Couponing For Newbies: Shopping Drug Stores

Couponing For Newbies: Day 3

Shopping Drug Stores:
Walgreens and Rite Aid

Walgreens

Register Rewards

Often called Wags, Walgreens is famous for it's Register Rewards. A register reward is a coupon that prints when you purchase certain items. The coupon will be for a certain amount off of your next order.

If you purchase another of the same item and use the Register Reward to pay for it you will not get another Register Reward.
For example is you buy a shaving cream and get a Register Reward. Then you buy another shaving cream and pay with the Register Reward then you will not get another Register Reward.

However If you buy an item and it produces a Register Reward and then in another transaction you buy a different item then you can get a Register Reward.

For example:
You buy shave cream and get a Register Reward. Then you take that Register Reward and buy dental floss that should produce a Register Reward. The Register Reward should print.

Exceptions:
Sometimes there is a glitch in this system and you can buy like items and still get the Register Reward. This is what is known as rolling a Register Reward.


Stacking Coupons

Walgreens will let you use a Walgreens coupon with a manufactures coupon. Using a manufactures coupon with a store coupon is called stacking.
The only problem with this is that Walgreens will only let you use one coupon per item.
To get around this rule then I often will buy something in the store that is really cheap so that I have enough items to match the amount of coupons that I have. This is called a filler item.

Limiting Quantities

Walgreens vary on how many of an item you can buy. Some stores only let only buy 1 Register REward item and others will let you clear all the shelves. The corporate offices let the individual stores regulate this. Often if there is something that will be free with the Register Reward it will be gone by the end of the first day of the sale at places that let you buy as much as you want. I would call ahead to make sure they have what you want. Some stores will even hold it for a little while until you can get there (this will also depend on who is working and what the individual store policy is).


Walgreens Coupon Policy

You can go here to get a copy of the Walgreens coupon policy. I would recommend carrying a copy of it with you; especially when you are first starting out. From my experience I have had hit and miss experiences with Walgreens. It really just depends on the store and the person working.

Difficulties

Walgreens is a very difficult store to master. I would not get discouraged if your first few transactions are a little difficult. I can not tell you how many times that I messed up a transaction there. I personally think that it can be great place to stock up on toiletries for very little money. Take it slow and don't get overwhelmed if everything doesn't go as planned. It happens to the best of us.

Rite Aid

Stacking coupons

You can use one manufacture coupon with a store coupon. Depending on your store you can also use a Rite Aid Video Values coupon as well.




Using Coupons on Buy One Get One Free Sales

Rite Aid lets you use one manufactures coupon for every item that you have. So when they have buy one get one free sales you can use a coupon for each item. This gives you extra savings.

They also will let you use a Buy one Get one free coupon with a buy one get one free sale. So essentially you are using the coupon on the one that is not free with the sale. It makes both items free. You still have to pay the tax though.

Rite Aid Video Values

A program from Rite Aid that you can watch short commericals and earn coupons. I love this program because the coupons can be stacked with a manufactures coupon. When you earn 20 coupons you get a bonus coupon for $5.00/$20.00. Go here to sign up and start watching.

The $5.00/$20.00 coupon can be used with all the coupons.


Rite Aid Single Check Rebates

On top of all the coupon savings that Rite Aid offers they also have a rebate program. Every month they offer different rebates. Some are month long and some are just for certain weeks during the month. You can use coupons on an item that qualifies for a rebate and still get the rebate.
The rebates are really easy to get especially online. I have been doing them for a really long time and have never had a problem.

Coupon Policy

Although all Rite Aid's should be the same sometimes there are cashiers that are less informed about the stores coupon policy. Go here to get a copy of the Rite Aid coupon policy. I would carry it with you when you shop Rite Aid so that you can show the cashier what you are able to do.






These are the two major drug stores that we have where I live. The other major drug store that we don't have is CVS. I personally have never shopped there and don't know anything about couponing there so I would recommend going here to find out more about CVS.

Couponing For Newbies: How to Coupon

Many have heard about couponing and want to know what it is about.
That's why this week I am doing a series called Couponing for Newbies.
I will hopefully be answering a few questions and will make a little more sense of what we couponers do and how we do it.


Couponing For Newbies: Day 1

How do I coupon?

First: Stockpiling

One of the main concepts behind couponing is creating a stockpile of products.
It is basic economics, you buy items when they are the cheapest. You buy enough of the item to last until it returns to a price you are willing to pay. The key is buy the amount that you will use in that period of time without having an excess or running out.

For example my price point for cereal is $.50 a box. When I can get cereal for that price I buy it in large enough quantities to last until I can get cereal for that price again.


Here's a formula that the gals at Fabulessly Frugal came up with to help you figure out how much of something to buy. This is mainly for food items.

How to calculate how much of a food item you use per week:

How many people use the item in your house,
x number of days you use it,
x number of times per day
= the amount you use per week ( food servings per week)
Divide by number of servings in box or container
= number of boxes used per week

Then based on when the food item expires you can calculate how much you can use until then.

With toiletries and items that are not so easily measured I usually just guess.





Second: Combine coupons with sales

When you use a coupon at a store it is like any other form of payment (ie. cash, checks, credit or debit cards). The store gets reimbursed for the coupon by the manufacture along with an additional $.08 for every coupon. Essentially, when you use a coupon it is like the manufacture is giving you money.

When there is a sale at the store, the store is reducing their price on the product in order to lure you into the store to spend money. Often times, a manufacture will pay the store to promote a certain item in order to get you to buy other items. Sales tend to go in cycles based on the what time of year it is. For example in the fall soups and baking goods go on sale and in the summer BBQ sauce and salad dressing go on sale.

Combining coupons with the sales then gives you a greater discount.

For example, lets say you have a box of cereal that is $1.50 on sale at the store.
You then use a $1.00 off of 1 box of cereal from the manufacture to buy the cereal.
By combining the two you only have to pay $.50 for the cereal out of your pocket.





Third: Where to get coupons
The newspaper:
My main source of getting coupons is from the newspaper. I get 7 papers delivered to my house every Sunday.
Most papers have special deals for couponers and will give a discounted price when you get more than one paper delivered. I pay less than $20.00 per month on all my papers but make back five or six times that easily in a month.



Internet Printables:
Printable Internet coupons are one of the easiest sources of getting coupons.
There are three main coupon printing websites:
Coupons.com
Redplum.com
Smartsource.com
You can also get coupons from various manufactures websites. Manufactures also use Facebook as a way to give consumers coupons.



In Store:
In stores there are also ways to get coupons.

• Blinkies: a machine placed near a product that holds coupons
• Peelies: coupons placed directly on a product
• Tear pads: normally placed by the product
• In the store ads.
• Coupon exchange baskets. Normally placed at the front of the store.
  

Buying Online:
Purchasing on the internet is a great way to get lots of a certain coupon.
Since you technically aren't allowed to sell coupons normally the sellers are charging for their time and giving you the coupons for free.

The main way is through Ebay. ( If you do this method I would recommend purchasing with PayPal and only from reputable dealers with good feedback. I won't buy coupons from anyone who doesn't have almost 100% good feedback.)

There are other websites selling out there. But I have never used them so I don't know how good they are.
I only use Ebay because to me it seems the safest way.



Home mailers:
You can request many different coupons from manufactures that will be sent in the mail.
Often, when you request a sample of something the manufacture sends a coupon along with it.





Fourth: Being Smart!

Essentially, the main reason to use coupons is to save money by getting the most for your dollar.
You wouldn't buy the first car you saw or the first home you walked through. Most people shop around to get the best deal. Why do we feel that we need to pay full price for food and toiletries.
Using coupons is way to be smarter with our money.