"Follow Me Monday" CVS Shopping!
It’s Monday and that means my eighth edition of “Follow Me Monday”! Today I’m going to discuss CVS shopping! Before posting the video, I thought it would be good to do a quick overview of how to shop CVS.
The first step to take, before you can even begin shopping, is to either go to CVS or online here and fill out the Extra Care membership form. The benefit of going in the store is you will be able to get the card immediately, rather then having to wait two weeks for it to come in the mail.
Once you have your Extra Care card you’ll be able to start earning Extra Care Bucks! Extra Care Bucks (ECB) are CVS rewards that will give you money back to spend in the store however you please. There are a couple of different ways you can earn Extra Care Bucks:
First, you will earn 2% cash back on every purchase in store and online. Every three months these Extra Bucks will print out at the end of your receipt. You can also earn one Extra Care buck for every two prescriptions purchased in the store or online.
… And finally, the main way to earn Extra Care Bucks is by flipping through the weekly ad. In the ad you will find products advertised that will generate Extra Care Bucks when purchased. The best part is that you can also use manufacturer coupons and/or CVS coupons to really lower your out of pocket expense. They also often have promotions where a product is FREE after Extra Care Bucks– meaning if you purchase something for $3.99, you will get back $3.99 in Extra Care Bucks. Plus, you can use coupons on these type of items to “make money” after Extra Care bucks!
After you get one or two Extra Care Bucks you can start “rolling” them. This basically means that you’ll be able to use the Extra Care Bucks you’ve already earned to pay for new Extra Care Buck Deals. If you keep doing this week after week you’ll spend very little out of pocket… possibly only $1-$2 per transaction!
Finally, my favorite part about CVS shopping, is that they often have money off store coupons available. Currently, you can print a $5 off $30 coupon and $5 off $20 coupon. Use these coupons BEFORE your manufacturer and CVS coupons to really sweeten all the Extra Care Buck Deals and sale items!
Alright, on to the video:
**Go here if you can’t see the video.
Can you be any more adorable?! I means seriously now! lol
I don’t have a CVS here but still enjoyed watching you do your thing!
You make me laugh so much! Love your FMM pieces! 🙂
Question on the Extra Care Bucks – are they a manufacture’s coupon, like Walgreen’s RR? Can you use a coupon and an ECB on a product, or do you have to buy a filler item like at Walgreens?
Thanks, Brooke
Collin, I can just see it now….You with your OWN show called, ‘It’s Hip 2 Save!’ You never know what could happen…. 🙂 You could get paid to do what you love, in more ways than one. 😉
~V
I love how you are “normal” like the rest of us. I can’t do math on the fly either. You’re the best and can’t wait each Monday to see your next one. Keep up the GREAT work. I have to try that coconut chocolate. I love coconut and would have never look at this.
I actually lol ed with the mental math break. I am the same way.
Remember to tell folks about scanning their card at the price checker for coupons too.
Ashley
It’s a good thing they don’t have specials on those Lindt bars every week or I’m thinking your waistline wouldn’t be so darn tiny! 🙂 Thanks so much for all the pointers. You are wonderful.
I have a quick question about CVS. I see they have in-store coupons on their website that you can print. Can I use these in-store coupons and stack them with manufacturer’s coupons from the newspaper? I’ve always been too “scared” of the beep to try it.
I love CVS!! I have been rolling ECBs for almost a year. It really helps me to sit down with a pencil and calculator and figure it all out before I go and shop. Then I have a pretty good idea of how much I will end up spending. This is especially true if I was going to use a $5.00 off 20.00 coupon then you know you will get to the 20.00 mark. That total is before any other coupons or ECBs you would use, so like Collin said you can get a great deal if you plan your shopping out. I always give the $ of $$ coupon first then any other CVS coupons, then manufactuer coupons, then ECBs last. I do the ECBs last because if the total is less than what your ECBs are you can throw in a filler item. So if your total out of pocket was say $5.00 and the ECB you wanted to use toward your purchase was $6.00 you can just throw something in for a dollar so you don’t “lose” your 1.00. One last thing, I always check to make sure my ECBs print out on my recipet for the purchases that I made because once in a while they don’t. If they don’t just tell the cashier and they can manually print them out.
Where do you find the $5 off $20 coupon? I loved the tips. Thanks!!
Your are so crazy! lol crazy good though lol I love your videos and look forward to seeing even more. You have really inspired me to cut those coupons and save money. My finances have changed ever since I subscribed to your site. Thank you!
Girl, you are too cute!
We don’t have a CVS in Wichita KS but I still watch your videos, you can still get tips on couponing anyway! I love your humor, I act silly too and laugh at myself all the time…..
Thanks alot!
OMG- you are so cute and funny! I love your site and of course the mental math break made me LMAO!!!
once again…my fav. You are so silly and cute.
<3 UR VIDEOS
Great video! I tackeled CVS when I first started couponing because it was so much easier for a beginner. That mental math break was totaly me! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been in a aisle with my calculator trying to figure out the best way to purchase my items.
Your the best! Thanks for a great website! It’s my favorite and the one I recomend to all new couponers!
You look so much cuter in your Tulle jacket then I do!! 🙂
@Anonymous (Brooke)
EBs are like cash, not a coupon. So no it’s not like Wags where you need a filler. It’s kind of like payment.
Some easy steps:
1. Buy your products
2. Hand over X off XX purchase Q
3. Hand over Manufacturer Qs
4. Hand over CVS Qs (either from website, magazines, receipt coupons, or card scanner machine, etc)
5. Pay balance with EBs
6. Pay with cash/credit/etc if needed. (sometimes not!)
Please note you DO NOT get cash back from EBs though if your total is less than the EB you are trying to pay with. One of two things can happen: 1. either the EB will be adjusted down to your total (you essentially lose money) OR you can buy filler items to get your total up.
Check out Collins CVS info page, it really covers alot and is a great explanation!
Oh, Collin, you have such a a delightful little personality! So cute. Thanks for another great episode! I tried Wags after I watched that episode and I love it! Now I am excited to try CVS this week!
I’ve read several blog tutorials abouts CVSing but it sounded so complicated. The video was great! I’m not scared anymore! Can’t wait to try them out. Thanks, Colin, I love your site.
I hope you used the $5 ECB for a calculator!
I love your follow me mondays! I went back and re-watched your walmart episode…I had to take notes 😉
We don’t have CVS here in Salem, OR, but of course I watched anyway! 🙂 You are so cute and fun! I too cracked up at your mental math break! I’m almost relieved that we don’t have CVS because I already spend too much time at Walgreens and Rite Aid every week, but now after learning more about the program…I hope it comes sometime soon! 🙂
How do you get so lucky to have a CVS, Walgreens, Super Target, Walmart and Rite Aid all in the same town?
not sure if you mentioned, but our CVS has a extra care card scanner in the store that I always scan my card as soon as entering the store. It’ll then print out coupons for you to use and occasionally extra care bucks!
also, not sure if you mentioned their green bag tag – $0.99 for the tag, but for every 4 times you swipe the tag while checking out (and supposedly having your own check out bag, even though my cashier said I just needed to give her the tag) you’ll get $1.00 ECB!
Sadness, I don’t have a CVS near me. BUT thanks for the video all the same!
…and is that the Jacket from the $5.99 score this summer?? I got it in orange!!
Everytime you do one of these videos I learn something new! I didn’t know about the walmart and huggies pullup wipes which I had and have let expire before too so I snagged those after you posted the walmart one. Now I’m learning about the shavers have 2 of those coupons and I have 6 of the $4/2 for the roliads =) I’m a happy camper plus you’ve gotten me to venture into target and now I’m about to do the same for CVS. I don’t know I was always the skeptic about couponing at both!!!
I googled to see how these extra care bucks work I’ve never seen them before they’re coupons like register rewards but assuming they’re some how different?
i was wondering where is the follow me monday for 11-23-09?
I actually work at a CVS in Bremen, IN. At our store we still take your extra bucks even if they are expired. That is your money coming back to you, how should it figure that it expires? Extra care is a great program for customers. I even had a customer come in and buy over$100 worth of merchandise. What did they pay after coupons, extra bucks, etc.? Less than a dollar for taxes. 🙂 Happy hunting!