How to Shop at Walgreens

Walgreens is a store that I love to hate and hate to love. We have a very strange relationship. I have had some incredibly awesome savings by shopping at Walgreens, but poor customer service often ruined the shopping experience for me. I have run into cashiers who don't quite understand their own coupon policy and can make shopping there a real pain. (I think you can have that with just about any store.) One tip that I can give you: find a store and cashier that you love. They can definitely make your shopping trip more enjoyable.

Besides finding an amazing cashier, there a few important things you'll need to know about shopping at Walgreens.

Balance reward card: In order to get the best savings and to keep track of your points (we'll talk more about points later). It's easy to sign up. All you have to do is go into the store and ask for one.

Register rewards: If you look in a Walgreens ad, you may see special offers that allow you to get register rewards for buying certain items. Register rewards print out at the register with a qualifying purchase.

Register rewards are manufacturer coupons that can be used on your next in-store purchase. Unfortunately, you usually can't use a rr from one purchase to buy the exact item that you got the rr from to receive another rr. Confusing?

Here's an example. Look at the picture to the left. Let's say, I paid $2.99 (plus tax) for the reach toothbrush. A $2.00 register reward will then print out from the register. I could use that $2.00 rr to buy another reach toothbrush and pay only $0.99. BUT I would not receive another $2.00 register reward for buying the toothbrush. That's the way it works at Walgreens. You can, however, use a $2.00 register reward that you got from another purchase to pay the toothbrush. You just can't use it to buy the same item.

If you are purchasing three items, using three manufacturer coupons, and one register reward, the cash register will beep and not accept the fourth coupon. This is because the register reward is counted as a manufacturer coupon and you can only use one manufacturer coupon per item. In order to get around this, you would need a small filler--an item that doesn't cost much, but allows you to use the register reward.

Balance Reward Points: Points can be earned on qualifying purchases. Once you have a certain amount of points, then you can use them to buy things in the store. One thing to note: Do not use points to pay for an item that you hope to earn points for.

Take a look at the picture below. I want to buy two bottles of Windex at 2/$6. I have coupons that will bring my total down to $4 instead of $6. I could pay with my 3,000 balance points to leave me with a balance to $1.00 (plus tax). The picture below tells me that I would receive 1,000 points for buying two bottles of Windex. Unfortunately, I wouldn't receive ANY points for this transaction since I used points to pay.

One of the best ways to not confuse register rewards and balance points: Use points to pay for things that will give you register rewards and use register rewards to pay for things that will give you points!

Shopping at Walgreens is definitely confusing in the beginning, but it is very rewarding! I promise! I just started shopping at Walgreens again a few months ago, and I have saved hundreds of dollars. All it takes is getting out of your comfort zone and walk into the store, coupons in hand.

You can find the Walgreens coupon policy here. I would suggest printing it out and taking it into the store with you in case you run into problems at checkout.

How to Shop at CVS

CVS is by far my favorite store to shop when buying personal care products. You can often pick up items for free or really really cheap! Toothbrushes, toothpaste, deodorant, body wash, shampoo, pads, vitamins...there's so much you can get by paying very little.

Sign up for an Extracare card in store

• You can link your phone number to your card if you don't want to carry it around with you.
• Allows you to buy items at the sale price offered at the store
• Register your card at cvs.com so that you can receive coupons by email
  • Often these coupons are for 20% off your purchase or $4 off $20, etc 
• Card keeps track of purchases needed in order to receive ecbs
• You'll receive 2% back on all of your purchases (which will print out as an ecb at the end of every quarter/3 months)

Extracare Bucks

• Also called extrabucks rewards (abbreviated as ecb) are what make CVS so wonderful. 
• Ecbs are store coupons that print out at the bottom of your receipt that you can use to purchase items in the store. 
• Cannot be used to purchase prescriptions, alcohol, gift cards, lottery, money order, postage stamps, pre-paid cards, and tobacco products. Everything else is pretty much fair game!
• How do you know if you'll receive an ecb by purchasing a product? Usually it will say so in the ad or you can see if it's tagged in your store.
• Deals which offer ecbs have limits to allow others the opportunity to purchase the same products
• Here's an example: If you purchase one Colgate toothpaste at $2.99, you will receive a $2.00 ecb. Notice the small print at the bottom. It limits you to doing this deal twice. If you were to buy a third toothpaste, you wouldn't receive a third $2.00 ecb.

• There are some times when you have to spend a certain amount before you receive an ec. Example: In the picture below, you have to spend $10 BEFORE using any coupons to get the $5 ecb. Even if your total is $5 after using coupons, you will still get that $5 ecb as long as your total was $10 before the coupons. You don't have to make all of your purchases on one day, either, because your card will keep track of how much you've spent towards the deal.

• Ecbs can roll! This means that you can use ecbs to buy other products that also produce ecbs. For example, you can use the $2.00 you earn from buying the Colgate toothpaste (above picture) to pay for the Crest toothpaste. 
• Can't get change back from ecbs. If you use your $2.00 ecb to pay for an item that cost $0.99, your $2.00 ecb will be adjusted down to $0.99. You will lose $1.01. 

CVS Coupon Machine

• Inside of each store is a coupon machine that prints out store coupons when you scan your card
• After your first batch of coupons print out, scan your card again to get more coupons from the machine

Rainchecks 

• If you go into the store and find that the $2.99 Colgate toothpaste has run out of stock, you can ask the store associate to write a raincheck for you. 
• The associate would write the sale price of the item along with the amount of ecbs you would receive with it. When the product is back in stock, you can simply take your raincheck to the store and buy the product at the price listed on your raincheck. If your purchase qualifies for ecbs, the associate will force print the ecb at the register for you.
• CVS rainchecks have no expiration date which means that you can use it whenever you're ready!

CVS Beauty Club

• Head over here to sign up
• For every $50.00 you spend (before coupons), you will earn a $5.00 ecb.
• You'll receive a $3.00 ecb on your birthday.
• Qualifying Beauty purchases include: Cosmetics, Ethnic Hair Care, Fragrances, Hair Accessories, Hair Appliances, Hair Care, Hair Color, Hosiery, Healthy Skin Care and Skin Care.

You can find the CVS coupon policy here. I recommend printing it out and taking it with you to the store whenever you shop.

Coupon 101 Lesson 5: Hitting the Stores

We've covered quite a few topics about coupons--from coupon lingo to coupon organization. Now that you know all of the important aspects (like where to find coupons), it's time to plan! When I first started couponing, I stuck with one store. It makes things so much easier and helps you to not become overwhelmed. You will have to decide what store you want to start with. I chose to start with a drugstore (like CVS and Walgreens). You don't have to do this! You can go straight to shopping at a regular grocery store. Alright, do you have a store in mind? Let's get started.

These are the steps you will need to take:

1. Find a great blog.

• I follow the Krazy Coupon Lady for the drugstores. She explains things really well. In order to get to the drug store on her page, you go to the "Find My Store" tab.

• In order to find a blog in your area, do a Google. Seriously, I just typed "coupons Arizona" or "coupon matchups Arizona."

• Most blogs tell you the price of the item on sale and where to find a coupon to make it even cheaper. Sometimes they will give you a link to a coupon and other times they will tell you that it's in an insert. If the coupon is in an insert (these are found in Sunday newspapers), you will see something similar to SS 12/9. This means that you can find the coupon in the Smart Source insert that came in the December 9th newspaper. 

• Getting started may seem difficult because you might not have the inserts that people (blogs) are talking about. It's okay! I promise! I started that way, too, and I missed a few hot buys but I have since caught up. The sales ALWAYS come back around!

2. Go to your selected store's website and find their coupon policy. You can even Google "(insert store name) coupon policy."

• What is a coupon policy? It tells you how the store allows you to use coupons at their store. It lets you know if this store allows you to use free coupons in their store and other things like that. The policy might also let you know if your store doubles coupons (a 30 cent coupon might actually be worth 60 cents instead). My store makes all coupons $1. If I have a 10 cent coupon, it automatically gets rounded up to $1. 

3. Go shopping!

• Before leaving home, I make sure that I have my list of items that I hope to buy. I also write down what the price should be before the coupon and after the coupons. The reason I do this is to make sure that things are ringing up correctly at the register and I'm not being overcharged. Here's an example:

          Frosted Flakes 1.99 (I have a 50 cent coupon)
          Chicken Noodle Soup 1.29 (I have a .20 coupon)
          Gallon of milk 1.57

          Total before coupons: 4.85
          Total after coupons: 4.15 (or 2.85 if your store doubles coupons!)

• I put all of the coupons I'm using into an envelope to keep everything organized.  

4. Rainchecks!

• These are little strips of paper heaven. Upon entering the coupon world, you may find that there are a lot of couponers! You may find that some items have been wiped clean off the shelves (which is evidence of there being a lot of couponers). This happens A LOT at drugstores because they don't carry a large quantity of each item. If you go into the store and the item that you want isn't there, no need to fear! Get a raincheck!

• What is a raincheck? It's basically a piece of paper that guarantees that you can buy the item that you want at the sale price listed at a later time. (Example: "X" shampoo costs 1.99. Your store doesn't have any of that shampoo left. When you go to check out, ask for a raincheck. They will write down the name of the item, price, and how many you want. If the item still isn't in stock when the sale ends, you have your raincheck for the sale price.

• How to use the raincheck: Be sure to go to the store before your raincheck expires. (NOTE: CVS rainchecks are awesome because they have no expiration date!) Pick up the item(s) that your raincheck is for and go to the cash register to check out. BEFORE the cashier scans your items, tell them that you have a raincheck. The cashier will do their fancy work and give you the price listed on the raincheck. Tah-dah. Work's all done.

When you are all done shopping, breathe a sigh of relief, and enjoy your new found savings ability
Remember, if you have any questions, just ask. Unasked questions go unanswered. Welcome to the fabulous coupon world!

Coupons 101 Lesson 4: Coupon Etiquette

Before "Hitting the Stores," I think there's something else that needs to be addressed first. And that's coupon etiquette.

1. Pay close attention to your coupons. If you look at your coupon, you may see tiny print on it. It may say, "One coupon per person," "one coupon per shopping trip," "only 4 like coupons," among other things. The manufacturer's have these phrases written on coupons in an effort to allow others to be able to get good deals. If a coupon limits a person to be able to buy only one of an item, there means that there will be items leftover for others to get. 


•  Along the lines of being respectful to the cashier, also be respectful to other couponers. We are all trying to save our families a buck. If you go into a grocery store, try not to clear a shelf. (If there are only 5 items left on the shelf, I don't deem it clearing a shelf if you take the remaining items. If the store recently stocked, the shelf is full, and you take ALL of the items....then I consider that to be clearing a shelf.) I usually only buy enough items for my family's needs. Over time, though, I will go back to the store and buy more of that same item. I like to give others a chance to partake of the deals, too. It's so discouraging to go into the store and see that shelf cleared. REMEMBER, though, if you do come across a cleared shelf for an advertised item, you can always get a raincheck.


2. Keep it legal. Photocopying or creating/buying fraudulent coupons in illegal. You may notice that most times you can only print two coupons per computer. This is again so that everyone will be able to get the good deals that are out there. 


3. Be respectful. When you get to the checkout, strike up a friendly conversation with the cashier or simply say "Good Morning! How is your day going?" This can make checkout so much easier. If there are people waiting in line behind you and your transaction is taking a while, recognize and apologize.


4. Only use one MF coupon per item. The only time you can use two coupons on one item is if one is a Manufacturer's coupon and the other is a store coupon. There may be times when you can use THREE or more coupons; It's not very likely, though.


5. Donate. Each coupon has an expiration date. (If it doesn't have one, then it's most likely fraudulent or super old!) If your insert coupons expire, you can recycle them or donate them to military families overseas because they can use them for 6 months past their expiration date. One of my favorite blogs has a page that explains more about how and where to donate your expired coupons.


6. Find balance. Remember that you don't have to get every deal that's out there. It's okay to pass it up. Other deals (and sometimes better deals) will come around. I usually do my couponing when my little guy is taking a nap and at night when my husband is having his "I need a break from work and time to watch some sports!" time. I make sure to spend time with the ones I love because saving money means nothing if I don't have my sweethearts to share it with.


7. Have fun. Couponing can be stressful at times. You may spend an hour or so planning your shopping trip, getting all of your coupons together and organized, and then an hour or so at the store. It's so nerve wracking to get to the cash register, watching as your order total goes higher and higher. And then when you hand your coupons to the cashier you get to watch as your total goes down! Saving money is tons of fun! If you feel too stressed, find a coupon buddy. You can get together with your coupon buddy to plan shopping trips and/or go shopping together. You can help to take the load off of one another.

Coupons 101 Lesson 3: Organization

Have you bought that Sunday paper yet? If you have, you might be wondering how in the world you'll keep all of those coupons organized. There are a few ways to do it.

Option 1: Cut out all the coupons that you think you will use. You can then divide them into categories (such as Hygiene, Baby, Canned Foods, etc), put the coupons into baseball card page protectors, and store in a binder. The page protectors look like this. The baseball card protectors will allow you to see what coupons you have in each insert.

Option 2 (This is the method that I use): When you purchase your newspapers, take the inserts out of them and write the date that the insert came out on the front cover. For example, this coupon insert on top came from the 9/29 newspaper, so I wrote 9/29 on the front cover of the insert. The reason this is so helpful is that many blogs list the coupon insert date and name when referring to the location for coupon. The blogger may say, "$5 off one Oral B coupon 9/29 P&G." This means that you will find that coupon in the 9/29 P&G.

 

I simply store all of my inserts in a container with the newest insert on top. I picked up this container for about $3 at Walmart. You could also use a box. It really doesn't have to be anything complex. After about 3 months, I recycle the coupon inserts that are at the bottom of bin (if the coupons are expired).

I also have an expanding check file that I use to store any loose coupons, such as ones that I print from online. I separate my coupons into categories: Personal Care, Baby, Meds, Cleaning, Paper Products, Beverages, Canned, Snacks, Frozen, Refrigerated, Boxed, and Other. Your categories could be totally different!

I have a smaller file that I use to sort my coupons by store. This makes my shopping easier. I can simply cut my coupons from the inserts and place in the tab for the store where I plan to use the coupon.

Option 3: Find something that works for you! The above methods aren't the only ones out there. They are just the one that I'm most familiar with. What may be easy for one person to do isn't necessarily the one true method for everyone.

Couponing is sooo much fun! It will seem a little overwhelming at first because it's a new way of doing things. Being a mom/dad/insert other job titles aren't easy, either, but you get out there and do it everyday. And sometimes with the couponing job, you get paid to save money! How awesome is that?!

Again, if you have ANY questions, don't hesitate to ask. I'm here to help make couponing an enjoyable experience for you!

Coupons 101 Lesson 2: Coupon Lingo

Gigltiaoialoa. Say that five times fast. Coupon lingo may sound just like that word--foreign. You may not know what any of it means, but it's only because you need practice and experience with it. In this post, I'm going to go through some words you may encounter.

COUPON FINE PRINT

• One coupon per purchase/transaction/shopping trip: You may find those words written at the bottom of any coupon you see. The Krazy Coupon Lady has a great post that breaks those terms down.  

ABBREVIATIONS:

• SS: Smart Source; an insert found in the newspapers

• P&G: Procter & Gamble; an insert found in the newspapers; it usually comes out on the last Sunday of every month

• RP: Red Plum; an insert found in the newspapers  

• WYB: When you buy

• B1G1: Buy one, get one
• 1.75/2: When you see something like this, the first number is the price and the second number is the amount of items. This particular one means $1.75 off when you buy TWO items.

•  MM: Moneymaker. You can possibly make money by purchasing an item.  

•  OOP: Out of pocket. How much you will spend "out of your pocket/wallet" when you buy an item.

• IP: Internet printable. Coupons that you print from off the internet.  

• ECB: Extra Care Bucks. If you shop at CVS, you will see this term. Each week, CVS will advertise that you can get ECBs for purchasing an item. ECBs are basically paper money that print out at the bottom of your receipt. You can use them on your next purchase. 

These are the basics. I will add more overtime. If you come across any words that you don't understand on a coupon blog, let me know, and I will help you! 

Coupons 101 Lesson 1: Where to Find Coupons

Scenario: You have a coupon for $1.00 off Cereal X. Right now it costs $4.00 for Cereal X. Sure, you can go to the store and buy Cereal X for $3.00 using that coupon. That's great because hey, you saved money, right? That's usually the point. But, did you know that you can get cereal for even cheaper using that coupon? I typically spend $1 or less for a box of cereal.

How do I do this?

I wait for the cereal to go on SALE. I love love LOVE sales. Cereal usually goes on sale for 1.99 (sometimes lower) per box. Use the $1.00 off coupon and score it for .99! Awesome, right? This is how you manage to get items for really cheap.

FINDING COUPONS

There are several places where you can go to get coupons.
 
Option A: Print them from the internet. The main coupon sites are:
coupons.com, couponnetwork.com, smartsource.com, and www.save.com

You can also print coupons right from the Xoxo Frugal Momma blog.
 
Option B: Get a newspaper. Right now, I have a subscription where I get a Sunday paper delivered to my door for $4 per month. $1.00 per paper!  If you call the newspaper company in your area, you can ask them about their promotions. Another way that you can get the newspaper is by going to Dollar Tree! They sell the Sunday papers for just $1!

COUPON BOOKLETS

The booklets that come inside of the Sunday paper are typically called inserts. There are three different types: 1) SmartSource, 2) Redplum, and 3) P&G (Procter and Gamble). The number of inserts that you get each Sunday will vary. There will be days when you get three inserts and there may also be days when you get one. For reference: P&G usually comes out at the end of each month.

EMAIL COMPANIES

That's one of my favorite ways to get coupons. I will email the companies to let them know what I think of their products/services. Sometimes, I will ask them if they have any coupons that they would be willing to send to me. Many times, I receive coupons in the mail a few weeks later!