CVS for dummies

A lot of my friends have been asking me to explain the whole couponing "game" and how to get things for free.  Well, let me start with saying that I haven't not even scratched the surface of couponing the way some people have.  Unfortunately, the use of coupons has started to get somewhat of a bad reputation  because of the TV shows and the exposure of people that have gone too far a.k.a hoarders or people without a life.  But couponing has been happening for years!

I do have a binder, though. Yes...I have a binder. I'm a very visual learner and don't know any other way that I could have organized my coupons. For a while (before the binder), they were lined up based on their category on my counter.  Yeah, that got old.

So instead of rambling on, I'm just going to get to it.  I'm going to attempt to explain how I use my coupons and shop at CVS and then wrap up with the purchase that I made today where I got $35 worth of products for $1.65.

There are a few things that you will need to understand about CVS to get started:

*Extra Care Card: this is the card that you attach to your keys and is going to allow you to get Extra Care Bucks, sales, in-store coupons, etc. It is like your MVP or VIC card.

*Extra Care Bucks (ECBs):  These are rebates that you get back from qualifying purchases that are printed on the bottom of your receipt.  They act just like cash on your next purchase.  You want to build up your ECBs so that you can use them on your future purchases.

*CVS coupon center: This center is located close to the entrance of the store and looks kind of like a redbox that you get movies from except it says coupon center in a yellow box on the front. You can scan your extra care card here and get coupons daily. I have a CVS right across the street from my neighborhood so I will carry my card with me when I go for a run, put it in my sportsbra, and scan it on my way past.  You can stop by a CVS on the way home from work, or wait until you actually go in to make your purchase.  It becomes profitable when the coupon center is giving away free products. For example, I've gotten random free candy bars, pantyliners, green bag tag, etc in the past.  It can't hurt to get free products!

*CVS green bag tag: This is a green leaf-looking tag that can be attached to your recyclable bag. It has a bar code on the back that is scanned everytime you make a purchase. For every 4 times you make a purchase and it is scanned, you get $1 ECB on your receipt.  It costs 0.99 (I just happened to get mine for free from a coupon center coupon) and you are bascially getting free money. You get your money back after your 1st 4 purchases and continue to get $1 back over and over.  They are located next to the recyclable bags that are for sale near the cosmetic center and are sold to encourage people to use recyclable bags. You get money for going green! :)

*Websites that do all the hard work for you! 
These websites have people already doing the dirty work for you.  They take the sales inserts that are online, analyze the great deals, and then attach where you can find coupons online or reference the newspaper inserts that they came from, price out the deals, etc.  They may look like this:

Efferdent 78-90 ct $3.99 = $1 Ecb (limit 2)
Use the $1/1 coupon found here or the $0.75/1 PM coupon found here or the $0.75/1 coupon found in the 7/31 P&G
Pay as low as $2.99
Get back $1 Ecb

Final cost as low as $1.99!

So in the example above, you see that the product & quantity, the original price, and ECBs are listed.  Then it gives you where you can find all the available coupons, what you will pay, and then what you will get back.  If you are just now starting to get Sunday coupons then you will be a little behind, but it doesn't take long to build up a stockpile and you will slowly realize how many products you will be able to get at a discounted price!

My favorite two websites are  www.hip2save.com and www.southernsavers.com

*CVS emails: I know that these can be annoying, but you get really good deals. Every week I get an email that is 15%, 20% off purchase...or $5 off %25 or more, like the one I used today (below)

OK! If you aren't already completely overwhelmed with this information and you are still reading then congrats! You will be successful since you are not giving up so easy :)

Here is the walkthrough of my purchase today:

1. I took 15 min on the hip2save website and wrote down the purchases that I wanted to make, the money that I would spend after the coupons I used, and the ECB that I would earn on my purchases. I made a list that looks like this:

Purchase cost 
after coupons           Product                                            


0.99                  Skinny Cow Single Bar
                         1 oz. 0.99        
                         Buy One, Get One (BOGO) coupon
                         $0.99 ECB

5.99                  Gillette Fusion Proglide $9.99                  
                         $4/1 coupon
                         $5 ECB

4.24                 Colgate Sensitive prorelief toothpaste
                         4oz. 4.99    
                         0.75/1 coupon
                        $3 ECB

2.99                 Oral-B Cross action
                        toothbrush 5.99              
                        BOGO coupon
                         $3/1 coupon
                         $1 ECB

2.57                Met RX Protein Bars
                         BOGO coupon

2.57                  Met RX Protein Bars
                         BOGO coupon



So ALL the original prices are added up at the register first.  So even though I had 2 products for my Buy One, Get One coupons, they are all rung up first.  So my subtotal came to $33.23.  Below is how I brought my total down to $1.65. Always use your  coupons in the following order:

1. Scan Green Bag Tag
2. CVS coupon that was emailed to me for $5 off any purchase of $25 or more. This brought my purchase to $28.23
3. All manufacture coupons and BOGO coupons. This brought my total down to $13.78.
4. ECBs from last weeks purchases that totaled $13.50.  This brought my total down to 0.28!  With tax it came to a final total of $1.65.

So I got 10 items (because of BOGOs) for $1.65 and $10 in ECBs that I can use on next weeks purchases.

I would have gotten 11 items, but they were out of one of the products that I wanted (sometimes the really good deals are already taken) so when I went to the register, I was written a CVS raincheck. This guarantees that when CVS gets this product back in stock, I will be able to purchase it, use my coupon, and get the awarded ECBs even if it is two weeks from now.


I would start here by doing the following:
1. Sign up for an Extra Care Card
2. Purchase a Green Bag Tag (0.99)
3. Sign up for CVS emails
4. Look at this week's CVS insert and make purchases that you only get extra care bucks for (even better if you try to use some coupons from today's paper-7/31)  You may have to spend some money on the front end to get things for free on the back end.  I spent $20 the first time at CVS and got $24 worth of ECB (I went with a friend and she gave me a bunch of coupons.)

The trick is building up your ECBs and stacking coupons on top so that you can make money (in ECBs) for your next purchase.

Ok...now that I have talked you to death. What do you think? Is there anything that still doesn't make sense? Let me know what you think.
Good luck!

Kelly's Kitchen

I'm going to try to start posting some of my favorite recipes.  I usually take a recipe & alter it some how or sometimes come up with my own crazy concoctions. All are very tasty...and the ones that aren't won't be posted! :)


As always, I highly encourage buying your veggies from your local farmer's market. This not only supports your local farmers, but also supports your local economy and not overseas production.  Call me crazy, but local veggies always seem to just taste better.

So lately, I have been obsessed with sweet potatoes. I have made sweet potato casseroles, baked sweet potatoes, or mashed sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes make me so happy. I know that sweet potatoes are typically a fall veggie, but I have created some awesome combos with them and can't seem to stop! The following is one of my faves. 

Tofu & Sweet Potato Jambalaya

I was substituting and playing around with a shrimp jambalaya recipe that I had and wanted to create other recipes using different protein packed ingredients and this is what I came up with!

Ingredients: 

1 package firm tofu (14 oz.)

2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes

2 cloves of garlic, or garlic powder (I love garlic so I just add however much until I feel as if there is enough! :)

1 can of broth ( I use veggie broth, but chicken is fine too)

3/4 cup uncooked whole grain rice

1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper

1 can of black beans

3/4 cup onion (red or white)

Directions:

1. Drain tofu and cut into 3/4 cubes. I usually drain my tofu by placing paper towels on a plate and pressing to remove water.

2. Heat skillet over medium heat. Cook tofu in oil for 6-8 min, until golden brown. Remove and set aside.

3. Add sweet potato and garlic to skillet, cook 2-3 min until SP starts to brown. Stir in broth, rice, and cayenne. Heat to boiling, reduce heat. Cover & simmer for 10 min.

4. Stir in beans. Cover and cook for 8-10 min, stirring here and there. Make sure rice is tender and liquid is absorbed. You don't want it to be soupy! Stir in tofu and onions last and cook for 1-2 min.

Serve with fresh veggie/salad or eat a bowl by itself! Enjoy  and let me know what you think! :)