Walgreens Freebies This Week

I stopped at Walgreens tonight to pick up a few items - some medicine for Junior D, razors for Daddy D, and Easter basket goodies for the boys. It may seem hard to believe, but it was my first time there in well over a month!

Here are a couple free items I got - Skintimate Moisturizing Cream Shave and Chapstick 100% Naturals Lip Butter. These were both "Register Reward" items. In this case, the items were free after Register Rewards. The Skintimate was $2.99, and I received a coupon for $3 off my next Walgreens purchase. The Chapstick was $1.99, and I received a $2 coupon off my next purchase.

How did I do on the rest of my purchase? My total before sale prices and coupons was $88.24. After sale prices, manufacturers coupons, and Walgreens coupons, my total was $59.83. I also received $18 in Register Rewards good on my next Walgreens purchase. So, in the end, I paid $41.83 for $88.24 worth of goods. Not my best trip, but 50% savings isn't too bad. (I would have saved an extra $4, but the razor coupon I had expired on 3/31 - darn!)

How did you do at Walgreens this week? Leave a comment and share your success story!

Want to know the secrets behind Register Rewards? Click HERE for Register Reward FAQs.

Mail Call – Deals on the Doorstep

Yesterday I arrived home to two large packages on our front porch.

The first one was a replacement part for Baby D’s new Lightening McQueen bed from Costco. That’s right, the bed we just bought a few weeks ago…the one that was such a great deal…the one that I called such a high quality bed. As it turned out, less than a week after buying the bed, the trundle drawer broke. Disassembling the bed (which took several hours to assemble) was not an option. Instead, I called the manufacturer, explained the situation, and was able to get them to ship us replacement parts free of charge. Meanwhile, Daddy D rigged the drawer with more robust screws. Problem solved. Now, if only Baby D would decide to sleep in it!

The next package was a giant box full of ice cream. That’s right…ice cream! I opened the outer cardboard box to reveal a Styrofoam cooler packed with 7 pints of Haagen Dazs ice cream (securely packed in dry ice). Also included was another box filled with an ice cream scoop, a Haagen Dazs reusable tote bag, individual sampling bowls and spoons, recipe cards, and a stack of high-value coupons. Did I win the lottery??? No, but I did get this all free. What am I going to do with it? Stay tuned for my next post, where I begin a series on consumer product testing.

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My best Walgreens Day EVER!

The deals don’t get much better than this. Today I bought over $125 of merchandise from Walgreens, and paid $0. It’s rebate overlap day at Walgreens again. Today and tomorrow, both the October and November EasySaver rebate books are in effect, and several of the September rebate items carried over to October. (You won’t see these on the form, but if you enter your rebate receipts online, they will show up later.) In addition, Walgreens published a printable coupon on http://www.walgreens.com/ for $5 off a $20 purchase today and tomorrow only.

Here’s what I got for a grand total of $0.10 (yes, that’s right…TEN CENTS) after coupons, rebates and Register Rewards:

1. Pepsi (bought 3): Reg. $4, Sale 3 for $11, Register Reward (-$2), Paid: 3 for $9.00 ($3.00 saved)
2. Benefiber 16pk Kiwi Strawberry Sticks (bought 3): Reg. $8.49 ($25.47), Sunday paper coupon -$2 (-$6), EasySaver Coupon -$5 (-$15) Register Reward (-$8), Profit: -$3.53 ($25.47 saved)
3. Loreal Revitalift 1.0 Concentrate (carryover from Sept.): Reg. $16.49, Sunday paper coupon -$2, October ES rebate -$16.49, ES 10% bonus -$1.65, Profit: -$3.65 ($16.49 saved)
4. Loreal Reviatlift Eye Cream (free w/puchase of #3 above): Reg. $16.99 each, Sunday paper coupon -$1, Profit: -$1.00 ($16.99 saved)
5. Loreal Cleanser: Reg. $6.99, October ES rebate -$6.99, ES 10% bonus -$0.70, Profit: $-0.70 ($6.99 saved)
6. Alka Seltzer Cold 20ct: Reg. $4.99, Register Rewards -$5, Paid: $0 ($4.99 saved)
7. Lypsyl Lip Balm (carryover from Sept.): Reg. $2.99 each, October ES rebate -$2.99, ES 10% bonus -$0.30, Profit: -$0.30 ($2.99 saved)
8. Rimmel Foundation: Reg. $7.49 each, Sunday paper coupon -$1.00, Oct ES rebate -$7.49, ES 10% bonus -$0.75, Profit: -$1.75 ($7.49 saved)
9. Oral B Vitalizer Toothbrush: Reg $5.49, Sale $4.49, Register Rewards -$4.50, Paid: $0 ($5.49 saved)
10. St. Ives Elements Cleanser: Reg $7.99, Sale $4.99, Beauty Counter coupon -$2.00, Register Rewards -$5, Profit: -$2.01 ($7.99 saved)
11. Quilted Northern Ultra 6pk: Sale $4.00, Sunday paper coupon -$1.00, ES coupon -$1.00, Paid $2.00 ($2.00 saved)
12. Walgreens saline nasal spray: Reg. $2.99, W card 10% -$0.30, Paid $2.69 ($0.30 saved)
13. Nivea Men’s Body Wash (carryover from Sept.): Reg. $5.49, Sunday paper coupon -$1.00, Oct ES rebate -$5.49, ES 10% bonus -$0.55, Profit: -$1.55

The total for all of the above came to roughly $71 with tax after coupons and the $5 off $20. I received a total of $27.50 in Register Rewards for future purchases. (I got an extra $3RR from Bayer – not sure what for. I plan to use the $27.50 in RRs the week of November 2nd to stock up on diapers, as Walgreens will be running their “Buy 1 Get 1 Free” diaper deal again that week.) I will get back $43.40 in October Easysaver rebates from this purchase.

Grand Total for this purchase: $71.00 - $27.50 - $43.40 = $0.10

That’s right. All the items above cost me a grand total of TEN CENTS!

But that’s not all. For most people, that would be a pretty satisfying shopping day…but not for the Deal Diva. Let’s back up a bit and look at how the Deal Diva put her own spin on the deal.

Spin The Deal Strategy

I knew that the purchase above would require a large cash outlay upfront in order to get the money back through Register Rewards and Easysaver rebates to be used later for future purchases. Before making the purchase above, I grabbed a bottle of St. Ives Elements and purchased it along with a $100 Walgreens gift card. Currently, Walgreens gift card purchases are included in the 10% W card bonus. So, I will receive a $10 credit on my W card for buying the gift card. I also knew that the St. Ives deal would only generate one Register Reward per transaction, and I wanted a few, so I bought one off the bat in my first transaction ($4.99 - $2c - $5RR = -$2.01 profit). Total for my first transaction was $103, and I got a $5RR and will get $10 on my W card. The profit from the St. Ives and W card total $12.01.

Grand Total for today’s trip: $0.10 + -$12.01 = -$11.91 Profit

Now that’s spinning the deal!

Stay tuned...in a few days I'll post tips on how I prepared for this trip and how to make your next trip a success.

Free Hot Beverage at Holiday

If you have a Holiday Station Store in your area, each month they offer a free item with any purchase. For the month of October, get a free 12 oz. hot beverage with any purchase. Click here.

Put a Diva Spin on this deal by fueling up and using a Holiday discount gas coupon available with grocery purchase at Cub Foods.

Stumbling Upon A Deal

Deal Diva Rule #1: No matter where you are or what you are shopping for, ALWAYS keep your eyes open for a deal.

This past week was a hectic week in both my work life and family life, including being assigned a new project at work with an accelerated deadline for completion, planning for Baby D's 2nd birthday party, and scheduling heart surgery for my dad. With everything going on in our lives, it's often difficult for us busy moms to make room for "me"-time, including finding time for this quirky deal hunting hobby. That's why it's particularly important to keep your eyes open for deals everywhere, because these days, you can't go anywhere without stumbling upon a deal.

Here's some of the deals I stumbled upon this week:

Holiday Gas Station: Everyone needs gas, right? Gas stations are great places to find deals. While I filled my tank, I took advantage of an 8 cents off per gallon coupon that I received from shopping at Cub Foods, which saved me almost a buck. Then I used a coupon from our local newspaper website (www.startribune.com) to get a free Holiday breakfast sandwich with any purchase.

Target: On to Target to pick up birthday cards. Have I mentioned how much I love Target? Thanks to Ginger at ATS, I can be even more prepared with what deals to look for when I make a Target run. The biggest deal I found was free Johnson & Johnson Buddies bar soap. They were on sale for $0.99, and I got 6 bars free by using the 2 - $3 off 3 Johnson's coupon in last week's Sunday coupon insert. While I was there, I also stocked up on Barilla pasta (clearanced at $0.38 a box), Vitamin Water (50% off), adorable kid's dinner trays (75% off at $0.74 each), and a few last minute toys for Baby D's birthday (50% off). Backpacks were only 30% off yet, but they will soon go to 75% off, and then I'll pick up a few for the boys.


Cub Foods: Thanks to Rachel at Common"cents"ical, I stumbled upon a few great deals at the grocery store while picking up Baby D's birthday cake. Powerade Zero was on sale for $0.79. If you buy 6 bottles for $4.74, you receive a coupon for $4 off your next grocery purchase, making it $0.74 net for 6 bottles. Glade Wisp Flameless candles were $6.99 with a $3 coupon off your next purchase. Using the $5 off coupon from the recent Sunday insert resulted in a $1.01 profit. (BTW - These flameless candles are great with little kids in the house!) Finally, Glade Plug-ins were $1.69 with a $2 coupon off your next purchase. This was a no-brainer, even without coupons. Fortunately, I had a Buy 1 Get 1 Free coupon, which netted me two free Plug-ins and a $2.31 profit.



So, whether you are running your normal weekly errands or stopping for gas, it pays to keep a lookout for bargains. As you can see, they are easy to stumble upon anywhere.


What deals have you stumbled upon this week?

Look What's Free This Week - 09/08/08

This week there are some great bargain opportunities for those just learning how to “spin the deal.” Below are step-by-step deal strategies on how to get in on these particular deals. Use these as a basis for learning the basic techniques.

Also, don’t forget the wonderful “free after rebate” items in the Walgreens September EasySaver catalog. Pick up a catalog at the door inside Walgreens or download an electronic version from their website. If you have never done a Walgreens EasySaver rebate before, I highly encourage you to give it a try. It is an easy, hassle-free program, and another great way to pick up free items plus an additional 10% bonus on all rebate items. Here are 9 free items for September:

Deals for the week of September 8th, 2008:

Deal #1 - Walgreens: Crest Pro-Health Mouthwash 500ml – FREE

Spin the Deal Strategy: Buy a bottle of Crest Pro-Health Mouthwash on sale for $4.49. After you pay, a Register Reward coupon will print for $4.49 off your next Walgreens purchase. No coupons necessary. It’s as easy as: Rinse. Spit. Repeat.

Deal #2 - Walgreens: Robitussin Cough Syrup – FREE + $7 Profit

Spin the Deal Strategy: Buy 3 Robitussin on sale for $3.99 each. Use 3 of the $3/1 printable coupons. After paying $0.99 each for the Robitussin, a Register Reward coupon will print for $10 off your next Walgreens purchase.

(Note: If you are new to Walgreens Register Rewards, please read this FAQ.)

Deal #3 – CVS: Ambi Bar Soap – FREE + $3 Profit

Spin the Deal Strategy: Buy 3 bars of Ambi bar soap for $1.99. When you pay, you will receive $9 Extra Care Bucks off your next CVS purchase. No coupons necessary, but you must have a CVS ExtraCare card in order to get Extra Care Bucks.