Abbreviations Associated with Walgreens:

RR: Register Rewards
IVC: Instant Value Coupon
See Full List of Abbreviations

What are Register Rewards (RR)?

Register Rewards are coupons that print out at the end of a transaction.  They can be used like cash on a future transaction.  You will only get one register reward per transaction and not per qualifying item.  So, if your store allows it, try to break up your purchases.  i.e.  Irish Spring Soap is on sale for $2.89 and you will receive $2 RR at the end of the transaction.  Well even if you buy 3 packages of Irish Spring soap, you will still only get $2 RR unless your store allows you to purchase each package of soap separately so that you will get a $2 RR after each purchase, equaling $6 in RRs.

RRs do have expiration dates.  So make sure to file them so you don’t forget to use them.

There is no chance to make money on a transaction.  If your RR and or coupons exceeds the total amount of the purchase price, you will not receive money back or a credit.  You will simply receive the item for free

The number of coupons allowed in a transaction must not exceed the number of item being purchased.  This includes manufacturer coupons as well as RRs.

If you return an item, the RRs that were accrued for that purchase are then void.

If you purchase an item (on the same promotion for which you received RRs prior) and you are going to use RRs to buy it, you will not receive more RRs.

How do I know which items qualify for RRs?

You will find which items are on promotion by browsing Walgreen’s weekly flyer and often on the product’s purchase price (in a box outlined in red) in the store.  However, it is helpful to carry the flyer around the store with you as you shop to make sure you aware of all the products qualifying for RRs.  Sometimes there are unadvertised items that qualify for RRs.  Just keep an eye out for the box outlined in red by the product’s purchase price.

Items for which you cannot use RRs to purchase are as listed:  tobacco, alcohol, prescriptions, lottery tickets, dairy products, money orders, transportation passes, stamps, gift cards, prepaid cards, special event/entertainment tickets, prescription club memberships, healthcare services i.e. immunizations, or any product prohibited by law.

What are Instant Value Coupons?

Instant Value Coupons are coupons that qualify for instant savings at check-out.

Where can I find IVCs?

IVCs can be found in the weekly flyer.  You will see the box outlined in red again and you will see the product’s price minus the IVC and then the final price.

What is an EasySaver Catalog?

Most consumers don’t even know about this as they only grab the Weekly Flyer as they walk into their local Walgreens. The EasySaver Catalog looks more like a pamphlet and usually sits just below the weekly flyer on the stand. If you can’t find yours, check with the cashier.

Terms:
EB / ECB: Extrabucks
CRT coupons: Coupons printed at the end of your receipt.

Both EB and CRT coupons specific to your CVS account, which means you can not use them with another CVS card. If you have multiple CVS cards, you will not be able to use a EB/CRT coupon coordinated w/ card #1 on a purchase being made w/ card #2.

ExtraBucks:
You “earn” ECBs. They are printed at the end of your receipt, so you will have to clip them and use them on your next purchase.

At the end of each quarter, CVS rewards it’s customers by giving them 2% back in the form of ECB of the total amount spent during the quarter. The 2% is calculated after coupons. CVS also rewards $1 for every 2 RXs filled @ CVS. The $1 is reflected in your quarterly EB total.

Alternatively, ECB are earned through promotions, such as “Buy $?? of ????, receive $?? in EB.” The required amount to receive the ECB is calculated before coupons. You do not have to buy all the products for that particular promotion in the same transaction. In fact, they can be bought anytime, at any store, as long as the purchase is made during the time period the promotion is valid.

EB are basically the equivalent of cash, as you can purchase nearly anything in the store. Please note that the following items are excluded:
-Prescriptions
-Alcohol
-Tobacco
-Gift Cards

EBs expire EXACTLY 4 weeks from the date they are printed. By exactly, I mean, exactly! If your EB print on July 1st at 12:00 PM, they expire July 28th at 12:00 PM. If you go in at 6 PM on July 28th, the ECB will beep. Of course the cashier/manager will manually input it for you (since it‘s not past the expiration date), but it’s good to know what to expect.

If your ECB expire, you may call CVS (1-800-SHOP-CVS) to have them reset. Unlike ECB, CRT coupons can not be reset once expired.

EB can be printed online at the CVS EC website. If you print your ECB online, they will not print again at the store. On the other hand, if your ECB are printed on your receipt, they still show up online. In fact, ECB will remain online until they expire. Although ECB can be printed online multiple times, they will only scan once since each unique EB coupon has it’s own unique code, regardless of the number of times it is printed. Once that code has been scanned, it will not scan again.

At many stores the CVS sale for the following week is put into effect Saturday afternoon/evening. Although the sale price in effect, your purchases will not count toward and ECB promotion. If a “Buy $20 in Revlon products, and get $10 ECB” promotion” is supposed to start the following week, and you buy Revlon products Saturday night, you will get the sale prices, but it won’t count toward the EB promotion.

Rolling ECBs:
Savvy CVS shoppers roll their EB by applying previously earned EB on a current promotion.

For Example:
Spend $20 in a certain product and earn $20 ECB

Let’s assume that the certain product was on sale for $4 each and there are currently $1.50/1 coupons out.

Initial purchase (preferably on Sunday):
5 products @ $4 each ($20)
-$4/20
- 5 $1.50/1 ($7.50)
= 8.50

At the end of the transaction your $20 ECB will print that you can use on your next transaction.

BOGO sale on items qualifying for a EB promotion:
If an ECB promotion requires a certain # of items to be bought to qualify for the ECB reward, both items will count toward the promotion. For example, if Colgate toothbrushes are BOGO and there is currently a “Buy 3 Colgate products and earn $5 ECB” promotion, you only have to buy 2 sets of the BOGO toothbrushes (4 total), instead of buying 3 sets (6 toothbrushes total).

If an ECB promotion requires a certain amount of $ to be “spent,“ and a item is BOGO, the amount is calculated after the sale price, so the free item is not applied toward the promotion.

Let’s assume that Colgate toothbrushes retail for $3 and they are BOGO while there is a “spend $10 in Colgate products to earn $5 ECB” promotion. If you buy two, only $3 will apply toward the promotion because the free item was a part of the sale. ECB are calculated after sale prices (but before coupons).

Using coupons on a BOGO sale:
Although the CVS coupon policy does allow for 2 coupons to be used when a item is BOGO (one for each item), it is ultimately up to the store manager to accept both coupons.

CVS ExtraCare card:
The ECB program is tied to your CVS card. If you forget your card at home, the cashier can manually enter in your phone number. The register then will pull up the information on the last card scanned coordinated with this phone number.

Let’s say I have two cards, one for my partner and one for myself, and both are tied to the same phone number. If I went to CVS in the morning today and scanned my SO’s card for my purchase. If I forget my card the next time I go to CVS and give the cashier my phone number, the register will pull up my partner’s account since his card was the last one to be scanned.

Also, if a phone number is manually entered, ECB and CRT coupons will not print. Your card needs to be physically scanned for coupons to print on your receipt.

Combining CVS and Manufacturer’s coupons:
The CVS coupon policy allows for the use of one manufacturer and one CVS coupon on the same item. Keep in mind if you are buying 4 items and have a manufacturer and CVS coupon for each item, you will need to purchase an additional item (can be anything; from a candy bar to a coke) if you plan to use ECBs in that transaction.

Overage at CVS:
CVS registers are programmed to not allow overage. If you buy 5 Gillette deodorants on sale for 1.25 each, and plan to use 5 1.50/1 coupons, the first 4 will scan without a problem. The last coupon, however, will beep. The register will display a message stating that the coupon has “exceeded limit” and it will prompt the cashier to modify the coupon to the max value (which is included in the prompt). In this case, the last coupon will be modified to 25c since:

1.25 x 5 = 6.25
- 4 x 1.50/1 6.00
= .25

Therefore, the register will not let the last coupon to exceed the 25c “balance.”

***There ARE exceptions to this rule if you scan your card after items (even just one) have been scanned.

Using coupons on clearance:
Coupons can be used on clearance. However, if your store has to enter in clearance items manually (will show up on receipt as generic “taxable item“ rather than a specific item), they will have to enter in the coupons manually as well because the register will not will not recognize a item to apply the coupon to, as the product was entered in a generic format.

Returns on items that were purchased with coupons/EBs:

CVS registers are programmed to not return more than the total (after tax) on the receipt. However, in this type of situation, my shift supervisor/manager would conduct the refund by selecting the “return without receipt” option on the computer, which allowed for the return of the full purchase price of the item.

CVS Rebates/Coupon Booklets:

The CVS rebates are kept behind the front end counter.
CVS coupon booklets, such as the Medicare $5/20 booklet and the Aisle 1 booklets, are typically found in the pharmacy area. Check the pharmacy counter! Sometimes the pharmacy actually has the booklets behind the counter. If you are looking for a specific booklet and can’t find it, it doesn’t hurt to ask the person running the pharmacy register!

Corporate phone #:1-800-SHOP-CVS (1-800-746-7287)
Website: http://www.cvs.com

You can do the following activities @ the CVS website:
-View the weekly circular
-Track your ExtraCare account
-Contact CVS through the “Contact us” link

***This information was found on slickdeals – best description of the program I have ever seen!

Slow day in freebieland so I thought I would give you a few survey companies that I use. Choose one or two and start with those, it can get overwhelming if you try to many. Try a few then add more if you like them.

Opinion Outpost
I love this program and it is probably one of my favorites. The surveys are short and they pay CASH! For example: 20 minutes for 25 points = $2.50. Realistically I finish those in about 10 minutes so not too bad. I have done surveys with them for up to $35 so the points can add up quick. Checks are mailed within a week of being requested. I have been with them about a year and made about $120. Not too bad for sitting on the couch and goofing off!

Zoom Panel
Survey and Product Testing program. Do quick surveys for points that you can exchange for merchandise. Surveys are easy and usually interesting.

Global Test Market
Global test market is another site which sends a lot of survey invites. Members are rewarded for taking paid surveys in the form of Market Points – which are convertible to cash. Each survey typically offers 50 to 100 marketpoints. The number of MarketPoints rewarded depends on the length of the survey. MarketPoints are redeemable for cash once you have accumulated 1000 or more MarketPoints in your account. 1000 marketpoints are equivalent to $50. With the number of survey invites they send, the payout is easy to reach. Payments are sent by check mailed to your address.

Ipsos I-say
Ipsos i-Say offers you the opportunity to win valuable cash prizes or cool merchandise, for participating in online paid surveys. You could win $5000 just for joining the Ipsos i-Say Panel. Beginning October 2006, Ipsos offers a new reward scheme. Everyday, more than 50 lucky panelists will win a prize worth up to $100! Every panel member who completes a survey is invited to play an online instant win game. After you play the game, you will immediately find out if you have won a prize. There are monthly draws for $1000 for all members. Panelists who regularly complete surveys can enter the VIP club which has even more rewards.

From Seattle to Miami and from Austin to Baltimore over 600 theatre companies are opening their doors to thousands of new theatregoers and introducing them to joys of live theatre – absolutely free of charge!

“Since the campaign’s pilot year here three years ago, we have seen an extraordinary response from theatres, audiences and the whole community. The demand for live theatre–when it’s made accessible to all–is overwhelming. We’re bringing in new audiences–young people, people of color, people from all walks of life–and they are coming back for more. Free Night of Theater has thrown the doors of our theatres open wide.”
— Brad Erickson, executive director of Theatre Bay Area

Free Night of Theater invites you to GET LIVE!
Tickets are being offered, in most areas, to performances from October 16th through October 30th and can be reserved beginning on October 1st, but every location is different so be sure to check the Find a Show page for details on participating theatres and performances in your area.

Whether you never been to the theatre before, or just haven’t been in a long time, Free Night has something for you!

Flix is the professional “In-Between” stick. Use it in between your teeth, in between morning and evening brushings, in between those great meals you have with friends, in between important business meetings, and in between close encounters, when bad breath can impede your progress. You know what we mean, don’t you?

Flix packs a lot of punch in this little miracle stick. Flix, with its worldwide patented technology, accomplishes all of the following each time you use one throw-away stick:
-Removes Plaque
-Freshens Breath
-Massages Gum Tissue
-Reduces Odour-Causing Bacteria
-Provides a time-released Fluoride Treatment to reduce cavities
Use Flix throughout the day, each time you want to have a full-mouth clean feel. Use it once, and then throw it away.

Flix is the patented Portable Oral Care solution to be used throughout the day to make your mouth sparkle, and your smile shine.

What’s better than one free sample??? Two free samples!!! Get a free sample of Magic Eraser when you request a free sample fo Cascade Complete All-in-1 Action Pacs.

Get your dishes completely clean without doing any of the work. Let a Cascade Complete All-in-1 ActionPac do it all: pre-wash, dissolve and rinse.

The new Cascade Complete All-in-1 cleaning system removes tough food. It actually breaks down, dissolves and washes away food particles in the dishwasher. One ActionPac has all you need to tackle a tough load of dishes and deliver clean, spotless results.

Also available in powder or gel detergent.

Southern Savers has the most amazing list of Publix deals. Not going to post them as there are a lot and she has them displayed very well. So check it out!

I started checking around for matching sites around after getting schooled by an older women the other day. I was getting a little cocky as I thought I was getting pretty good at this. Seriously I was only spending about $20 for $100 worth of food. Boy was I wrong, they are going to be paying me from now on.

I was in line checking out and she was at the register next to me so I could see her screen. All I saw was “competitor coupon” over and over. Light bulbs started going off – You can use competitor coupons at Publix! I can’t believe I never knew that, and I thought I was doing good before. This includes Walgreens/CVS/Target you name it they seem to accept them. Not too mention you can stack the competitor coupons with Publix coupons. So pick up all the flyers at the front because they are FULL of cool coupons. I am wondering if you can triple stack? Why couldn’t you use a Publix, a manufacturers, and a competitor? This I will research and let you know, these will be hard to do but fun once you find one!

Another good tip is if you have the 2008 Entertainment book (thanks Mom) there are $5 off $50 coupons good for Albertsons, Publix accepts them! There is one for each month so that is an automatic $5 off every month!

I always read on other sites that you have to have the total AFTER coupons be above the $50 coupon ($5 off $50 or $2 off $10) but that is not the case. I always buy exactly the amount and simply have them run that coupon first. It works everytime. I do this on every visit to Walgreens and CVS and never had a problem. So don’t listen to them, they are crazy!

Anyway enough of my ramblings. Check out Southern Savings – really good deals for Publix!

Ok so I have to back up and give you a little story on this. I went to the dentist and had a root canal done, yippee! The weird thing was that when she said she was giving me a prescription because I had an infection, the only thing I could think of…was woohoo $25 gift card to CVS for a new prescription. Yes I am demented. So of course I went to fill it and get my gift card. They were unusually slow today so I was looking around the store and stumbled on the Fla-Vor-Ice boxes.

I posted this before when I first saw mentioned online a few months ago but when I went to my CVS they weren’t marked down. Today they were!!! On a whim I decided to scan one. I was thrilled when it showed $3.59. FYI – did you know you could use the card scanner to scan items??? I just found this out and I love it!

They are normally $14.99 marked down to $3.59 (or less) and you get $5 in ECB. These are specially marked boxes near the seasonal items. The boxes actually show the price and the ECB deal on the box. My store did not have these marked down and did not know they were on sale. So I bought 5 boxes (the limit) for $17.95, used a $3 off $15 coupon, and got $25 back in ECB – PROFIT of $10!

Super good deal since I used my gift card – zero out of pocket and gift card money left to burn!

Brings up another point, if you have a FSA account use it when you are getting prescriptions and over the counter meds. Did you know you can still get ECB and register rewards if you use an FSA?? That makes it an automatic additional 25% savings!!!

Since there is no way a small family of three could eat 150 pops, well shouldn’t anyway, I am going to donate most of these to his daycare. They are going to love this! But hey if you have a lot of kids, this should keep you stockpiled for a while!

Another note, cashier told me they had a TON of them in the back since they don’t have shelf space for them. So if you don’t see them…ASK!

This is the time of the month that produces amazing deals at Walgreens! It’s overlap time!!! Friday and Saturday are the two days this month where the October & September Easy Saver Coupon/Rebate overlap. And guess what happened this month Walgreens decided to bless us with a $5 off $20 coupon to make it even better!

These are from I Heart Wags

Glade scented oil candle holders Cost $5.99 Limit 4
-$2 sept esc
-$2 Glade Scented Oil Candles Holder 08-24 ss
-$2 oct esr
=free (.01 profit)

Garnier Fructis Shampoo or Conditioner 25.4oz or Deep Conditioner 10.2 oz $6.99 x 3
-$9 oct ESC ($3 x 3)
-$3 off garnier ($1 x 3) 7-20 SS, 6-22 RP, 8-24 RP, or 9-24 RP
=$8.97 oop
-$10 sept esr
=$1.03 profit

Pert Plus 2 n 1 Shampoo Plus Conditioner (13.5 oz or 25.4oz) $4.29
-$2.50 oct ESC
-$2 insert coupon 8-3 SS or 9-7 SS
=$.21 overage
-$4.29 Sept esr
=$4.50 profit

Glade fabric & air odor eliminator $2.99 Limit 10
-$1.50 off glade fabric & air or 8/24 ss
-$1 sept esc
=$.49
-$1 oct esr limit 10
=$.51 profit

Make sure you ALWAYS hand them the $5 off $20 coupon first, or else it will not work.

Scenerio:
2 Glade scented oil holders 2x$5.99 = $11.98
Pert Plus $4.29 = $4.29
3 Glade Fabric Air Freshner 3x$2.99 = $8.97
Total of $25.24

Coupons: (2)$2 sept esc Glade Scented Oil, (2)$2 Glade Scented Oil Candles Holder 08-24 ss, $2.50 oct ESC Pert Plus, $2 Pert Plus 8-3 SS or 9-7 SS, (3)$1.50 off glade fabric & air 8/24 ss, (3)$1 sept esc Fabric Air
Total coupon savings = $20.00
USE YOUR $5 off $20 first!!!!
Total OOP = $.24

PLUS you can do the following rebates…
2 Oct ESR for Glade Scented Oil = $6
Pert Plus Sept ESR = $4.50
3 Glade Fabric Freshner = $3.00

Profit over $13.00

Update – Ok I had some pretty upset people with me over this $5 off $20 coupon. I am able to use them even with coupons but evidently others are not. It may be just my store or my state, I am not sure why, but it does work for me. So please be careful, when you got to check out have a back up item that will ensure you are over the $20 mark. You may not need it but it is better to cautious than sorry! Feeling pretty happy about my Walgreens right now :D

Sign up and receive a free Wildlife Calendar and a catalog. Hey I don’t have a calendar for next year yet…might as well get one for free!

Getting started in this can be quite cumbersome, so I thought I would give you a little help.

GET FREE EMAIL ACCOUNT
First and foremost, sign up for a free email account. Unless you want a TON of spam in your personal email account, I suggest getting a GMAIL account. That way you have an email address to use without filling up your personal one. These are great and unlimited and can be accessed from anywhere. There are also other ones you can get so any email account will work.

DOWNLOAD AUTO FILL
Next step is the download ROBOFORM. This is an automatic fill program that will populate information forms for websites (name, address, etc). There is a free trial version that will allow you to use the auto fill portion without paying for it for ever, but it will lock up if you use the auto login portion. GOOGLE has a toolbar as well that you can download that will do the same thing. It is free as well. These are not necessary but they sure make it easy to fill out a lot of forms.

CREATE A FAVORITES FOLDER
Select Favorites>Organize Favorites from the tool bar at the top of Internet Explorer. Select create new folder and rename it something like “freebies/samples” or any other name you choose. This is a great place to store all the cool sites you find and you will find a lot. Make sure swaggrabber.com is first in that list ;o)

MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A PRINTER
If you don’t have one get one! You will need it to print coupons and rebates. Make sure it is installed and up and running before you start trying to print. You really don’t need a good one but it is a necessity.

DOWNLOAD SPYBOT / ADAWARE / CCCLEANER
These are great programs to help prevent spyware from entering your system. Download one or all of them, and run them about once every week or so. You can also set them up to automatically run. They are all free and all great programs. If your computer is running slow, these will probably help speed it up. Unfortunately some freebie sites will install spyware on your system, while we don’t that does not mean there aren’t links on here that may.

MY PHILOSOPHY AND WHAT I DO
I started doing this because I was SICK of paying $500 a month for groceries for 3 people, one of them being two! So I started watching for deals and the more I found the more I got addicted. I thought it might be beneficial to tell you what I do and how I save so much. Right now we spend less than $100 a month and eat quite well I may add. I use a combination of a lot of programs to save money.

To save a lot of money and really stock up the premise is to buy a lot of newspapers. I don’t really want to pay for 15 newspapers and I REALLY don’t want to clip 15 papers so I changed it a little. I usually depend on some coupons from the paper, coupons I buy on eBay and coupons I can print out off the Internet. I watch the ads for the stores I use and when something I use all the time, say juice for the little man, goes on sale I stock up.

For example…Publix had his juice for $1.57 then 30% off making it $1.05, I then went to eBay and bought 20 .75 off coupons for $1.25 including shipping. That way I was able to buy 20 for about $6 and I did not have to clip a single coupon. Allowing me pay on .30 cents a bottle.

Coupon terminology:
P&G – Proctor & Gamble coupon insert
RP – Red Plum Coupon Insert
SS – Smart Source Coupon Insert

I do go through a clip my coupons every Sunday, I have to so I know what I have. But I do save the part of the circulars that I don’t clip incase I come across a good deal later. That way I at least have one of each and I don’t clip them but instead put them in plastic slip covers in a binder so I have them if I need them. If that one has really good coupons in it, then I will go out and buy some more. If you do this, make sure to mark them with the date so you know which is which, see the terminology above.

I also watch the grocery store circulars for good deals and search the Internet for coupons, most of which I post here if I find them, and use those to get what I need. I don’t really mess with anything under .50 unless it makes the Cost per Item extremely low. When I shop I only buy what is on sale and I stock up if it is a good price. Lucky for me I have 5 grocery stores within 2 miles so I have quite a variety to choose from, but normally I only shop at Publix and Target Superstore. So choose your favorites but be open to others if they have a better deal.

I shop at CVS at least once a week to get all the deals for free I can. Check out the Instore Deals page and you will see what I mean. I am amazed at how I can get a buggy of stuff from there and spend like a $1. It truly does become fun, but remember those transactions take a while, so be nice to those behind you in line and let them go if you are going to take a while. I have gotten pretty friendly with the people at
my CVS and they work with me. Actually they are starting to get a kick out of it.

Hey I am not going to lie to you, this can be a little embarassing. People do give you looks, but once you get good at it, they start to get it. I actually held up a line when I first started and I was apologizing profusely to the people in line. At the end she told me my grocery cart full of food was going to cost $5.45, the ones in line were not mad they wanted to know how I did it! Everyone is trying to save money, some just figure out better ways to do it. That is why I built this site. So many people were asking how to do it and there are a TON of ways you can save. You just have to have the resources to do it.