Extra Care Buckin' at CVS

CVS is my favorite place to shop for personal care items, paper items, toiletries, beauty aids, over the counter meds, etc.  As I have said many times before, I have shopped there since before they were CVS.  Remember, People's Drug Store? It was the mainstay pharmacy of the entire eastern seaboard for nearly 90 years.  It officially changed its name in 1990 after years of changing ownership to keep it afloat.    Now, as CVS, it holds its own among the pharmacy giants in our area: Walgreens and RiteAid pharmacies.

$12 ECB's & $5.75 CVS Extra Care Coupons

I  love the Extra Care Bucks (ECB's) rewards at CVS.  I can rack up the savings to the point that I walk away with free or nearly free items every single shopping trip.  ECB's are store coupons with a twist.  You can use them exactly like dollars for nearly all of your CVS purchases.  Exclusions: prescriptions, alcohol, gift cards, lottery, tobacco products, money orders, postage stamps, and pre-paid cards.  ECB's can be stacked with each other, other CVS money off coupons, and manufacturers coupons.  If you are a very saavy couponer, you will be able to rack up even more ECB's at the end of the shopping trip, too. 

The CVS/pharmacy coupon policy is very customer friendly.  However, the cashiers and manager may not be.  So, take a copy of the coupon policy with you.  As always, NEVER argue over coupons.  You may be right, but the manager has the final say...even if he/she is mistaken.  Contact CVS customer service on their website and send them and the store manager a copy of your communication and/or a copy of the CVS coupon policy. A courteous couponer trumps a nasty store manager or cashier every time.

I will not be able to skip shopping at CVS this week.  Some of my ECB's expire on the 11th.  I also have a coupon for a FREE "Unreal Bar"...what the heck is an "Unreal Bar"???  There are a few really great deals that will reward me with ECB's at the end of my deals.  You can check out and compare CVS deals from this week with next week each Thursday.  That's when the new weekly ad is posted on their website.  It is a tab that appears just next to the current week's tab.

I am excited that a brand new Walgreens is coming to Laurel.  In the meantime, I will be studying my Walgreen's coupon policy and rewards program.  I am not familiar with either.  In addition, I have recently started shopping at RiteAid more regularly.  It has a reward program (Up Rewards) and single check rebate program, as well.  I am not very good at rebates.  I always forget to send them in.  Supposedly, RitaAids rebate program can be done on their website after each of your shopping trips.  I will definitely be checking it out.

Regardless of where you shop for personal care items, paper items, toiletries, beauty aids, over the counter meds, etc., if you do not join their customer loyalty program, you won't save as much money.  Shop their sales and stack them with coupons and you will get the biggest bang for all your bucks!

Happy Couponing!

ShaRon, The Bizzy Coupon Bee

Just a Reminder...

There are nearly $200 worth of coupons in this weekend's Washington Post!  Of course, if you subscribe to more than one paper you may have a gold mine lying around in your driveway in the morning.  I get four newspapers each weekend and you can believe that I will burst out of the house in the morning to gather my coupon treasure before they disappear from my driveway.  It is not unusual for coupon bandits to scour the neighborhood behind the carriers and remove the papers before the homeowners even realize they have been delivered.  

Be sure to get your papers early and check each one to be certain all three (3) of your inserts are inside.  If not, call your carrier.  Most carriers will redeliver your paper if you call before 10 AM.  Don't let all that money just sit in your driveway


Click the links below to see the coupons included in this weekend's paper.  As always, you may receive more or less coupons with varying denominations in your area.

• 8-5 General Mills Coupon Insert
• 8-5 RedPlum Coupon Preview
• 8-5 Smartsource coupon preview

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You should have a customer loyalty card for every grocery store, pharmacy, gas station, and/or department store in your area AND anywhere you visit or vacation.  Register each card online on the retailer's website, Twitter page, and like them on Facebook.  Most of the unadvertised sales, advanced sale notifications, discounts, coupons, and samples are given to holders of loyalty cards, Twitter followers, and their Facebook friends before the general public, if at all.  Most grocers and pharmacies reserve ALL of their in store discounts and sales for their loyalty card holders. Even if you do not clip coupons, you can reap the rewards of a card carrying shopper at your local retailer.  


Finally, if you do not have a "junk email and/or facebook" account, do it this weekend.  I get coupon related emails and updates at the rate of nearly 40 to 50 per day!  I doubt that you will get quite that many simply because I get that many to keep you informed.  Usually, I will simply glean my emails for some of the better notifications and pass them onto you.  However, I do not check my "junk email" account more than once or twice a day and sometimes not at all on the weekend.  As a result, you may not hear about a last minute deal from me because it may be over and done with by the time I see it.  The best way to keep ahead of the deals is for you to subscribe to some of those deal blogs yourself.  


Here are a few of my favorite blogs:

• couponshoppinwitjane
• http://www.afullcup.com/register
• http://www.couponing101.com/
• http://www.cuckooforcoupondeals.com
• http://www.livingrichwithcoupons.com
• http://www.thekrazycouponlady.com
• http://www.couponmom.com

Reminder: DO NOT sign up for newsletters, blogs, and coupons without getting a "junk email/facebook/twitter" account first.  Don't say I did not warn you!!!

Happy Couponing!

ShaRon, The Bizzy Coupon Bee

Printable Coupons Reloaded & Subscription Coupon Sites...

This week has really been an adventure!  Monday, I needed my license for identification and whipped it out to show the lady who requested it.  Well, to my surprise and embarrassment, I found out when she exclaimed, "This license has expired!" that I had been driving around with an expired driver's license.  Oh, it expired January 6, 2012!

In the last 7 months, I have driven to Pennsylvania, Virginia, New Jersey, Georgia, Indiana, South Carolina, and all over Maryland.  I am not a speed demon by any means but I do drive with "purpose"

It has been a rough week being under "house arrest" while going through all the steps trying to get my license renewed.  I have not been able to go couponing and there are some awesome sales awaiting my retrieval.  My husband said that he would "gladly" go with me but he quickly looses focus after 10 or 15 minutes.  His impatience is a distraction and often causes me to overlook obvious match ups, rain check opportunities, and unadvertised sales.  So, I opted not to take him up on his offer.  Hopefully, I should be able to get my new license in the morning.  

While sitting around under "house arrest", I have been downloading printables from manufacturers' websites and from other coupon printable sites like Coupons.com; Coupon Network; Red Plum; Smart Source; and "store" coupons to stack with the manufacturers' coupons from Target; Dollar General; and Family Dollar.  It is the beginning of the month and the coupon sites have been "reloaded" with some old favorites and lots of new brands to get you to try something new for a change.

Print your coupons before they run out.  You are allowed to print two coupons each.  Manufacturers will budget a certain amount of coupons and when that limit is met, they are gone until they reload the next month.  

Over the last month, I have been testing two "subscription" coupon sites: The Grocery Game and  The Savings Club. Both of the sites are paid subscriptions. However, I was able to access them both for up to 6 weeks for FREE! During that time, I evaluated whether or not they would be worth the subscription fees.  

The Grocery Game's subscription fee starts at $10 every 8 weeks ($1.25/week) and can go as high as $60 every 8 weeks ($7.50/week).  The Savings Club (Coupon.com) subscription fee is $3 per month (75¢/wk).  Coupon.com has a free site that is accessible to anyone who visits the website.  But you can also subscribe to their Savings Club printable coupons for a subscription of $3 per month or $30 year.  

I was very skeptical that either site would be worth the extra money.  Here's my evaluation of each:

The Grocery Game

• The Grocery Game -  I have a very complex brain dynamic that prevented me from being able to decipher the workings of The Grocery Game.  I think that if you have the time, you may very well be able to win at The Grocery Game.  Thousands apparently have subscribed to this game and are saving big bucks.  But not me.  If you currently use coupon databases, you may find it easy to use The Grocery Game.  People who have taken the time and energy to figure out the Game are saving boat loads of money.  I was not able to figure out how to make the best of the savings offered in The Grocery Game.  So, I canceled it!  My recommendation:  sign up for the 6 week free trial and see for yourself.  If you have a problem, contact them.  They have really great customer support and it was very easy to cancel when I decided to do so.
• The Savings Club - This website is just an extension of Coupons.com that is only accessible via subscription.  However, The Savings Club has a trial subscription that will give you a full 30 days to try out The Savings Club to see if it is worth it.  For example, The Savings Club gave me access to more coupons and more high dollar coupons that those available on the free coupons.com website.  
• For my zip code "20705", I have 305 coupons worth $472.03 available to print without the subscription.  Once I access The Savings Club site via the log in link, I had access to 346 coupons worth $663.63.  Many of the coupons on the free coupons.com site have higher denominations.  As with the free site, you are not limited to coupons only in your zip code.  

The Savings Club

I have decided, for now, to continue my subscription to The Savings Club.  The additional higher dollar coupon denominations are currently saving me more than the $3 per month or 10¢/day.  I would recommend that you try The Savings Club  and The Grocery Game for the free 30 day trial.

Happy Couponing, 

ShaRon, The Bizzy Coupon Bee!