How do you do it? HAHAH... I mean I know that you can roll ECB' s from one deal to the next, but I can't seem to accumulate over $35.

Do you sometimes NOT use ECB's with a purchase and just stash them???

I'm just trying to find the in on this issue of mine. Maybe I am just not spinning deals right. I know I miss a lot of them, and that's okay with me. I do try to find the really good one's when they come out.

Thanks!!!

I try not to use them on anything that won't make more or at least the same amount that I use. I will only spend them on non-ecb items if I really really need/want something and don't want to spend the $.

I have close to $200 on each of 3 cards. As hard as I try to spend them and even waste them, I keep coming out ahead. I am making a conscious effort to spend them down on household things we need like soda, paper towels etc. I have always been frugal so it is very hard for me to spend or waste them unnecessarily...

I do the same as bellasmom. I never, ever use more than I'll make. I make small $15 trips to maximize the $5/$15. I always plan out my deals on paper, so I don't impluse shop. I have about 70 ECB's on my first card and none on my second (because I used them all, 74, to buy a patio set last week) I don't ever spend cash though, I just plan very carefully

How on earth are you able to do that without any of them expiring? Please share your secrets with us.

So you guys must buy any and all ECB items regardless if you will use them or not??? (This is just an honest question here, I do not hold this style of ECB spending against anyone. I am just trying to get an idea is all.)

What if there is something on sale at CVS but does not give ECB's and you can use that item. How would you purchase this??? (Case in point the cottonelle toliet paper this week.)

I think I MIGHT be getting the hang of ECB growing better... but I'm not sure... I seem to have good weeks and then bad weeks.

Good post, I want to know the same. I always see people have like 50+ and I'm lucky to have 20+ <3

I always try to use a coupon with everything that I buy. I would probably purchase an ecb producing item like the 24/7 (gives out 10 ecbs this week) and the tp as a filler. I always use a $/$$ so that helps grow your ecb's. I am lucky that most of the stores that I go to allow me to use a few $/$$ (as long as they add up correctly.) I read several of these sites and write out my deals and clip my Q's to my lists so I am prepared. I don't buy coupons like alot of people do, I buy 1 Sunday newspaper and 2 friends give me their inserts. I also print tons of the IP's.

24/7 $16.99
cottonelle $5.49 (still looking for a Q)
$22.48
- $5 / $15
- $2 store Q 24/7 = $15.48, get back $10 ecb's

I have several $1 Q's for Charmin. I would probably look at the store to see if I could get my oop lower by getting several smaller packs of Charmin over several deals.

or

24/7 $16.99
- $5 / $15
- $2 Q
$9.99, get back $10 ecb

or

24/7 $16.99
Excedrin $1.99
Excedrin $1.99
$20.97

-$4/$20
-$2 24/7
-$1.99 Excedrin IP
-$1.99 Excedrin IP
$10.99 (or $9.99 with $5/ $15) get back $10 ecb

Okay, so your oop is higher then normal with this type of a deal then. That makes sense then... because I am always squeezing my brain to figure out how to get loooooow oop and ECB's too, but I often cannot. Hehe...

OH and you would not use ECB's to pay for the deal too??

It is now getting very hard, that is why I am trying to spend them down. I try to do as many deals as I can at 4 stores on Saturday. I go after work on Tuesday or Wednesday (truck day) to another store in the opposite direction to do 2 deals on each card (less that I have to do on Saturday then). I know the $ value of how much is expiring so I plan my deals around that. I take my 11 year old with me and he usually "needs" a toy so I use some there. It is getting to the point where I am asking my husband and kids if they "want" anything out of the flyer, before they would just get the current deal (shaving cream, razors, candy etc)

I only use ECB's to pay, I have never used cash except for my first deal. I use gc's from prescriptions for the odd cents that the ecb's don't cover or gc's from when ECB's don't print for some reason.

I have been doing this since September / October. My husband still doesn't understand what I am doing. He checks online every day to make sure we aren't going bankrupt!!!

I don't buy ECB giving items we won't use at home unless they are free or money makers, these I donate/give away. My oop's are almost never over $5 (often less) because I pair deals with coupons. I did a deal earlier this week where I bought quite a lot for $.65 after coupons-no ECB's at all. Today i spent $3.28 oop with no ecb's and saved 16.67 just in coupons! Don't worry about having bad weeks, sometimes the thrill is gone for a while, but it usually comes back with the next great deal!

Wishful thinking...this week I was able to buy the cottonelle and not waste any ecb's by buying the ADIDAS deoderant. EX...2 ADIDAS 4.99 x 2=9.98 and cottonelle =6.49. I used a 5/15 and 75 cent coupon found for the TP on the shelf. Total=16.47 + tax -$5/15=11.47- .75 coupon 10.72. You would get 9.98 in ECB's so essentially you are only .74 less in ECB's but I never have exact ecb's so I'd pay that out of pocket and have the same in ECB. It's hard for me to accumulate more ECB if I am not using the 5/15.

I buy everything that is free after ECB or a moneymaker, even if it's something we don't need (yard sale or donate in that case).

I use coupons and ECBs to pay, and work with my calculator to rarely pay more than $1 OOP, and usually that goes on a GC, so no real cash OOP.

I find though, right now, with lower limits per household, and fewer x/xx coupons, I'm having a harder time rolling my ECBs, so I'm spending some of them on things we need anyway (but always at the best possible price, because I'm too frugal to spend them on full price items).

Our family has 4 cards and have close to $400 ECB among them, but it used to be closers to $500 ECB. Frankly I'm a little burnt out on CVS and I keep thinking about spending down one or two cards, until they throw out another great money maker and I can't resist!

That's me to. If I have some to burn (when expiring) I take my DD. she can blow thru a stack in a heart beat! .

I always keep my purchase to what ever X/XX I have at the time. So they add up quick. I keep rolling the Ebc's into newer fresher ones. When I can.

REading this makes me want to start using my DH's card, but I have a hard enough time keeping up w/my card!!

The most I had in ECB's was $56 and I thought that was good. That was because of the monitor's ... I ended up spending almost $30 on things we needed ...