Kendra asked, "Just wondering if you do any of the frequent shopper reward thingy's at Walgreens or CVS. I've been meaning to try one or both of them but I honestly don't know much about either, especially if they'd be worth it. I'm thinking with 2 little girls it would be good to figure out how to lessen the expense of health/beauty products!"
Yes, I play the "CVS Game" and we save good money on diapers, groceries and tons of toiletries. I get most of the items I "buy" for free or really, really cheap. For instance, I haven't paid more than $3 for a package of diapers since I began shopping at CVS. If you play their "game," you can save big money. I also get paid $1 back after most toothpaste purchases. They basically pay me to leave their store with my toothpaste. And it's all legit.
However, I am not a fan of Walgreens because they have many more rules than CVS. For example, you can stack manufacturer and store coupons, but you can't use more coupons than you have items, so if you have 8 coupons and 7 items, you have to buy a pack of gum or something or their computer won't complete your transaction. Also, coupons can't exceed the amount of an item's price (even if the price is $.99 and the coupon is for $1 off) and my biggest frustration is that you can't use their Register Rewards to purchase an item that will give you more Register Rewards. Not to mention that their stock of sale items is pitiful. I leave there annoyed 100% of the time.
The first thing you need to do is head over to Money Saving Mom's blog and read up on her posts for CVS 101 and Walgreens 101. She lays it all out there and I couldn't explain it better if I tried. If you have both stores nearby, my suggestion is to start with CVS first.
Money Saving Mom and The Good Deal Gal are my go-to blogs to find out the deals at CVS every week. They tell me the best deals and often link up to printable coupons for items that are already on sale, giving the out of pocket cost and the potentially free or even free plus overage items.
The frequent shopper deals at CVS and Walgreens are not a scam, but they are absolutely a way to get you into their store to develop loyalty for their big money maker: prescriptions. It's a smart ploy, really, except for people like me who rarely, rarely have prescription needs. And when I do, both stores often have coupons that give you a $25 store credit for filling your prescription there. Not a bad deal if you have a co-pay insurance plan, but beware if you pay out of pocket, like I do. Costco, Target and Walmart have the same prescriptions for much less than CVS and Walgreens. Years ago, I was naive enough to think that they each priced their drugs similarly. Um, no. They don't.
Anyway, give CVS a try. I keep my Extra Care Bucks (ECBs) with my cash in my wallet so I never lose them. And I've only run into one CVS location that cares about the expiration date on ECBs; most gladly accept expired ECBs.
My biggest tip is to shop early for their deals. They don't restock their shelves as often as grocery stores, but they DO offer rain checks if they're out and they WILL give you the ECBs on your next visit when you make your purchase.
Expect to spend a little time scoping out the deals for a few weeks until you're good at the game. It didn't take long for it to become second nature for me. I don't shop there every week, and sometimes I'll go a few months without stepping foot inside CVS, but I'm a loyal fan of their system. I've saved a ton of money there.
Best of luck!!!
Yes, I play the "CVS Game" and we save good money on diapers, groceries and tons of toiletries. I get most of the items I "buy" for free or really, really cheap. For instance, I haven't paid more than $3 for a package of diapers since I began shopping at CVS. If you play their "game," you can save big money. I also get paid $1 back after most toothpaste purchases. They basically pay me to leave their store with my toothpaste. And it's all legit.
However, I am not a fan of Walgreens because they have many more rules than CVS. For example, you can stack manufacturer and store coupons, but you can't use more coupons than you have items, so if you have 8 coupons and 7 items, you have to buy a pack of gum or something or their computer won't complete your transaction. Also, coupons can't exceed the amount of an item's price (even if the price is $.99 and the coupon is for $1 off) and my biggest frustration is that you can't use their Register Rewards to purchase an item that will give you more Register Rewards. Not to mention that their stock of sale items is pitiful. I leave there annoyed 100% of the time.
The first thing you need to do is head over to Money Saving Mom's blog and read up on her posts for CVS 101 and Walgreens 101. She lays it all out there and I couldn't explain it better if I tried. If you have both stores nearby, my suggestion is to start with CVS first.
Money Saving Mom and The Good Deal Gal are my go-to blogs to find out the deals at CVS every week. They tell me the best deals and often link up to printable coupons for items that are already on sale, giving the out of pocket cost and the potentially free or even free plus overage items.
The frequent shopper deals at CVS and Walgreens are not a scam, but they are absolutely a way to get you into their store to develop loyalty for their big money maker: prescriptions. It's a smart ploy, really, except for people like me who rarely, rarely have prescription needs. And when I do, both stores often have coupons that give you a $25 store credit for filling your prescription there. Not a bad deal if you have a co-pay insurance plan, but beware if you pay out of pocket, like I do. Costco, Target and Walmart have the same prescriptions for much less than CVS and Walgreens. Years ago, I was naive enough to think that they each priced their drugs similarly. Um, no. They don't.
Anyway, give CVS a try. I keep my Extra Care Bucks (ECBs) with my cash in my wallet so I never lose them. And I've only run into one CVS location that cares about the expiration date on ECBs; most gladly accept expired ECBs.
My biggest tip is to shop early for their deals. They don't restock their shelves as often as grocery stores, but they DO offer rain checks if they're out and they WILL give you the ECBs on your next visit when you make your purchase.
Expect to spend a little time scoping out the deals for a few weeks until you're good at the game. It didn't take long for it to become second nature for me. I don't shop there every week, and sometimes I'll go a few months without stepping foot inside CVS, but I'm a loyal fan of their system. I've saved a ton of money there.
Best of luck!!!
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1 comments:
THANK YOU! This is exactly what I need to know!
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