Tips: seedlady's wagon train (a guide for newbies.)

[PirateQueen]

I scan until the screen says "No more coupons Available today".

[seedlady]

Originally Posted by PirateQueen I scan until the screen says "No more coupons Available today".

there ya go- word for word what i was going to say!

[Martheme]

"I'm a little confused about using my ECB to pay for purchases, can you help me sort it out?
today I purchased this weeks deal on the Softsoap body wash which is 4.99 less $1 coupon = $3.99 and I pay with a $4 ECB and my order total was 0.00 so they just gave me the product & my ECB (cashier did a bit of a double take!) so the tax seemed to vanish . . .

If I do something similar, with an ECB worth a little more than my order, say its .25 over, is the same thing likely to happen or if the computer going to freak? I noticed the ECB says (up to) under the amount.

I'm asking because I'd rather have a 0 total and lose a little ecb than to spend oop on something I don't really want as a filler . . .

does that make any sense?"

====oops- i hit edit instead of quote==== sorry!



perfect sense- i understand you completely.

in a perfect world, the cashier would just wave her wand, and any extra cents would just disappear, leaving a zero balance.


in the world where i live, it freaks the cashiers out bigtime, and they will NOT adjust the buck. so, i keep my eyes open for things that i will accept if i need to grab something to even up an order.

i use single bandages, and candy bars, and clearance anything.

( i found chocolate candies for 3 cents each, and bought a BUNCH of those to fill out an order.)


this week, i needed to spend 12 cents, and i ended up the proud owner of not one but TWO videos.

i was unpacking my bags, and my daughter saw a movie- "mom, why did you buy a movie named hunchback? oh, never mind- to make the money come out even, right?" then i showed her that i had to buy 2 movies- they were nine cents each, so i had to get "somewhere in time" also. but it was still cheaper than a stinkin' candy bar.




i think every week or so, you should read through the clearance section here, and make a note of things you might like. i got a bunch of 59 cent sweatshirts a couple of weeks ago. far better than a candy bar every time!

[seedlady]

Originally Posted by rlavi711 First, thank you so much for this thread! I JUST started CVSing (much to the amusement of both my parents and my college roommates), and you have given me lots of good tips and ideas. One question...What exactly should I do at a CVS store to get coupons? I see all these different things being thrown around...scanners, booklets, magazines...Where (besides scanners, which have been much talked about) can I get in store coupons? Thanks!

i shop at 3 different stores, and they do coupons differently at each one.

( i know, i know- BIG help! )

you should wander around the beauty area, looking hopeful.

you can ask the cashier.

look for baskets of coupons near the cash register.

ask if there is a beauty advisor at the store.

each time someone posts a picture of a booklet, take a look at it. then turn slowly in the store, and scan .

look for a rack of booklets near the pharmacy.


if all else fails, trade for some.

[seedlady]

this thread is pretty up to date, so let me do a short paragraph on limits.

care buck limits are listed in the ad. they are valid for whatever time the deal is open. if it is a weekly deal, you can buy it any time that week- all together, or item by item.

if it is a monthly deal, the dates are on the booklet, and , again, you can wander in and buy them however you choose.



now, limits of NON ecb things are interesting. they are per transaction.

for example, some months back, tuna was listed as reg. $1.99, on sale $.59, limit 4.
the guy ahead of me bought 5.



bad move. he paid .59, .59, .59 .59. $1.99.

he noticed, and returned the $1.99 can, and rebought it, paying 59 cents this time around. soda is often listed the same way. $3.88 a 12 pack, limit 4. that 5th 12 pack will cost you 4.99 or something. look at the limits. obey the limits. work around the limits.

buy your four 12 packs of coke, haul them to the car, THEN buy your four 12 packs of diet coke.


have yourselves a lovely week !

[seedlady]

please please please-


start each new thread you write with the letters "CVS"


but why?, you ask.

Why would every thread need to start with the word CVS???


because of the rss feed- whatever that is- we need to start every title with the word cvs , and we can't use abbreviations in the titles. i spend an hour or 2 a day fixing them, but it is one against 6000, and you guys are winning.

i can't fix them as fast as you can type them, so i'm asking for help.


i have started repping the kind folks who use the cvs at the start of the title, and i have serious repping power.


just be glad i don't neg rep the others!

( i just repped someone for cvsing the title, and it moved her from 3 to SEVEN little green boxes. help da seedlady, i tell ya!)
__________________

[Martheme]

Dear Seedlady,

I realized today that I have been making a total Newbie type of mistake and I wanted to share so others might benefit from my stupidity ;)

It started with a trip yesterday where I scanned my cards (4) and all of them got a $5/30 coupon. I spent the rest of the day trying to figure the best use for these given the small amount of ECB I have for each card (4-5 ea.).

It wasn't until I was in the store today that I realized I should have saved my Vitamin water coupons! I had dashed off a few days earlier and picked up the vitamin water by itself! If I had saved those coupons and used them with the $$/$$ coupons I would have been able to get much better deals!

I'm still kicking myself . . .

hth

[seedlady]

Originally Posted by ekoury Hi Seedlady, I have a question (even though I am not a newbie, I still have one :) There are $2/2 GE nuts CRT and $2/$10 CVS brand purchase CRT this week. The question is: I saw some people on this forum use them together. Example - buy 11 bags of nuts for $0.99, add a CVS brand purchase and use $2/$10 and 5 $2/2 nuts coupons. Also, the nuts are used as a filler to get to $10 in CVS brand purchases. Can $2/2 GE nuts coupons be stacked with $2/$10 CVS brand purchase coupon?

i'm not sure. at one of my stores, it would be fine to use 2 together ( one of each kind), and at one store the manager would have a cow. there is no store i know of that would let you use 5 identical cvs nut coupons in one transaction.


this might be a good one to email cvs about, and ask. then share what they say, if you don't mind. when i get curious about things like that, i call or email, and ask. i want to get the best deals i can get, but i want to obey the rules, too.

[seedlady]

Originally Posted by CouponingNana Seedlady, I'm a newbie and posted a thread with my questions, but am still not sure if I am understanding. These are the CRT's that I have: Save $5/15 on Tresemme, VO5, or St. Ives Save $1 on any St. Ives Save $3 on 2 Hair Care items I also have a $4/20 from an email I received. It doesn't say that it cannot be combined with other offers. Here are my questions: If I buy $10 of Tresemme and $5 St. Ives products, which of the three CRT's can I use? Then if I buy other products to make my total $20, can I use the $4/20 also?

let me try to explain it the way i think of it. as far as i know, i have it right, but if i'm wrong, you can let me know.

and, if you can't figure out what i mean, call or email cvs and ask them. they are most helpful.


this is how i picture it in my mind- make a little pile of things that coupon covers, and lay the coupon ON them.

for instance, pile the 15 dollars worth of hair stuff, and lay the 5/15 on it. that covers that, so the st.ives dollar can't be used for that pile. but, if you add another st.ives, little "one dollar"

can pay for part of it.


i t h i n k the 3/2 hair care items c a n be used with the others, without having to buy two MORE shampoos, but if your store screams and hollers , i do see their point. you might just ask them to scan it to see if it will work- i think it will.

some of this stuff depends on how your store views things, some on the age or gender of the cashier, and some on the phase of the moon, or the color of your car. we will NEVER have all the answers, and if we DID, they would change the questions. so do the best you can with the store you shop at, and if things are really really wrong, call customer service, and ask them. they are whizbangs at fixing problems.

[seedlady]

Originally Posted by dainasplashes Dear Seedlady, I'm not a newbie exactly, but I've read through this train and learned a couple things, and I have a question I haven't found covered yet. (If it has been, I apologize.) If I'm using a $/$$ coupon (in my case, a $4/20 yesterday), how do BOGO store sales affect my total? I was buying two packs of rechargeable batteries for $9.99 each. They rang up full price until the cashier scanned my card, at which point the second changed to FREE. Then I handed over my $4/$20, which came off. I had just over $10.01 in fillers with coupons, and ended up with a great deal. Did I need that much in fillers, though, or could I have gotten away with using the $4/20 coupon if I bought a $0.02 (or more) filler item?

i myself look at a bogo as costing "two for"- so your batteries were 2/$9.99, in my world. so, to me, the way you did it is the right way. i'm always afraid if we cut every corner and grab every advantage, cvs will answer back by hiring even MORE marketing geniuses, and get ahead of us again.


i try to think of it as being fair to them, also. they make the deals, and we buy the deals. they need us, we need them. so we have to leave a little meat on the hambone before we toss it back.