Quick CVS coupon tip

Did you know that you can combine a percentage based coupon (e.g. 25% off your purchase) with a purchase based coupon (e.g. $4 off of a $20 purchase) at CVS?

Here's a tip for the best way to do so: add up your pre-coupon total. If using the percentage based coupon WILL NOT drop the total down below the amount you need to use your purchase based coupon, hand it to the cashier and have him or her scan it first. For example, let's say you are purchasing $35 worth of items and you have a 25% off and a $4 off $20. Deducting 25% will leave you with a total of $26.25 - meaning you can STILL use the other coupon. But let's say your pre-coupon total is $21. The 25% off coupon will drop the total to $15.75 - meaning you couldn't use the $4 off $20. In this latter scenario, you'd want to give the cashier the $4 off coupon first.

Keep in mind, too, that many of CVS's percentage coupons exclude sale or clearance, while purchase based usually do not. This could throw your calculations out of whack, but it doesn't have to.

Simply figure up two separate totals: a sale total and a non-sale total. Deduct the percentage from the non-sale total, then add the sale total to this. Is it still enough to use the purchase based coupon? If not, use them the other way around. Here's an example: I have $10 in non-sale items and $15 in sale items. The 25% discount will apply to the $10, leaving me with a total of $7.50. I add this number to $15 (the sale items) to get $22.50 - which means I can still use the purchase based coupon. But let's say I had $20 in non-sale items and $2 in sale items. The 25% off will deduct $5 from the $20 non-sale total, leaving me with $15. Fifteen plus $2 equals a $17 total - not enough to use the purchase based coupon.

Using two of these coupons in conjunction is a great way to stock up on expensive items or items that rarely go on sale or have coupons.

To get a percentage based coupon, visit Cvs's Facebook page. You can "like" them, then sign up to receive either a 20% or 25% off coupon via email June 25th (percentage will be determined by how many "likes" they receive).