Do you CVS?

I have been learning how to "CVS" (yes, the drugstore and yes, it can be used as a verb apparently) for the past few months. I started by buying the items each month that earned equal money back in Extra Bucks and therefore are basically free as long as you remember to pay with the Extra Bucks the next time you go to CVS. Extra Bucks print out on the bottom of your receipt and can be used like cash at CVS stores. Then, I starting finding manufacturer coupons for the items that earned Extra Bucks, meaning that now I was getting paid to buy things. Next, I realized that I should break my transaction into several smaller transactions to be able to use a CVS store coupon with each transaction and to use the Extra Bucks from one transaction to pay for the next transaction. Now, I am learning to add more store coupons and rebates, as well as trying to minimize my cash expenditures so that I am only paying with Extra Bucks.

I just have to show what I got today.
The total rang up to just under $100. After all of my coupons, I paid $23 dollars in Extra Bucks and just 12 cents in cash! And I earned $10 in Extra Bucks for next time. The net loss in Extra Bucks is for the milk because everything else that I bought earned as many Extra Bucks as it cost.

Right now, this is taking me a ridiculous amount of time to read the ad and find the right coupons, which must be factored into the equation when considering if it is all worth it. However, I am getting faster and faster and have already cut down on my preparation time. For example, one huge lesson was learning that I don't have to clip every coupon in the paper. I can just look in the ad online and then clip only the coupons for the things that I am going to buy for an Extra Buck deal that week.

If you are interested in learning how to CVS to cut down on your grocery and household items budget, I highly suggest that you start with MoneySaving Mom. Crystal has a CVS primer that explains the basics and she posts some of the best deals each week. Hot coupon world posts the CVS ad and the coupons available each week (here is the link to 11/18-11/24) as does SlickDeals (here is 11/18-11/24). Both include links to online coupons that you can easily print. The post at SlickDeals is a wiki of each week's ads and so readers edit it to add whatever coupons they find. Both sites also have extensive discussion forums on CVS deals where it is possible to waste lots of time. Here is HCW's and here is the CVS discussion on SlickDeals. I'm learning to stay away! Both also have lots of coupons if you have time to click around.

Anyway, in another month or so, I hope to understand all of this well enough to use a few extra minutes here and there to dramatically cut back on our grocery bill. And, I am planning on using some of my great CVS finds in gift baskets for Christmas presents to cut back on our Christmas spending.