Couponing 101: How to Shop at CVS

CVS I was recently asked how to score free items at CVS. I have been a long time CVS shopper and sporadically post my CVS shopping trips here. I used to write up the CVS deals each week but found it really time consuming. I am happy to tell you all how to shop at CVS to score freebies though!

CVS has a rewards system called the ExtraCare Program. This is a rewards card that you will need to signup for and scan each time you shop. It is free to signup for an ExtraCare card and can be done at any CVS location. The ExtraCare Card allows you to earn ExtraCare Bucks or most commonly referred to as ECBs.

How do ECBs work?

Basically, ECBs are like CVS money. Every week there will be items on sale that will generate ECBs. The CVS ad comes out on Sunday and it will list the weekly ECB items. When you purchase the qualifying item and scan your ExtraCare Card the ECB will be generated. You can then use the ECBs to pay for items in your next transaction. There are limits to how many times you can earn a certain reward. The limits will be listed in the ad.

Many times there are a few items on sale that will be FREE after ECBs. This means that you will have to pay for the item today, but you will get ECBs for your NEXT purchase. An example:

Carefree Body Shape Pantiliners (20-22 ct.), $1
Get $1 ECBs (Limit 1)

In this example you would pay $1 out of pocket but then have $1 in ECBs to spend on your next purchase.

Can you use manufacturers coupons on ECB items?

Using coupons on items is how to really make CVS a great place to shop! Yes, you can use manufacturers and store coupons on items that are generating ECBs. Let’s take the example above and ad a coupon:

Carefree Body Shape Pantiliners (20-22 ct.), $1
Get $1 ECBs (Limit 1)
$0.50/1 Carefree Product, exp. 10/31/11 (SS 08/21/11)

In this scenario you would pay $0.50 out of pocket after the coupon and still earn $1 back in ECBs. Remember that manufacturers coupons are like money!

You can also use CVS coupons in conjunction with a manufactures coupon. This is called stacking. Many times you will get a CVS coupon on the bottom of your receipt. Or you can get CVS coupons at the scanner; a little red price scanner.

Sometimes you will end up paying nothing but tax out of pocket and earn the full amount of ECB back. These are true moneymakers all thanks to coupons!

What is the best order to give coupons?

It order of your coupons does make a difference. I always take a minute before checking out to organize how I am going to hand the coupons to the cashier.

CVS $/$$ coupon. That is, any CVS coupon that is a dollar amount off a certain purchase price.
Any CVS store coupons.
Any manufactures coupons.
ECBs you earned from previous transactions.

This order is important because the $/$$ will not work if your order total drops below the minimum purchase requirement. Therefore, CVS coupons for certain products and manufacturer coupons should be given last.

How do you roll ECBs?

The goal is to spend as little money out of pocket as possible. If you pay with ECBs you want to try to make sure that you are buying items that generate ECBs to replace them. Sometimes you will end up buying items you don’t need at the moment because they are free or moneymakers. Plus, you want to try to keep those ECBs rotating. Your transactions become true moneymakers if you can pay with ECBs and a few cents for tax and earn even more ECBs back.

You can do multiple transactions to keep your total out of pocket to a minimum. If you want to invest time in doing this, break your order up into smaller transactions. Use the ECB’s you get from the first transaction to pay for the second, etc. Just be courteous to others waiting in line.

My suggestion is to start small. Figure out one transaction to do a week until you are comfortable with how the ExtraCare system works.

Please feel free to ask any questions! You can leave a comment or contact me at renae at howtohaveitall dot net.

Bio
Latest Posts

Renae Chiovaro

Renae is a married working mom of two handsome boys. She works as a registered dental hygienist by day and blogs here at How to Have it All by night. She enjoys cooking from scratch, working in her vegetable garden and functional training.