CVS For Rookies 101

[Weinergirl]

Originally Posted by kaiotes Newbie here... Many Longs in Nor Cal are becoming CVS.... suppose i took on some promo and have a $20ECB, in order for me to use that, my total on the next purchase would have to be > $20 after taxes right? as anything less than that i'd "wasted" Yes. You need to spend $20 or you would forfeit the rest. if that is the case, wouldn't it be more beneficial to have multiple ecb than a high valued one? a question related to this... Wag has RR that says quantity of items purchased must be > quanityt of rr/mf. Do ECB work like this or i can buy one $10 item and use multiple ecb/mf that adds up to 10 and whatever tax rate my state charges? You can use multiple ECBs to pay for one item. They are like "cash" at CVS and don't count as coupons. for those promo that state, limit 1 per household, i would need to use different cvs card to get the ecb that would print out right? Yes, if the limit is one per household you can get one per extra care card (at the sale price). thx

HTH

[Josiology]

If I have a 5/30 that I got in my email and is card specific and a 4/20 that I got elsewhere that is not card specific, can I use both in one transaction if the transaction of $30? or does it have to be $50? or am I better off just doing two transactions? TIA

[seedlady]

Originally Posted by novembersenior15 im a newbie to cvs coupon but I'm a college student hoping to be as efficient as everybody. PLEASE ANSWER THIS: Does this mean i have to buy lots of things i don't need? Isn't this going to lead to cluttering and time wasting?

possibly yes. but i turned 20 dollars cash into a little over 10 thousand dollars worth of products in a year, so i deal with the pain. want some shampoo?

[jubilee]

Originally Posted by seedlady possibly yes. but i turned 20 dollars cash into a little over 10 thousand dollars worth of products in a year, so i deal with the pain. want some shampoo?

Wow! I started couponing again when WAGS had the Huggies deal and there were $5/1 IP. That was a few months back and I still goof things up. I try to map it out at home and get my scenarios together and then I go to the store and it is all out the window. Even when I don't have my children with me, I end up spending way too much oop. I guess I'm what you call a slow learner.

Thank you seedlady for your tips to CVS. I am part of the NorCal Long's to CVS conversions and there is a learning curve to it since the ads still don't match what the previews are on HCW.

Still saving money, just would like to save more of it

[gaijingirl]

Originally Posted by novembersenior15 im a newbie to cvs coupon but I'm a college student hoping to be as efficient as everybody. PLEASE ANSWER THIS: Does this mean i have to buy lots of things i don't need? Isn't this going to lead to cluttering and time wasting?

LOL

...Ok, I'm sorry...but now that I've got that out of my system...

First: you don't have to buy anything you don't need.You can buy whatever you want. We just buy extras because we couponers know we can save it for later when it's not on sale, give it away or sell it at a garage sale and make a profit. We're smart like that.
Second: clutter? Possibly if you are not doing something with what you buy or don't have a place to put it.
Third: I guess if you call saving money wasting time, than yes, it might be a waste of time. But, personally, I don't see how a person can NOT have the time to save money! Even if you are well off now...as many of us couponers might be...who knows what the future will hold! And the more you save on the basics in life, the more money you have to spend on stuff that's more fun than toothpaste!

[TincyJean]

Originally Posted by novembersenior15 im a newbie to cvs coupon but I'm a college student hoping to be as efficient as everybody. PLEASE ANSWER THIS: Does this mean i have to buy lots of things i don't need? Isn't this going to lead to cluttering and time wasting?

I think that this is a great money saver for college students! Some of the things that you don't need can be given to your other college friends, or you can donate to a charity around your campus. That should delete the "clutter" element.

If you get your other friends involved in the CVS ECB program, you might find deals that work for all of you!

My youngest son is a college junior. Every time he comes home I give him shampoo, conditioner, soap, laundry detergent, fabric softener, deodorant, toothpaste, toothbrushes, razors, shaving cream, snacks, candy, energy drinks. Gees, so much that I can't even remember all the other things! -- all of which I've gotten for free or almost free at CVS!

I admire your interest in saving. It shows that you are a college student who understands that a college education is expensive, and you should do everything you can to save a buck at this time.

I wish you all the best of luck in your college education.

[Yamuna]

I read on the FAQs that ECBs will deduct tax from the total as they are considered store coupons but mine just deducted the ECB amount(say $4) only and not the tax?

If my order total is say, $1.50 including tax, can I use a $1.50 ECB on that order and pay $0.00 OOP or does my order total have to be $1.50 without tax to use the ECB?

I got a $2.50 on any sleep aid or pain-reliever CRT coupon and I have a $2 OFF tylenol arthritis mfr. coupon. Can I use both on the tylenol deal next week (Tylenol arthritis on sale for $3.99)? Will it result in negative 51c(I will have other things to cover it) or it won't work?

[seedlady]

Originally Posted by Yamuna I read on the FAQs that ECBs will deduct tax from the total as they are considered store coupons but mine just deducted the ECB amount(say $4) only and not the tax? If my order total is say, $1.50 including tax, can I use a $1.50 ECB on that order and pay $0.00 OOP or does my order total have to be $1.50 without tax to use the ECB? I got a $2.50 on any sleep aid or pain-reliever CRT coupon and I have a $2 OFF tylenol arthritis mfr. coupon. Can I use both on the tylenol deal next week (Tylenol arthritis on sale for $3.99)? Will it result in negative 51c(I will have other things to cover it) or it won't work?

yesterday i bought a bag of miracle grow, and the manager told the cashier to ring it up as 2 $, taxable. i paid with a 2 $ ecb, and my total came up zero, which surprised the clerk.


you may go negative in your $1.50 idea. have something in mind to grab if you need a filler, or plan to ask them to just throw away the extra money.

you should be able to use both a cvs and a manu coupon on one item, and most times you would get the overage. i just do the math both ways, and figure out what i will do each way.

the tax things are on a state by state basis, and you just need to watch and learn how it works in your area. leaning over the counter and saying " but my imaginary friend seedlady says that would be free in california" will probably not get you far!

[addy'sgram]

what is the differance between an ECB and an ERT? And do you have more than one CVS card? If so how many do you recommend?

[seedlady]

Originally Posted by addy'sgram what is the differance between an ECB and an ERT? And do you have more than one CVS card? If so how many do you recommend?

i'm going to send you to another thread, and then after you read it, i'll answer questions over there.

i'm not sure what an ert would be? i thought of emergency response technician, then it occurred to me you probably mean crt, for cash register tape. a lot of people can't spell receipt, so we began to use crt as shorthand for the piece of paper you need to send in with a rebate.

i think you should stick with one card till you have used it for a year or so. the limits are per household, and with 2 cards i have to keep track of which card i used for which deals, so i only get the limit. it is much easier to let their computer keep track for you.


http://www.hotcouponworld.com/forums...e-newbies.html

hth some