My Couponiversary

I can’t believe I missed my couponiversary last month!  Yes, this June I celebrated my first year of couponing.  Check here for my intro to couponing post for the newbies here.  Wahoo!  Oh the dolla dolla bills I’ve saved makes me wanna do a happy dance.  Picture me doing the snake like Chris Tucker in Rush Hour.  Or maybe don’t.  Y’all have seen that movie right?!

Crickets.

Rent it, laugh your tail off, and thank me later.  But wow, random much?!  Let me get back to the point -my couponiversary celebration!

I figured the best way to get my coupon partay on was to give you a little tidbit of information that may just change your life.  It certainly changed mine.  Maybe that is a bit of a stretch.  Seriously though, learning how to save money on the things you need to buy means you have more money for the things you want to buy, and yeah, to me that is life changing!  For the diy’er it means more project money!  So are you ready for this?!  Three letters.  C V S!  Yes, CVS, the pharmacy, is a goldmine.  I’m not kidding.  I don’t joke about money. ever.

CVS is a couponer’s dream come true!  Check it out y’all.

I learned all that I know about CVSing from the website that beats all other couponing websites that I mentioned here  – Southern Savers.  I’m going to break it down for you because if you’re new to the “world of coupons” it may be a bit confusing.  Okay, so let’s do this thing!

CVS rocks because CVS gives you ECB otherwise known as Extra Care Bucks.

 What are they?  They are money back to use in the store.  They come attached on your receipt when you buy something that qualifies for ECB.  What qualifies for ECB changes with each weekly sale.  The southern saver will help you out by listing it all under the CVS tab on her website.

To become a CVS rock star follow these 3 steps.  Trust me all the cool kids are doing it okay!

1.  Go to the Southern Savers website and print out your CVS shopping list.

2.  Gather the coupons you have for the items on your list.

A little wine can’t hurt.  Ha!

3.  Then shop and be amazed at your savings.

Here’s an example of why ECB rock.

WYB stands for when you buy.  Okay, so in this example you’ll earn $1 ECB when you buy one of the Oral B toothbrushes which are on sale for $3.  Now if you happen to have the PG (Proctor and Gamble) Oral B coupon for $2 off this would then make this toothbrush FREE!  As you’d buy it for $1 and CVS would give you $1 back in ECB!!!!  That’s how it works and it’s awesome!  Who, I ask you, doesn’t like to get something for FREE?!

Now here’s an example of using the ECB you’ve earned, otherwise known as an example of CVS awesomeness:

I had $5 in ECB from a previous shopping trip.  I wanted to take advantage of this great deal – get a $10 gas gift card when you spend $30 on qualified products.  The $30 you had to spend is before coupons.  This was my transaction – for realz:

Here are a couple more tips to shopping and couponing at CVS that I’ve learned from the past year.

– Shop early in the week.  Weekly sales start on Sunday, so try to shop either Sunday or Monday if you can because some of the really great deals (like the ones that make the item FREE) will usually sell out if you wait until Friday.

– There’s a coupon kiosk in the store – USE it.  All you have to do is scan your CVS card and it will give you coupons.  Lots of times it will give you coupons for FREE items.  (Like the free Hershey bar with almonds that I didn’t need but fully inhaled.)  I see so many people walk right by the kiosk and not scan their card.  It’s like leaving money or chocolate in the middle of the street; you just don’t do that people!  Ok, maybe you’d leave the chocolate there, but wouldn’t you be pissed at the person who left a perfectly good chocolate bar in the middle of the street?!

Lastly, for the record, I’ve never seen that extreme couponing show.  If it makes people who use coupons look like they’re crazy then I probably won’t ever watch.  I don’t advocate over-shopping or hoarding.  I also do not advocate this mentality.

So, anyone else down with CVS?  Have you tried the Restore Beautiful Lengths line by Pantene?  It is awesomesauce for your hair!  Once again, thank me later.  🙂

Happy Couponing!