Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life. John 5:24

Monday, September 3, 2012

"How To's" of yerterday's Walgreens shopping

 I shopped at Walgreens yesterday.  My first priority as a coupon shopper is finding great deals on food, so I was hoping to take advantage of an advertised deal on Chex Mix.  Before I went to Walgreens, I printed coupons for Chex Mix from coupons.com and everydaysaver.com.

Here is this week's Chex Mix deal, advertised at Walgreen's:

$ 1.00  Chex Mix
$ 1.00  Chex Mix
$ 1.00  Chex Mix
---------
$ 3.00
-  1.00  receive $1 register reward for purchasing 3 Chex Mix
---------
$ 2.00  - for 3 Chex Mix

By using 3 coupons for $0.50 off, we can reduce our out of pocket expenses from $3.00 to $1.50, so we can pay $1.50 for the Chex Mix, and then get back a $1 register reward.

I clipped coupons for $1.50 off Scope from the September Proctor and Gamble coupon inserts.  Here is the Scope deal:

$ 3.00  Scope
$ 3.00  Scope
---------
$ 6.00
-  3.00  receive $3 register reward for purchasing 2 Scope
---------
$ 3.00

By using 2 coupons for $1.50 off Scope, we can reduce our out of pocket expenses from $6 to $3, so we can pay $3 for 2 Scope, and get back a $3 register reward.  We will still pay $3, but we will get back the amount that we pay in register rewards.

Here is another deal from Walgreen's this week that I had my eye on:

$ 4.99  Alteril sleep aid  - pay $ 4.99, plus sales tax.
-  4.99  get back $ 4.99 register reward
---------
  free     - advertised "free after register rewards"

When I was planning my trip, I was counting on a deal on Herbal Essence shampoo and conditioner.  Here is that deal:

$ 3.00  Herbal Essence
$ 3.00  Herbal Essence
---------
$ 6.00
-  2.00  get back $2 register reward for purchasing 2 Herbal Essence
---------
$ 4.00  for 2 Herbal Essence

The key to this deal that I did not have was the coupon for $3 off 2 Herbal Essence from the 8/05/2012 Red Plum coupon insert.  If you have this coupon, you can bring your cost down to $3 for the 2 Herbal Essence, and then get back a $2 register reward.  Then I was planning to purchase $25 worth of Herbal Essence products and send in for a current $5 Proctor and Gamble rebate.  But I did not have those coupons because we spent that week at the beach!

Bloggers were reporting on a national deal on Chex Mix, officially beginning September 3.  Here's the deal reported:

Chex Mix or Chex 100 calorie snack mix . . . save up to $3 on a future order with coupon
buy 3, get $1
buy 4, get $2
buy 5, get $3
off your next shopping order

Hmm. . . Walgreens is advertising buy 3, get $2  beginning today.  What would happen if I bought 4 Chex Mix with four coupons?  Would I get back $2?  If I did, the math would look like this:

$ 1.00  Chex Mix
$ 1.00  Chex Mix
$ 1.00  Chex Mix
$ 1.00  Chex Mix
---------
$ 4.00
-  0.50  manufacturer coupon
-  0.50  manufacturer coupon
-  0.50  manufacturer coupon
-  0.50  manufacturer coupon
---------
$ 2.00
- 2.00  receive $2 register reward for purchasing 4 Chex Mix
---------
$ 0.00

If I didn't get the $2 register reward, I would be entitled to the advertised $1 reward.  If the $2 reward printed, my Chex Mix would be free after register rewards.  I decided to give it a go and use 4 coupons for my first transaction.

Here is what I came home with:

Shopping trip 1

$  1.00  Chex Mix
$  1.00  Chex Mix

$  1.00  Chex Mix

$  1.00  Chex Mix

$  3.00  Scope
$  3.00  Scope
---------
$10.00
-  0.50  manufacturer coupon Chex Mix, printed online at coupons.com
-  0.50  manufacturer coupon Chex Mix, printed online at coupons.com
-  0.50  manufacturer coupon Chex Mix, printed online at coupons.com
-  0.50  manufacturer coupon Chex Mix, printed online at coupons.com
-  1.50  manufacturer coupon Scope September Proctor and Gamble coupon insert
-  1.50  manufacturer coupon Scope September Proctor and Gamble coupon insert
---------
$ 5.00  - paid $5, plus sales tax
-  2.00  received $2 register reward, Chex Mix
-  3.00  received $3 register reward, Scope
---------
$ 0.00  plus sales tax

Shopping trips  2, 4 and 6

$ 4.99  Alteril sleep aid
$ 0.19  Ramen noodles
---------
$ 5.18  - plus sales tax - paid with $5 register rewards,($2 and $3 from above transaction)  $0.18 cash
-  5.00  received $5 register reward, Alteril
---------
$ 0.18

I bought the Ramen noodles to satisfy a Walgreen's coupon policy requirement.  Walgreen's allows one manufacturer coupon per item purchased.  Walgreen's counts the register rewards as manufacturer coupons.  I was planning to use two register rewards from Shopping Trip 1 above, so I had to purchase 2 items.

Shopping trip 3, 5

$  1.00  Chex Mix

$  1.00  Chex Mix

$  1.00  Chex Mix

$  1.00  Chex Mix

$  3.00  Scope
$  3.00  Scope
$  0.19  Ramen noodles
---------
$10.19
-  0.50  manufacturer coupon Chex Mix, printed online at coupons.com
-  0.50  manufacturer coupon Chex Mix, printed online at coupons.com
-  0.50  manufacturer coupon Chex Mix, printed online at coupons.com
-  0.50  manufacturer coupon Chex Mix, printed online at coupons.com
-  1.50  manufacturer coupon Scope September Proctor and Gamble coupon insert
-  1.50  manufacturer coupon Scope September Proctor and Gamble coupon insert
---------
$ 5.19  - plus sales tax - paid with $5 register reward, $0.19 cash

-  2.00  received $2 register reward, Chex Mix
-  3.00  received $3 register reward, Scope
---------
$ 0.19  plus sales tax

Shopping Trip 7

$  1.00  Chex Mix

$  1.00  Chex Mix

$  1.00  Chex Mix

$  1.00  Chex Mix

$  3.99  Crest prohealth rinse

$  0.19  Ramen noodles

---------
$ 8.18
-  0.50  manufacturer coupon Chex Mix, printed online at coupons.com
-  0.50  manufacturer coupon Chex Mix, printed online at coupons.com
-  0.50  manufacturer coupon Chex Mix, printed online at coupons.com
-  0.50  manufacturer coupon Chex Mix, printed online at coupons.com
-  1.00  manufacturer Crest rinse September Proctor and Gamble coupon insert
---------
$ 5.18  - plus sales tax - paid with $5 register reward, $0.19 cash

-  2.00  received $2 register reward, Chex Mix
-  3.00  received $3 register reward, Scope
---------
$ 0.18  plus sales tax

Shopping Trip 8

$ 1.99  Nice orange juice
$ 1.99  Nice orange juice
$ 1.99  Nice orange juice
---------
$ 5.97  - plus sales tax - paid with $5 register rewards, $0.97 cash

Shopping Trip 8 represents my "exit strategy."  I have to drive for a few minutes to get to Walgreen's, so I typically try to spend my Walgreen's rewards before I leave the store.  I have been known to let them expire.  This week I came home with orange juice.

$ 0.00  Shopping Trip 1
$ 0.18  Shopping Trip 2
$ 0.19  Shopping Trip 3
$ 0.18  Shopping Trip 4
$ 0.18  Shopping Trip 5
$ 0.18  Shopping Trip 6
$ 0.18  Shopping Trip 7
$ 5.97  Shopping Trip 8
---------
$ 7.06 - plus sales tax - for 16 Chex Mix, 6 Scope, 1 Crest Prohealth, 3 Alturel, 6 Ramen noodles, 3 orange juice.  Value of merchandise, based on sale prices, $59.11

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