So, I am a bit confused about something and I was hoping if any of you out there that read this are fellow deal finders you can assist me in my knowledge on the following subject. The topic is CVS shopping. I have been hearing a lot about what a great deal it is and I have wanted to give it a try myself. But there are a couple things that are a little foggy in my brain. Some things are starting to clear up on the subject matter…I think, but let’s just have a simple conversation about it so I can make sure. :) Deal?
So in this week’s ad they have an Oral-B toothbrush for $4.00. BUT you get $4.00 in CVS bucks so it is like the tooth brush for FREE!!! Wow! You might say $4.00 whole dollars to spend in CVS plus a FREE toothbrush! Here is where I feel ripped off. Haven’t I done nothing more than been tricked into buying myself a $4.00 CVS gift card for $4.00? Sure I got a toothbrush out of the deal but who cares? I don’t need a toothbrush and although I would use it eventually I can get it cheaper elsewhere? This part just doesn’t exactly line up in my mind. I have tried my best to justify this and here is what I have come up with. One could argue that I would use the tooth brush eventually and so in reality I have bought a $4.00 gift card for $2.00ish. So is it wise to buy an un-needed item just for the extra bucks? Will I not end up spending more money this way?
Had I already done a similar transaction in the past I could have used my “gift card” toward the purchase and got toothpaste plus a penny in my pocket. Am I thinking correctly here? However, take the above scenario without the coupon. Why pay $2.99 for tooth paste? I can kind of understand this but I feel like I am doing nothing more than buying my coupon. It doesn’t seem like a great deal. Am I mistaken? Is it a better deal than what I am understanding it to be?
Also, this week they had 4/$12 on 12pk Pepsi Soda. $3.00 each is a pretty good buy anyways so I would think go for it especially if I am getting $3.00 in CVS bucks. This makes sense.
It also makes perfect sense to me to get CVS bucks for buying CVS brands. Currently you can get 4% back on CVS brands. So if I buy some cough syrup at CVS which is cheaper than the name brand and normally works just as well it sounds good to me to get some CVS buck toward your next purchase?
So here is my conclusion to CVS deal shopping. If you are getting certain bathroom products, and medicine you can normally count on CVS to be cheaper and work well. Plus you get CVS bucks for future visits. Great! As far as food and other bathroom stuff make sure you are paying a decent price to begin with and get CVS buck in addition (such as in the case with the soda). It’s a win-win situation. But do I come out a thrifty saver in the instances with the “free” toothbrush or the overpriced toothpaste? PLEASE HELP fellow deal finders at heart. I know there is help out there somewhere. Can you find it in your heart to come to the aid of this poor confused girl? With a grateful heart for those who lend their aid.
Rachael :)
3 comments:
Ok - Here is my not so professional opinion but...
I am a cvs "deal shopper" and one thing that I have found is that it is easy to get caught up in buying things that you don't need. If you know that you will need/use the tooth brush soon it is not a bad deal. If it is something that you are buying that you will never use then it is a bad deal. Yes, you are spending $4 on the toothbrush but it you are going to use it and have the money now you will save it down the road. It is just perspective. Although you do have to be careful to not get caught up in the "its a deal" and not needing it business.
I will say that the other day I was able to buy about $30 worth of bathroom/makeup supplies for $8. It was a wonderful feeling!
I also love their "Coupon Center". You can get great Coupons (i.e. $5 off a purchase of $15 or more) and those come in really handy.
I've recently started shopping @ CVS too. Just before my surgery I scanned my card to get the extra coupons. (hopefully you know about this trick, you can scan it 2 or 3 times a day) Let me back up a bit, I was there to fill a RX that I needed. Okay FF to the coupons I got from scanning my card. It gave me a coupon for a 25.00 gift card if I filled a new RX there or transfered a refill there. I couldn't believe it!! They gave me 25.oo for doing something i was there to do anyway. I've found that thru my insurance companies (we are double covered) our medicine is less expensive @ CVS. I've purchased my make up there that I would have bought anyway and was a resonable price and got 4.00 in CVS bucks. This week their Always pads (excluding infinity:( ) is 2.99 which is a good deal. THEN there is a coupon in this Sunday's paper for 2.00 off of Always pads. So you get a pkg (14-24count) of Always pads for .99! Just thought i would let you know about that one. I like that CVS lets you know if there is a coupon in the sunday paper for an advertised sale in their ad. This week my make up is buy one get one free @ CVS!!
I agree with you regarding being careful on what you buy to just get the reward bucks. I make sure it is a resonable price and something we need before I cash in on the extra bucks.
Last week their Ozarka water (24 pack) was only 2.99.
Back in early Feb their 6 pack of Scott paper towels (One of my favorite brands) was 4.99. That was a good deal as well! Sounds like we need to get together via phone or email and talk about our deals @ CVS.
Their clearance area is good sometimes too. I got a combo pkg of hair clips and pony tails for .89 from their clearance rack. I bought all they had!! It was 4 Big clips and 5 or 6 pony tails. Those normally run for 2 or 3 dollars.
WalGreens is a GREAT place to watch for random presents you could need in the future. Their clearance rack is my weakness. I've gotten some really good deals! I got a lot of book covers for .25. During August those things are 1 to 2 dollars each. I bought a christmas candle warmer that was 19.99 for 4.99. It is very nice!
Hope this helps! Please let me know of deals you may find. I live on a budget and have to save every where I can!!
Sounds like you are getting the hang of it!! You are right, the idea is to put a bit of money into it upfront, purchasing items that give lots of extrabucks, but then to use the extra bucks you've earned to buy more products that give extrabucks, basically rolling the extrabucks with every tranaction so that you don't ever pay much out of pocket. If you can "grow" the extra bucks using coupons that's even better.
I've done the cvs deals for several years now on and off. I can't remember the last time I've actually paid for toothpaste or hair products. It does take a bit of time to keep up with the couponing part of it...clipping and printing coupons. They've changed the program some over the years and the deals aren't as good as they used to be (at one point I had over $60 in extra bucks that I would just "roll" every week, never having to pay more then a a few dollars out of pocket), but I can still get good stuff free or really cheap, just not in the volume I used to be able to.
I let other people do the work of figuring out the best deals for me.
Moneysavingmom.com is a such a great blog. Read her cvs101 post and then click on "store deals" on the top of her site to find the weekly cvs deals with coupon matchups.
http://moneysavingmom.com/2008/01/cvs-101.html
I also used to get a lot of good stuff from hotcouponworld deal forum...like the the ads and deals for future weeks. That was when I was planning my cvs deals weeks ahead of time. Life's too full for me to keep up with it all now...I just do a few of the deals here and there as I have time and run across the coupons.
Good luck and have fun!
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