How to coupon at Walgreens

Saving money at Walgreens

Walgreens is typically known as a drug store for your perscription, and maybe you'll pick up a few things here and there. But did you know that Walgreens is one of the BEST and EASIEST stores to get FREE products, just about every week? Walgreens has lots of savings opportunities that, when combined, offer you the best deals possible.

Store Coupons

Every week in Walgreens store flier, they list in-store coupons that can only be used at Walgreens. The store coupons CAN be combined with manufacturer coupons to really maximize your savings. The store coupons in the ad are only good during the dates of the ad. Along with the in-ad coupons, Walgreens also has a monthly savings coupon book with store coupons that are good for the whole month. These can be paired with manufacturer coupons, AND in-ad coupons. Lastly, Walgreens also puts out random coupon books throughout the year that you can usually find near the pharmacy. Again, all Walgreens store coupons can be combined with manufacturer coupons.

Walgreens Register Reward program (RR)

The ticket to saving money at Walgreens is taking advantage of their Register Reward program. Register Rewards (RR) are slips of paper that are used like cash at Walgreens to purchase items in the store. Every week, Walgreens will release their ad, detailing which prodcuts are included in this program. These products will give you RR for purchasing certain products. The RR expire usually about a week from the date you get them.
The RR can be used with any and all other coupons (in-ad, store, and manufacturer coupons).

Rolling Register Rewards

Using one Register Reward to pay for products that generate more Register Rewards is called "Rolling" register rewards. When you use your available coupons and RR to get more RR from another product, you will end up with a lot of FREE products!! Example: Dove body wash is $5, and you get a $3 RR for buying it. You use a $1/1 Dove coupon and pay $4 out of pocket, and get a $3 RR back. Then you buy some Colgate toothpaste for $3 with a $2RR, and a bottle of shampoo for $3 with a $3 RR, and a .50 candy. You use a $1/1 colgate coupon and a $1.50/1 shampoo coupon. That brings your total to $4.00, and you pay with a $3 RR, so your total out of pocket is only $1!!

Helpful hits about Walgreens and using coupons

Did you notice in the last paragraph I added a .50 candy in my transaction? Well, there is a reason for that. At Walgreens,YOU MUST HAVE THE SAME OR LESS COUPONS PER ITEM. That is, you can not have more coupons than items. Weather it be an in-ad, store, manufacturer coupon or Register Reward, it's only one coupon per item. If your transaction is even, one product per one coupon and you still have register rewards to use, you can ad a small "filler" item to your transaction. Things like a piece of candy or a pencil usually work well. Walgreens stores have contests for their employees to see who can sell the most of a "highlighted item" in one week (The cashier will always ask if your "interested" during your checkout. If you get to know a cashier you like there you can always buy that item. They will appreciate that and be more tolerant of you and your coupons!!!

How to MAKE money online

Let's not stop at saving money... let's MAKE money!!

Coupons and deals, that's what this is all about. But do you know that I've made over $60 in less than a month by using cash back sites, surveys and point sites? I'm talking FREE money! And I really didn't do anything special, or extra. It was quick and easy... (I have 4 kids, if it's not quick and easy, I'm not going to do it!!)

Cash back sites:
I use Ebates, Shop at Home and Swagbucks. Ebates and Shop at Home offer a free $5, just for signing up. They have 100's of companies that offer a percent of your purchase back to you, just for buying through ebates or shop at home. If you ever purchase things online, all you need to do is go to one of the cash back sites, search for the business you want to buy from (Kohls, Walmart, Toys R Us...etc), and click the link. They will tell you the amount you'll be getting back, in CASH. You click on the link to your store and that's it! Your at the stores website, you make your purchase, and your cash back comes in your Ebates or Shop at Home account.
I usually just use which ever one has the better cash back rate at the time. When I post online deals, I'll always let you know if there are any cash back offers from either of these sites.
Swagbucks is a free search engine that you use, and you will randomly be selected to receive swagbucks every day. I usually get between 1 and 3 swagbucks a day, and there are always bonus ways to get swagbucks. I love swagbucks because I don't have to do anything extra, just search the internet like I would anyway, and I'm earning points for it to trade for nice gift cards!

Points sites:
Right now I use mypoints and Disney Movie Rewards. Mypoints is absolutely awesome! Not only do you get points for online shopping, (they offer you points per dollar you spend at a store), but you get points for many other things. On their website they have games you can play, short 1 question polls/surveys, and a place to write reviews for websites... all to earn points! But the easiest way to earn points through mypoints is to just read their emails! They send a few emails a day (It's not much at all, you definately WON'T get overloaded with junk) about different things. All you need to do is click on the email, and you'll get points! Even if you only opened the emails, you'd still earn enough points to cash in on some nice prizes. Mypoints has a lot of gift cards you can trade your points in for.
They also offer points for doing free trials. Some examples of this are a netflix account, gamefly, credit reports. If you ever thought about signing up for something, check mypoints first, you my be able to get reward points, just for doing what you were going to do anyway!!
Another cool rewards site is Disney Movie Rewards. Every time you buy a Disney movie or CD, you'll get a code inside the case. You enter the code on Disney Movie Rewards and you'll get points for buying that item. The best part is that unlike other rewards sites where you start when you sign up, with Disney Movie Rewards you can enter in any codes you have from any dvd's or CD's you've purchased in the past. As long as you have the code, you can enter it and get points! I went through and entered about 4 codes when I first signed up. The disney stuff you trade points in for is pretty cool, and you don't need many points to start trading. Right now is a great time to sign up with Disney Movie Rewards, because from now until christmas, ABC Family is offering a 5 code every day for free until christmas.

Survey sites:

These survey companies that I use are COMPLETELY LEGITIMATE. I would not tell you about them if they weren't. I DO make money, and it's EASY. No, I'm not making $100/hour doing this, but it is cash. Cash that I would not have had, had I not been taking these surveys. I use Opinion Outpost (my favorite), surveyhead, mindfield and Lightspeed. When a survey is available, I receive an email with a link to the survey. I will be asked a few questions to see if I qualify. If I do qualify, I will do the survey. If I don't, I'll either try for another survey, or just try again tomorrow. The amounts you get vary from $1-$7 or more, which just depends on the amount of time your putting into the survey and the topics. Opinion Outpost gives you the option to get your money immediately in the form of an Amazon gift card. I love this!! I seem to qualify for a lot of surveys, and the pay is good. Surveyhead has a lot of surveys, also! And they tell you a percentage of your likelyhood to qualify, which is nice. I don't waste my time on surveys that say I only have a 20% chance of qualifying. Mindfield and Lightspeed seem to pay very well, and their surveys are generally pretty quick.
I've also received free products to try out from Opinion Outpost, and in return they give me cash in my account for giving my opinion. Just recently I tried two different types of shampoo, and right now I'm trying out a package of diapers. Free shampoo, free diapers.... I love getting things free!!!

I've decided I'm going to save up all my points and have a FREE christmas next year. Not only will I have enough money from these sites to get ALL my christmas presents for FREE (and for a family of 6, that's HUGE!), but I'm sure we'll have extra left over to treat ourselves to something great, too!

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me or leave a comment. I hope this helps!!

First things first....

Coupons 101

The first thing you need to know about couponing, is the different parts of a coupon and what they actually mean. Below is a picture of a coupon.

There are two types of coupons: store coupons and manufacturer coupons. Store coupons are specific to that store only, and can not be used at any other store. Target, Walgreens, CVS, and Kmart are known to use their own coupons. Manufacturer coupons can be used anywhere coupons are accepted. The store is reimbursed by the manufacturer for the full value of the coupon, so they are never taking a loss when accepting your manufacturer coupon. Coupons are usually good for about 6-8 weeks after the coupon comes out. About 3-4 weeks after the coupon is released, the product usually goes on sale, so it's best to hold on to your coupons until you
see the item on sale. You can not use two like coupons (two of the same manufacturer coupons, or two of the same store coupons on one item), but:

IMPORTANT FACT #1:You can use a store coupon AND a manufacturer coupon on the same item! Example: GE Light bulbs are listed at $2.39 at Target.
There is a manufacturer coupon from the Sunday newspaper for $1 off 1 light bulb. There is also a Target coupon for $1 off 1 light bulb. You can use BOTH of those coupons on ONE light bulb to get the light bulb for .39 cents!!!!


The expiration date is important because after a coupon has expired it is no longer valid. Stores will not accept an expired coupon. You can use the coupon up to AND including the day of expiration, but not after.

The coupon value is usually big
and bold, and will tell you the value of the coupon. Sometimes there will not be a dollar amount off, but the coupon will be offering an item free with purchase, so always be sure you are getting the right product.
Below the coupon value will be wording describing what the coupon is offering. Read this section carefully, and make sure you pick the right product, and the right number of products. Sometimes the coupon will read "$1.00 off TWO products", or "Buy this deoderant, get this body wash free". On those types of coupons, you can usually walk out with a really awesome deal. Example: You have that coupon "buy Gilette deoderant, get gilette body wash free".
That coupon is actually for the deoderant. You can use ANOTHER copuon for the free body wash. Remember, one coupon, PER item.
The fine print will tell you how the coupon can be used. A PURCHASE is one item you are buying. A TRANSACTION is all the products you are buying. If the coupon fine print says "one coupon per PURCHASE", then you can use one coupon for each product. If you have 5 Motts apple juice jugs, you can use 5 Motts apple juice coupons in one transaction. If the coupon says "one coupon per TRANSACTION", then you can only use 1 Motts apple juice coupon, for those 5 Motts apple juice jugs. You can always do multiple transactions as well, to keep your total Out of pocket expense as low as possible. Some stores have a limit on the number of like coupons you can use at one time.
The image on a coupon is important also. The picture is not always the product you need to buy. A lot of the time the manufacturer will put the most expensive item for the coupon image, but you do not need to buy that.

IMPORTANT FACT #2:If the coupon says $2 off ANY Covergirl face product, and there is a picture of a foundation that is $13.00, you do not need to buy that foundation, you can buy a blush at $6.00 and still use that coupon, becuase it is a face product.

Pay attention to the size of the product you are buying. It is almost always better to buy a lot of the smaller product than one big product when using a coupon. If you have a $1 off lotion and the small bottle of lotion is $2.99, and the big bottle is $5.99, use the coupon on the smaller bottle and you will be paying less out of pocket and getting the most value for your money. Also, if the coupon does not exclude trial sizes, most of the time you can get them completely FREE!!! Buying multiple subcriptions to the Sunday paper is one way to get duplicate coupons. Ebay is another good source for coupons. You will usually find lots of 10-20 of the same coupon, and they are very inexpensive. I try to have at least 4 of every coupon. If you can pick up four trial sizes of shaving cream, wouldn't that be better than paying for the regular size? The amount is the same, but your paying for one, and getting the other for FREE!

IMPORTANT FACT #3:
Do not be brand specific. If you've always used crest toothpaste, but you can get Colgate toothpaste for free after using coupons, then switch brands!!! I always used a certain kind of shampoo and body wash, but after I started getting so much of the other stuff for free, I decided it wasn't so important anymore to have my brands. Another good way to save money with coupons is to take note of your grocery stores in your area, and see if any of them double coupons and find out up to how much. These stores are generally more expensive than others, but if you shop the sales, and use coupons you can usually make out with some EXCELLENT deals!! For example, Prego spaghetti sauce is $3.50 at the grocery store. It has gone on sale this week for 2 for $4. You have two .55 off 1 prego spaghetti sauce. The grocery store will double those coupons, so each one is now worth $1.05 off 1 Prego. You buy two jars at 2 for $4, and after coupons and store doubling, your paying .95 for each jar. That's a
GREAT deal!!!!
Sometimes you'll get a store offering a buy one get one free sale, and you will have a buy one get one free coupon for the same products. If so.... YOU'VE HIT THE COUPONING JACKPOT!!! The register will ring up both items at $5 each. At the end, it will automatically take off one item for the buy one get one free sale. You hand the cashier the buy one get one free coupon, and the register has to take off the other $5 for the item, making BOTH ITEMS FREE!!! An example of this is there was a buy one get on free on all Hasboro card games that came out in the Sunday newspaper. Toys r us was having a buy one get one free sale on all hasboro card games. I used 5 of these coupons at Toys R Us to get 10 card games, completely FREE!!!!

Introduction to couponing

Beginner Couponing

When people ask me about couponing, I get asked so many questions: "Where do I get coupons?" "Where do you keep them all?" "How many coupons can you use at one time?" "Do all stores accept coupons?" "What is 'rolling' of store rewards?" And my personal favorite..."Do you REALLY get all that for free, or just a couple dollars? For me, using coupons effectively is rewarding, entertaining and a really fun hobby, and it doesn't take much to get started. Probably the best piece of advice I can give to the beginner couponer is don't give up or get too frustrated. When I first started I thought, "how am I ever gonna get all these coupons in order?" I felt like I wasn't organized enough to do this. I was too busy. I made some really bad purchases when I first started using coupons. I bought things that I didn't really need for way to much money, only because I had a coupon. (The #1 mistake we ALL make!!)

What is a coupon?

A coupon is a piece of paper a manufacturer or store will release to the public for $$ off a certain product, or a product free. A lot of coupons are released on a new product, and the manuf. wants to give you some incentive to try it. An example of this is the Purex washing detergent/dryer sheets. There were some high value coupons that came out to consumers when this new product hit the shelves. This coupon, paired with sales, led to free or nearly free (under a $1)Purex sheets. Another reason a company will release coupons is if they see a decline in sales for a certain product and they need more people to buy it. The manuf. will release a coupon to encourage more consumers to purchase that product.

Where can I get coupons?

Coupons can come from a variety of sources:

• Newspapers
• Internet
• Magazines
• Mailings
• Manufacturers
• Store fliers

The average person will probably get the majority of their coupons from the Sunday paper. Inside the paper their will be at least one of these coupon ads:Smartsource, Red Plum, P&G, or General Mills. The only exception to this is on holidays. Most holidays the newspaper will NOT put any coupons in the paper that week. Although most coupons will come from the Sunday paper, do not rule out the internet as a great source!! Many, many manufacturers will release coupons on their websites.  Do a search for your favorite products, and most likely the companys website will have a coupon somewhere. Most companies use a coupon printing program known as "bricks". You wanna know a great hint about this printing program??? YOU CAN PRINT TWO COUPONS PER COMPUTER! This helps in achieving the next step in couponing....A GREAT STOCKPILE!!! You always want to check to see if it's possible to print more than one coupon, from any site your printing from.

Another way to find coupons is to look in magazines. Some magazines will put a coupon on the bottom of the advertisement page. There is a magazine that is only available at Walmart called All You. The "All You" magazine not only has great articles to read, it is LOADED with great coupons!! The newstand price is usually around $3-$4, but you can really save if you get a subscription. Be sure to check this magazine out! Do you ever get "junk mail" and just throw it away? WELL STOP THAT!! You never know what kind of coupons you'll find inside that envelope! Some companies will send out mailings, advertising a new product and will include a coupon, so don't discard that mail too quickly!

Another way to recieve coupons is to contact the manufacturer directly. The easiest way would be to email them and let them know what you like or don't like about a certain product. They are usually quick to respond with a letter..... and a few coupons also!

Some stores, such as Target, Walgreens, CVS, and Kmart will release their own store coupons, and you can access these either from their weekly flyer or their website. You wanna know secret #2 of effective couponing???? YOU CAN USE A STORE COUPON AND A MANUFACTURER COUPON ON ONE ITEM!!! If that doesn't make since to you, don't worry. I'll talk more about that in another section. So as you can see, there are plenty of ways to get your coupons and really get you started saving $100's a week!!

Where do I keep all these coupons?

There are lots of different ways to organize your coupons, you just do what works best for you. Some common filing systems I've seen is using an accordian file, and labeling each section with categories. Some use a "storage box" that they keep their coupons in. My favorite, and the system that I use is the binder method. I use a three ring zipper binder and put either baseball card or business card inserts inside. Each sheet of inserts holds between 8 and 12 coupons. I put multiples of the same coupon in the same slot. I categorize the coupons by store section such as:

• baby items
• bread
• baking
• canned goods
• boxed items
• dairy
• freezer
• household
• makeup/lotion
• juice
• cleaning
• medicine
• paper products
• toiletries
• etc...

When I'm in the store I just flip to the section of the aisle I'm in, and there are all my coupons laid out so I can see what's available to me. It makes it much easier to find deals having the coupons open like that, then flipping through an envelope and looking at each coupon one by one. Again, use the system that works best for you, there is no right or wrong way to do this.

Is using coupons really worth it?

Before I started using coupons effectively, I would usually just throw away coupons. "Oh, what good is .75 off going to do. Big deal." That's what I used to say. But once I learned the trick to maximizing the value of each coupon, I'll never throw away coupons again! I am able to buy products I otherwise wouldn't have because of coupons. If I can get an item for free, or under a dollar, I'm going to do it. And it's not generic things, or cheap things. I get full size products.... for pennies!!! Sometimes you will end up MAKING MONEY by buying a certain product. I'll explain more on how to do that in another section. So, would you like to learn more about couponing? Would you like to be able to get everyday household products for free, or for pennies? If so, then read the different sections at the top of this webpage. I talk about how to play the drugstore game at CVS and Walgreens, how to combine store coupons with manufacturer coupons at Target, how to create a stockpile so you'll never
have to pay even CLOSE to full price EVER AGAIN!!! If you've fallen in love and want to even MAKE money by SAVING money, I also talk about other ways to maximize savings. There is much to be learned, and it's information to hold on to for a lifetime!!!!

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