UPDATE: SavingStar gave my mother credit for the Quilted Northern (two rebates), so I am updating the post on 6/6.
My mother’s card got another $10/$50 coupon at the end of her receipt last Sunday, expiring today. That’s the third one she’s received in two months, always at the end of a receipt, never by mail or email. May the streak continue!
The trip I am sharing today is unusual, but after a bit of internal debate, I decided it would be useful to talk about “early activation” (aka EA) CVS shopping for the benefit of people who don’t know about it.
The CVS sale week runs Sunday through Saturday. At 24-hour CVS stores, the new sales are activated at midnight on Sunday, and the night shift employees put up the new sale signage in the early morning hours. But at stores that close on Saturday night and reopen on Sunday morning, there aren’t any people working overnight to get the store ready for the new ad. Those stores have to be ready for new Sunday sales before the store closes on Saturday night. Once store employees begin putting up sale signage for the new weekly ad that will be in the Sunday papers the following day, they have to give customers those deals. The store manager will make a call on Saturday to activate the new sales in the system (that’s why it’s called early activation). It’s up to the manager when to activate the new sales.
At my nearest CVS with early activation, the new Sunday sales are usually active around 4:00 pm Saturday. So on Saturday evening at that CVS, I can get the sales for the week ending Saturday AND for the week that doesn’t technically begin until the following day. I always check by scanning an item that I know will be on sale in the new ad to be sure the new sales are active. Note: If the same item is part of a promotion each week (say Saturday is an Extrabucks deal and Sunday is a BOGO sale), you will NOT get both deals, and the scanner will likely show the current week’s promotion.
There are advantages and disadvantages to EA shopping. An obvious advantage is when you have coupons or rebates that expire Saturday for a product that will be part of a promotion that begins Sunday. Another is when you have a $/$$ or %-off coupon that you want to apply to some promotions from each week. The disadvantage is that you have no way of knowing what new coupons the Red Coupon Machine will give you Sunday morning or what new printable coupons or rebates will become available Sunday morning. My CVS stores will NOT allow me to apply a “Sunday” coupon to an item I bought on Saturday, so I have to decide if I want to take the risk of losing a better deal.
For this trip, I wanted to use my mother’s $10/$50 coupon and didn’t see much for her in the preview for sales starting Sunday, June 4. However, she received a rare Buy one, Get one Free Got2b CVS coupon from the Red Coupon Machine last Sunday and had Got2b coupons and a SavingStar rebate expiring Saturday, June 3. There was also a nice sale on Puffs ending Saturday that was a moneymaker with coupon and two rebates that became available towards the end of last week. The Got2b and Puffs were almost $15, so if I shopped for her Saturday evening, I would only need to find $35 in the new ad to use the $10/$50 coupon. In the end, it was a good call to shop Saturday evening because the Red Coupon Machine did not give her any coupons Sunday morning that applied to items in the transaction, nor were there any new SavingStar offers or printable coupons she could have used.
And now to the trip.
Deals ending Saturday, 6/3
TWO GOT2B STYLERS, $6.79 (reg. price)
Get $2 cashback from SavingStar for buying ONE Got2b product (EXPIRED 6/3)
Used one Buy one, get one free Got2b product CVS coupon from Red Coupon Machine (for some, not all)
Used two $2/1 Got2b Style Product – 5-7-17 RP; Excludes Trial/Travel (EXPIRED 6/3)
Price at Register $2.79 but received $2 from SavingStar
NET PRICE FOR ALL: $0.79 (40 cents each)!
ONE PUFFS PLUS TISSUE WITH LOTION, on sale $0.99 (reg. $1.87) SALE ENDED 6/3
Get $0.75 cashback from SavingStar for buying one Puffs facial tissue (exp. 6/28) – Varies by user
Get $0.75 cashback from Checkout51 for buying one Puffs facial tissue (exp. 6/7) – Varies by user
Used one $0.25/1 Puffs Product printable coupon (preclipped)
Price at Register $0.74 but received $0.75 from SavingStar and $0.75 from Checkout51
NET PRICE FOR ALL: FREE plus $0.76 Moneymaker!
Deals starting Sunday, 6/4
TWO GARNIER FRUCTIS SHAMPOO OR CONDITIONER, 12-13 oz, on sale 2/$7 or $3.79 (reg. $4.49)
Get $3 Extrabucks for buying two Garnier Fructis 12-13 oz (limit 1)
Used two $2/1 Garnier Fructis Shampoo/Conditioner/Treatment printable coupon (preclipped)
Price at register $3 but received $3 Extrabucks
NET PRICE FOR ALL: Free!
TWO L’OREAL EXPERT SHAMPOO OR CONDITIONER, on sale 2/$8 or $4.25 (reg. $4.99)
ONE L’OREAL EXPERT STYLER, on sale 2/$8 or $4.25 (reg. $5.29)
Get $4 Extrabucks for buying TWO L’Oreal Advanced Hair Care products (limit 1)
Get $0.50 cashback from ibotta for buying one L’Oreal Expert Shampoo or Conditioner – Varies by user
Used one $4 off three (3) L’Oreal Expert Shampoo, Conditioner, or Styler CVS store coupon from the Red Coupon Machine (for some, not all)
Used three $1/1 L’Oreal Expert Shampoo, Conditioner or Treatment printable coupons (preclipped)
Price at register $5.25 but received $4 Extrabucks and $0.50 from ibotta
NET PRICE FOR ALL: $0.75 (25 cents each)!
THREE QUILTED NORTHERN ULTRA PLUSH DOUBLE ROLLS, 9-Pack, on sale 3/$15 or $5.79 (reg. $6.29)
Get $0.50 cashback from SavingStar for buying one Quilted Northern Ultra Soft & Strong Bath Tissue, 6 Double Roll or larger. (exp. 6/21)
Get $0.50 cashback from SavingStar for buying one Quilted Northern Ultra Soft & Strong Bath Tissue, 6 Double Roll or larger. (exp. 6/8)
Get $5 Extrabucks for buying three select Quilted Northern, Angel Soft, or Brawny (limit 1)
Used three $0.50/1 Quilted Northern Bath Tissue – 5-21 RP; Includes Double Roll, 6 ct or Larger (exp 06/21)
Price at Register $13.50 but received $5 Extrabucks and $1 from SavingStar
NET PRICE FOR ALL: $7.50 ($2.50 each)!
Note: The SavingStar rebates are for Ultra Soft & Strong, so I wasn’t expecting her to get credit for Ultra Plush, but she did on both rebates.
ONE DAWN DISHWASHING LIQUID, on sale $0.99
Used one $0.25/1 Dawn Product – 5-28 PG (exp 06/24)
NET PRICE: 74 cents!
Note: There is a CVS $0.25/1 Dawn coupon available for people who have the CVS app. My mother does not have a smartphone, so I got her a bottle Saturday evening using only the manufacturer’s coupon. If you have the app and clip the CVS coupon, you can get a bottle for $0.49 with sale, manufacturer’s coupon, and CVS coupon.
My mother had $32.83 total in Beauty Club purchases for the Got2b, Garnier Fructis, and L’Oreal products, which earned her $3.28 (10% back). The cashback will be awarded as $5 Extrabucks once she reaches $50 in Beauty Club spending, but I am applying a credit of $3.28 to this transaction because these are the purchases that are earning the Beauty Club rebate. Note after reading a comment: The 10% cashback I refer to IS THE BEAUTY CLUB rebate. You get $5 Extrabucks for every $50 in qualifying beauty products purchased, which is a 10% rebate on beauty items. It is not 10% in addition to Beauty Club.
The final tally also includes the $10 off $50 coupon that printed at the end of her receipt last Sunday.
Retail Value: $60.14
Net price paid (not including tax): $4.26 profit
Savings Rate: 107.1%