CVS Clearance Deals: $1.07 OOP

One of my favorite ways to keep our food and household budget to a minimum is by shopping at CVS. When I first started learning about the magic of CVS shopping, I was dubious. The CVS that I knew was way overpriced. The only things I’d ever buy there were prescriptions and sunscreen. I couldn’t imagine that people were really getting these amazing bargains there.

But after learning more about the “drugstore game,” I decided to give it a try. Armed with an OCD-style list, a calculator and a fistful of coupons, I walked into CVS. Twenty minutes later, I walked out with $25 worth of goodies for less than $8. I was hooked!

There is a whole science to shopping at CVS, involving sale prices, coupons and Extra Care Bucks (ECBs), but I won’t get into all of that here. There are plenty of great tutorials at other coupon blogs (here’s the one I used to get started), but today I wanted to show you what you can score when CVS drops the price to 90% clearance. Load up your cart with nearly free merchandise and walk out a winner – no coupons, no fuss.

I got everything pictured above for $1.07. One dollar and seven cents. Crazy, right?  I still can’t quite believe it and I’ve been doing this for two years now.

Admittedly, I had $10 in ECBs (like CVS-cash) that were going to expire, and normally I’d ‘roll’ those ECBs onto deals with other ECBs. But there wasn’t much I wanted in this week’s circular, so I figured I’d just get a few packages of toilet paper. Instead, I stumbled upon this awesome display of 90% off baby and kid clearance!

For less than half the cost of a gallon of milk, I got the following:

  • 2 vinyl tablecloths
  • 3 boxes of CVS sheer bandaids
  • 1 insulated, BPA-free straw sippy cup
  • 2 BPA-free Munchkin snack take-along containers
  • 1 package of size 4 CVS disposable diapers
  • 2 packages of Lansinoh Soothies (these are awesome for those early breastfeeding days)
  • 2 4-packs of CVS-brand children’s toothbrushes
  • 1 1st Years baby thermometer (we can never have too many thermometers, as they always seem to be lost when we need them the most)
  • 1 4-pack AA Duracell batteries (I earned $1 in ECBs for this purchase)
  • 6 Sobe Lifewaters (I still haven’t been able to confirm that these are kosher – I read that they are, but now I’m not sure. They were free with coupons, so I picked them up and will donate them to a non-kosher food pantry if I find out they aren’t kosher.)

The before-sale price on all these goodies was $105. I spent $1.07. What is that? Like a 99% savings rate?

While none of this is stuff that we need right.now, today’s haul illustrates one of the secrets to bargain grocery shopping: Buy ahead, when the prices are dirt cheap, so you don’t ever have to pay full price when you’re out of bandaids. By saving 80% or more on the “household items” category of my $500 – $600 monthly grocery budget, I free up lots of dollars to dedicate to the more expensive items on my list, such as free-range kosher beef and chalav yisrael shredded mozzarella.

So, what do you think? Do you want to jumpstart your baby/kid supply stockpile for next to nothing? I’d recommend heading on over to CVS today. Your mileage may vary in terms of prices and availability, but with 90% clearance, it’s definitely worth a look. Let me know what you find!

Comments

  1. That’s amazing!
    I enjoyed reading your blog

  2. I’m a new reader – really enjoying your blog. I’m just curious what you found out about the waters, whether they were kosher or not?

    • @Melonie – I still don’t have a definitive answer, but I’ve asked my husband to find out for sure. I’ll let you know!

  3. Mara,
    You are my new hero!

  4. oh cool, this information is really useful and definately is comment worthy! hehe. I’ll see if I can try to use some of this information for my own blog. Thanks!

  5. gail quinn says

    thanks

  6. Is there always a clearance section at CVS? Or is it just once in a while?

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