In case you have been living under a rock

Living Social

 

 

And Groupon 

are THE way to save money on cool events around town.  And you can save a LOT of money.

Have fun.

CVS Monday

Lipgloss and toothbrush were 100% free. You bought and got a credit back right away. I used ECB.

Actually made money on the toothbrush. Had a dolar off coupon. And the dryer bar was just a good deal with coupon and I had credit.

So there.

Money saved at CVS since I started is around $145 (thereabouts — will double check receipt) and money out of pocket $11. (On scripts I needed anyways.) Not shabby.

CVS

I have had a couple of people ask how these CVS deals work. So… in my usual way of not being able to articulate myself very well:

I give you links!

i heart cvs

slickdeals

frugalfairhope

Eastern Shore Mom

Basically all these sites outline it for you.

I will explain it the way I was shown at the Frugal Fairhope Coupon Class. *Yes, I took a coupon class one night. I am cool like that.

Say Colgate toothpaste is on sale this week for $2.99 (Actually, it is!) You go buy it with $1 off coupon from the paper. This week at CVS if you buy that toothpaste, when you check out (after you sign up for the Extra Care Card — free and two per household) your receipt will have a ECB (Extra Care Bucks) for $2. These are good in store coupons for your next visit. So, you just got that toothpaste for free. (Yes, you spent $2 at the store that day, but they gave it back to you in store credit basically.)

The next week, something else will be on sale… say mouthwash for $2.99. You take another $1 off coupon from the paper (this time for mouthwash – of course) and use your $2 ECB from last week and VOILA! You pay nothing out of pocket and if you worked your deals the right way, you’ll have bought something where you get ECBs back again.

See? You just keep rolling your ECBs over and over and over. It’s very cool.

Make sure you scan your CVS card at the Kiosk every time you are in the store… it will print off coupons for you to use. Sometimes even one like $4 off of $20.

So, start clipping coupons (every single one) and watching those ads. Yes, it takes some time. And yes, it can be overwhelming at first. But it’s super easy to learn and becomes a fun little habit. I have spent $9 so far at CVS (on prescriptions I needed anyways) and have received well over $100 worth of product for free. Totally free. If it’s not something I am going to need I donate it or give to a friend that could use. And really, is it that difficult to store toothpaste and deodorant if it’s free? Not for me!

Free

Yes. This is the highlight of my day thus far. I need a new hobby…

My free stuff from CVS this week. Stressed that my credit forward is only $14.50. Aurghhhhhh!

Tracking CVS 2010

Working the deals at CVS, I spent $11 and have $11.29 credit for my next visit. Yeh, I made 29 cents getting these products.

So, I am going to track my working the deals and coupons at CVS this year and see how far forward it goes.

If I had paid straight off the shelf, no coupons, no CVS card, but using sale prices, this would have cost right at $42 including the script.

Initially I was put off. The same script at WalMart would have cost $4. But in the long run it would have cost me $4.29 and I would not have the other stuff.

Go me.