Another week with a small break in the “around town” deals for me… I’m not finding anything that makes me get the itch to run right out and make some deals. I’m trying to tighten the belt at our house and be very careful in following our budget and our meal plans so I’m not stepping too far out unless I see a GREAT deal.

I AM excited about the inserts this weekend…there are some coupons that will be useful down the road I’m guessing. Always remember that even if you don’t see a deal you like THIS week…save the inserts and cut the coupons anyway, you just never know when they will come in handy! You will also want to be sure to check out Coupons.com, SmartSource and RedPlum for your coupon printing enjoyment..and while you are on the computer…don’t forget to load some coupons directly to your Dillon’s card at Cellfire and Shortcuts.

Last week I gave you a quick run down on the CVS Extra Care Bucks system. This week I’m going to walk you through Walgreen’s customer rewards program, Register Rewards. It is based on the same premises as CVS: “Reward” the patrons with “money” that can only be spent at your store. The differences, however, are astounding. Walgreen’s is much more complicated and NOT to be attempted by the week at heart.

Here are the basic differences:

Walgreen’s does not have a card you are required to use to run their deals.

Walgreen’s issues a “Register Reward” that prints out like a coupon and is used like store money. Read a great Q & A about Register Rewards from Christy at Coupon Gal.

There is no limit per household on the number of times you can run a deal.

That’s it for basic differences. Now for the “How To”. Remember this is a brief (seriously…this is the brief version…I swear) description of how to work the Register Rewards system in your favor. I give a full description of this and other coupon/rebate tricks of the trade in my Coupon Classes.

When putting a deal together at Walgreen’s here at the things to keep in mind:

* Walgreen’s puts out their own store coupons, which can be stacked with manufacturer’s coupons.

These can be found in many different places: the monthly Walgreen’s savings book (located in the front of the store by the weekly fliers), in various health handouts usually found by the pharmacy, in a children’s coloring book that is sold periodically, and of course in the weekly fliers.

Walgreen’s coupons do not need to be clipped to be used. You should be able to show the coupon to the cashier and they just scan the coupon, it deducts that amount for how ever many you have purchased. I say “should” because some cashiers may insist that you hand over the coupon. In that case just grab another flier, handout, etc.

*You may not use more coupons than items you are purchasing (this pertains to manufacturer’s coupons). This SEEMS straight forward until you realize that Register Rewards are manufacturer’s coupons.

If you are buying 4 items that all have coupons and you have a $4 Register Reward that you would like to redeem, you will need to purchase a “Filler” item. This is the most inexpensive item you can find in the store. You purchase it so that your item/coupon ration stays even. You can usually find an item in the Holiday section/clearance for $0.16 like a pencil or pen… sometimes you can see from the weekly ad in your paper that there are cheaper items that might make good fillers. This week there are three items for $0.50 (Big Roll Toilet Paper, VandeKamp’s Pork and Beans and ButterBall Chicken Broth) that might make good fillers.

Another good way to find a “filler” item is to participate in a B1G1 (Buy One Get One) sale. The “get one” is still considered in your coupon to item ratio.

Coupons that are “off 2”, etc. count as 2 items in the eyes of Walgreen’s. If you try to count your items as “2” in your ratio it will not work.

Confused yet?

There is a specific “order” to present your coupons to the cashier in order to avoid the ominous “beep” (when the register beeps and will not accept your coupon…Walgreen’s cashiers will not override this).

The best way to make sure you get all the discounts you are entitled to is to hand over your coupons in this order:

Register Rewards
Store Coupons
Manufacturer’s Coupons

Now..how to SPEND your Register Rewards?

Register Rewards can be spent on anything in the store, with a few exceptions you will find printed on the reward. Used like coupons these rewards will be deducted from your total.

The “trick” to Register Rewards is that if you use them to purchase the same item that issued them, no more rewards will print for that item.

Example: You buy Colgate and it prints a $3 RR. If you turn around and purchase colgate again and use the $3 RR that is FINE. It will not, however, print another $3 RR.

Now, if you Buy the Colgate and use a $3 RR that printed from a different deal, your colgate will print another RR. This is “rolling” your Register Rewards.

You will find that in order to effectively roll RR and spend as little as possible out of pocket, you will need to perform separate transactions. You can do as many transactions in a row as you would like to, just be conscientious of the people in line behind you!

Did she say PROFIT from Register Rewards?

Quite often you will find deals at Walgreen’s that offer back RR in the amount of the purchase price, just like the “Freebies” after ECB at CVS. If you have a coupon for these already “free” items you have profited from the deal. Walgreen’s will not hand you $1.50 in cash…but you can use this overage to make another RR deal a freebie instead of simply a “cheapie”.

Like I said, shopping at Walgreen’s takes some moxy! And a lot of planning. Do you shop at Walgreen’s? Share some of your tips for making this a success with us here or on our Shop Talk Fan Page on Facebook!