[BigJimSlade]

Hi, Big Jim here:

I would like to offer everyone this spreadsheet for calculating how much you will be spending with all of your coupons/EB.

Not only does this tell you how much you will spend, but it tells you how much you will save in Extra Bucks as well as if your total purchase goes negative or you do not have enough coupons to cover your total item count.

It is an Excel Spreadsheet. If you do not have Excel and would still like to use this, you can download openoffice.org for free and run spreadsheets using their calc application - OpenOffice.org: Home

Feel free to make changes and do whatever to it. It took about 20 minutes to put together, so it may need them. Let me know what you think. You can also suggest your changes be added to a later version at the top of this thread if they are popular enough. All ideas are good ideas.

Big Jim (glad to finally participate and offer something for all you guys have offered me)


Updated 12/14/07 - Formula was incorrect for comparing coupons/items. Fixed!

Updated 02/05/08 - Removed version 1.02 and replaced with 1.01. Version was causing confusion concerning coupons.

Updated 04/08/08 - Sleeker look for version 1.06. Blatant use as a stacking tool removed due to lack of available coupons (those CVS guys caught on!!).

Updated 04/10/08 - Removed Profit concept. Also adjusted how coupon totals for each row are calculated

Updated 04/12/08 - Added unit and total cost fields for each row item

[BigJimSlade]

Perhaps everyone can fill it out with their own deals and repost it so the rest of us can just print out the spreadsheet and take it to our local stacking CVS store.

[therbel]

Great idea big jim!!! Thanks!

[mysterylover]

I will try this in a bit and see how it works for me. It seems that my "ciphering" on my calculator and notepad gets me in trouble sometimes

Thanks for putting this together!

[calstate_brit]

WOW! Impressive spreadsheet! Thanks BigJim

[mrsfloyd]

Originally Posted by mysterylover

I will try this in a bit and see how it works for me. It seems that my "ciphering" on my calculator and notepad gets me in trouble sometimes

Thanks for putting this together!

You mean you don't have fun standing in the aisles w/ me, calculating and re-calculating 14 different times while people are shoving past us and looking at us like we're crazy? LOL I think I might need to check that spreadsheet out, too.

Thanks, Jim!

[mjloves2shop]

And to think I just do it in my head!

I total my cart ~ count items

I total my coupons ~ count discounts/coupons

I figure out what the difference is and check to see that I have a ECB close to that amount.

Then I count the ECB dollars I will earn with items in the cart just to ball-park wether I am gaining or loosing ECB's.

But I will try the spreadsheet...

[Rzachary]

Incredible!!! This will save so much time!

[mysterylover]

Thank you Thank you Thank you!!!! I love it! I am spread sheet challenged when it comes to making them, but this is awesome. I cannot wait to go shopping, well, in a few hours!

[missyo]

[quote=mjloves2shop;253704]And to think I just do it in my head!...]

Me too, but I have to start over every 20 seconds after telling my 2 year old to stop banging on something (every CVS item is a drum to him) or stop opeining every bottle on the shelf to smell it's contents, or after telling my 5 year old to stop whining, or to tell them both to stop running around and crashing down on the floor laughing for no reason, etc. (And then they complain that it is "taking too long for me to think..)! My 2 and 4 year old boys thank you Big Jim, as well as the other CVS customers in the store with us, and expecially CVS employees who have to put up with us!

[GrannyGodley]

I do a little spreadsheet, but not on your level. I will have to study your formulas since I have been wanting to learn how to do these "if" functions. Pretty nice tool. Thanks

It will help if others who use it will post their deals so we can get a more detailed heads up.

I"m kind of like mjlove... I count, add, sort, and hope as I go to the register. Best plan I have had lately has been to put coupons for each item together, i.e. buying toothpaste? have a cvs coup and a manf coup - fold them together. That has helped me not to forget to use one. Sometimes it is hard to do the deals if you have a fuzzy brain or a migraine - or as you younger ladies and chaps - a cart full of kids.

[BigJimSlade]

I agree, GG, it would be great to see everyone else's deals. I left mine in there from this week (still valid through 12/15/07). I'll post my deals next week as another example, but I think there are other people in here who would fill it out much better than I.

I've had a recommendation come in already for an update from an intelligent member. She suggested that the total coupon count is not always what flags the register but that it could be the total CVS coupon count (so no manufacturer coupons) which must not exceed the total item count. Anyone else notice this? I could add another field to the spreadsheet to compare both coupon totals so that you don't have to look up and over to where the different coupon categories are summed up.

Big Jim

[mysterylover]

Just wanted to shout out again!!!! I had everything ready today when I got to the store. I printed out each transaction and had all of my coupons put together for each one. I did my first 2 transactions in about 5 minutes and then was able to 2 two more in about 10 more. I had 2 more as back up but had to change a few things around. Finally , I had to do one in my head because I found something that I just "had" to buy today!

[GrannyGodley]

BigJim - I don't understand the CVS coupon count thing. I thought it was a count of items vs count of any coupons. That means CVS coupons, ECB, and manufacturers. So if you have 3 each of these (9) and you have 10 products you are good to go. But if you have 9 of these and you have 8 products you have to grab a pack of gum or something.

Then there is the version that ECB do not count in the coupon count - only manufacturers coupons and CVS coupons. I assume by CVS coupons it means any coupon from an email or online as well as a coupon for $_XX off a certain product that prints on the register tape.

So what was the take on what constitutes a CVS coupon by the other member? They are all so savvy on CVS procedures that I bow to their knowledge.

[BigJimSlade]

Hi GG,

The other member suggested the following about coupon count:

In some CVS's they say the item count only has to be greater than the CVS coupons used... In my area i have to have more items than ALL my coupons, but when I have posted some have said they are getting away as long as item count is greater than CVS coupons.. So maybe a column that checks that

As far as I know, I have never run into this before. I have always had to have at least a 1:1 ratio of items to all coupons.

I left ECB out of the spreadsheet as I did not think the 1:1 ratio is effected by them. They're not considered coupons, right?

[GrannyGodley]

I left ECB out of the spreadsheet as I did not think the 1:1 ratio is effected by them. They're not considered coupons, right?

I don't really know. I err on the side of caution and if I give them a piece of paper other than Uncle Sam's green stuff, I try to have a product count to match. So in my way of approaching the CVS desk, I count ECB as coupons.

[lochelle]

the way the register works now is you are allowed to have 1 mfr coupon and 1 cvs coupon per item..i am thinking this is all registers..another member posted that theirs does this too a while ago..and i know the last time i did a big trip this was the case..i bought 3 things and used 6 coupons..3 mfr and 3 cvs..

[missyo]

[quote=BigJimSlade;...I left ECB out of the spreadsheet as I did not think the 1:1 ratio is effected by them. They're not considered coupons, right?[/QUOTE]

In my experiences I have been able to use as many ECBs as I want for any amount of items. (i.e. They weren't counted in total coupon count.)

[lochelle]

ECBs use to count as coupons..however recently they have changed it to where they count just as cash..which i guess is why it takes tax off also? not sure about that one..

[BigJimSlade]

Well, the spreadsheet adds up all these different counts for the different scenarios, it just doesn't put them all in one neat place to do the final math. It's interesting to see that many people have many different takes on coupon/item ratio. I'll see if I can put them all into the spreadsheet.

[Drea]

Yessterday I had my coupons all together (which is very many either) for my deal, then they didn't a couple of the things, so there goes my deals..SO I just couldn't think fast enough to put more on, and I only buy items that I will use. But I try and have them all together then just go in the store and get the items, but like I said it always doesn't work out...I'am thinking they are going to be running out of the batteries very soon too...

[AngieP]

great idea~~I figure out all of my deals with my trusty adding maching before I hit the stores. I paperclip everything together with my calculations on my index card...I always have my coupon count/item count listed so I know how many fillers to grab. I'm in and out in 5-10 minutes. At the beginning of the week I usually have 5-6 paperclipped stacks ready to go~~my mid week those are usually gone so I'll figure out 5-6 more~~it's sooo fun!

[mpayne]

This spreadsheet is AWESOME!!! I went to my CVS earlier today with it all filled out and printed, so I have my "shopping list" all ready. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!

[BigJimSlade]

I made a quick update, little error that probably did not effect anyone yet. I had the formula reveresed for determining if your coupon count exceeded your total items. Fixed it and put the new version of the spreadsheet next to the old one. Sorry about that!

That was an important fix I needed to make. I will add some less-important stuff in the near future.

[mpayne]

Thanks again, jim!