CVS: Extra Care Bucks

         SPENT $12.97 but only paid $3.97 . A savings of 75%!
                                                      (Keep reading to find out how)

So, if all of these ideas related to coupons and coupon match-ups in your grocery store is new to you and you think you have that tackled, I thought we'd move on to another cost saving idea.

So, my mom has been doing this for years and I haven't been listening. Me=Dumb.  She kept telling me about these Extra Care Bucks at CVS and how you can buy something and they give you a "coupon" for money to spend the next time you come in. Well, that is where she lost me. I never wanted to feel compelled to come back in and I feared that in the long run, I'd spend more cashola by doing so.  I am not sure why I didn't listen to her because she is the queen of  "It's not a bargain if you don't need it" and she doesn't fall prey to any fancy advertising gimmicks. So at last, I decided to obey my mother. Thank the Lord.

But first things first.
1. You need to be a card carrying member of CVS, obviously. Is there a store in America that doesn't have a keychain card?
2. You need to look at the weekly circular or a website that coupon matches CVS. Again, I like Southern Savers. If you don't live in the South, just google "coupon matchups CVS" and find a site that tells you what products earn extra care bucks or ECBs for that week.
3. ECBs (extra care bucks) are cash that you can earn to spend on your next transaction. Notice I said transaction and not visit.  The value of the cash prints out at the bottom of your receipt and serves much like a gift certificate when you tear it off and use it on your next transaction.

So, this is what happened my first time out of the gate....

Purchased:
Vitamins              $3.99
2 Candy Bars      $1.00
Subtract              $2.00  because I used a manufacturer's coupon for the vitamins
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Paid CVS            $2.99 + tax
BUT, those items (vitamins and candy bars) earned me $5.00 in Extra Care Bucks (ECBs).  I knew that was going to happen because the circular told me.

SO, I turned around....I mean literally I turned my hinder around and walked to buy more things and purchased:
5 Powerades      $5.00
Subtract             $5.00 because I used my ECBs that i just told you about.
_____________________________________________________________
Paid CVS           $.13 (in tax)
BUT those Powerades earned me $2.00 in Extra Care Bucks. So again, I turned my hinder around to find the toothpaste:
Crest                  $1.99
Subtract              $2.00  in ECBs ( Actually $1.99 is all they would let me use. I lost a penny.)
_____________________________________________________________
Paid CVS         $.10 (in tax)
BUT that toothpaste earned me $1.00 in Extra Care Bucks. So again I turned around (I went to the back of the line because I think it is the most respectful thing to do) to buy my GreenBagtag:

GreenBagTag:    $.99
Subtract             $1.00 in ECBs( Actually .99 is all they would let me use. I lost another penny.)
_____________________________________________________________
Paid CVS          $.05 (in tax)

The GreenBagTag cost $.99 and you attach it to your reusable tote and every time you shop there and use a reusable tote, they scan the greenbagtag. After 4 scans, you get $1.00 in ECBs.  (See pic of greenbagtag below)

That is how it went down for the first trip. The next trip I bought some things totaling $10.34, but I decided to save the $8.00 in ECBs that I earned to use another week. (They don't expire for about a month.)
There wasn't anything else I really needed and "If you don't need it, then it's not a bargain."   I'm listening to her now.