2010-05-15 -- 58 Cents

I had sampled the CVS generic version of Zyrtec earlier in the week and found the 24-hour pill to work great for my allergies. Since I had depleted my huge stockpile of CVS generic Claritin (which I had gotten in 2008 and 2009), I was in need of more allergy relief, so I headed out on Saturday to find the special 10-count 100% BONUS packs of the CVS Zyrtec.  The 5-count had been advertised all week at $1.00, marked down from $4.99-$5.39, a huge savings.  Many stores had two 5-counts bundled together, making it an even greater deal.

The only negative thing was that all of the dual-packaged 100% BONUS boxes have expiration dates of 10-10, just over 4 months away.  Still it was a great deal worth actually spending money on.

Regular Prices:

4.99 CVS Generic Zyrtec
3.89 Bayer Aspirin (24ct)
3.89 Bayer Aspirin (24ct)
3.89 Bayer Aspirin (24ct)
4.49 Dove Chocolate (8.5oz)
3.89 Crest ProHealth (4.2oz)
0.99 CVS Coastal Rain Shampoo

26.03 TOTAL Regular Prices

Sale Prices:

1.00 CVS Generic Zyrtec
1.00 Bayer Aspirin (24ct)
1.00 Bayer Aspirin (24ct)
1.00 Bayer Aspirin (24ct)
3.00 Dove Chocolate (8.5oz)
2.75 Crest ProHealth (4.2oz)
0.99 CVS Coastal Rain Shampoo

10.74 TOTAL Sales Prices

Coupons and Discounts Applied:
2.00 STORE Coupon "$2 Off Dove Bag"
1.00 STORE Coupon "Any CVS Haircare"
1.00 MANUFACTURER Coupon "$1 Off Dove Bag"
1.00 MANUFACTURER Coupon "Any Bayer"
1.00 MANUFACTURER Coupon "Any Bayer"
1.00 MANUFACTURER Coupon "Any Bayer"
2.00 ExtraBuck
1.74 ExtraBuck (Reduced down from 1.80ECB)

10.74 TOTAL Coupons and Discounts Applied

My coupon amount exceeded my actual purchase amount, forcing the cashier to reduce my 1.80ECB to 1.74ECB.  When the reduction is so small, I rarely mind losing just a few cents.  That reduction made my balance come to zero, plus 58 cents in tax, for a grand total of $0.58.

Because this store had already activated their new weekly sales, the price for Crest ProHealth was no longer $3.50.  The new price was $2.75.  When priced at $3.50 last week, Crest Pro-Health was generating a full 3.50ECB, making the toothpaste free.

CVS registers are programmed to always give the customer the "best price".  Simimlarly, when items are advertised for ECB, they generally only print when that price is paid.  I had scanned the Crest in-store and saw that it was pricing out 75 cents cheaper, so I figured no ECB would print out.  Yet, since the sale was still in effect, the store generally honors the ECB from the ad.

When my receipt started printing out, there was no tell-tale "triple-beep" that you hear when ECB are being printed.  I noted this to the cashier.  She reviewed the receipt and noted that "Crest" was not appearing as one of my completed deals.  She was rather new at her job (it's actually a store that's only been open for 3 months), so she called for assistance.

The lead cashier who appeared knew exactly what to do, quickly instructing the other to scan the receipt, scan my card, input the CVS "event code" which is listed in the ad, and press ENTER.  And *poof* another receipt begins printing, complete with the "triple-beep".  I know from experience that when you get your ECB printed "after-the-fact", it always rounds up, so my 3.50ECB printed as a 4.00ECB.  And since I only paid $2.75 for the Crest, I made 1.25 on the item.  It would have been an even better deal had I gotten coupon inserts a couple weeks ago, but I had reduced my insert-purchasing of late, especially since the deals haven't been all that worthwhile.

So, I began with 8.79ECB, spent 3.80ECB (2ECB+1.80ECB), but earned back 4.00ECB.  My ending balance for Card2 becomes 8.99ECB.