that I will earn $9 ECB this week from yesterday's purchases, so that is $15 MORE in ECBs in just two weeks just for joining the Beauty Club!
The next step is to check out this website each week for a preview of next week's ads. The Couponing Couple uploads shots of the ad circular so that you get a "heads up" on what will go on sale so you can start working on the deals you want to shop. Here is how I write up my weekly list ahead of time:
Bacially, I sit down early in the week and go through the preview and write down the potential items that I am interested in purchasing. Afterwards, I go through the CVS app and look through the coupons available, both CVS and manufacturer, and I save them to my CVS card to use in my deals. I also check Coupons.com and print out any that I can use.
I have my own notations when making my list. The top line is the ECBs that I have available to me to shop with. I do expect to have $9 more from my Beauty Club dollars, but I'm not sure yet, so haven't noted it. Once I see what that ECB is, I will add it to the top line.
Let's go through the Maybelline line and I'll explain what I do. Maybelline 12,5 with a © means I have to spend $12 to earn a $5 ECB and I have coupons to use. If I know the value of the coupon, then I note it like I did on the next line, 5C means I have a $5 coupon. You'll see above the Olay note, that I have multiple coupons to choose from for that deal. CVS loads new coupons onto their app each Sunday, so I always wait until Sunday to sit down with the newspaper circular, Sunday coupons and my phone to work on my shopping list.
I like to head to CVS on Sunday afternoons, if possible. This way, I have the most time to shop and grab the deals I want. If I get to the store and the items I want aren't on the shelves, I just ask the cashier when they will be getting more stock and go back the day after that.
In the next post, I'll go through my purchases from this week and explain how I did it.
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