Today was a fun CVS day for me. I had only $4 in ecbs to begin with, so I had worked out a four transaction scenario very carefully ahead of time. But then they were out of one of the items, so I got to see what I could come up with on the fly. I didn't have long to think about it, either, because the whole trip had to take about 30 minutes (between church and vestry)! So it ended up being a little different than I'd planned, and I made one mistake and paid $2.59 more than I thought I would have to, but I'm still quite pleased with the results.
Transaction #1
2 Halls Naturals $5.18
- $1/2 coupon
-$4 ecb
$0.27 oop ($2.59 ecbs earned - this was my mistake; I thought I'd get ecbs back for both items but the limit was 1)
Transaction #2
Listerine $2.99
Excedrin $3.99
- $2/1 coupon
-$2.59 ecb
$2.73 oop ($6.98 ecbs earned)
Transaction #3
Complete contact solution $8.99
- $2/1 coupon
-$6.98 ecb
$0.17 oop ($8.99 ecbs earned)
Transaction #4
Listerine $2.99
Sally Hansen nail polish $5.99
-$8.99 ecb
$0.00 oop ($8.98 ecbs earned)
Final result: I spent $4.00 in ecbs and $3.17 oop. But I ended up with $8.98 in ecbs, so the trip ended up being a $1.81 moneymaker. And I got things we need and things we'll donate. *happy dance* :)
I love this new hobby of mine. For one thing, it is just fun to walk out of the store with a bag of stuff for which you paid practically nothing. But more than that is the fun of using the numbers/logic part of my brain, which has been very dormant for the past four years. I've missed using it, and this is a really enjoyable way to wake it up.
Now, for anyone reading who is better at this than I am, I have a question. On transaction #3 my subtotal (after coupons and ecbs) was one penny. But I got charged 16 cents of tax, for a total oop of $0.17. Why the tax on two dollars? Not that I mind paying 17 cents, but I would like to understand the way it all works!
2 comments:
I don't know the answer to your question for sure, but I know that at some of my stores, they won't let the ECBs pay for the tax and I still have to pay that OOP and at others, the ECB will cover everything. I have asked about this and they have told me it's the way their registers are set up? Who knows....
Dude, the Sally Hansen was BOGO 50% off (not advertised at my store but it worked), but you still got the full ECBs for both items! So you should have gotten two! :) But great trip, good job! I got two of the Halls too, not by accident but because I figured it was worth paying a little for two bags that I'll definitely use.
I love using the math part of my brain again, too. My iPhone has a calculator which I make frequent use of, but I'm also pretty quick at adding things in my head.
At my CVS the ECBs are set up to take away tax too, so if you buy a $5.99 item and pay with a $5.99 ECB the total will zero out. I'm not sure if that's a universal CVS thing or not!
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