Today I thought I would try another shopping trip to Walgreens using coupons. I did a little more "ahead prepping", but still it wasn't enough! I was not aware that RR (register rewards) are treated like coupons, therefore the rules for coupons apply for them as well. This means that if you are only buying 1 item but have 2 different RR's you can't use them both--well sometimes it means this--I had a couple of transactions that let me use more coupons than I had items! That messed up my whole shopping trip!! That and the fact that 3 of my children were crying about being hungry and asking me a million questions while I was checking out! I thought I was only going to do 3 separate transactions, but that turned into 6, and I ended up spending more OOP (out of pocket) than I originally thought I would. I am sure there are probably 100 people who could have done this better than me, but here is what I did!
1st Transaction:
2 Nivea body soaps which were on sale 2/$7.00 with $2.00 RR (I also had a $1.00 coupon for this)
1 Bic Soleil Disposable Razors--$5.99 with $2.00 RR (I had a $3.00 coupon for this) Of course I could be wrong and my $1.00 coupon could have been for the razors and my $3.00 coupon could have been for the Nivea---either way, I had $4.00 in coupons!
Total: $9.73 with $4.00 RR (total savings $9.98)
2nd Transaction:
3 Super Stack cans of Pringles --the kids were screaming for food!--3/$4.00 (I had a $1.00 coupon)
Ban deodorant--$1.99 (I had a $1.49 coupon AND a $0.40 coupon for this but she only took the $0.40 coupon and I didn't realize it until it was too late. She kept telling me that she used the other one but I just knew she didn't. The kids talking didn't help me either! So I didn't get as good of a deal on this as I should have)
I used $2.00 in RR from 1st transaction and paid $2.59 for this transaction. (total savings $7.40)
3rd Transaction: This was my favorite transaction!
Omega Smart Super Critical Ultimate Fish Oils--$10.00 with $10.00 RR (I also had a $2.00 coupon)
Total: $8.00 and received $10.00 in RR (total savings $16.99)
4th Transaction:
Pantene--2/$7.00 with $1.00 RR (I also had a $1.00 coupon)
Coppertone Sunblock--$9.99 with $4.00 RR (I had a $2.00 coupon which the computer didn't want to take for some reason, but after calling a manager they took it)
I used my $10.00 RR from transaction 3 & $2.00 RR from transaction 1 & paid $2.15 for this transaction. (total savings $18.28) I received $5.00 in RR. I used 4 coupons and only got 3 items in this transaction. Weird.
5th Transaction:
Colgate toothpaste--2/$5.00 with $2.00 RR (I had a $0.75 coupon)
Colgate toothbrushes--2/$5.00 with $2.00 RR (I had a $0.75 coupon)
Total $8.50 and received $4.00 RR (total savings $7.46) I don't think I did this transaction very well. But, oh well!
6th Transaction:
Pullups--$10.99 (I had a $2.00 coupon) I wanted to get the Pampers Easy-Ups because they were on sale for $8.99 with $1.00 RR and I had a $1.50 coupon, but they did not have size 2T in boys! :(
Orajel kids--$4.99 (I had a $1.00 coupon)
Caress body soap--$2.99 (I had a coupon but was unable to use it because the number of coupons exceeded the number of items I was buying when I used my RR. I had wanted to get a SoBe Lifewater for $0.99 and receive $0.99 in RR, but I couldn't find a SoBe (or a place for one) anywhere in our Walgreens!)
I used $4.00 RR from transaction 4 and $2.00 RR from transaction 5--and paid $10.46 for this transaction. (total savings $11.00) This transaction allowed me to use 4 coupons and I only had 3 items. I don't fully understand the "you have to have as many items as you have coupons" rule.
I left with $1.00 in RR, but now that I think about it I should have another $2.00 in RR from transaction 5 that I never used, but she was taking coupons left and right and not scanning them. I think she took my last $2.00 RR and never gave it back....or maybe I fed it to one of my kids!
All in all I spent $41.72 and saved $71.11. I don't think that is too bad, but I can't wait until I get better!
3 comments:
I think you did great! Just think of how much you would have paid before you started watching prices and using coupons!
Hey girl! Welcome to the couponing world:)
You might already know this, but you can ask for a rain check (at Walgreens) for any item they don't have on the shelf, such as pull-ups, and they will honor that price at a later date... I've even had them staple my coupon to the raincheck and they will accept the coupon then too if it would've expired. Also, you have to use "filler" items if you want to use RR and have fewer items than you have RR. I like the beauty aisle.. they usually have q-tip/ cottonball sample packages for around ten cents each... score!
Hey! I had to click on your name to find out who you are! LOL So glad to see you back! I did not know they would do the raincheck and honor the coupon still. That is good news! Also, I have read about filler items and such which I understand but I did not go in thinking that RR were treated as coupons--thus my dilemma! I just thought of them as cash. So, I did not plan ahead very well. I will be more prepared next time! :) (I didn't know about the q-tip/cottonball sample packages for around $0.10 though. Thanks for that advice!)
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