CVS Black Friday sales started today. If you’ve seen the sales circular, then you know there are a lot of ECB (Extra Care Bucks) available. You may be feeling a little overwhelmed. I know I was!!! The Frugal Hubby says I got just a little too anxious and didn’t have my list completely formulated with a few what-if scenarios. I was a little bummed because I wanted to get more off than I actually did. But then when I sat down to do the actual figures, I got a lot happier. My trip broke down like this –
3 separate transactions
Transaction #1 — $3.74
Transaction #2 — $13.18
Transaction #3 — $6.96
Total Out of Pocket — $23.87
Total of Products before savings — $60.38
Total Savings — $36.71
ECB’s for next trip = $17.00
What could I have done to save more money?
Tip #1: Realize what “It’s like getting it for….” really means.
I forgot the one simple rule that I tell everyone when learning to shop at CVS. The following is one of the ads in the CVS Black Friday sale.
See the words “It’s like getting it for FREE after extrabucks”. You will still have to pay the $2.87 less any coupons or ECBs that you have to apply to the sale. The Extrabucks reward is what you will get back to use after the sale is completed. In my figuring, I used the “it’s like” figure and it threw my out of pocket figures off.
Tip #2: Make a complete list detailing the items, prices, coupons, ECBs to be used and the ECBs you will be getting in return.
This is a MUST!!! You need to follow the list. Today, I made a list but it wasn’t as detailed as usual. Break the items up into smaller transactions. Try to keep the number of transactions you will do to a maximum of three. It shows courtesy to the other shoppers and the cashier. If you have to make more than three transactions, step out of line and let the others behind you go in front of you. Take the other items to the car and get back in line to finish gathering the items on your list.
My transactions usually read like this:
Transaction #1:
2 Colgate MaxFresh at $2.87 = $5.74
Less: 2 — $1.00/1 Coupon
Total OOP = $3.74 — Receive $5.74 in ECB.
Transaction #2:
2 Total Cereal at $2.87 = $5.74
Less: $5.74 ECB from Transaction #1
Total OOP = $0.00 — Receive $4 in ECB.
Tip #3: Have a back-up plan if the store is out of the products you want.
When there is a big sale like this one, the store’s will run out of items. Always make sure to have a back-up plan just in case. My store was already out of several items and I had to come up with different deals on the spot and in a rush because I didn’t make extra deals to fill in when there was an outage.
Tip #4: Remember to take your Shopping bag and tag.
Have the shopping bag and tag scanned as well as your Extracare card.
Tip #5: Take your time.
Don’t be in a rush. Rushing messes me up and I end up spending more money. Take your time and make the most of your savings! Today I rushed and didn’t make the most out of my savings.
I hope this helps you in planning your CVS Black Friday trip! We’d love to hear about your savings! Leave us a comment and let us know how you did!
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