If you are a regular reader here, you may remember that about 3 weeks ago I actually went to CVS and bought things.
Yes, I know....you are horrified that I forsook my beloved Rite-Aids and ventured into a CVS.
Well you would too if CVS was giving away Finish Dishwasher Detergent for .75¢ a box...and that was BEFORE the Extra Care Bucks I earned buying $21 worth! ;-)
So let's follow the saga of getting and rolling these $10 in ECBs x2. You'll see how much I have actually paid Out of Pocket to buy stuff at CVS.
First off, I have 2 cards....1 for me and 1 for Hubs.
I bought a stack of Finish coupons, er rather, I paid some kind soul on eBay to clip a stack of coupons for me for the price of $6.48 with shipping. A bit high for 20 coupons but these were regional high valued ones so I was prepared to spend a bit more.
I used 14 of the coupons between the 2 cards, so I am OOP $4.53 right off the bat.
(Each coupon w/shipping cost .324¢.)
Each lot of 7 boxes of Finish after coupons cost me $5.25 OOP.
2 transactions of 7 boxes each makes it $10.50.
Add in the $4.53 and my investment total is $15.03.
Here's half of the boxes....
I received $10 ECBs for each card, so I had $20 to roll into more products.
The following week I did a soda deal at CVS and rolled one of the $10 ECBs.
I got 6 12-packs of Pepsi products for $20, using the $10 ECB, leaving me with $10.60(.60¢tax) OOP.
I received another $10 ECB for buying $20 of Pepsi products.
My spending at this point was $25.63.
This week I finished rolling/spending those $20 in ECBs I had left. I just don't want to keep having to drag sorry butt back to CVS every 2 weeks, especially this time of year when getting there is iffy with the bad weather.
So I decided to roll and spend down all $20 ECBs this week.
Here's what I did....
The Buy $15 in Unilever food items, Get $5 in ECBs deal was first.
6 Boxes of Lipton TeaBags....I drink alot of iced tea and go through teabags quickly!....was $15.
After using 3 $1/2 MaunQs and my $10 ECBs, I paid $2 OOP. $15-$3=$12-$10=$2.00 OOP.
I received a $5 ECBs for buying $15 worth.
Spending total is now $27.63.
Then I bought 2 4lb. canisters of Sugar that were on sale for $2.99 this week.
2 x $2.99=$5.98 and I used a .65/2 ManuQ=$5.33.
I used the $5 ECB from the TeaBag Deal, so my OOP came to .33¢.
And I have no more ECBs on that card to roll.
Spending total is now $27.96.
On the other card I bought 5 12-packs of Coke products, as there was a Buy $15/Get $5 ECBs Deal.
I had a FREE 12-Pack of Coke Coupon reward I used as well.
$15-$3free cokes Q=$12-$10ECBs=$2.00=$.12 tax=$2.12 OOP and I received a $5 ECB back.
Spending total is now $30.08.
I bought 6 more boxes of Tea Bags and used 3 more $1/2 ManuQs and the $5 ECB to pay.....$15-$3=$12.00-$5.00=$7.00 OOP and I received a $5 ECB back.
Spending total is now $37.08.
Then I bought 2 Sugar canisters($5.98)and 6 Dawn Hand Renewal Soap(.97¢each=$5.82)=$11.80.
I used a .65/2 sugar Q and 3 x $1/2 Dawn Hand Renewal=$3.65
$11.80-$3.65=$8.15-$5 ECBs=$3.15+$.08tax=$3.23.
And I am out of ECBs on both cards.
Spending total is now $40.31.
So I have spent.....
$4.53-Finish coupons
$10.50-14 Finish boxes
$10.60-6 Pepsi packs
$2.00-6 Tea Bag boxes
$.33-8 lbs. Sugar
$2.12-5 Coke packs
$7.00-6 Tea Bag boxes
$.33-8 lbs. Sugar
$2.90-6 Dish Soap
And I received for this $40.31.....
14 Dishwasher Detergent boxes
11 12-packs of Soda
12 boxes of Tea
16 lbs. of Sugar
6 bottles of Dish Soap
To break it down into what my family uses and at what rate, that's 1 year worth of Dishwasher Detergent, 6 months worth of Soda, 6 months worth of Tea Bags, 6 months worth of Sugar and 4 months worth of Dish Soap.
It may sound like I've spent alot of money but if you divide what I spent by the number of items, it averages out to .68¢ per item!
And it's all items we need and will use....no fillers.
Using the sale prices and not the regular prices(since I NEVER would have paid those prices for the items!),without using the ECBs(and ManuQs)to bring down the prices paid, I would have spent $122.78+tax on this stuff.
I "saved" $82.47.
That's a savings of 67.17% over just buying these items at the sale prices.
I have a question for those of you who shop at CVS on a regular basis....
Do you ever buy filler items(along with items you need/want) just to roll ECBs into more ECBs before they expire?
Or do you only roll ECBs on things you need and just spend them down on things you need if there is nothing good to roll them on, to get more ECBs?
Do you ever feel pressured to buy things you normally wouldn't, to roll your ECBs?
If you do buy things you wouldn't to roll the ECBs, do you have someone/some groups you can pass these items on to easily?
If you had a choice of spending down your ECBs(because there is nothing good to roll them on to)OR rolling your ECBs when at least a part of what you buy would mean buying things you don't want/need to get more ECBs, which do you prefer to do?
Sluggy
Yes, I know....you are horrified that I forsook my beloved Rite-Aids and ventured into a CVS.
Well you would too if CVS was giving away Finish Dishwasher Detergent for .75¢ a box...and that was BEFORE the Extra Care Bucks I earned buying $21 worth! ;-)
So let's follow the saga of getting and rolling these $10 in ECBs x2. You'll see how much I have actually paid Out of Pocket to buy stuff at CVS.
First off, I have 2 cards....1 for me and 1 for Hubs.
I bought a stack of Finish coupons, er rather, I paid some kind soul on eBay to clip a stack of coupons for me for the price of $6.48 with shipping. A bit high for 20 coupons but these were regional high valued ones so I was prepared to spend a bit more.
I used 14 of the coupons between the 2 cards, so I am OOP $4.53 right off the bat.
(Each coupon w/shipping cost .324¢.)
Each lot of 7 boxes of Finish after coupons cost me $5.25 OOP.
2 transactions of 7 boxes each makes it $10.50.
Add in the $4.53 and my investment total is $15.03.
Here's half of the boxes....
I received $10 ECBs for each card, so I had $20 to roll into more products.
The following week I did a soda deal at CVS and rolled one of the $10 ECBs.
I got 6 12-packs of Pepsi products for $20, using the $10 ECB, leaving me with $10.60(.60¢tax) OOP.
I received another $10 ECB for buying $20 of Pepsi products.
My spending at this point was $25.63.
This week I finished rolling/spending those $20 in ECBs I had left. I just don't want to keep having to drag sorry butt back to CVS every 2 weeks, especially this time of year when getting there is iffy with the bad weather.
So I decided to roll and spend down all $20 ECBs this week.
Here's what I did....
The Buy $15 in Unilever food items, Get $5 in ECBs deal was first.
6 Boxes of Lipton TeaBags....I drink alot of iced tea and go through teabags quickly!....was $15.
After using 3 $1/2 MaunQs and my $10 ECBs, I paid $2 OOP. $15-$3=$12-$10=$2.00 OOP.
I received a $5 ECBs for buying $15 worth.
Spending total is now $27.63.
Then I bought 2 4lb. canisters of Sugar that were on sale for $2.99 this week.
2 x $2.99=$5.98 and I used a .65/2 ManuQ=$5.33.
I used the $5 ECB from the TeaBag Deal, so my OOP came to .33¢.
And I have no more ECBs on that card to roll.
Spending total is now $27.96.
On the other card I bought 5 12-packs of Coke products, as there was a Buy $15/Get $5 ECBs Deal.
I had a FREE 12-Pack of Coke Coupon reward I used as well.
$15-$3free cokes Q=$12-$10ECBs=$2.00=$.12 tax=$2.12 OOP and I received a $5 ECB back.
Spending total is now $30.08.
I bought 6 more boxes of Tea Bags and used 3 more $1/2 ManuQs and the $5 ECB to pay.....$15-$3=$12.00-$5.00=$7.00 OOP and I received a $5 ECB back.
Spending total is now $37.08.
Then I bought 2 Sugar canisters($5.98)and 6 Dawn Hand Renewal Soap(.97¢each=$5.82)=$11.80.
I used a .65/2 sugar Q and 3 x $1/2 Dawn Hand Renewal=$3.65
$11.80-$3.65=$8.15-$5 ECBs=$3.15+$.08tax=$3.23.
And I am out of ECBs on both cards.
Spending total is now $40.31.
So I have spent.....
$4.53-Finish coupons
$10.50-14 Finish boxes
$10.60-6 Pepsi packs
$2.00-6 Tea Bag boxes
$.33-8 lbs. Sugar
$2.12-5 Coke packs
$7.00-6 Tea Bag boxes
$.33-8 lbs. Sugar
$2.90-6 Dish Soap
And I received for this $40.31.....
14 Dishwasher Detergent boxes
11 12-packs of Soda
12 boxes of Tea
16 lbs. of Sugar
6 bottles of Dish Soap
To break it down into what my family uses and at what rate, that's 1 year worth of Dishwasher Detergent, 6 months worth of Soda, 6 months worth of Tea Bags, 6 months worth of Sugar and 4 months worth of Dish Soap.
It may sound like I've spent alot of money but if you divide what I spent by the number of items, it averages out to .68¢ per item!
And it's all items we need and will use....no fillers.
Using the sale prices and not the regular prices(since I NEVER would have paid those prices for the items!),without using the ECBs(and ManuQs)to bring down the prices paid, I would have spent $122.78+tax on this stuff.
I "saved" $82.47.
That's a savings of 67.17% over just buying these items at the sale prices.
I have a question for those of you who shop at CVS on a regular basis....
Do you ever buy filler items(along with items you need/want) just to roll ECBs into more ECBs before they expire?
Or do you only roll ECBs on things you need and just spend them down on things you need if there is nothing good to roll them on, to get more ECBs?
Do you ever feel pressured to buy things you normally wouldn't, to roll your ECBs?
If you do buy things you wouldn't to roll the ECBs, do you have someone/some groups you can pass these items on to easily?
If you had a choice of spending down your ECBs(because there is nothing good to roll them on to)OR rolling your ECBs when at least a part of what you buy would mean buying things you don't want/need to get more ECBs, which do you prefer to do?
Sluggy
That was a really good "run." I sometimes burn mine to get what I need.
ReplyDeleteI would write more but we are about to get snowed in. I have to get eggs. How the hell did I miss that?
I'll come back and poke around some more when we are snowed in!
Since CVS ECBs have a month to expire, there is always the luxury of time, that you don't get with RA or WAGs. So you can watch for sale on items that you need instead of getting fillers that you won't use.
ReplyDeleteSometimes I am pressured to roll the ECBs, but with not many deals in the past 2 months, I am just going to use all of mine this week on the Dove soap, pasta sauce and the PB (all the stuff that we normally use) and just concentrate on RA for the next couple of months.
SonyaAnn--Thanks! Get me some eggs too while you are out....
ReplyDeleteChitra--When I use to do all 3 drug chains I liked the length of time you got at CVS to use the rewards, much longer than WAGS. But I would still have to scramble at CVS to use them in time...I guess it was a case of doing all 3 chains, spreading my energies out on keeping on top of all 3 just was too much stress for me. I much prefer to concentrate on 1 chain. Right now that's Rite-Aid but if anything were to change(like not getting paid to buy stuff there), I'll change my allegiance in a heartbeat.lol
In spite of the lack of extra incentives at CVS (the magic machine isn't usually very good to me, I've stopped receiving any $x/$y coupons via email, and there's nothing like the video values program), I find myself still going there at least as often, some weeks more often, than RA. I try to hang onto my ECBs until there's another sale of stuff I really need/want, and if I get more ECBs in the process, bonus! But I'll spend the ECBs I have on a sale that doesn't produce more without too much angst.
ReplyDeleteIn our town, the Rite Aid is technically closer to my house as the crow flies, but the CVS store is right next door in the same shopping center to Giant, where I go once a week for groceries, so in some ways, it's almost easier to go to CVS since I'm right there anyway. Rite Aid is easier to drive past - LOL!
Excellent shopping!!! I just ordered some Finish coupons (I mean, I paid for the clipping and mailing of said coupons) in the hopes that the RA BOGO coming up on 2/13 will maybe yield a deal, since I missed out completely on the CVS deal.
It also looks like that week RA has a mm deal going on Maalox if you have any of the $5/1 Qs (I still have a few). I guess I shouldn't be pushing RA in your CVS blog post... sorry! :)
Tell me that you're a My Coke Rewards person as well. Each of those 12-packs is worth 10 points. For 120 points you can get another 12-pack; have friends/relatives save box and cap codes for you.
ReplyDeleteOr ask Sonya Ann. Sometimes she sends me a code or two 'cause she's just nice like that. I save them up and get free movie tickets and Shoebuy.com GCs to give away on my website.