CVS cracking down

[I LUV C0UP0NS]

Well, I had a $5/$15 and forgot to give it to him until all my manu Q were scanned. I said oh I forgot to give this to you first and he scanned it and the $5 came off no beeps and no pushing it through. HTH

[MarlaBee]

It doesn't matter when you hand over the X/XX coupon, as you guys have stated.

But I suspect that policy is a store policy not a corporate one - my store lets me hand ECBs over before coupons. (And technically ECBs aren't coupons anyway, they're a form of payment.)

[cakemaker570]

I was actually told this months ago by a cashier. That she had to do the manufacturer's Qs first. But I was still over $25 so I was still able to use the $5 off $25. Other cashiers don't seem to care and will go ahead and do the $5 off $25 first. I wish it wasn't so...iffy from store to store.
Using the $5 off $25 is *sweet* if you are just over $25 then use the man. Q's.

[I LUV C0UP0NS]

Originally Posted by MarlaBee

It doesn't matter when you hand over the X/XX coupon, as you guys have stated.

But I suspect that policy is a store policy not a corporate one - my store lets me hand ECBs over before coupons. (And technically ECBs aren't coupons anyway, they're a form of payment.)

I wonder if the OPs cashiers won't even scan the $$/$$ off after the coupons have been taken off. Since others have said it probably is the stores decision to do this.

[I LUV C0UP0NS]

Originally Posted by cakemaker570

I was actually told this months ago by a cashier. That she had to do the manufacturer's Qs first. But I was still over $25 so I was still able to use the $5 off $25. Other cashiers don't seem to care and will go ahead and do the $5 off $25 first. I wish it wasn't so...iffy from store to store.
Using the $5 off $25 is *sweet* if you are just over $25 then use the man. Q's.

The ify part you mentioned I feel that way with walgreens. But as for CVS and these $$/$$ coupons I have not had a problem with the 2 stores I shop at with these coupons.

[couponwife]

Marla, why would you want to use ECBs before MCs? Wouldn't you want to use the MCs first to try to use the least amount of ECBs?

[MarlaBee]

Originally Posted by couponwife

Marla, why would you want to use ECBs before MCs? Wouldn't you want to use the MCs first to try to use the least amount of ECBs?

If you do the math ahead of time, then it's more valuable to give over the ECBs first followed by the manufacturer's coupons so that your tax can be reduced.

For example, if I have a $2 ECB and a $1 coupon and the item is $2.99, if I give the coupon first then my ECB will have to be adjusted down by a penny (and some cashiers will get totally confused and even ask me to buy something else, which is rare but happens). Then I'll pay tax. If I give the $2 ECB first, the whole $1 coupon will go through, giving me a whole penny off my sales tax. Which, when I type it out, really does look ridiculous. A penny! (But depending on the coupon value, sometimes it really is worth a bit more than that.) But it's more about making the most of my ECBs and making the transaction go smoothly. Honestly, if I don't do my math ahead of time (which is most of the time), I had over the coupons first and don't stress too much about the adjusting.

ETA: I keep rereading what I wrote and I don't know how well I explained it - but I tried!

[I LUV C0UP0NS]

Originally Posted by MarlaBee

If you do the math ahead of time, then it's more valuable to give over the ECBs first followed by the manufacturer's coupons so that your tax can be reduced.

For example, if I have a $2 ECB and a $1 coupon and the item is $2.99, if I give the coupon first then my ECB will have to be adjusted down by a penny (and some cashiers will get totally confused and even ask me to buy something else, which is rare but happens). Then I'll pay tax. If I give the $2 ECB first, the whole $1 coupon will go through, giving me a whole penny off my sales tax. Which, when I type it out, really does look ridiculous. A penny! (But depending on the coupon value, sometimes it really is worth a bit more than that.) But it's more about making the most of my ECBs and making the transaction go smoothly. Honestly, if I don't do my math ahead of time (which is most of the time), I had over the coupons first and don't stress too much about the adjusting.

ETA: I keep rereading what I wrote and I don't know how well I explained it - but I tried!

I know exactly what you are talking about. Small transactions are better than large ones, that's where I get mixed up. Saved a hand full of pennies that why.

[MarlaBee]

I try to figure out all of my math before I leave the house in the morning so that I know exactly what to hand over in what order...

...except, as most of you know, often the store is out of what I wanted to get. Or doesn't have enough of something. Or has something on clearance that I actually really want. So there goes my math, out the window! And I've also been off on my math sometimes so I either pay a bit more OOP than I meant to or I have a negative total and have to run around the store finding a filler to get the total positive again (I keep a mental list of inexpensive fillers for this occasion...). But when it works, it works so nicely!

[gatherer]

thank you for the explanations, I see what you mean now. In fact, I have one of those $4 off an order of $20 in my wallet right now! I've already been to CVS once since I started this couponing adventure and I've found it to be one of the best places.

I'm amazed at how much money I cuold've been saving all this time. I started this b/c I have an at-home business and business has been terrible. So, I figured, I'd try to at least save some money if I'm not making it. I'm two weeks into it and I've saved about $70 so far on things that we buy anyway. I'm just amazed. It does take time, but it's worth it.

Thanks again!