Extreme Couponing ~ Drug Stores (CVS)

Today's "Extreme" topic... Drug Stores.  I actually prefer purchasing most, if not all my health & beauty products through my 3 local drug stores.  CVS, Walgreen's, and Rite Aid. 

Shopping at drug stores is quite different than shopping at your grocery stores, and it does take a little while to learn, to be proficient at it, but once you learn, your stockpiled items will begin to grow by leaps and bounds! 

While each of the three major drug stores are relatively the same, there are different rules, and policies that apply at each store.  So for the sake of this post, I will be starting with only the basics of CVS.

The major question that I get asked all the time, is how do I NOT spend money?  Now, this is where many people get confused.  I spent money the first week that I began shopping at the drug stores, as I did not have any of the ExtraCare Bucks (CVS), +Up Rewards (Rite Aid), or Register Rewards (Walgreen's) to "Roll". 

Okay, looking at the above paragraph, I may have already lost a few people.  So here's a little CVS Store lesson:

ExtraCare Bucks:  Sign up to receive a CVS member loyalty tag if you don't already have one.  This is what will get you those ExtraCare Buck deals.  These are printed at the bottom of your register receipt if you purchased an item that offered ExtraCare Bucks back on the item.  There is often a limit to the amount of offers for each product  You'll often see these abbreviated on blog posts as ECB or ECB's.  These are used like cash within ANY CVS store.  You cannot use these to purchase gift cards, prescriptions, alcohol, cigarettes, etc.  These can be used in addition to your manufacturer's coupons, store coupons, and gift cards, as I stated before, these are used like CASH within your CVS store.  You can continually "ROLL" these ExtraCare Buck Rewards on each future purchase you make.  Here's a generic scenario:

You DO NOT currently have ANY ECB's:
Product A costs $5.00, the weekly sale states that you will receive $2.00 in ExtraCare Bucks BACK when you purchase 1.  This essentially brings the total cost of the item down to $3.00.  There happens to be a coupon for that item in the Sunday Paper, for $1.50 off 1.  You use that coupon at your purchase.  You will pay $3.50 out of pocket, and you will receive $2.00 in ECB's back at the bottom of your receipt, to use on your next purchase.  Bringing the total cost of the product down to only $1.50.

Now you have $2.00 in ECB's to use:
Product B - Toothpaste, costs $1.99  You will receive $1.99 in ECB's BACK when you purchase 1, there is a limit of 2 on this deal.  You have 2 - $1.00 off 1 tube of toothpaste coupons that you printed off the web.  You purchase the 2 tubes of toothpaste.  Once the items have been rung up, your total is $3.98 (Plus Tax) you hand the cashier the $2.00 ECB that you received from your first purchase, and the 2 - $1.00 coupons = You are now ONLY going to pay the tax for those items, and you will receive back NEW ECB's totalling $3.98 - Bring your total cost down to ZERO paid, and a profit made. 

** And now you have $3.98 to use, or "ROLL" on your next purchase at CVS. 

So if you do not currently have ExtraCare bucks, your first purchase will cost you cash, but after your first purchase, you continue to shop with your ECB's to minimize your costs. 

In order to roll your ECB's each week, you really need to NOT be brand loyal.  By not being brand loyal, you have a larger pool to shop from, and continue your weekly rolling.  This is also a great way to be able to try new products at minimal cost.  This also opens the door to new coupons that you may be able to use. 

Being "Extreme" takes time, and is such a huge topic, with lots to cover, so I will be adding to this topic on a regular basis.  Got a question?  Leave a comment and let me know.