My amazing CVS deal

I got all this for .12 and I will tell you how!
Ok, so not only have I been trying to save money on groceries but also on other items as in shampoo, makeup, diapers, etc... Doesn't it always seem that we spend so much money on those items?

Well, that was in my former life. :)

Now, I will purchase those things at CVS. Which I know what you are thinking this very moment, "CVS is so expensive!" Which you are correct, but you can get all these items for free! I will tell you what I did then I will give you a link on another woman's blog that explains it in detail!!!

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CVS does this program where certain items each week will be on sale and you will get and Extra Care Buck (ECB) along with it. It prints at the end of your receipt and it is as good as cash!!! It will say "$2 Extra Bucks" or however much the amount is.

So each week when the sale paper comes out I will look in it for ONLY the items that are on sale and have an ECB along with it. For Example, this week Dove Deodorant was on sale for two for $7. It also had a $2 ECB if you bought those items. So really it is like getting 2 for $5! Well on top of the ECB I also had two coupons for $2 off each. So I paid up front $3 for the products and got $2 back - so it was like getting them for .50 each. (make sense?)

CVS also gives you a $25 gift card for transferring a prescription. Now you have to have a coupon for this. I had one that printed out on my receipt, but the CVS here will take a Rite-Aid coupon for transferring a prescription and it is also a $25 gift card.

Ok - hopefully you are not too confused right now. :)

I will tell you what I did and how I got every thing for 12 pennies (but it wasn't my pennies) plus more yesterday!!! Ready?

First, I transfered a prescription and picked up my $25 gift card first thing in the store. Now I have TWENTY FIVE dollars (that I got for FREE) to spend in the store. My theory is that I am going to purchase ONLY ECB items so that I can spend money and then get more money for my next trip.

Next, I went through the store with my list and sales paper and picked up these items:
Suave Body Wash. 3/$6.00 ($2 in ECB)
It was on sale for 3/$6 (so $2.00 each) You had to buy 3 of them in order to get the ECB
I had a .75 coupon for two of them
Then a Buy Two Get One coupon - so it was for $2 basically
So, I had a total of 2.75 in coupons for these items.

Air Wick $4.99 No ECB
Ok, this one had no ECB but I had a coupon for $6.00 off.
So this coupon gave me overage of $1.01 to go to something else.

Glade Candle $3.99
This was suppose to be the Air Wick. Because I had two coupons for that I was going to purchase two and get another #1.01 to go to something else. The store I went to was sold out of this item. I was just going to get a raincheck for the item, but the manager told to pick out ANYTHING in the candle area and he would acknowledge my coupon. I was expecting him to just make the item free, but he acknowledged the entire $6.00 coupon making it a money making deal of $2.01! Hot Dog!!!

Listerine $3.99 $2.00 ECB
I had a $1 off coupon from a CVS pharmacy booklet.

Dove 2/$7.00 $2.00 ECB
I had two coupons for $2 off each.
Making it a total of $4.00 in coupons

Colgate $2.99 $2.00 ECB
I had a $1 off coupon (after ECB this made it a free item)

I had Rain Check for the following items. They were out of them when these items were on sale a few weeks back, so they gave me the rain checks for later. When you have a rain check your ECB gets rounded to the nearest dollar. For example - if the ECB if for $2.50 you get a $3.00 ECB. Very exciting!!!

Colgate Twin Pack $4.00 $2.00 ECB
I had a $1.00 off coupon

Crest with Scope $3.49 $2.50 ECB (but became $3.00 ECB)
I had a .75 coupon

Bounce Dryer Bar $3.95 $1.00 ECB
I had a $1.00 off coupon

Glade Soy Candle $6.99 $6.99 ECB (it became $7.00)
I had a $2.00 coupon

I also had a $4 off a $20 purchase coupon.
And I also had a $2 off a $20 purchase of Oral Care items (all that toothpaste and Listerine came out to more the $20 prior to CVS deals)

Ok - those were my items and this is how it came out:

Total Price Prior to coupons and CVS deals: $67.01
Total Price AFTER CVS Deals: $48.38
Total Price AFTER Coupons: $21.12

So my total price to pay was $21.12.
I paid that with my CVS gift card leaving a balance of $3.88
And I walked out with $21.00 in ECB

Total Spent $21.12
Total Left in ECB and gift Card: $24.88
So, I am only .12 short of when I walked in to CVS having the $25 gift card. Not bad for .12 I think! :)

I now can go into CVS next week when they put new deals out and have $24.88 to spend on ONLY ECB items - hoping to turn it around again with the same about money to spend the next week. See how this is workin'? You just keep rolling over your ECB bucks to the next week never spending out of pocket! And if you get the gift card, like I did, you will not be spending a dime out of your pocket!

For more info on this you can go to Money Saving Mom and she has a CVS 101 Link here and an more in depth one here. Every week Money Saving Mom will post CVS deals for that week. She will explain what item has a coupon out there and how to use it. It is VERY helpful!

Hope that was not too confusing a maybe even a bit helpful perhaps!