Walgreens Trip

Today I wanted to try out what a lot of couponers do at the drugstores that give you amounts back when you purchase certain items.  Walgreens offers Register Rewards that print out with your recipe to use on a future purchase.  So I wanted to try and spend only $3 plus tax to purchase a bunch of items.  The original plan was to go in and purchase 2 packs of scuni hair ties which would give you $3.00 RR.  Once I had gotten that $3.00 RR, I was going to use that to pay for my next purchase which would have also given me RR back.  However, that did not work according to my plan.  I did not realize that I would not be able to use the RR when the amount owed was less than the RR.  For example, my second purchase was going to be 2 oral b toothbrushes which were on sale for 2.49 each.  I then was going to use a 2.00/2 coupon.  This would have made the purchase price $2.98 and then I was going to use the $3 RR to pay for the transaction.  However, I was not allowed to do that.  So here is what I did instead:

Transaction 1:
Bought 2 Scunci (2/3.00).
Paid: $3.24 after taxes.  Received $3 RR

Transaction 2:
Bought 2 Oral B toothbrushes (4.98 for 2).  Used 2.00/1 from PG 7/03 (2.98 for 2)
and Huggies wipes (on sale for 2.49). Used 1.00/1 Walgreens coupon from booklet (1.49) and .50/1 from SS 7/17 (.99). 
Total = $3.97.  Used $3.00 RR.  Paid $1.58 after taxes.

Transaction 3:
Bought 2 Oral B toothbrushes (4.98 for 2).  Used 2.00/1 from PG 7/03 (2.98 for 2). 
Paid $3.38 after taxes.  Received $3 RR.

Transaction 4:
Bought Skintimate shave cream (2) and Skintimate shave gel (1) = 5.97 after in ad coupon.  Used 1.50/1 Skintimate shave cream (printed out) and 1.00/1 Skintimate shave cream (printed out) and .75/1 shave gel (printed out). (2.72 for 3).
and 4 M&M candy (1.96 for 4).  Used 2 .75/2 from RP 7/10 (.46 for 4).
and Reynolds foil wrap (.89 after in ad coupon).
and Huggies wipes (on sale for 2.49).  Used 1.00/1 Walgreens coupon from booklet (1.49) and .50/1 from SS 7/17 (.99).
and 2 Twizzlers (on sale for 2/3.00). Used 2 .75/1 from SS 6/26 (1.50 for 2).
Total = $6.57. Use 2 $3 RR.  Paid $1.32 after taxes.  Received $1 RR.

Total OOP = $9.52.  Left over $1 RR 
Final Price: $8.52

I guest that this was not bad for my first time trying this method out.  After I got home I figured out that I could have done a lot better if I had bought the m&ms with the toothbrushes because I then would have been able to use the $3 RR.  The final price for the toothbrushes and 2 packs of m&m would have been .21 plus getting the $3 RR.  I figured out that if I had done 6 transactions with the first one being the same, the next 3 being the 2 toothbrushes and m&ms, the 5th transaction being 2 toothbrushes and huggie wipes, and the last transaction being the same expect without the m&ms and twizzlers.  I would have ended up paying $6.20 plus taxes and getting 4 more toothbrushes and 2 more packs of m&ms.  But I would not have gotten the twizzlers.  Of course there are many different combinations of ways to use this method.  It will all depend on what you and your family needs. 


I know that this is a lot of information for anyone who is not use to couponing.  I actually learned a lot because of this experience.  I am hoping that through practice I can better think on my feet when the transactions don't turn out the way I wanted.  I hope that my readers will learn through my trail and errors as well.  I will be trying this method at CVS later in the week and hopefully I will be more successful.  I will be posting my results of that shop when I have completed it.