Walgreens explained...hopefully!

I've been in contact with several of you who have wanted to know more about how the Walgreens EasySaver rebate program works, so if you're interested, this is the post for you! And this is quite a bit easier than CVS, so the rest of you, don't tune me out yet. :) I know what you're saying. "But I don't have time for that! I don't have hours to spend coupon clipping and planning and go to multiple stores!" And I agree, because I'm always short on time too, so whatever I add to my week needs to be worth it. I'm constantly evaluating my use of time and how much I'm actually saving, but so far (and I've only been couponing since September), this is very, very worth it to me and my family.

And by the way, if you're just getting started with couponing and shopping around, I recommend spending 30 minutes to an hour each week clipping coupons, planning your shopping trip and planning your weekly menu. If possible, do this the night before you're going to shop, and organize your store lists with the coupons that correspond to the sales they are having. Being organized before you hit the store helps so much, especially when you're shopping with little helpers. If you know what I mean. :)

So back to Walgreens. Each month Walgreens publishes a catalog of rebate items called the EasySaver catalog. You can find these at the front of the store next to the weekly ad display, or just ask a cashier if you don't see them. Sometimes they are a small narrow booklet, other months they are the same size as the weekly ad. I always grab a couple because they have coupons inside that are good for all month. And sometimes I need to use more than one of each coupon.

The current January EasySaver is for 12/31/06 thru 1/27/07, which means that your receipts must be dated between those dates to be eligible for the rebates.

Inside the EasySaver it explains exactly how send in for your rebates. You always have about one week to send in your submission. For example, this month, submissions must be postmarked by Saturday, February 3, 2007.

What to send in:

• Total Earnings Sheet (found in the EasySaver)
• Customer Information Sheet (found in the EasySaver)
• Your original Walgreens receipts with your purchases and prices circled and the offer numbers (rebate numbers) written next to the price. Don't send photocopies.

If you choose to receive your rebate in the form of a Walgreens gift card, you will get a 10% bonus. The gift card can be used toward any purchase in any Walgreens store, even on prescriptions. Or you can just get your rebate in check form.

Allow 8 to 10 weeks for delivery of your rebate after submission is received. You can check your rebate status at:
http://rebatestatus.walgreens.com/lookupbystreetnumberzipcodefirstinitiallastname.asp

After the first month, reloading your gift card only takes 2 to 3 weeks at most. So after doing this program for a couple months, I am now able to buy the free after rebate items at Walgreens every month using my gift card, as well as other rebate items or great deals I find there. And I rarely ever have to spend any money out of pocket at Walgreens anymore. How exactly does that work? Well....

Coupons! Follow this scenario with me...this month these 4 items are free after rebate at Walgreens:

1. Chlorasceptic Defense Daily Health Strips, 40 pack (rebate limit up to $2.99)
2. Finesse Shampoo, Conditioner, or Hair Stylers 7 to 15 oz. (rebate limit up to $3.99)
3. Oral-B Cross Action Toothbrush (rebate limit up to $4.49)
4. Joint Juice Dietary Supplement 6 pack, 8 oz. cans (rebate limit up to $7.99) on sale for $5.99
   

I had $1.00 off coupons for the Chlorasceptic strips and for the Oral-B toothbrush, and a $2.00 off coupon for the Joint Juice (no, I normally wouldn't buy that, but I didn't spend any money out of pocket and it allowed me to earn $2 more dollars). So I spent $13.46 off my Walgreens gift card, but next month they will reload it with the full purchase prices, $17.46 = $4.00 profit!

There are lots of other rebates in the EasySaver as well. At first glance they may not appear to be that good of a deal, especially considering Walgreens' regular prices on items. But throughout the month, items will go on sale that will correspond with a rebate. Then you can use Walgreens and manufacturer coupons, and get household or grocery items for free or pennies after rebate.

That is the idea behind sending out a weekly email of deals, to share ways to make these rebates work to our advantage and allow us all to find the good deals without spending a ton of time pouring over the ads.

Here is an example of how a rebate worked a couple weeks ago: Rebate #9 in the January EasySaver says, "Buy $20 of Kimberly-Clark Products, get a $10 Walgreens gift card by mail" (and by the way, when it says gift card by mail, this will just come as a separate gift card).

There is a picture of all the items that are eligible for this rebate. Well, in the weekly ad last week there was a coupon for Kleenex 80 ct. for $.89 a box. And here is what I did to meet the rebate requirements:

Buy 10 boxes of 80 ct. Kleenex, reg. price $2.19 = $21.90
Use the coupon in the ad this week for Kleenex $.89 for each box.
Spend $8.90 for 10 boxes of Kleenex and get a $10 gift card back, which makes this a moneymaker!! Plus, I had 2 $.40 off coupons and 1 $.30 off coupon (these were manufacturer's coupons that came in my Sunday paper awhile back), so I spent $7.80 off my Walgreens gift card and will receive $10.00 back! That's $2.20 profit!

Now, not all the rebates allow for such savings, but several of them do each month. Just be willing to wait until you see an awesome deal!

Sometimes I will use my gift card to buy the extra things my family needs, provided that I can use a store coupon and a manufacturer's coupon to get a really good deal on it. This is one way that I've been able to buy some things that we absolutely need THIS WEEK, but still not have to spend much or anything of pocket.

Finally, little tidbits about Walgreens:

• They take expired manufacturer's coupons (within the last month)
• You can combine a Walgreens coupon (found in EasySaver or weekly ad) with a manufacturer's coupon on a single item.
• You can use these coupons for clearance items as well (marked "Last Chance" with orange tags) to get clearance stuff for pennies. This is especially good for makeup items!
  
• They refill printer ink cartridges for less than $10
• Some stores are open 24 hours!

So anyway, hope this helps! Any questions?