getting started

Supermarket Savings
Have you tried couponing but felt that it was not helping any? There is a better way than just using a coupon whenever you buy an item.

Here is a quick guide to getting the most groceries for your dollar:

1. Save all inserts from the Sunday paper. If you save them entire insert to cut as needed make sure you mark the date on insert so that you can find it when you see a coupon can be used.

**If you are already thinking why do I need them all just wait until you see a Blood Glucose meter go on sale at CVS for $20 and giving back 15 ECB and you didn’t cut the -$20 off coupon that would have made it free and them just hand you ECB for spending nothing**

2. Start to shop buying only the things that are on sale and using your coupons then. Also when an item is on sale you STOCKPILE. Some sites recommend 12 weeks worth because that is the common time it takes for an item to come back on sale. Thats great if you have the space, if not get enough that if you shop at two different stores you can hold off until it goes on sale at the other store. Once you have a good stockpile you will only be shopping for sale items and never having to pay non sale prices. Also once you pay an amazing price for something like .90 cents for cereal you will not want to have to pay the regular price ever again.

3. Make a menu for the week based on what is on sale that week at the store. An example being don’t plan fish when no one has it on sale and you are paying top dollar.

4. If you know that you are going on a trip or having a special event in the future start a separate stockpile early for those items so that you are not paying top dollar just because you are on vacation for your groceries. Paying $3 for 5 12pks of Coke at CVS a month before a trip is much better than paying 4.50 a 12pk once you get to the beach!!

5. Give up what brand loyalties you are able. There is nothing wrong with be bought for a price if it is a good coupon and makes the Old Elpaso beans .10 cents but you have always bought a different brand. If you want to pay the full price for the other can go for it, but I’ll use my coupon. If Herbal Essences shampoo is .20 cents a bottle it can’t hurt to give it a try.

6. No house brands are not the best deal. National brand items bought on sale with coupons become incredibly cheaper than house brand items. That was a hard lesson to learn after years of automatically grabbing the house brand item. If you can buy house brand butter for 2.49 or get Land o Lakes butter for .80… thats not hard math. Remember a store wants you to buy their house brand because they keep all the money, they will try to make it seem like a deal but your interests are not what they have at heart.

7. Shopping at Costco and Sams will become a thing of the past mostly. I get dairy items there that do not have coupons often or are rarely on sale. Most of the time though buying the 4 boxes of cereal for $10 at Sams never compares to getting 4 boxes for 2.50 (the average price of cereal when bought correctly is .70-.90 cents). Personal Care items that could be a good deal can’t even touch being FREE at CVS.

Coupon FAQ & Lingo
Can I print more than one?
Most coupon sites do have a maximum allowed, however it is normally more than one! The easiest way to print more from any site is: After the screen comes up that it is “Sending coupons to printer” wait until your printer stops and then hit the backspace key or hit the back around button to go back one page. You will see the icon come back that says “Sending coupons…” and it will send another set to your printer. Most sites only allow to do this once though for a maximum of two coupons.

Once I have printed a coupon can I ever get it again?
Thats a mixed answer. Most of the time yes. Once you have reached your maximum for your household (or ip address really) you have to wait for the coupon provider to “reset” the coupon. Meaning they clear out who has already gotten it and open it back up for everyone. Some sites do this monthly (ex. Huggies Pull-ups) some are done more frequently. There is no way to know other than checking back every now and then. If it is a coupon for a product you love, you probably won’t mind trying it occasionally.

How do I know if my store accepts printable coupons?
Most every grocery and drug store headquarters policies state that they accept printable coupons but there are a few stores that do not like to follow the rules. If you have a problem call the national customer service line for the store and they will email you their policy, print off the policy and take it the store manager to refresh them. They will usually apologize profusely and help you get your groceries.

Here are some that are available online:

From Wal-Mart:

“Wal-Mart Stores can accept coupons that are available on the Internet for customers to print from their home computers. The following are guidelines for the stores for accepting Internet coupons:

- The coupon should be legible and say “Manufacturer Coupon”. There should be a valid remit address for the manufacturer, to ensure the coupon can be processed for payment.
- The coupon should have a scan-able bar code.
- The coupon should have an expiration date.
- The coupon cannot be a photocopy.
- The limit is one coupon per item, per Customer.
- A Salaried Manager can refuse to accept a coupon if it does not meet any or all of these guidelines.”

From Target:

“Coupons are a great way to save even more when shopping at Target, and we make it easy to use them at our stores. But because of the variety of coupons available to our guests, we do have some guidelines for how coupons can be redeemed at Target:

-We accept two kinds of coupons: Target-issued coupons and manufacturer-issued coupons.
-We’ll accept one Target coupon and one manufacturer coupon for the same item, unless either coupon prohibits it.
-We can’t give cash back if the face value of a coupon is greater than the purchase value of the item; in that case, we’ll adjust the value of the coupon to equal the price of the item.

-We can’t accept coupons from other retailers, or coupons for products not carried in our stores.
All valid coupons should be presented to the cashier at the time of sale.”

What is stacking?
If you have a store coupon (ex. Target, Food Lion, CVS) and a Manufacturers coupon you can use both!! You cannot use two manufacturers coupons or two store coupons for the same product though.

Coupon Lingo
B1G1, BOGO, B1G1F – “Buy 1, Get 1 Free”

$/$$ - Dollars off wyb XX dollars

.50/1 - Fifty cents off one item

.50/3 - Fifty cents off 3 items

DND5 - Coupon says Do Not Double, but the bar code starts with a 5, most computers will still double it

NED - No Expiration Date

Blinkies - Coupon dispensed near product, in the store (usually from a “blinking” red box)

Catalina - Coupon dispensed at the register at the time of purchase (on separate paper)

Peelie - Coupon that you peel off the package

Tear Pad - Pad of refund forms or coupons found hanging from a store shelf or display

FAR - Free After Rebate

IP - Internet Printable (a coupon you print off the internet)

MFR - Manufacturer

MQ - Manufacturer coupon

MIR - Mail in Rebate

OOP - Out Of Pocket

YMMV- Your Mileage May Vary (you may find the item priced differently or it may not work for you the same)

PG - Proctor & Gamble Sunday insert coupons

RP - Red Plum Sunday insert coupons

SS - Smartsource Sunday insert coupons

V - Valassis (former name of Red Plum inserts)

FLIP - Food Lion Internet Printable

Regional - Coupon value only distributed to a certain area

UPC - “Universal Product Code”. It is that box of black lines that the checker passes over the scanner at the checkout.

WYB - When You Buy

WSL - While Supply Lasts

SASE - Self Addressed Stamped Envelope

CRT - Cash Register Tape (coupon that prints on your receipt)

ECB - Extra Care Buck (CVS)

ESR - Easy Saver Rebate (Walgreens)

IVC - Instant Value Coupon (Walgreens store coupon, found in Walgreens Easy Saver Catalog and on in store tear pads)

RR - Register Rewards (these are the Catalinas that print out at Walgreens)

SCR- Single Check Rebate (rebate system at Rite Aid)

“CVSing” Guide
CVS is a goldmine and if you haven’t started “CVSing” you are missing out. Here’s a short guide to help you get started in the game.

First, CVS has a customer loyalty program called ExtraCare. You will need an extracare card to participate and be able to earn CVS extracare bucks or ECB’s. You can get these in the stores or go here and register online and they will mail you your card (in store is probably best because you can start saving right away). If you already have a card then still go here and give them your email address and they will email you a coupon that will get you started, and they will continue to email you great coupons every week or so.

Now that you have a card and a coupon here are the basics…

The Extracare system is a customer loyalty program like most grocery stores. You always have to show your extracare card to receive the benefits. The program does not save you money off normal prices however, what it does is reward you after your purchase with Extracare bucks that print on your receipt that you can then use on your very next purchase.

The products that will print the extracare bucks are listed in most CVS advertisements, and will say “free after ECB” or “get $2 ECB back after purchase”. It is using the extracare buck system that you will be “buying” everything at CVS for free.

How??

Here is a short shopping trip to try to explain it easier…

Go into CVS and buy 1 of the free after ECB items. (The first time you do this you will actually pay real money – so for the very first time it is technically not free but from here on it will be.)

This month you could go in and buy Listerine Smart Mouth Rinse @ $3.49

You pay $3.49 plus tax

On your receipt it will print an ECB for $3.49 that you can use on you very next trip.

You can even walk back to the tooth care isle grab another bottle walk up to the counter, hand them you next bottle and hand them your ECB from your last purchase. You might owe a penny depending on your state tax system… and on your receipt will print another ECB for the same $3.49. You can continue this cycle of handing them play money until you either reach you limit for the item or the cows come home if you keep grabbing free items.

I think you are now seeing how great this could be. But it gets better. Remember that coupon they emailed you when you signed up???

Let’s go back and re-pretend scenario #1 and this time you checked on our website and got prepared for the deals before you went. You walk in for your very first trip with multiple coupons in hand and a shopping list…

You buy:
2 Listerine Rinses
2 Oral B tooth brush packs

Total = 20.96

You have your CVS store coupon (from the email) for $4 off $20
and you have 2 1.00 off Listerine coupons you printed

You pay 14.96 plus tax after all your coupons…(being your first trip you pay with real money)

It will print the full value of ECB on your receipt so you now have 20.96 in ECB!!! These ECB will be in the amounts totaling the different products so you will have one for $6.98 and one for $13.98. You can again use these right away if you like or they give you one month to use them before the expire.

Now with your 20.96 in ECB in hand you can go back in and buy 2 more of each of those items pay with you new CVS ECB’s and again at the end of that receipt it will print another 20.96!!!

A few tips:

1. Make sure you always give them a $$/off $$$ (like the $4 off $20) coupon first before manufacturers coupons. In the example above had I used the manufacturers coupons first the total would have been less 20 dollars.

2. Always have a list of exactly what is free, sometimes it is very specific items and you want to make sure you are getting the right things.

3. If you are using a $4 off $20 or type of coupon like that make sure you have a few backup plans to hit your $20 in case your CVS is out of something.

4. Take in a calculator to help you quickly add up your total to make sure you are going to have the right amount for you ECB’s to cover it.

You need to always make sure that what you are buying is equal to your ECB’s or a little more (pennies). You can pay for $4 worth of items with $5 in ECB but you are losing money that way and don’t really want to do that. So find some filler items that you like, $1 disposable razors, a pack of gum… lots of options.

More examples of recent trips

Buy:
6 General Mills Cereals at 3 for $10
Total $20

Use $4 off $20
Use 3 -$1.00/2 Manufacturers coupons

Total Due $13 before tax
I paid with an 11 dollar ECB and it printed $10 ECB afterwards

Total I paid $2 for 6 boxes of cereal!!! That’s 0.33 cents a box!!

After you have done CVS for a few weeks or just one week you will be hooked. We now have a small CVS store that lives under my bathroom cabinet. We have:

12 bottles of body wash
7 deoderants
14 toothbrushes
4 bottles of mouth rinse
8 tubes of toothpaste
9 boxes of Housebrand Claritin
4 boxes of TUMS
6 bottles of Shampoo and Conditioner

and much more. If they sell it at CVS my goal is to never pay for it again!!!!

My Current CVS savings for Spring 2008 – $757.89
Total spent in cash for Spring 2008 - $15.68


Here are some questions and answers found on Slickdeals… If this does not fully answer your questions please email me, I love doing this and will glad to help. It truly is fun to walk in, pay nothing and walk out with $50 in stuff!!!
Isn’t CVS really over-priced? How can shopping there ever be a deal?
Yes, CVS is over-priced on a lot of items. The key to making CVSing a deal is to combine coupons and ECBs. If you do this successfully then after some initial OOP (out of pocket) expense you will be able to start buying some things you want and more toothpaste then you’ll ever need for very little money.

What are ECBs?
ECBs = Extra Care Bucks. These are earned by purchasing certain products during a promotional period. Some promotions last a week and others last for the entire month. They will print on your receipt immediately after the necessary purchase is made. These can be used “like cash” on most items sold at CVS.
Be careful with your ECBs. If they are lost or destroyed CVS may not be willing reset them and even if you do get lucky, they will come back as one large ECB (which can be difficult to roll). The register tape CVS uses can turn completely black if left in the heat, making your ECBs unusable.

What is rolling ECBs?
Rolling ECBs means using the ECBs you have already earned to buy items that will give you more ECBs. The purpose of this is to make sure you always have ECBs to spend at CVS so you will spend less “real” money OOP.

There’s a promotion that says I need to buy $20 of xxx to earn an ECB, is that before or after coupons?
Before coupons.

Do I have to finish a promotion in one transaction?
Not usually. The ad should mention it if you have to complete the promotion in one transaction.

How do I use my ECBs?
ECBs cannot be used to pay for prescriptions, gift cards, tobacco products, alcohol, stamps, and milk. Most of these are really YMMV (your mileage may vary). Please ask at your store if you are allowed to buy these items before attempting it. Many CVSers have successfully purchased milk, stamps, and alcohol with ECBs. Be aware that any of these items could be prohibited, depending on the individual store’s policies.

How many ECBs can I use per transaction?
As many as you want. However, the register will usually stop accepting them if they will make your subtotal (pre-tax total) negative.
If store coupons pay the tax associated with them in your state then be aware that a $1 ECB is actually worth $1 + tax if you have at least a dollar’s worth of taxable items. For example: my $1 ECB would actually take $1.07 off my total.

What are quarterly ECBs?
These are earned based on the amount you actually spent (OOP) at CVS and from prescriptions you’ve had filled. You will get back 2% of what you actually spent and a $1 ECB for every 2 prescriptions you have filled online or in store. This does not include the ECBs and coupons you use. If you get a gift card (or possibly stamps) your total amount spent in that quarter will decrease.
For example, if you spent:
00-24.99 dollars ……………………….. you get $0.00 in ECBs.
25-49.99 dollars ……………………….. you get $0.50 in ECBs.
50-74.99 dollars ……………………….. you get $1.00 in ECBs.
75-99.99 dollars ……………………….. you get $1.50 in ECBs.

The quarters run from January to March, April to June, July to September and October to December.
Your quarterly ECB will print on or after the first day of the month following the end of the quarter.

Can I use my ECBs on cvs.com?
You can only use your quarterly ECB online.

Can I use my ECBs on someone else’s card?
No.

Can I have more than one card?
Technically no, you cannot have more than one card to your name with the same address. However, you can have a card for everyone in your household according to customer service. Some managers and other employees (incorrectly) think this is wrong, so they may question you if use multiple cards at their stores.

Can I buy something for $4 and use a $5 ECB?
You can, but you would lose money. You have to use the full amount of the ECB because you will not get money back.