walgreens 5 dollar challenge....game on!

Since joining the world of coupons, I have learned that Walgreens is often our best friend when it comes to getting freebies and personal care items at very cheap prices.  Alyssa at Keeping the Kingdom First features a weekly $5 Walgreens challenge on her blog.  Simple rules: You can only pay $5 or less out of pocket for your items.  With Walgreens' great register rewards deals....it's easy to get the hang of this.

Here are my purchases from this past week:

-TUF Towel

$0.49 with Walgreens' in-ad coupon

-Pantene shampoo and Pantene hairspray (both from their new line of products)

$2.50 each

Used two $1/1Pantene coupons from inserts and then I received a $2 register reward to be used toward my next trip to Walgreens

(Really it's like my two products were $1.50 each...and this deal is still on for this week!)

-20 oz. Diet Coke (to get me through my night class)

$1.49

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*Used a $5 register reward from previous Walgreens trip

*Paid $2.62 out of pocket including tax

*Received $2 RR (register reward) to use toward next trip

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Here is my $5 challenge plan for this week:

-One Oscar Mayer Deli Creations $1.99 with in-ad coupon....

use $1/1 coupon from 5/16 SmartSource inserts making this $0.99

-Old Spice High Endurance Body wash for $4.49 (this will give you a $4.49 RR making this FREE)

-cheapo filler item at $1.50 or less (possibly candy by the register or another quick snack or drink for class)

*I will use my $2 RR from last week making this right under $5 plus I will get a $4.49 RR to use next week!

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Walgreens tips:

-You can use a Walgreens coupon and a MC (manufacturer's coupon) on an item

-Walgreens coupons can come from their monthly coupon booklets (found in the store) or from their weekly ads (you can also get these in the store and they come in the Sunday paper)....they even have some online coupons

-Hand over your coupons in the following order: register rewards, manufacturer coupons, then Walgreens coupons (if not the register will beep and the cashier will probably look blankly at you and the register...no offense to them...it just seems to always play out that way)

-Have the same number of items you have coupons or more items than you have coupons (the register is a tricky little dude, huh?)

-Plan your trip ahead and make sure your coupons and Register Rewards aren't worth more than your items...I have never had luck with them changing a coupon amount or RR amount to make my total zero...that's where "filler items" come into play...cheap items to make your total atleast a few cents so that you are able to use all your coupons

-Register Rewards (RRs) are like an in-store credit.  These will print out after you check out and they can be used on your next transaction (even if you choose to do more than one transaction in the same visit).

-There is almost always at least one deal in the Walgreens ad where you will get an RR that is worth the same value of the item so that it basically makes an item free...use a coupon on the item when you buy it...and it's like you're getting it for free plus making money to use next time.

Example:  I buy body wash for $2.99 that is giving a $2.99 RR but have a $1/1 coupon...I only pay $1.99 for the body wash, but a $2.99 RR will still print out.  Yay! It's like making $1. 

-Search great blogs like Deal Finding Chik and Money Saving Mom for great Walgreens match-ups to find the best deals each week.

My final tip is to be patient if you're new to this.  I started out knowing nothing about how to shop for the best deals at Walgreens.  I really never even shopped there.  However, we live literally a minute away from one, and it is so convenient to shop their for our personal care items.  Just keep trying and keep planning your trips ahead of time.....and you'll be having money-saving success quickly!

Walgreens trip and a coupon organizing idea

  

I finally made it to the stores today and found some great deals.  I had to make a quick trip to Walgreens before going grocery shopping because I found some great deal scenerios on some blogs this week. (Tip--I take notes throughout the week so I don't forget where the deals are when I am ready to shop over the weekend.)

Neutrogena Intensive Moisture Body Treatment Lotion--$6.00 on clearance--used a $1/1 MC...$5.00 (this is a great value for this lotion...I haven't found lotion that beats it and it's definitely not a cheaply priced product)

John Frieda Frizz-Ease Smooth Start Condition--$6.79--used a $3/1 MC and stacked it with a $2/1 Walgreen's coupon from their coupon book at the front of the store...$1.79 (again, this is a great deal for a great product)

Bonnybell Lip Gloss--$0.95 on clearance--used a $1/1 coupon printed out here....FREE plus $.05 overage (my Walgreens had a lot of Bonnybell Lip Smackers in their clearance section--thanks Thankfully Thrifty for this idea)

$0.50 shipping envelope on clearance...handy to have around...going into my stockpile for future use

Total before coupons--$14.24

Total after coupons--$8.09

(before tax that's a 50% savings for today...whoo hoo)

And about that coupon organizing idea....

I used to just buy items at the store when I needed them thinking this would save me the most money.  Now I have learned the importance of buying things in advance if I know I will use them and there is a great deal on them.  Now i'm really serious about shopping for items when they are on sale and racking up any and all freebies I can that we will use in the future or I can donate.  Because of this, I have gotten a little overwhelmed on keeping my coupons organized.  I keep the main coupons I will for sure use because they are items I buy anyway in my coupon album (made from the picture album).  I keep this in my purse and always have it ready to use.  You can get this idea on my post here.  But when I find deals and scenerios on blogs, a lot of times they refer to a specific group of coupons from the Sunday newspaper by the date they came out.  So I decided to do my own little system to organize the coupons I will return to as I find deals and scenerios online.

I put each stack of coupons I have from the past two Sundays in March, and then all of February's coupons combined (because I wasn't quite on top of things last month) into separate file folders and labeled the file folders with the date the coupons came out.  Now when I read a deal or scenerio that refers to a specific date...I can quickly find the stack of coupons to search.  I will of course toss the stacks as they expire and then refill the files with different stacks.  I just used a letter organizer we already have on our desk to place the file folders upright and easy to access.

Hope it helps!