The Secret Of Getting Huge Savings & Freebies From Your Neighborhood Drugstore

by Melissa on September 2, 2009

How I Play The Drugstore Game At CVS For Maximum Savings!

I love to save money, get freebies, and find great deals (obviously, since this blog is all about these things). And if you’re anything like me, you get excited when great deals abound! That’s what you’ll find at your local drugstore.

For me, it’s the CVS. Now I’m a HUGE Target fan-don’t get me wrong-however, CVS and their extra care bucks provides me with huge savings. (well, not quite, but it is fun to get things for free or next to nothing).

I don’t know much about the other drugstores, but I am aware that some of them offer similar programs to CVS (like Walgreen’s Register Rewards). I happen to get my prescriptions filled at CVS, so I like to use my CVS Extra Care Card to rack up some Extra Care Bucks to be used towards future purchases. Any little bit helps.

What Are Extra Care Bucks (ECB’s)?

ECB’s are earned by purchasing certain products during a promotional period (as well as prescriptions). Some promotions last a week, and others last for an entire month. The ECB’s will print on your receipt immediately after the promotional item has been purchased. ECB’s can be used “like cash” on most items sold at CVS.

For maximum savings, savvy CVS shoppers know how to use their ECBs combined with their CVS coupons, and manufacturer’s coupons to get outrageous deals–as well as some items for free.

It seems like the key factor in using this program is to use your ECB’s to purchase other promotional items. These promotional items then return ECB’s to you, making it all a lovely, “vicious” circle that continuously spits out deal, after deal.

Below is an example of how this works. This is from the SlickDeals.net website on their CVS FAQ and General Information Thread from the Drugstore/Grocery B&M Deals + Discussion Forum.

This information was contributed by someone with the username: GarnierMoney. They walk you through exactly how to use your ECB’s.

Rolling Over ECB’s for Dummies:
Everyone always wants to know just how we get all that we get every week for free. Extrabucks are a renewable resource. Which means, if used wisely, they will constantly provide you with what you need at little or no cost. Below is an EXAMPLE of rolling over ECB’s. The items change depending on the week.

You have $10 in ECB’s that are about to expire.

You purchase the following items:

6.00 – Mylanta
6.00 – Mylanta
6.00 – Mylanta
6.00 – Mylanta

Your total is $24. You use the following coupons.

-4/20 CVS Printable
-3 Mylanta (mylanta.com)
-3 Mylanta (mylanta.com)
-3 Mylanta (mylanta.com)
-3 Mylanta (mylanta.com)

Your total to pay is $8. You will receive back a $10 ECB because the promotion that week was “buy $20 worth of Mylanta or Tylenol and get back $10″.

You are now the owner of 4 bottles of pricey delicious Mylanta, and still have your same $10 ECB.

You then turn around and purchase the following;

20.00 – 20 Soy Joy Bars
2.99 – Colgate Toothpaste
2.99 – Colgate Toothpaste
.50 – Filler Item like travel tissues, 2 pencils, etc

Total is $26.50

Give the following coupons:

4/20
3/10 Soy Joy Bars (1/6 SS)
3/10 Soy Joy Bars (1/6 SS)
-1 Free Soy Joy Bar (1/6 SS)
-1 Free Soy Joy Bar (1/6 SS)
-1.50 Colgate Coupn (colgate.com)
-1.50 Colgate Coupn (colgate.com)
-1.50 Colgate Coupon (cvs coupon from diabetes book)
-CRT’s that are applicable, if you have them.

Your new total is now $10. You pay it with the SAME $10 from your previous purchase. You will now earn $24.00 because that week there was a promo–buy a Soy Joy bar get back $1, and buy Colgate toothpaste get back $2.00.

You have $24.00 in ECB’s now. You turn around, and do yet ANOTHER deal… again and again and again!

So there you have it. That’s how you play the drugstore game at CVS. Right now, I have $4.50 worth of ECB’s that I plan to use towards the purchase of other promotional items that offer ECB’s. I got them from my last visit to CVS where I saved $10 by using ECB’s and manufacturer’s coupons.

If you don’t have a CVS Extra Care Card, you can get one from your local CVS, or online at CVS.com. You can also access the official Extra Care Card FAQ’s at CVS.com HERE.

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