Saturday, March 14, 2009

Understanding Walgreens 1,2,3


Do you have problems understanding Walgreens? Are you confused and not sure where to start?
Here are a few helpful hits.

1) Get to know the lingo - Walgreens can be really confusing because it has it's own set of terms and abbreviations. Here are a few of the most common terms and abbreviations.

Walgreens Lingo:
ESR= Easy Saver Rebate. You can apply for this on the Walgreens website, it's super easy, but you can only submit once per month, so make sure you have everything that you want before you turn in you rebate.

RR= Register Rewards. These print out when you purchase a specific product and are good on your next purchase. Typically these have a 2 week period before they expire so make sure you use them before then. Also, Register Rewards cannot be used to purchase another item that produces a register reward if it is the same dollar amount, or from the same manufacturer.

IVC= Instant Value Coupon. These are found in the rebate book at the front of the store. You can use one IVC and one Manufacturer coupon per item. Also, if you have 3 of the same item and an IVC for $2.00 you only need one IVC. The registers are programed to take off $2.00 per item purchased so it will scan at $6.00 for 3 items.

MIR= Mail in Rebate. These are typically found on products, in the newspaper inserts, and online.

MM= Money Maker. Some products that have rebates, coupons, and MIR's can earn you a little cash in your pocket, I tend to purchase these items even if I don't need them, you can always give them away.

OOP= Out of Pocket. This is the price you will pay out of your pocket before mail in rebates and easy saver rebates.

WYB= When You Buy a certain number of items.

2) Combining Coupons - Walgreens allows you to combine one Walgreens Coupon from either the Weekly Ad, or the Rebate Book with one Manufacturers coupon. This is one way to snag items for free. Pay attention as you look through ad match's on line to see where the coupons are coming from.


The Easy Saver Rebate Book is in the front of the store when you walk in, it's typically stored with the weekly ad. Pick one up when you walk in the door and tear out the coupons you need.


3) Register Rewards and Rebates - This is where it starts to get really confusing.


Register Rewards are basically coupons that print out when you check out and they are good on your next in store purchase. You receive register rewards when you buy specific ads that are either marked in the store, or in the weekly ad.


You can only receive one register rewards per deal (The group of items in the ad that are listed together) or per transaction (If you purchase two tubes of toothpaste in the same transaction you will only receive one register rewards)


Rolling Register Rewards is using one register reward to purchase another register reward. This is how most couponer's keep their out of pocket cost low. Keep in mind that you cannot roll between the same deal. (for example: if you purchase crest toothpaste and get a $2.00 register reward, you cannot use the $2.00 register reward to purchase more crest toothpaste. The register reward on the second transaction will not print. You can however use the $2.00 RR from the Crest to purchase Colgate.)


Remember you can use more than one register reward in a transaction as long as the total number of register rewards and coupons is not greater than the total number of items.


Easy Saver Rebates are one of the easiest rebate systems around. Each month Walgreens lists items in the rebate book that are Free after Rebate (FAR) you can purchase these items, and submit them online for a full refund.


You can also choose to have your rebate loaded onto a Walgreens Gift Card. This will give you an additional 10% back on your rebate. I like to have my money loaded back onto my gift card to use on the next month's FAR items. This way I am always covering my tax (Since tax is 9.25% in AR)


I typically do all the Register Rewards Deals I want to do in a month and then purchase the Free After Rebate items with my Register Rewards. This way the money goes back onto my gift card and I don't have to remember to keep rolling the register rewards.


WANT MORE INFORMATION?

The Frugal Muse has done a great post this week on The Drugstore Game that focuses on how to utilize Walgreens to get great items Free or almost Free! I was going to add a lot of this info to my post, but since she did such a great job, I thought I would let you check it out for yourself.

Check out her post on Walgreens Here if you are new to couponing.

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