Cool Ideas

Walgreens Savings Strategies

by Stephanie Nelson

Walgreens has several savings programs that shoppers can combine to get free items every month. The Coupon Mom website makes it easy for shoppers to take full advantage of all of Walgreens' savings programs by listing Walgreens Best Deals at couponmom.com every week.

You can save at Walgreens by using:

  • Weekly circular with sale items and promotions: Every week Walgreens features many low sale prices, "buy one, get one free" offers and special promotions. You can combine sale prices with rebates and coupons to get many items free every week.
  • In-Ad coupons: Walgreens has their own store coupons in their weekly ad and in their Easy Saver catalog found in stores and on their website. You can combine store coupons with manufacturers' coupons on the same item. The Walgreens Best Deals list at couponmom.com will do the work of finding the best coupon combinations to let you know when you can get a freebie.

  • Special promotions: Walgreens stores also have "Register Rewards" promotions that give shoppers coupons with their receipt good for their next Walgreens purchase when they buy qualifying items.
  • Easy Saver Catalog All-in-One Rebates: Although you must mail in your receipt and a form to get your Walgreens rebates, you can list all of your rebates for the month on one form. Find the catalog in stores and online at the Walgreens site.

  • "Free After Rebate" Items: Every month the Walgreens Easy Saver catalog will feature items that will be free after the rebate. The list of items will be at the top of the rebate form. If you have coupons for these items, you will get the coupon savings as well as the full rebate value on the rebate form (up to the actual price of the item in your store).
  • Easy Saver Rebate Gift Card Bonuses: Walgreens also offers a 10% Gift Card rebate bonus. When you mail in your rebate request, you have the option of receiving your rebate in the form of a check in the mail, or in the form of a Walgreens gift card. If you opt for the Walgreens gift card option, you will get an additional 10% added to your rebate amount.

I tested the Walgreens program by using the couponmom.com Walgreens Deals list for three weeks (one week per month in each monthly rebate period), focusing only on the items that were "Free After Rebate" as well as a Register Rewards promotion that issued a $20 cash off coupon for a future shopping order when I purchased nine qualifying items. I elected to have the rebate value put back on my Walgreens gift card to earn a 10% bonus on the rebate amount. I also used grocery coupons from the Sunday newspaper to maximize my savings. I bought $95.91 worth of items and ended up getting them all free, as well as making a "profit" of $19.43!

Total Value of Merchandise from Walgreens:

Cost of items before coupons

$95.91

Total Savings Realized:

$115.34

Rebate value

60.95

Newspaper coupons

28.29

Checkout Cash coupon printed at register

20.00

10% rebate bonus for having rebate put on Walgreens gift card

6.10

Received $95.91 in free merchandise plus $19.43 in store credit

Final Profit (in the form of store credit) after all savings before tax:

$19.43 profit

Items purchased in these three trips to Walgreens included: Garnier Fructis hair conditioner 25.4 oz., Playtex tampons 16 ct., Oral B Crossaction toothbrush, Sucrets lozenges 18 ct., Imodium 20 ct., Aleve 20 ct., Excedrin 24 ct., Goodys Headache powder 4 pack, Butler Gum twinpack toothbrushes, Oral B toothbrush, Soy Joy nutrition bars (2 bars), Walgreens maxi pads, Softsoap bodywash 18 oz, Reach Cleanpaste floss 50 yards, Walgreens 4 pack lightbulbs, Gillette antiperspirant, Venus 3 ct. disposable razors (2 packages), Daisy disposable razors 12 ct., Secret Platinum antiperspirant, Aussie shampoo 13 oz. (4 bottles).

Stephanie Nelson has shared her savings tips on ABC News' Good Morning America, Good Housekeeping, ABCNews.com and many local news broadcasts. You can find more of her savings tips on her website at www.couponmom.com. Copyright 2008 Stephanie Nelson.