Look What I Got for $15.37!

Today was another great rebate overlap day at Walgreens. Today and tomorrow, both the August and September EasySaver rebate books are in effect. Last month, I used the overlap days to stock up on diapers. This month was just as successful. In addition, Walgreens published a printable coupon on their website for $10 off a $40 purchase today and tomorrow only.

Here’s what I got for a grand total of $15.37 after coupons, rebates and Register Rewards: 3 – 12 packs of Pepsi, 2 – 12 packs of Mountain Dew, 1 jumbo pack of Pull-ups, 1 case of Walgreens baby wipes (400ct), 2 John Frieda hair sprays, 1 Chemistry conditioner, 2 Glade Scented Oil warmers, 2 Glade Scented Oil refills, 3 boxes Kraft Mac & Cheese, 2 plastic serving trays. Whew…that’s a lot of stuff!
Spin the Deal

Here’s the breakdown on how much I saved by item:

1) Pepsi/Mountain Dew (bought 5): Reg. $20 for 5, Walgreens ad coupon, Paid: 5 for $11.00 ($9.00 saved)
2) Pull-ups Jumbo Pack: Reg. $12.49, Sale $9.49, Sunday paper coupon $2, Register Reward $2, Paid: $5.49 ($7.00 saved)
3) Walgreens Baby Wipes: Reg. $10.99, Clearance priced, Paid: $6.49 ($4.50 saved)
4) John Frieda Hair Spray (bought 2): Reg. $6.49 each, Sale: Buy 1 Get 2nd ½ Off - $9.74 total for two, Register Reward (when you buy 2) $9, Paid: $0.74 ($12.98 saved)
5) Chemistry Conditioner: Reg. $7.99, August ES coupon $3, Sept ES rebate $7.99, Paid: $-3.00 ($10.99 saved – Walgreens paid me $3 to buy this.)
6) Glade Scented Oil Warmers (bought 2): Reg. $4.79, Sale: Buy 1 Get 1 Free, Sunday paper coupon: Buy 1 Get 1 Free, Paid: $0 ($9.58 saved)
7) Glade Scented Oil Refills (bought 2): Reg. $4.79 each, Sale: $1.99 each, Sunday paper coupon: Buy 1 Get 1 Free, Paid: $1.99 ($9.58 saved)
8) Kraft Mac & Cheese (bought 3): Reg. $1.49 each, Walgreens Ad coupon, Paid: 3 for $2.07 ($1.93 saved)
9) Plastic Serving Trays (bought 2): Reg $2.00 each, Walgreens summer clearance 75% off sale, Paid: 2 for $1.00 ($3.00 saved)

The total for all of the above came to roughly $25.00. The $10 off $40 was applied before coupons. This brought the total out of pocket to just over $15. In total, I saved $68.56 off the regular price. Including the $10 off, that's about an 84% savings!

If you are new to deal hunting, you may be thinking two things:

1) This seems pretty overwhelming and must take a lot of work to research the deals and look for coupons. Is the juice really worth the squeeze?

2) How do I find these deals?

These are the questions I had in my mind when I first started learning about the great bargains people would post about online on personal finance websites. After spending time reading about other techniques and success stories, I learned that not only was it quite easy, but it was also a great deal of fun. In reality, it only takes a few minutes to research the deals once you know where to look for them. In a future post, I will cover the details on where to look for deals and how to make them even more attractive by applying every possible savings opportunity to the transaction.