I Heart CVS

I love to find bargains all around town, but I have to say that CVS has been my favorite for deals lately.  I hear couponing misconceptions from people all of the time.  They either think it is just clipping a coupon here and there or they think it is too much work with little reward.  Of course it is more than just clipping a "few" coupons, but with hard work, (sometimes it's not that hard), you can get a hell of a deal with a lot of reward.  You just have to know how to play the game.

Every store has rules and for the most part they follow the rules pretty close.  Places like CVS are a great bonus place.  You can use different types of coupons combined with reward programs to get a great deal.  If you get your game plan in order, arrive organized and ready to go get 'em, you will fair much better.  Couponing is kind of like a sport, lol...you have to train and prepare.  If you don't you are not going to do as well. Last week I noticed a deal in the works with Colgate mouthwash.  It was the 8 ounces bottles on sale for 2/$5.98.  When you compare that to Wal-Marts price, you willl see that it is actually a few cents higher at CVS.  But the let me break it down for you and show you what I did. It went like this:

Transaction #1
4-Colgate mouthwash 8 ounce bottles @ 2/$5.98.  I had $3 CVS Extra Care Bucks and $2 off manufacture's coupons for each bottle. Here's the details:
Total:      $12
ECB        - $3
Coupons  - $8
           =$0.96
+tax       $0.77
             $1.73

That's a saving of 92%. From that I also received $6 in ECB to use on the next transaction.

Transaction #2
1-Revlon Colorstay pressed powder @ $10.49.  Here are the details:
Total:      $10.49
ECB:       -$ 6.00
Coupon   -$ 4.00
             =$ 0.49
+tax         $0.90
               $1.39

That's a savings of 95% and I earned $4 more ECB!

Transaction #3
1- Nivea Cellulite Gel @ $6.00
1- Nivea Shower Gel @ $4.00
2- bags Reese's Peanut Butter Cups @2/$5  Here are the details:
Total:              $15.00
ECB:               -$ 4.00
Man. Coupons  -$ 4.00
CVS Coupons   -$ 5.00
                     =$ 2.00
+tax                 $ 1.29
                       $ 3.29

That's a savings of 87% and I earned $3 in ECB!

Transaction #4
1- Nivea Shower Gel @ $4.00
1- Stride gum @ $0.69
1- Caramel @ $0.33          Here are the details:
Total:          $ 5.02
ECB:          -$ 3.00
Coupon      -$ 2.00
                =$ 0.02
+tax           $ 0.43
                 $ 0.45

That's a savings of 93% and the end of transactions for the moment, lol.

Total spent out of pocket (OOP) details:

Price of items before coupons:  $42.47

Dollar amount of coupons:         $18.00
Extra Care Bucks:                     $16.00
CVS Coupons:                           $ 5.00 
Total saved:                             $39.00

Total OOP spent:                      $ 3.47
+ tax                                       $ 3.39
                                              $ 6.86

That's a savings of 89% folks...and that was awesome!  That would be the reality of Extreme Couponing.  Small transactions and not 1000's of dollars in merchandise as portrayed on the TV show. This is why I heart CVS...