Today I went to Walgreen’s to test out what I had learned about couponing! It was a definite success! I had a list and I had my coupons clipped. I knew what was on sale that I was going to purchase and I had figured out how I was going to make the most of the sales with the Register Rewards. The Frugal Hubby was with me and I was explaining how we were going to divide the purchase so I could get bigger savings on the toilet paper. He didn’t really understand why we were doing it that way but went along with it.
First Purchase
Purex Complete 3-in1 sheets are on sale $2/9 and you get $1 Register Reward back. A couple of weeks ago there was a coupon in most areas for a BOGO Free for this but unfortunately our area didn’t have those coupons. No problem! I went online and found $1.00/1 Purex Complete 3-in-1, so I printed off 2 which was the limit I could print. So I ended up getting the Purex sheets for $3.50 each and got the $1 Register Reward coupon.
Lady Speed Stick is on sale for $1.99 and you get $1 Register Reward back. So online I go and I find a 75 cent coupon. So I ended up paying $1.29 for the deodorant and got a $1 Register Reward back.
The first transaction ended up costing me $8.82 and I got $2 in Register Rewards. This was great because at Wal-Mart the detergent sheets are $5.96. I saved $2.46 on each one of the packages.
Next Purchase
12 Big Rolls of Cottonelle Toilet Paper was on sale $5.99 and I had a $1.00 coupon. The plan was to use the Register Rewards and the manufacturer’s coupon and end up getting the toilet paper for $2.99. It didn’t work that way. I ended up paying $4.99 for the toilet paper. The cashier rang up the manufacturer’s coupon first, then tried to ring up the Register Rewards. It wouldn’t work that way. She said she was sorry that she had to ring up the Register Rewards first and then the manufacturer’s coupon. I’m really not sure if it would have worked that way or not. If you are an experienced Walgreen Register Rewards user, please tell if this is correct!
Overall I was happy with this first time Walgreen’s shopping trip using coupons. Our total for this trip was $14.22 for the items above. I stuck to the list and didn’t get anything that wasn’t on my list. The Frugal Hubby seemed convinced and tomorrow we are going to the other Walgreen’s in our town and use two more coupons for the detergent sheets and deodorant. These I’ll print off from home. The others were at work.
I’ll let you know how tomorrow’s trip goes.
Till next time,
JT Locke The Frugal Housewife
About The Frugal Housewife
Walgreens is tricky. They seem to have all these rules about how the coupons are redeemed. I’m a solid CVSer and I prefer them and feel the deals are better in the end once you get rolling.
You did good though. It takes a little practice, planning and luck to get it right every time.
Oh if I could just do that,lol. Maybe that will be something I could work on. congrats to you.
Woot! Congrats on a successful shopping trip! I need to pay attention to what you are doing and start using coupons more. Much more!
Great job! Couponing is so addicting! Next week I’m starting a Couponing Guide, you should stop by!
I really like your blog, I found you on fuelmyblog, but I will definitely be adding you to my blogroll and visiting often!
Congrats on sticking to your plan. We don’t get many coupons here but we shop a local fresh food market and but ask many unprocessed foods as possible. Sometimes we give in to the temptation and buy some prepared items but it’s definitely more cost effective to cook from scratch. And with a little planning, it can even fit into a busy schedule.
At Walgreens you need to have one item for every coupon or register reward you use. So if you had one coupon for the cottonelle, then two $1 register rewards your purchase needed to have three items to use them all in one transaction. You have to keep this in mind when you plan your transactions. You tend to get creative with “filler” items (very cheap items to give you more in your transaction without spending much more so you can use all the coupons and RR you want). I’m sorry your Walgreens didn’t have the Purex on Megasaver sale for B1G1 free like mine did! We had the B1G1 coupon too so ended up with two free detergents!
Great first attempt for Walgreens though! It certainly takes time to figure out “the drugstore game”. I’ve been doing this for a few years and I’m still trying to perfect it! Be patient and havg in there, you are doing great!
Great job! Stick with it and don’t get discouraged. You will get the hang of it and it will pay off!
Wow how do you learn about these coupon sales, where did you subscribe to get email alerts regarding coupons?
Great shopping trip. I see you got your answer to your question about using your Register Rewards. I will usually throw in items that may be on sale for under $.50 when I have more coupons then items.
Another tip when it comes to getting coupons is to get your larger city paper as opposed to a local paper. Not sure which one you subscribe to but it usually will have more coupons in it.
Look forward to hearing more about your shopping successes!
At Walgreen they like to put the coupons in a certain order. If you want it the other way around just hand them the coupons one at a time. This works and if you start to get friendly with some of the cashiers then you can hand them all the coupons and ask them to put them in the order you want.
There is no Walgreen coupon order policy and the customer is always right.