Walgreens Woes and Target Deals!

I must begin by "thanking" whomever it was that cleaned out the Walgreens shelves of every single thing I was going to get a great deal on yesterday. ;)  I mean, the ad came out on Sunday, and I was there Monday--somebody must have had a field day! (I say this in jest, but it really was rather frustrating to have spent the time planning my Walgreens shopping trip, only to have nothing in stock that I wanted.  I'm used to some of the things on my list being sold out, even on the second day of a sale, but this was disappointing!)

 Anyway, all sarcasm aside, Target is having some good deals this week.  For 44 cents, I was able to purchase a shampoo and conditioner (full size), 2 Sharpie markers and some Scotch Magic tape.  The Sharpies and tape were absolutely free, and the shampoo and conditioner were 22 cents each.  The hair products were Suave, which I can't use because I have allergic reactions to Suave products.  The only reason I bought them is because many people use and like Suave, and I can donate them to the food bank or give them to someone who wants/needs them.  Any takers? :)

To see some of the best deals at Target right now (including the ones above), go here.  I was also going to do the Post-it flags deal, but my Target didn't have them at that price, and the Oral-B dental floss deal, but I took the wrong coupons with me (oops).

If you didn't catch my recent blog on the way I've been saving time on coupon organization, you can read it here.

Oh, and don't forget Meijer is having one of their "10 for $10, 11th is free" sales this week.  Great time to stock up on some things!

All This--For Less Than the Price of a Razor!! :)

See the razor on the far left side of this photo?  It's a Gillette Fusion ProGlide I bought for my hubby.  The sale price is $9.89. Guess what?  I bought everything in this photo for LESS than the sale price of that razor, AND walked away with $5 to spend next time, plus another $7.50 in various Catalina coupons I wasn't expecting.  Not bad!

Now, two things went wrong from the get-go, which lessened my savings and my fun, but I made a choice to try not to let them get me down (for very long) and did just fine!  First of all, my sister from Arizona, Amy, who got me into all this money-saving stuff in the first place, and is visiting this week, was maybe going to accompany me today for some money-saving merriment, but that didn't work out after all.  It's always fun to have someone else to banter with, jokingly insulting each other about how "cool" you look with your coupon binder open in the cart.  Oh, well!  Wasn't meant to be.  I'm used to going to Walgreens alone . . . even my own loyal husband and son prefer to do almost anything other than endure a lengthy trip to Walgreens!

So, with a smile and hugs and kisses all around, I said goodbye to my "boys" and headed out alone, armed with a very well-planned-out list and my coupon binder.  Alas, the very first thing on my list was something they didn't have!  Can you imagine?  It was pictured in the ad, too!  Anyway, I was disappointed because, as impossible as it may sound, if I had purchased those items, I would have have received them for free, plus made a little profit.  Another strike against me!

Plan B worked out pretty well, though!  Here's how it worked.

This is Transaction #1, which is all but 2 of the items in the photo at the top of this entry.  For these items I paid $2.91 and saved $33.06, saving about 92%.

If you're not clipping coupons, you're missing out!

• Pampers baby wipes (these are useful for so many things, long after diaper days!):  2/$5.  I bought 2 and had two $2 off coupons, making them $.50 each!
• Kashi cereals:  2/$5, with a $2 Register Reward
• Dawn dish washing liquid:  $.99 with coupon from ad.  I had a $1 off coupon, making it free! (Make sure to give manufacturer coupons before ad coupons to avoid the register beeping at you and not accepting the manufacturer coupon).
• Bayer aspirin:  $.99 each.  I bought 3, and had three $1 off coupons, making them free! We don't normally use aspirin, but it was free and I'm sure someone I know can use it!
• Heath bars:  I think they were 2/$1.59. I needed them for the dessert recipe I'm making for a family gathering tonight and they made good "fillers."  (You can't have more coupons than items, so sometimes you have to get a cheap clearance item or piece of candy or something to make up the difference--still saving soooo much money!)
• Johnson&Johnson cotton swabs (500 ct.):  $1.99 with coupon in ad.  I had a $1 off coupon, making it $.99.
• Canned fruit:  $.79 each, with coupon from ad.

Besides the coupons mentioned above, I had $8 Register Rewards from 2 weeks ago, so this transaction came to a total of $2.91, plus tax.   I received the $2 RR from the Kashi cereal to use toward my next transaction.

This is Transaction #2.  I spent $5.88 and saved $7.10, saving about 55%

• Fusion ProGlide razor:  on sale for $9.89, with a $5 Register Reward.  I had a $4 off coupon.  If you include the RR in the price, it's like getting it for $.89!  But I paid, out of pocket, $5.88 and will use the $5 RR next time.
• The scissors were $1.99, but I had the $2 RR from Transaction #1, so I got them for free.  I bought them to replaced the huge honkin' pair of scissors I've had in my coupon binder.  Ha ha--speaking of scissors--ask my sister Amy what happens when you pack your coupon binder, complete with a pair of scissors you forgot were in there, in your carry-on bag and go through security. lol :)

Anyway, to sum it up, I got $48.95 worth of merchandise for $8.79, a total savings of 82%.  Plus I have my $5 RR and $7.50 in other Catalina coupons for next time.

And I'll see Amy tonight, when I can rub it in a little! lol :)  Just kidding--she wouldn't have wanted to pack up all that loot to get it back to AZ anyway. :)

Quite a Savings at Walgreens Today!! :)

For the above Walgreens items, I paid $12.39, saved $53.92, and earned $5.50 in Register Rewards toward my next purchase.  Here's how it worked:

My sister Amy, who lives in AZ, and I challenged each other today to try saving money at Walgreens by making multiple transactions in one visit, a money-saving tip neither of us had tried.  I haven't heard yet from her how it went down there in her corner of the country, but here in the Midwest it was flawless!  I walked into the store with my list, my coupons and my Register Rewards from last week, all ready to execute my plan! ;)

First of all, they actually had in stock every item on my list!  Love it when that happens!  Going on a Monday was helpful, I'm sure, because the ad just came out yesterday.

I'll start out by telling you the general deals I used to my advantage, and then I'll list how I put them together.  By the way, I'll be mentioning "Register Rewards" (RR) quite often--these are coupon-like things that are used just like cash toward your next purchase.

Gillette or Old Spice Body Wash (men's):  Their price is $4.49, but if you buy one, you get a $4.50 Register Reward.  Also, I had a Buy-One-Get-One-Free coupon for the Gillette and another one for the Old Spice 

OFF Clip-On Mosquito Protection (have been wanting to try these):  Sale price: $8.99, plus a $2 off instant value coupon (from the Walgreens coupon book at the front of the store).  Plus, I had a Buy-One-Get-One-Free coupon and a $2 off coupon.

OFF Clip-on refill:  Sale price: $4.99, plus $1 instant value coupon, plus I had a manufacturer coupon for $1 off.

Kotex:  Sale price: 2/$6;  Register Rewards: $2 (when you buy 2--different varieties available), plus I had a $1.50 off 2 coupon.

Lysol toilet bowl cleaner:  Buy one at $2.99, get one free.  Plus I had two $.50 off coupons

Stride Shift gum:  Sale price--2/$2.  Instant Value Coupon: $1 off 2.

Royal gelatin:  $.19 each.  I mostly used these as "fillers," which I'll explain in a minute.

Oscar Mayer Lunchables, with in-ad coupon:  $1.99.  I had a $1 off coupon.  This is not something I normally buy, as I think they are a total waste of money.  But Little Mister has had them before and thinks it's a special treat (???). :)  This was an okay price for a "special" treat. :)

Now, for the particulars!

Transaction #1

2 Old Spice Body Wash
2 OFF clip-on mosquito repellents
1 OFF refill
3 Royal gelatins*

This would have cost $37.97, but I paid $8.99.  Using the store sales and coupons mentioned above, PLUS using the $4 in RR I had from last week, I saved $28.98 on this transaction.  Also, I received a $4.50 RR (from one of the body washes) to use on my next transaction.  Unexpectedly, the Catalina machine also spit out 2 coupons, both for Gillette body washes, which would help me on my third transaction.

Transaction #2

2 Lysol toilet bowl cleaners
2 Kotex
2 Stride gum
1 OM Lunchable

This transaction would have been $19.93 but, using the sales and coupons mentioned above, PLUS ADDING THE $4.50 RR from Transaction #1, I paid $3.98!  And the Kotex deal gave me a $2 RR to use on Transaction #3.

Transaction #3

2 Gillette body washes
2 Royal gelatins

Without sales or planning ahead, I would have paid $10.36, but I used my BOGO on the body washes, plus the unexpected $1.50 off 1 body wash coupon from Transaction #1, and my $2 RR from Transaction #2, and I paid a total of $1.37.

When I combine all the transactions, I saved 77% by buying the things I needed on sale, using coupons and Register Rewards.  And, after Transaction #3, I have $5.50 in Register Rewards to use next time I shop.

*The gelatins I used as "fillers."  See, at Walgreens you have to have at least as many items that you're buying as you do coupons/RR.  For Transaction #1, without the gelatins, I had 5 items, but was using 8 coupons.  The three gelatins were $.19 cents each and brought my total items up to 8, which matched my number of coupons.  I still saved tons of money!  And the gelatin comes in handy every once in awhile! :)

Another thing to keep in mind is that you can't use a Register Reward that names a company to purchase an item from that same company.  Some RR just say something like "Thank you for shopping with us," while others are sponsored by a certain company.  For instance, I couldn't use the Kotex RR I received today to purchase another Kotex product.

For more general details on Walgreens shopping, see this post. :)

Walgreens Shopping: You Won't Believe it 'til You Try It! :)

Tons o' coupons in the paper this week!  Of course, since we've ended one month and begun another, I had to clear out all the ones I didn't use that expired April 30, in order to make room for scads of new, hopefully-usable coupons.  One thing I learned right away when I started clipping coupons is that Proctor & Gamble owns almost every company imaginable, it seems.  Crazy! :)

I decided to talk about Walgreens and CVS separately, since they work a little bit differently, and because I'm too short on time to cover both tonight.  There is a lot of money to be saved at Walgreens, if you plan correctly and remember the guidelines they have in place.  Walgreens is a bit more complicated than CVS because Walgreens has a few more rules.  But, if you can  figure out Walgreens (and you CAN!), CVS will be a cinch!!

WALGREENS SAVINGS
 If you look at the Sunday ad, you'll see some products that are on sale, and if you buy a designated amount, they will give you "Resister Rewards" to use on a subsequent purchase.  The Register Rewards are printed on coupon-sized paper (they're called "Catalinas") and usually expire 2 weeks after the issue date.  The way to get the most bang for your buck is to use manufacturer coupons on these deals as well.

For example:
On the back page of the ad for this week, you will see they have Kellogg's* cereals on sale, 2/$5.  At the bottom of that purple box, there is a smaller box labeled "Register Rewards."  This tells you that if you buy 2 boxes for $5, they will give you $2 in Register Rewards, so it's like getting them 2/$3.**  Better yet, if you go here, and print a coupon ($1 off 2 boxes), it will be like getting them 2/$2, or $1 per box of cereal.

Once you start collecting the Register Rewards, you're likely to have some to use each week.

Another option is to do more than one transaction at a time (divide your items, on a single visit, into several groups, to use the RRs from one transaction on the next, and so on).  I've never done this b/c it seems more complicated (to me) than I care to get, though I may try it sometime if it seems worth it to me for a particular item.  You can pay for some items, get the RR back and use them for your next group of items and so on. 

Also, you can use 1 Walgreens coupon AND 1 manufacturer coupon per item.  Sometimes Walgreens will have coupons in their ads and they also have a monthly coupon book that you can get from the front of the store.

A couple things to remember:

• You can't use a Register Reward issued by a certain company on an item from the same company (i.e. If you have a RR that says "Schick" on the front, you can't use it to purchase another "Schick" item).  This is what I've always been told.  Just this past week, though, the lady at Walgreens told me you CAN use it on a product from the same company, but if the product is supposed to issue a Register Rewards coupon, you won't get it.  I guess it's kind of like "six of one, half-dozen of the other."
• You have to have at least as many items in your order as you do coupons and RRs.  So, if I'm using 7 coupons and I only have 5 items that I'm paying for, I'd have to add a couple cheap items (a couple pieces of candy, pencils--things that will be used and not cost too much) to have 7 items.  This is kind of dumb, in my opinion, but it's still going to save a lot of money if the "extra" items are inexpexpensive.  Sometimes they have really cheap clearance items.

So, there you have it--a brief description of Walgreens shopping.  Does it make sense?  Ask any questions you have!  If you're new to this, practice!  Get your Walgreens ad and coupons out and see what deals you can find!  Please be sure to read my footnotes below, too. :)

*I used these cereals as an easy example, but I don't actually recommend or buy most Kellogg's products because they haven't gotten with the program and removed the high fructose corn syrup from many of their products.

**Be careful, as you collect Register Rewards, not to count them twice when you're figuring out what you're saving.  It's easy to think, the day you get the rewards, "Oh, I got these boxes of cereals for the same as $1 each," thinking in your mind about the $2 RR.  Then, next week, as you're figuring out what to buy and you put the $2 toward your purchase, you're likely to count that $2 as part of your savings then as well.  I prefer to just use what I have for the purchase I'm making now to figure out what my savings are.  For instance, I might buy $12 worth of their sale items, have $3 in manufacturer coupons, $7 RR from last week that I'm applying to this order, and only pay $2 out of my pocket.  If I receive $5 RR from this transaction, I don't, in my mind, apply that $5 to this transaction and think to myself that I made a $3 profit.  I keep that $5 RR out of my mind until I'm figuring out my next purchase and apply it toward that.  You CAN make a profit on certain items sometimes, if you plan right.  But avoid the temptation to count your RR twice when you're figuring out your actual savings! :)