I Made Out Like A Bandit, or Deals & Steals!

This is a great week to shop Walgreens.  It almost makes me giddy (and almost makes me feel guilty!) when I walk in with a fistful of coupons and walk out with three bags of expensive health-and-beauty items for a few dollars.

Today was my best excursion yet!  My bill totaled $59 before the coupons, and after the coupons and my $10 Register Reward were deducted, I paid $10.22, which included a $5 Register Reward for my next trip, and a $1.50 rebate.  Total net cost was $3.72.

Garnier Fructis hair products are free if you have the manufacturer’s coupon for $1.  They are on sale for $2.99 this week, and there’s a $2 coupon in the January Easy Saver catalog (located at the front of every store by the doors).  If you have the manufacturer’s coupon, they actually pay you .01 to take it out of the store!  I had three such coupons so they paid me .03!

Another good deal is the Electrasol Gel paks, on sale for $3.49.  I had a coupon for $2.50, which made the cost .99.  This is the rebate item, so the net gain on this was .49!

Another great buy was Stayfree Feminine Products.  $3 off the regular price.  I had a buy-one-get-one coupon so I got two, each regularly priced at 6.49.  So the reduced amount was 3.49, and I received 6.49 credit for the free item, so I paid .49 for two packages.

Softsoap, with a coupon, for .99; with a manufacturer’s coupon for .35, total cost was .64.

Palmolive dish soap, sale price 1.79; Walgreens coupon for $1, manufacturer’s coupon for .25; total cost .54.

This is almost too much fun!  My son, who accompanied me to the store said as we left, “Mom, you’re a thief!”  I chortled all the way home.  I used to spend $75 or more on these kinds of products, now I’m getting them at a fraction of the cost.

Of course, not all weeks are as good as this one.  Last week I used some coupons and my December rebate and paid more than this week’s venture.  But great deals like these keep a person like me cutting coupons and calculating deals.  My daughter says they’re going to start putting restrictions on coupons because of me, but I tell her that aren’t enough people who take the time to really figure it out to make it worth their while.  The Walgreens people are counting on the fact that a very small number of people are really taking advantage of the deals, and of those who may submit rebates, a fair percentage of them will forget to submit them, or do something wrong so it is invalid.  (I know, I used to process those Walgreens rebates!)

What a rush!  I hope you are taking the time to scout out the great deals and join me in my pursuit of careful stewardship of our resources.