My New Obsession

Whenever I went to New Jersey to visit my family as a kid, I would inevitably end up making multiple trips to the grocery store with my grandmother. My grandma ALWAYS used coupons and would get so excited during double/triple coupon time at Safeway! Recently, Nathan and I have been trying to save money here and there because I haven't been able to work since May due to classes and student teaching. I started using coupons at grocery stores at the beginning of the summer, and we would save between $5-$10 every trip. Not too bad! Although, this summer I discovered where the major savings occur and that is at CVS!! CVS offers what are called 'Extra Care Bucks' to loyalty club members with certain purchases. These work just like cash at CVS stores and lead to some pretty incredible savings! Thanks to the help of www.survivingthestores.com I have discovered how to utilize my coupons and sales to actually MAKE MONEY on my purchases! Here are a few examples:

CVS Trip - August 18

Bought:
4 bottles of Sobe Life Water
2 BIC Roller Ball Pens
CVS Brand Aspirin (35 count)
L'Oreal Revitalift Eye Cream
L'Oreal Revitalift Mousterizing Cloths
CVS Brand tampons (10 count)

Cost Before Coupons: $34.53
Cost After Coupons: $5.83
Extra Care Bucks Earned: $11.98

What this means is that I paid $5.83 out of pocket and had $11.98 in Extra Care Bucks to spend on my next trip. Therefore, it is as though they paid me $6.15!!

CVS Trip - August 30

Bought:
Tide Stain Release Laundry Detergent
CVS Antibacterial Hand Soap
Venus Embrace Razor
Glade Reed Diffuser Air Freshener
Glade Candle
Sensodyne Toothpaste
Aquafresh Toothpaste
2 jars of Welch's Jelly

Cost Before Coupons: $43.67
Cost After Coupons: $4.34
Extra Care Bucks Earned: $18.99

It is a lot of fun to watch the total go down as they scan coupons! The other perk is that CVS gives you coupons based on how much you use your Extra Care Card. In these two transactions, I used coupons for free aspirin and hand soap that CVS had given me on previous visits. I can usually use most of what I buy, but if I really don't see myself using something I'll just donate it to the St. Vincent De Paul organization that my dad runs at our church! If you are into saving money, then I would head to the Surviving the Stores website and look at the 'Surviving CVS' link. It takes a couple trips to really get it down, but once you do, it is very much worth it!! Happy couponing!