Shopping Tips for CVS!

The CVS Card
You need to get a CVS card to shop at CVS. You can get this card online or in the store. The store will give you the card immediately so that is better if you are planning your first trip soon. Once you have your card then make sure it is scanned for every purchase. If you forget your card the cashier can look up your account using your phone number and you will still get credit.

The CVS Weekly Ad
The weekly ad comes in the Sunday newspaper and is posted online. It posts all the weekly deals, including ECB deals.

CVS Coupons
CVS will issue coupons that are specific to your Extracare Card. You can get these coupons through your email (so be sure to give it to them), via snail mail, printed out after your receipt, and via the coupon printer that is in the store. If your store has a coupon printer then you can scan your card until it reads “no coupons available”. That usually means you can scan it 2-3 times. Sometimes the coupons are for specific products and sometimes they are for a dollar amount off of a certain dollar amount ($3 off $15 for example).

CVS Green Bag Tag
CVS recently issued a green bag tag. You can attach this tag to your reusable bags and have it scanned at CVS when you use a reusable bag (up to once per day). You will get a bonus $1 CVS ECB every four times you scan the card. It does cost you $0.99 to get the tag.

Putting the Tips Together!

• You can use one manufacturer coupon and one CVS coupon for each item.
• You can use one $/$$ coupon per transaction.
• You will receive the full value ECB even when you use coupons.
• You can “roll” your ECB’s (use the ECB’s from a deal to get the same deal). The ad will tell you how many of that specific deal you are limited to (and so will the bottom of your receipt).
• You will get a quarterly award of 2% of your total expenditures at CVS that quarter. I hardly ever get this award since you need to spend at least $50 each quarter and I generally spend less than $1 per week. But, if you do spend more then you will get that bonus as well.

It is best to figure out what you need to use and then give them the CRT’s first, ECB’s next, and Manufacturer coupons last – that will give you your lowest OOP.

Total Cost of Products – CRT coupons – ECB’s + Tax – Manu Coupons = OOP

Each week I post the best CVS deals so you can make your own list using that! Go to my most recent CVS deals post to see what you can get free this week!

CVS Vocab

ECB – “Extra Care Bucks”. These are coupons worth a $ amount good for anything in CVS. They print out after your receipt.
CRT – “Cash Register Tape”. This refers to the coupons that print out after your receipt.
OOP – “Out Of Pocket”. This refers to how much you spend in actual money. ECB’s that you use in the transaction will bring your OOP down, ECB’s that you get will bring your OOP down the next time you shop.