CVS and Walgreens are Fun!

One of the exciting results of our recent move was that we are now residents of a city that has both Walgreens and CVS stores. Neither of these stores can be found in the Logan, Utah metro area. The reason I was excited to patronize these establishments is because the savvy shopper (which I consider myself to be) can get some good deals by participating in each store's particular system.

CVS has an Extra Care Bucks program, with which you can get ECBs for certain purchases, which you can then use on future purchases in the store. Money Saving Mom has a good primer on the program, which can be somewhat confusing to the newcomer. I haven't been too impressed with this program so far, because only a few items that I actually need have come with ECBs. Also, such items are not clearly marked in the store, so I have to closely examine the CVS ad to make sure I'm getting the right item.

Walgreens has an EasySaver rebate program. With this, a number of items are free each month after rebate, and others are merely reduced in price. You submit your rebates each month, and if you put the money on a Walgreen's gift card, you get an extra 10%. Ideally, once you have a decent balance on a card, it becomes self-perpetuating, with last month's rebates paying for this month's item, and so on. MSM also has a primer on this program. This has worked pretty well for me. I got a few good free items here his month that I actually need.

A great feature of these stores is that you can stack store and manufacturer coupons together on the same item. If you play your coupons right, you can get items for free, or even better, you can essentially get paid to buy items. MSM and other sites post weekly reports on the best available items at each store. If you have these stores in your area, it will be worth your while to check these programs out.