CVS deals for the week of 8/31/08

The August 31st, 2008 deal week for CVS is a pretty nice one. Rolling Extra Care Bucks will be super easy and the rest of the month looks decent, too.

The deals I will be taking advantage of this week are:

• Dawn is $.99 a bottle. This week's Proctor & Gamble insert from Sunday's paper had $.50 off coupons making these $.49 each.
• Febreze Noticables Starter Kit is $6.99. There is a $5.00 off coupon from the P&G insert making these $1.99 each. I try to always take advantage of these kinds of things when they are extremely cheap.
• Covergirl Lipslicks are $5.99 with a $5.99 ECB. I will use the buy one get one free coupon from the P&G insert to get two of these free after ECBs.(limit 1)
• Accucheck Compact Plus is $9.99 each with a $9.99 ECB making it free.(limit 1)
• Colgate Total is $2.99 with a $2 ECB making these $.99 each. If you haven't use your $1.50 off printable here you can get this for free plus overage after ECBs. (limit 2)
• Arnicare Homeopathic pain relief gel - $8.99 with an $8 extra care buck reward. Use this $2 off 1 coupon to get these free plus overage. You can do this deal 5 times, too, meaning a nice $4.95 profit for you! (edit: This was $9.49 at my local CVS today)
• BC or Goodies Headache Powder is $1.29 each with a $1.29 ECB making them free. You can do this deal up to 5 times. This was only advertised in the Florida Panhandle circulars (I am in Milton, FL and ours had the advertisement) but I have read that others around the country are getting the same deal.

My totals:
$37.36 (after coupons)
pay with $21.47 ECBs and $15.89 OOP
Get $30.43 back in ECBs.

I only added in one Arnicare product but I plan to do all 5. I am going to roll some ECBs over for this one because they are so expensive and I don't want to pay any more OOP. My second CVS trip will look like this.

Total:
$27.96 (after coupons)
pay with ECBs and less than $1 OOP.
Get $32 in ECBs back.

I make money on this deal. Yippee!

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Good deals I will probably not be partaking in but you may be interested in:

• Neutrogena Moistureshine Lipsheers are $5.99 with $3 Extra Care Buck making them $2.99 each (limit 2). Buy two and use the August All You's $3 off 2 coupon to get these for $1.49 each.
• Nabisco or Keebler 5-8oz cookies or 4-5.25oz crackers are $1 a pack. Use the $.75 off 2 coupon from a July Sunday insert to get these for $.50 each.

About Extra Care Bucks -

The Extra Care Bucks program at CVS seems a little daunting at first but is extremely beneficial after you get the hang of it.

Extra Care Bucks are rewards that can be used like cash at CVS stores. There are almost always weekly freebies that you can purchase and receive an equal amount back in Extra Care Bucks (or ECBs). It is best to roll your Extra Care Bucks week to week - spending little to nothing out of pocket (or OOP) after your first couple weeks of deal getting. Here is a step by step rundown to make ECBs work for you.

1. Register for an Extra Care Card at CVS. This is very easy and only takes a few minutes at your local CVS. You can use your card immediately.
2. Pick up the monthly rewards booklet at your local CVS. You'll have to get the Friday paper to get a weekly circular as they no longer keep these available in the stores, or you can just stop by Frugal Heart to view the current circular. I almost always provide a link to a good, easy to read copy.
3. Start out by looking for weekly freebies. If you are having trouble picking them out you can look here on my blog - I've already done a lot of the work for you and we have some good links in our left hand sidebar. Make a written list of what you intend to buy - don't depend on your memory for this.
4. After you have your list add your total up with a calculator. You will want to keep a close eye on how much you will need for each trip.
5. Pick up the items on your list. If a price looks odd or something isn't marked as you thought ask the cashier to price check it for you. My CVS employees are more than willing to help me out here.
6. After you pay for your order look at the bottom of your receipt. You should see all the different Extra Care Buck coupons there. Cut these off and keep them somewhere safe - treat them as if they were cash. They are not stored on your card and if you loose them it is like loosing money.
7. Each week when the freebie list comes out make sure you use your ECBs to pay for the order - this is called 'rolling ECBs'. You will have little or no OOP and you will get more ECBs back to use again. You can do this over and over again, week to week. Take care to note their expiration dates. They are only good for 4 weeks after you get them. This is why rolling them over is so important.
8. When you get comfortable with the freebies you will want to start adding coupons in. This can make some freebies more than free. It always brings a smile to my face to pay with fewer ECBs than I got back. When I blog here about my deal ideas for the week I always add in what coupons I will use to optimize my deals. This can be helpful if you are having trouble matching coupons up to your deals.
9. Be patient. It can take a little time to get comfortable with ECBs. The benefits are terrific in the end, though, and completely worth the time it takes to learn the system.

If you aren't really sure about CVS Extra Care Bucks being that great a deal listen up -

I pay little to nothing for shampoo, conditioner (the good stuff!), toothpaste, laundry detergent, toothbrushes, dish washing liquid, certain OTC medicines, feminine products, makeup, snacks, and more! I don't just pick these up when I need them, I have a stock pile where I store all my good deals and freebies - the above list of items never even makes it to our grocery list. I stock up when they are free or close to free.

If you have any questions or just can't make sense of it all but desperately want to feel free to contact me. I am more than willing to help!