Better Than Free!!!

In the last couple few weeks since I started couponing I’ve posted on Facebook about some pretty amazing deals I’ve been getting and more than a couple ladies have contacted me asking for details. I thought I’d share my purchases at Walgreens this week to give you a concrete example of how you can get stuff for BETTER than free! Yes, I am actually getting PAID to shop sometimes!

Here is a photo of what I’ve bought this week


A few points to keep in mind as you read the below:

1. Register Rewards (RR) are coupons that the Catalina machine prints out when you finish a transaction. (The Catalina machine is the little machine next to the one that prints your receipt.) Register Rewards is just Walgreens' specific name for a Catalina, at other stores they’re just called Catalinas.
Catalinas (RRs) are a credit that a manufacturer gives to you when you buy specific products. They will say something like “Save $5 Off Your Next Shopping Order Over the Value of Coupon.” That means that if you spend at least $5, you can use that to take $5 off your total bill.

This is what a Walgreens RR looks like:


2. I count RR as credit towards my total purchases because they really are unrestricted money I will spend on my next transactions in the next week or two, especially since Safeway now has the official policy that they'll accept any Catalinas from any store.

3. I’m still not a huge believer in Mail-in-Rebates though many coupon-ers have now assured me that they pretty much always receive these rebates eventually (e.g. if it says 4-6 weeks, it will likely take 6 weeks to come). For this reason I do NOT count Mail-in-Rebates as a credit towards my total purchases because frankly I’m not really sure yet that I will ever get that money! LOL!

I have noted them at the end, though, so you can see how Better Than Free can become Much Better Than Free if this whole Mail-in-Rebate thing actually pans out! :)

4. Most deals you will see on other coupon blogs and sites only figure total cost before tax. Because we unfortunately live in a state with near-the-highest sales tax rate in the nation, I am actually figuring mine WITH sales tax – 9.5% to be specific since that’s what I pay at most places around here (different cities can vary slightly). I’ve called out the price and tax for each item separately so you can see.

With all that in mind, here is what I bought at Walgreens this week:

Schick Hydro 5 razor - $7.99
Used $5 coupon from paper 6/13
Each Item Total = $2.99 + $.76 tax = $3.75
Received $4.00 RR for each razor
Purchased 5 razors total
PAID = $18.75
RECEIVED RR = $20.00

Listerine Whitening - $5.99
Used $3 Walgreens in-ad coupon
Used $2 manufacturer’s coupon printed from internet
Item Total = $.99 + $.28 tax = $1.27
PAID = $1.27

Neutrogena Makeup Remover wipes - $5.99
Neutrogena Face Wash Bar - $2.61
Neutrogena Face Wash Bar - $2.61
Used $1.50 off any Neutrogena item x 3 (one per item)
Total = $6.71 + $1.06 tax = $7.77
PAID = $7.77
RECEIVED RR = $10 (for buying 3 Neutrogena items)

Total paid for all items above = $27.79
RR received = $30.00
Real cost for items = $-2.21

And with rebates figured in it gets even better. I’m submitting the following:

Schick Rebate = $7.99
Purchase a Shick Hydro Razor and receive a rebate of the full purchase price up to $10.99.

Listerine Rebate = $10.00
Purchase ANY Listerine Whitening or Rembrandt product and receive a free $10 prepaid debit card

So, if you figure in the rebates, assuming they come (do I seem pessimistic enough?) Then buying all the items pictured above will actually have MADE me $20.20!!!

Amazing, huh?