When trying to score the latest deals, organization and knowledge is one of the most crucial steps. CVS is one of the easiest stores to get prepared for. There are great websites that offer sales ad previews and coupons matchups to help you maximize your savings.

~Finding your source for CVS ad previews
Many sites offer CVS ad previews, some of these sites are:
~Crunchy Frugalista: I have CVS Ad Previews up by Wednesday of the week before
~Amit19 Deal World:: Amit has ad previews every week as well
~We Use Coupons: has a whole forum devoted to CVS

~Finding your source for CVS coupon matchups
Not all sites that offer ad previews also take the time to tell you which coupons are good with the sales at CVS. So it’s important, especially if you want to save time to find one that lists what coupons you can use to save the most money!
Some great sites that also offer coupon matchups are:
~Crunchy Frugalista: CVS ad previews are also listed with weekly coupon matchups!
~We Use Coupons: The CVS forum also have listings of what coupons are good for the sale that week.

~Finding where to get the coupons for your CVS ad.
This really is a crucial step because the information really isn’t of any use to you if you have no clue where to find coupons for the sales. Here are some of my favorite ways to get my coupons:
~We Use Coupons: This site has a great trading forum where you can list what coupons you are looking for and if others are willing to make trade!
~Coupon Carryout: A coupon clipping service based out of Ohio where you can purchase individual coupons for really great prices!
~Coupons . com: Great internet site where you can print coupons for free directly from you computer.

These are just some basic tips on maximizing your sales at CVS. CVS is a really easy store to plan when you get your ads early. Once you have your ads, you then can know what kind of coupons you need and how many so your shopping trip should have few surprises!

You may have noticed that there is a red machine in your CVS store. Sometimes they are at the front, sometimes at the back. You may not have noticed them at all, but you need to become friends with that little red beauty. This machine is something that you scan your CVS card under, and it is spits out CVS store coupons. Why is this exciting you ask? It is exciting because you can use CVS coupons WITH the manufacturer coupons you have to score some extra great savings!!!!

So as soon as you enter the store you need to
1. Locate little red machine
2. Scan your CVS card, and
3. Scan it again until it says that is all the coupons for today!
4. Do a happy dance in front of the machine when you score great coupons. I prefer the cabbage patch

The coupons that come out of the machine change every week. So it is important to check it every time you shop at CVS because you could get something different every week you shop. These machines are great to get money off specific products, $5/$20 purchases (may be different amounts), and even FREE products sometimes.

Here’s how the little red machine helped me on my last trip!

I bought
2 Covergirl Luxe Mascaras $16 (but getting $5 ECBs back on this deal)
- $5/2 Covergirl Manufacturer’s Coupon
-$3/$10 any beauty purchase CVS coupon (from little red machine of course)
I used $5 in ECBs to pay so my OOP was only $3, plus I got back $5 in ECBs

Scanning my card at the little red machine saved me $3 dollars!!!!!!

Another great resource for CVS store coupons is a Beauty Magazine called “Reinventing Beauty.” This is normally in the Cosmetics section. It costs .99 cents, but has several dollars worth of coupons in it. It’s another great way to stack CVS coupons with manufacturer’s coupons.

So bottom line, you need to learn to LOVE the little red machine. It can hold so many great surprises in there for you, and frankly if you don’t check it when you shop, you could be losing out on some great deals!!!

The key to being a successful shopper at CVS is knowing all the tips and tricks to lower your total out of pocket! This is so important because it is really important to know and play by the rules, but at the same time to make sure that you aren’t missing any opportunities to save your family some dough!

Using Buy One Get One Free coupons are by far one of my favorite coupons to use at CVS. I can’t tell you how many countless items I have gotten because of these great little coupons! So here are some tips and tricks to mastering the BOGO coupon at CVS!

The great news is at CVS you CAN use BOGO coupons on a BOGO sale to get the items free! What is this crazy lady saying you ask. I mean exactly what I said If you CVS is having a BOGO free sale on an item, and you have a BOGO free coupon for that same item, it means you are going home with some free product baby!

Last summer, Sobe Lifewater had this great game online that you could play each day to score a BOGO coupon. Off and on all last year CVS had BOGO sales on Sobe Lifewater. So it made for FREE water all year long! I can’t tell you how many cases of water I ended up with last year. My kids loved the stuff.

You can also use two coupons on two items using a BOGO coupon, but you have to do it in the right order! Let’s say you are buying 2 Clean and Clear Body washes. You have a $1 off any C& C Body wash, and a BOGO coupon. You would hand the cashier the $1 off coupon first, and then the BOGO coupon. So essentially you are still buying the one to get the other free, but now you are paying a dollar less for the one that you are buying.

You can still stack CVS store coupons on top of all this. Take the Clean and Clear Scenario again. So you have your $1 off MQ, and your BOGO MQ and when you scan your CVS card at the magic red machine it spits out $2/2 C&C Body wash CVS coupon. Because this is a store coupon you can also use this one on top of your other two to save even more money!

The methods I have talked about in this post also work when CVS have BOGO 50% off too. The items won’t be free, but they will be really inexpensive. So when you see a BOGO coupon for something your family uses definitely make sure to grab one. It also helps to keep an eye on CVS sales, they do seem to be cyclical where you can see what type of items are on sale and how often CVS has a sale on them. By learning these tips and trips, and watching the habits in the CVS sales, you will become a master of the BOGO free in no time!

Well since this Tutorial mysteriously disappeared last Tuesday, thanks Blogger!, I am going to post it again

ECBs, or Extra Care Bucks, is definitely an acronym that you want to become friends with. It’s kind of like CVS currency. ECBs are how I get so much stuff for free, and continue to get more for free on products I need that aren’t even producing ECBs. So let’s back up and give you some ECB basics..

Extra Care Bucks
1. Print at the end of the purchase attached to your receipt.
In the ad, it will say something like

$4.99 on sale
$2 ECB with purchase
$2.99 like paying after ECBs.

This means you actually have to pay $4.99 out of pocket, unless you have coupons, but you will get a $2 coupon at the end of your purchase to use on almost anything in the store.

2. Extra Care bucks work like cash.
I love this fact. You can’t use ECBs to pay for tax, but this is a great way to get your OOP to ZERO before tax. The only restrictions are on the bottom of the ECB, can’t be used on alcohol, prescriptions, tobacco that kinda stuff, but other than that the sky is the limit!

3. You earn 2% back each quarter based on how much you spend in the store.
After the end of each quarter, make sure to check the Magic Red machine located in your store. If you spent enough you, you could get some more Extra Care Bucks based on how much you spent at the store.

4. Earn Extra Care Bucks for Prescriptions
Very are 2 prescriptions you fill, you earn $1 in ECBs. If you’re family is anything like mine, that really adds up. So might as well get some free ECBs for something you are already doing.

5. Green Bag Tag
This is one of my favorite newer programs! You can purchase a green bag tag for .99 (or wait until they go sale for free after ECB) For every 4 shopping trips you scan your tag, you earn $1 in ECBs. This not only saves your money, but it saves a bag from a landfill too!

This is just some basic terms and tips of the Extra Care bucks, next week I will go over your friend the Red Coupon Machine, and show you how to organize your transcations using coupons and ECBs to get the lowest out of pocket!. Until next time!