Shopping at CVS/pharmacy

I’ve read a lot of money-saving blogs about the great deals that can be found at the CVS stores.  We have one in our town, but I only shop there when I’m in a hurry as I pass it when going to or from work.

I was feeling pretty bad a couple weeks ago with cold symptoms.  I stopped at the CVS on my way home and bought some cold medications and tissues.  They had a $2.00 coupon hanging by one of the medicines, so I grabbed that and headed to the counter.

I asked if I could get their “Extra Care Card”, which is the card you need to earn all the “Extra Bucks” that save you money each time you go there.

With the coupon, I got $13.74 worth of merchandise for $11.74 and received $2.00 in “Extra Bucks” printed on my recepit.

I went home and googled “CVS deals” to read more about how people get their bargains.

When I went back, I used the $2.00 Extra Bucks to buy $8.97 in merchandise for $6.97, but this time I ONLY bought items that generated more Extra Bucks.  This time I recieved $6.00 in Extra Bucks for my $6.97, which I thought was great.

My third trip wasn’t nearly as successful as I stopped by to get a couple items we really needed, but they weren’t part of an offer for extra bucks.  I ended up using the $6.00 extra bucks, but didn’t get any in return.  I was able to buy $9.00 of stuff for $3.00, but now I’m without any Extra Bucks, so it’s like starting over.  I see how the key is to only buy the stuff that’s on special and generates more extra bucks.

I’ll be watching their sales ads closely, to see when they have other items we need on special.

If you want to read a blog that explains their deals very well, go to CVS 101, which is an article from Moneysavingmom.com.

Iheartcvs.com also has some good information about shopping there.