Couponing and CVS

It is of little surprise to folks who know me in real life that I like to coupon.  I like saving money, watching others save money on Extreme Couponers.  Mostly I like the puzzle of seeing how I can use these coupons to get the best deal possible on my stuff. I am far from being an extreme coupon-er or joining the ranks of folks who write books and blogs like the Coupon Mom dedicated entirely to coupons, but I like to think I know a thing or two!

 

The main secret to my couponing success comes in three little letters - CVS.  While I do clip and use coupons at other stores, I always seem to get the best deals at CVS!

Here is last week's CVS "haul" which I brought home for a total $20.17
 

My "haul" included 2 All brand laundry detergents, 2 Cover Girl Mascaras, 6 bottles of Pantene shampoo and conditioner, 5 different hair styling products from Garnier & Pantene, hand lotion, and some feminine products.

 

My Tips for Couponing at CVS:

(1) Register your ExtraCare card.

Register your ExtraCare card online at CVS' website and receive coupons by email.  My $10 off $40 or more coupon was a big help in last week's deal.  Remember that if you have other coupons, the CVS money-off coupon can be applied before those other coupons.  (For example, my total came to about $42 before coupons, they took of the $10 off $40 coupon and I was still able to use other coupons).

(2) Print Coupons In Store

Make sure that your first stop every time you visit CVS is at the price-scanner and coupon printer where you can print additional coupons with your card.  These CVS store coupons can be combined with manufacturer's coupons and offer great additional deals.  Recently I have gotten 10% off Kotex products, 30% off hand lotion, and my favorite a $3 off $10 Garnier coupon which I combined with several other Garnier manufacturer's coupons for better savings.

(3) Multiple Transactions

While you should certainly be courteous of people behind you in line, don't be afraid to do multiple transactions, they are the key to great savings at CVS. Multiple transactions will allow you to best use those ExtraCare bucks that you earn when shopping sales.  Part of my success last week came from breaking up my transactions to that the $10 in ECB I received could be used toward other items I was buying.  I bought enough in one transaction to generate the ECBs and then did a second transaction in order to use those ExtraCare bucks immediately.  After all, who wants to lose free money?

(4) CVS Deal Blogs

Another great resource when coupon shopping at CVS is the blogs dedicated to doing exactly that!  They will tell you great deal scenarios and often have pictures of the next week's ad up well before you receive your Sunday paper. I <3 CVS is a blog dedicated exclusively to CVS but simply google "CVS coupon matchups" and you will find many other blogs discussing CVS deals!
 

Happy Couponing!

 

And I am curious readers - Do you coupon?  Want to try your hand at couponing at CVS?  I am giving away a $5 CVS gift card to one of my readers!  To enter please leave a comment answering one of these questions:

What is your favorite store to coupon at?  What are your best coupon tips?

This is not a sponsored post, all opinions are my own, as is the cost of the giveaway.  I will choose the winner at random on Sunday April 12th, I reserve the right to cancel the giveaway if there are insufficient entries.