The CVS plan

So I've been saying for, oh, about 6 months that I was going to start doing the CVS thing. If you know what I am talking about skip ahead to the next paragraph, otherwise read on. Apparently if you coupon CVS well and combine that with their Extra Care Bucks (ECBs), you can pretty much never spend a cent at CVS. Sounds great, right? Basically, you wait until a product is eligible for ECBs and then combine it with your coupons to knock down the out of pocket cost and receive ECBs, or essentially store credit, as well. The problem is that it takes some planning and some initial expense out of pocket. Once you get going, though, if you plan your trips well, you should be able to use your ECBs to earn more ECBS and so on. So I'm biting the bullet and getting it started.

This week, they are offering some fantastic ECB deals on Revlon, which is how I plan to get started. I don't normally buy make-up anymore, but if it's going to be free why not. I chose Revlon because I have a ton of coupons for them (about $9) and the ECB return rate is high. Spend $15 get $7 ECB. So if I can use nearly all of my coupons I will spend about $6 oop and receive $7 ECBs for future purchases - not too shabby!

Other ECB offers, I am taking advantage of this week:

Crest toothpaste 2/$4.50, receive $2 ECBs combine with 2 75¢/1 crest coupons from Dec. P&G
OOP $3 - $2 ECBs = $1 (50¢ each!)
Emergen-C immune booster pack is $3.99 with $3.99 ECB! So it's free!

So here is my plan:
Trip one
Go in and purchase $15 in Revlon products using coupons, receive $7 ECBs (OOP approx. $6)

Trip two
Purchase Crest 2/$4.5o - $1.50 in coupons = $3
Emergen-C $3.99
Total =6.99, use $7 ECBs
Receive $5.99 in ECBs!