CVS - 11/1/2020 purchase details

I thought I would take you step-by-step through the purchases I made Sunday, 11/1/2020 and I will detail how & why I did what I did. I made four separate purchases so that I could "roll my ECBs" ... what this means is that I used the ECBs from the first purchase to help pay for the second, then used the ECBs from the second purchase to help pay for the third and so on.

First purchase: 

There was a Spend $30, get $10 ECB offer. This week, I worked on replacing some old makeup and also buying some fresh skin care items. So, I bought two L'oreal moisturizers, retails $20.99 each. I usually try to spend the least amount I can, so just the $30, but I had a specific product I was wanting.

The CVS app gave me two $5 off L'oreal moisturizer coupons plus $5 off $30 facial care. Then I used my $3 and $6 ECB. Finally, because this was my FIRST purchase, any % off coupons available to me pop up in the computer for me to use. CVS applies ALL coupons and ECBs first and then applies the % off coupons to the amount leftover. 

Now, I'm pretty sure that I do NOT have to choose to use them on the first purchase because the week before, I used it on my 3rd purchase. However, yesterday's cashier told me I had to use both of them even when I told him I wanted to save the 25% off for the next purchase. I am going to check on this when I go back next week. I have learned that, sometimes, you have to find out the schedule of your favorite cashiers and make your purchases when they are working to make sure you get the best deals you can. It actually worked out to use the 25% off on this purchase as it was my biggest one of the four.

BOTTOM LINE: I spent $14.59 and earned a $10 ECB, so $4.59 out-of-pocket (OOP)

Second purchase: I now have a $10 ECB. Almay was Spend $12, earn $6 and Covergirl was Spend $15, earn $6. I splurged a little and bought a nice Covergirl eyeshadow kit so my retail was $21.48. Almay's retail was $12.98 so much closer to the minimum I had to spend.

Then I had TWO $2 Covergirl coupons, a CVS app $5 off Almay cosmetics, CVS app $4 off $12 cosmetics and my $10 ECB. 

BOTTOM LINE: Spend $13.26 and earned TWO $6 ECBs, so OOP was $1.26

The $4 off nail, cosmetics, etc. coupon was sent to my email/text and I clicked on the link to add it to my card for use this week. The screenshot below confirms that it is now on my card for use. Coupons like this only become available to you if you sign up for ALL forms of communication - email, text and mail. 

Third purchase: Revlon had a Spend $12, earn $4 ECB. 

BOTTOM LINE; You can see that the blush I bought was $12.49 and I used the two $6 ECBs leaving my OOP $1.71

Fourth Purchase: Wet 'n Wild had a Spend $10, get $5 ECB. I had a 40% off Wet 'n Wild coupon. Again, CVS deducts the ECB first and then applies the % off. So, retail was $10.47 - $4 leaves $6.47. Then 40% off $6.47 leaves $3.88+tax left to pay. 

BOTTOM LINE: I paid $4.65 OOP and earned a $5 ECB to spend next time.

After I got home from making my purchases, I had received an email sharing more offers for the week. Some of these offers were NOT in the weekly circular so it's like getting a secret notice of some special offers! One thing I have learned is that the more you shop at CVS, the more CVS coupons will add to your app for your use. It pays to shop their fairly regularly!

I hope this has helped you understand how to make the most of the money you have to spend. The retail for all of these items was $109 and I spent just over $34 on EVERYTHING. I couldn't spend this little even if I went to Wal-Mart and paid their retail prices. I'll share a few more posts like this so you can get a bit more experience in "rolling" your ECBs.

Saving $$ with CVS - Second Steps

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.

Saving $$ at CVS - First steps

** I am not an affiliate with CVS, nor am I earning anything for providing this info. **

Since I love saving money while purchasing items our family needs, I have been a CVS shopper for years. I often buy items to donate to a local youth shelter when I can get them for next to nothing. Several people have commented on my Instagram/Facebook posts about my ability to save money so I thought I'd spend some time explaining what I do. There are super couponers that save even more money than I do (you may have seen the pictures of their garages & basements full to the brim with their purchases) , but I don't buy items that I can't use just because they are free.

The first step is to sign up for an ExtraCare Rewards card & purchase a Carepass. You can do both of these things at your nearest CVS store or online. You HAVE to have the ExtraCare card to be able to purchase items at the weekly sale price. You will also earn 2% of your purchases back each quarter. Be sure and sign up for the emails & texts so that you can receive special offers each week. I also receive a mailing with coupons several times monthly. You will WANT to receive all of these because these offers will help you save so much more money!

If you purchase the yearly Carepass, it is $60 ($5/month) and you are given a $10 ExtraCare Buck (ECB) each month to spend however you wish. What a bargain ... pay $60 to earn $120 - you are doubling your investment!! This pass also gives you 20% off CVS Health brands every day as well as a few other perks. 

The second step is to install the CVS app onto your phone. You will use this to search for current CVS-only coupons & manufacturer coupons that you want to use each week. You will also be able to look through your current Rewards status or even look through the current weekly ad.

The third step is to subscribe to a Sunday paper. You will then get the weekly sales ad and be able to cut coupons from your favorite Sunday paper. Larger city papers usually have more coupon inserts so it may be worth it to subscribe to one of those papers. You can determine if this is the case (more coupons) by scanning the Sunday issues at your local grocery store. I PROMISE you that you will save WAY more than the annual subscription fee for the paper! You can also search and print coupons from Coupons.com. Obviously, you can make a trip to your CVS store to pick up the weekly sale circular; it just depends on how close you live to a CVS and how often you drive by one. I prefer to get the Sunday paper for local news.

In my next post, I'll start the process of explaining how I determine what to buy. I am still learning more about the program each time I go to the store, so remember this is a process and you'll figure out what works best for YOU over time!