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Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Inexpensive CVS Fillers


If you're fairly new to CVSing, you might be wondering what bloggers mean when they say they used items as "fillers". Why do you need to bump up your order total when the goal is to spend as little as possible?


Once you start CVSing, you'll begin to get coupons such as $4 off any $20 purchase. (You can get a $2 off any $10 purchase here.) In order to get the discount, you order total has to reach the specified dollar amount. I can't tell you how many times I've had an order worth $9.87, not allowing me to use the $2 coupon that I had. I had to find something inexpensive to get me to $10 so that I could save $2.


If you take a $2 off any CVS Skincare product coupon (here) with you, you have LOTS of options for padding your order. My favorite one lately has been handsoap. We were running low when I found this coupon, so it was helpful. In my example above ($9.87), I could add a $1.99 handsoap to my order, making it $11.86. Then, when I handed my coupons to the cashier, she removed $1.99 for the soap because of my skincare coupon. So it didn't cost me any more, and I got to use my $2 off a $10 purchase coupon. I also ended up with a bottle of handsoap, making the deal even better.


I've now realized that you can only have so many bottles of handsoap! You can also only donate so many. So I needed to start thinking of things that I could use to pad my order. I came up with a few ideas, and I wanted to share them with you. I'll break them down into two lists, one that will work with the CVS skincare coupon and one that is for other items (no coupons for these).


Skincare items - all CVS brand (Use $2 coupon):
handsoap $1.69-1.99
hand sanitizer $1.19
Cool Moisturizing beauty bar 2 pack $2.59
shave gel $2.29
aftersun wipes $2.49
2 oz. sunblock lotion SPF 30 $2.19
moist wipes refill pack $2.19
100% pure petroleum jelly $1.49
aloe vera gel 6 oz. $2.59
baby shampoo $2.89
baby powder $2.99
soft skin spray bath oil $2.99
hydrating body wash $2.99
bath baby powder $2.99

**NOTE: Your cashier will probably adjust your coupon down if you use it for items that cost less than $2. If your item is $1.49, they will take $1.49 off in coupons instead of $2.


Non-Skincare items:
CVS brand toothbrush $0.99
CVS brand pencils 10 pack $0.99
CVS cough drops 9 count $0.99
purse-sized tissue pack $0.50

You can also use a candy bar or pack of gum as a filler. I used this as a behavior reward for the first time today. My daughter and I shared a pack of M&Ms on the way home because she had been SOOO good! Eating this much candy at one time is a rare treat for her!


I also love the idea of asking the cashier what her favorite candy is. Use that as a filler and then leave it with her. That should make her smile!


What do you use as fillers? Have you found anything inexpensive that you don't mind buying regularly?

2 comments:

Carrie said...

Thanks for this list, and thanks to the link to the coupon! I know it isn't available anymore on CVS.com and since I had run out I thought I was out of luck. I am also out of hand soap at my house so this is a great suggestion at the moment.

Other free fillers:
Malt-o-Meal cereal at $1, with a $1 off coupon from coupons.com
Johnson's Buddies soap at .99 with a $1 off one, or two of them with a $2 off 2 coupon (I think these coupons have been available both online and in papers)
If your CVS carries it, the free Sara Lee bread coupon in this past weekend's paper makes for $3.50 or so free filler
Also, free photo print coupons make for great free fillers. Right now many CVS stores have coupons at the photo counter for 5 free prints (about a $1.50 value). They are inside a free kids' fingerprinting packet.

Mommy's Wish List said...

The skin care coupon also works on CVS baby wipes. A few weeks ago when it was "buy $15 of CVS baby stuff get 5 ECB" I made MANY trips into CVS to get FREE baby wipes (presenting a CVS skin care coupon for my wipes each time, since they were on sale for $2, and the coupon was $2). Got 8 packs of baby wipes AND 5 ECB when all was said and done with no OOP.