Walgreens Summary – Nov '08

First of all, a big “thank-you” to Crystal (here) for her Walgreens 101 online tutorial and to Andrea (here) for challenging me by her example (and for pointing me to Crystal's blog in the first place). After reading Andrea's post on Nov 3, my goal this past month became to try to end up with as much back on my gift card as I was spending from it, with a minimum (if any) real out of pocket spending.

So, here’s how things went during the November EasySaver period. Of course, it’s admittedly an advantage that I was able to build up the amount on my WG gift card during October and that I did spend some real out of pocket cash at the beginning of this month...

I started with “double dipping deals” on Oct 24. (If you’re new to Walgreens rebates, coupons, etc., you’ll want to take some lessons like I did by clicking here.) On that first “double dipping” experience for me, I did spend $29.65 out of pocket in order to get (what I thought would be) $34.98 put back on the gift card (plus $3.50 more with the 10% bonus). However, the “double dipping” M&Ms deal didn’t go through – apparently, we really DID have to buy the holiday packs (which were not yet on the shelves) – so I ended up getting only $29.98 (plus $3.00 more with the 10% bonus) back on the gift card out of that trip. That's still a profit of $3.33! At any rate, that visit took place before I read Andrea’s blog (here) and decided to take up the challenge of minimum out of pocket for the rest of the month…

Since I had another $5 off $20 purchase coupon, I went back to WG on Oct 25 and ended up getting some grocery items (including mushrooms, mandarin oranges, cashew nuts, mixed nuts, and Brita filters).

According to my receipt that day:
My total out of pocket: $17.57 (really "out of pocket")
WG Q savings: $1.48
WG ad savings: $6.00
(Plus the $5 off $20 purchase WG Q)

By my next visit on Nov 3, my Oct rebates had posted to my gift card (with the 10% bonus!), so I was all set for the real challenge and some real bargains!

According to my receipt that day:
(I was able to go to a new store and use a $3 off $10 purchase coupon in honor of its grand opening!)
My total out of pocket: $7.87 (from the gift card)
WG ad savings: $10.60
Mf Q savings: $18.00
Rebates for Nov ES: $7.00 (plus $.70 10% bonus) to be added to the gift card for Dec

According to the receipt for the next visit on Nov 6:
My total out of pocket: $7.45 (from the gift card)
WG Q savings: $2.00
WG ad savings: $2.30
Mf Q savings: $11.00
Rebates for Nov ES: $5.00 (plus $.50 10% bonus) to be added to the gift card for Dec

According to the receipt for the next visit on Nov 14:
My total out of pocket: $15.90 (from the gift card)
WG ad savings: $3.97
Also used a $5 off 20 purchase WG Q
Rebates for Nov ES: $10.00 (plus $1.00 10% bonus) to be added to the gift card for Dec

The next two visits on Nov 15 were primarily “grocery trips” – for details see my post here – and those deals were what finally persuaded me to start blogging to share tips with others. (By the way, I forgot to include in my post that the first WG trip that day also involved a $5 off $20 purchase coupon.)

I returned to WG on Nov 17. According to the receipt for that visit:
My total out of pocket: $11.31 (from the gift card)
WG ad savings: $2.51
Mf Q savings: $4.00
Register Rewards toward next purchases: $7.00 and $3.00

The next trip on Nov 19 was another “grocery trip” – taking advantage of the great milk and cheese deals! (By the way, I either live or work close to several WG or they’re on the way to other errands.)
According to the receipt for that visit:
My total out of pocket: $6.29 – $5.24 from the gift card & $1.05 literally out of pocket
WG ad savings: $2.68

And the last visit on Nov 21 was another “double dipping” experience – for details see my post here.
My total literally out of pocket: $.93
(I used the $7 RR to pay for most of the loot.)

I still have the $3 in RR from the Nov 17 trip (and my ES rebates should be posting to my gift card any day now), so I'm hoping to take advantage of some good deals (posted here) this week!

By the way, we have more candy in our house than we’ve ever had at any one time before – but it was all FREE (or almost free)! There’ll be no excuse – unless it’s lack of time – for lots of holiday baking this year!