More Canon City Walgreens Secrets

Tricks to remember at Walgreens...

1. As a new couponer I made two mistakes tonight by purchasing the wrong items. I paid full price for these items and missed out on RR. You'll be happy to know I got back in my car and returned the items, then purchased them correctly. My advice to you is to shop by section. Purchase a section of items and then take them to your car and come in again for your next purchase.

2. Plan out how many purchases you will need to have in order to get all of your RR.

3. Redeeming your RR is a bit tricky. I have discovered that they will not allow you to stack or layer RR with a MF coupon. The computer does not allow it. You may have to throw in a pack of gum or a sale item without a MF coupon in order to redeem your RR. Remember you may only have as many RR tickets as you have items and your balance due cannot exceed the amount your pay in RR.

Good luck out there. It is definitely a game.

I was able to hep a woman in the store purchase John Frieda hair products for super cheep. She didn't want to take the coupons. I finally convinced her and she got a great deal! Share the love, people.

Great source for Walgreens coupon regulations - http://springsbargains.com/. This woman has way more time than I do. She did a much better job of explaining what you need to know.
.
Want to hear more about couponing? Go to couponmom.com

City Market Now Doubles Coupons - The unofficial facts.

I went through the check out today and was informed by Mary Anne that City Market now doubles coupons! This is great news as most other Kroger affiliates do already. Coupon Mom assumes this and adjust their percentage saving according to this. But I digress.

Here is some useful information concerning manufacturer coupons, ecoupons, and printable coupons.

King Soopers is our local Kroger affiliate with lots of locations in Colorado Springs and surrounding areas. It’s what I think of when I say “grocery store.” Here are some frequently asked questions about King Soopers. I’ll keep adding to this as I think of things or receive suggestions of what information would be helpful.

CIty Market Double Coupon

Manufacturer coupons of $.50 or less will be “Doubled”.   Manufacturer coupons of $.51-$1.00 will be redeemed for $1.00.   Manufacturer coupons over $1.00 will be redeemed at face value.     This noes not apply to “Free”, CM, Catalina, Retail Food Store coupons, Electronic Coupons on the CM Plus Card or items prohibited by law.

(City Market doubles coupons seven days a week and doesn’t require a special “pass” to have coupons doubled – just be sure to swipe your Sooper card.)

Limit one (1) manufacturer coupon per item purchased.   Limit one (1) store coupon per item purchased.   One (1) manufacturer and One (1) store coupon can be used on the same item.

Cannot use a 2nd or 3rd coupon on an item that is part of another coupon offer. Example: Coupon states: Buy 2 cereals and get a gallon of milk free. Customer cannot use another coupon on the cereal or the milk.

Coupons cannot be used on “Free” items.   Does not accept coupons that are expired.   Amount refunded cannot exceed the cost of the item. Customer is responsible for tax on all items even “Free” items.

Limit three (3) coupons of like items per customer.  I have not seen this used yet, but it is their policy. The store manager has the right to accept, decline, or limit the use of ANY coupon upon view.

The store manager has the right to limit the quantity of coupons/items used/purchased in a single transaction, by a single customer, or in a single day.

Internet Coupon Policy 

City Market only accept printable coupons if they scan properly at checkout.     They do not accept “FREE product” printable coupons, with no purchase requirement. Buy-one-get-one-free coupons and other values that have a purchase requirement are acceptable but will be MUCH less common than traditional value-off coupons.

They do not accept coupons for more than about 75% of a product’s value without advance notice. Legitimate PAH (print at home) coupons will not be for a high value relative to the cost of the item. For example, a $2 off coupon will be acceptable for a product that normally sells for $5 or more, but a $2 off printable coupon for a product that sells for $2.25 is unlikely to be legitimate.

Coupons will be rejected if they appear out of proportion or blurry, or are obvious duplicates. Legitimate PAH coupons are never copied, sold or traded. Nearly all coupons are “non-transferable” meaning they should not be photocopied or scanned and distributed to others.     Coupons will be rejected if they appear to have been altered in any way.   PAH coupons can be checked for validity at http://www.printcoupons.com.

Pharmacy Coupon Policy

Does match competitor PRICES in the pharmacy but, does not accept competitor pharmacy coupons.   Cannot use LCM or competitor coupons in conjunction with the $4 Generic Program.Other coupon notes

You can also use Shortcuts, CellFire, and Proctor and Gamble e-coupons at King Soopers. [See my post about using Shortcuts here.] These are put on your card online and come off automatically when you check out. These can be used in addition to paper manufacturer’s coupons (though in the future, you will probably only be able to use one or the other). Usually only ONE e-coupon will come off per item; ie, if you have a Shortcuts coupon for $.50 off toilet paper and a CellFire coupon for $.50 off the same toilet paper, only one of them will come off if you purchase only one.

When does King Sooper’s start new sales?

Sales cycles run Wednesday through Tuesday with an occasional weekend sale. Ads appear in the Gazette on Wednesdays or are available on their website. I don’t think they mail them out anymore – at least they don’t send them to my neighborhood which is right in the middle of town!

What type of promotions do they offer?

In addition to sale prices, King Soopers has special promotions that are typically for instant off savings, like “buy $25 worth of participating products save $5 instantly”. Many promotions like this allow you to do two or three per transaction. Catalina promotions are frequently offered, some advertised in-store. [Catalinas are those coupons that print out at the checkout.]

Stores often mark down meat, dairy, and produce (some have a special section for markdowns) and you can use coupons on marked down items. Look out for those yellow and orange “manager special” stickers!

King Soopers also has a fuel savings program – for every $100 you spend, you earn a discount of $.10 per gallon on your next purchase of fuel. Your net payment amount (after all instant savings and coupons)is the amount that counts toward your $100 purchase requirement. Discounts accumulate for one month and you have one month to redeem them before they expire.

Almost all King Soopers locations have a gas station. Fuel rewards can now be used to fill up at the Kroger-owned Loaf ‘n Jug gas stations.

Why should I use a Sooper Card (store loyalty card)?

Remember when these first came out? Everyone thought they were ridiculous and a pain to use. Now, you’re losing money if you don’t shop with one! You must use your Sooper card to get all sale prices – if not, you’ll pay regular price (ouch!). You should swipe or scan it even if you’re just buying one item and it’s not on sale, because if you don’t, your total will not count toward your fuel savings discount (see above).

Some may think it’s an invasion of privacy, but grocery stores track your buying habits and you’ll find that you receive catalina (checkout) coupons based on your current or past purchases – a lot of these are REALLY great values. I get a coupon for diapers nearly every time I shop because they know I buy them!

Additionally, King Soopers periodically (once every month or two) sends out coupons in the mail that are based on your buying habits. These are always really great coupons – there’s usually one or two for free products, as well as a handful of others that are often times for products that do not usually have coupons in the newspaper. Be sure to keep your address updated so you don’t miss any of their mailers! I also receive booklets of coupons from King Soopers that are generic ones sent to all customers (or at least those they consider their “best customers”) that contain some great coupons as well.

Why should I shop at King Soopers?

In my opinion, King Soopers has the best customer service and freshest produce. Their stores are clean and well-lit and their promotions (like “save $5 instantly”) almost always work as promised, unlike some other stores! As far as meat, they do not process their own beef in-store and I prefer to buy it elsewhere. I’m *pretty sure* their ground beef has additives.

Uh, my kids like King Soopers the best because they have free cookies and I like the fact that the free cookies are self-serve in the bakery case. No need to wait for a baker to magically appear after ten minutes of waiting for a free cookie.

Ultimately, you should shop at King Soopers because of the great deals! Yes, their every day prices are high and even some of their sale prices are not-so-great, but by clipping a few coupons and waiting for the lowest price to come around, you’ll be able to buy your groceries for less – a lot less than even WalMart, if that’s your golden standard.  And of course, you should check SpringsBargains every day and I’ll keep showing you what’s a good and not-so-good deal!

Anything else I should know?

You can get a discount of $.05 per bag if you bring your own (either plastic or reusable). I need to check on this for our store, but it should work. 

……………………………………………….

City Maket weekly ads are available online, and you can view all current and you should be able to see current specials by visiting couponmom.com.

Please feel free to share any other coupon deals or information you have concerning our store, City Market in Canon City. 

Catalina Coupons - I had no idea. Free fruit roll ups.

Most stores now have an additional coupon receipt that comes out with the store receipt. I always threw these away. Last week I glanced at one and noticed it was for something I liked- a snack that I loved as a kid. The paper that printed out was not a coupon. I was very confused by this. In fact I went to the store clerks to ask them about it. They were equally confused until we read the fine print!! Isn't it always that way. Using my additional coupons for the item that was already on sale (Fruit Roll Ups). I went to the check out still confused. The clerk suggested I buy the items first to redeem my coupon. She explained that since I was buying 4 I would receive $2 free money to spend on my next purchase!! Smart!

Here is the break down.

4 boxes of Fruit Roll ups @ 1.99 each (Store sale.)
ecoupon - .50
coupon - .50
Total cost 2.00.
Received $2. on my next purchase.

Really I paid nothing for them!!

Want to know more about couponing? Click on Coupon Help.

Free Items at Walgreens, Canon City.

My latest shopping experiment produced my first free items. Let me tell you what happened. If you have questions about couponing, especially couponing in Canon City, you are welcome to email me with your questions.

The previous shopping at Walgreens yielded $9 in Register Rewards after purchasing $27 worth of items for $15. With the $9 RR I purchased 2 bottles of Soft Soap 16fl oz. bottles on sale at 2/7. I received $5 RR rewards from the $7 purchase and picked up two boxes of Always pads on sale for 2.19. I had a coupon for .50 off bringing the price to 1.83. I purchased the items using RR dollars. The items were free. Awesome! I currently have $12 RR from Walgreens and plan to turn that around into more couponing adventures. Good luck out there. P.S.- Mr. Taylor you're a pretty good Walgreen's manager. You did a great job the other night.

The plan is to see how much of a deal I can really get from utilizing CouponMom, grocery cards and RR. I'm also using a website called http://www.couponsthingsbydede.com/default.asp. For a super cheap and tiny price (under $2 for everything) I can get any insert from the paper that I missed. This might sound silly, but when you are a serious couponer, it can be invaluable. The thing that gets me is people actually buy these coupon and circulars. I'm one of them. Weird. This week the Denver Post did not have the advertised PandG circular. I will be able to get it from this website for super cheap.

Wafoozele at Walgreens Ends Well

My local Canon City Walgreens-- place where it all went down. Very down.

I don't know exactly what wafoozle means but it sounds very tragic and intense. Why can't I be like William Shakespeare and invent words to depict the moods I'm experiencing?

$25 worth of items for $8!

For 2 consecutive weeks now I've been going to Walgreens on Saturday night to  try extreme couponing. The first time I went in with my list, my coupons and my plans only to find completely different ads and sale signs. I was told that any thing I find online does will not match the store. I traveled back three times back and forth from my research online to the store. I knew something was not right. The online weekly ad said the date and the address it represented. I contacted Walgreens corporate to let them know of the discrepency. They repeatedly gave me the pat-on-the head answer and told me to try again.

I decided to try again. I thought it was something I was doing wrong. I went to the store tonight only to find the sale signs and ads not matching my research AGAIN!! I looked at the date. I really looked at the date. I pulled out my phone to read the correct date. Two things became very clear to me. First: the store had put out the new ad one day early. Second: The date on the ad read Mar. 6, Sat. (incorrect) all the more confusing. The correct date of course is March 5, 2011. I went to the manager, Mr. Taylor. He is the same one I parleyed with last time over sale signs. It was now apparent to me why I was so confused. The store was taking down the signs one day early and TELLING ME it must be my mistake.

It doesn't end there. When I checked out my plan was to do two transactions so that I could spend my Register Rewards on the next purchase. I learned that in order to get RR for each product they must be purchased separately. UGH!! I had no idea as this was my first attempt to purchase at Walgreens. I did not get the rewards however because I bought the wrong razors. The manager, wanting to get rid of my by this time, handed me the two razors I wanted to purchase PLUS the RR dollars for them. I was exhausted and very flustered and feeling extremely stupid. It turns out so much of by brain was going to thinking about these things that I left the razors he had given me for free.

I did call to ask if they could look for them but didn't have the heart to walk back into the store that night. Mr. Taylor and I managed to have a positive conversation. We have to get along because I'll be back to coupon deal again.

So folks here's what I walked away with tonight:

2 Gilette Fusion Razors
2 Crest +Scope Toothpaste
$9 Register Rewards
Total Price= $16.58.

So it's like I spent $7.58. If only I had grabbed those other two razors!

Sunday Coupon Preview

Sunday Coupon Preview might be one of the more valuable keys to couponing I've found yet. This website compiles lists of insert dates as well as a complete list of upcoming coupons so that you can decide how many issues of the paper to buy. It is currently working of offering these coupons for print as well.

Here is the complete 2011 list.

2011 Sunday Coupon Insert Schedule (Smartsource Coupon Preview 2011, Redplum Coupon Preview 2011, Proctor & Gamble Coupon Preview 2011, General Mills Coupon Preview 2011)

January
2— (2) Smart Source (2) Red Plum and General Mill
9— Smart Source and Red Plum
16 — Proctor & Gamble
23 — Smart Source and Red Plum
30 — Smart Source and Red Plum

February

6 — Smart Source
13 — No Inserts scheduled (Valentine’s Day)
20 — Smart Source, General Mills and Procter & Gamble
27 — Smart Source and Red Plum

March
6— Smart Source, Red Plum and Procter & Gamble
13 — Smart Source and Red Plum
20 — Smart Source and Red Plum
27 — (2) Smart Source, Red Plum and Procter & Gamble

April
3— No Inserts scheduled
10 — Smart Source and Red Plum
17 — Smart Source and Red Plum
24 — Smart Source and Red Plum

May
1 — Smart Source, Red Plum and Procter & Gamble
8— Smart Source and Red Plum
15 — (2) Smart Source and Red Plum
22 — Smart Source and Red Plum
29 — No Inserts scheduled (Memorial Day)

June

5 — Smart Source, Red Plum and Procter & Gamble
12 — Smart Source
19 — Smart Source and Red Plum
26 — Smart Source and Red Plum

July
3 — No Inserts scheduled (Independence Day)
10 — Smart Source and Red Plum
17 — Smart Source
24 — Smart Source and Red Plum
31 — Smart Source, Red Plum and Procter & Gamble

August
7 — Smart Source and Red Plum
14 — Smart Source and Red Plum
21 — Smart Source and Red Plum
28 — Smart Source, Red Plum and Procter & Gamble

September
4 — No Inserts scheduled (Labor Day)
11 — Smart Source and (2) Red Plum
18 — Smart Source and Red Plum
25 — Smart Source and Red Plum

October
2 — Smart Source, Red Plum and Procter & Gamble
9 — Smart Source and Red Plum
16 — Smart Source and Red Plum
23 — Smart Source and Red Plum
30 — Smart Source and Red Plum

November
6 — Smart Source, Red Plum and Procter & Gamble
13 — Smart Source and Red Plum
20 — Smart Source and Red Plum
27 — No Inserts scheduled (Thanksgiving)

December
4 — Smart Source, Red Plum and Procter & Gamble
11 — Smart Source and Red Plum
18 — No Inserts scheduled (Christmas)
25 — Procter & Gamble

Their FAQ's were quite helpful as well. 

2011 Sunday Coupon Insert Schedule (Smartsource Coupon Preview 2011, Redplum Coupon Preview 2011, Proctor & Gamble Coupon Preview 2011, General Mills Coupon Preview 2011)

January
2— (2) Smart Source (2) Red Plum and General Mill
9— Smart Source and Red Plum
16 — Proctor & Gamble
23 — Smart Source and Red Plum
30 — Smart Source and Red Plum

February

6 — Smart Source
13 — No Inserts scheduled (Valentine’s Day)
20 — Smart Source, General Mills and Procter & Gamble
27 — Smart Source and Red Plum

March
6— Smart Source, Red Plum and Procter & Gamble
13 — Smart Source and Red Plum
20 — Smart Source and Red Plum
27 — (2) Smart Source, Red Plum and Procter & Gamble

April
3— No Inserts scheduled
10 — Smart Source and Red Plum
17 — Smart Source and Red Plum
24 — Smart Source and Red Plum

May
1 — Smart Source, Red Plum and Procter & Gamble
8— Smart Source and Red Plum
15 — (2) Smart Source and Red Plum
22 — Smart Source and Red Plum
29 — No Inserts scheduled (Memorial Day)

June

5 — Smart Source, Red Plum and Procter & Gamble
12 — Smart Source
19 — Smart Source and Red Plum
26 — Smart Source and Red Plum

July
3 — No Inserts scheduled (Independence Day)
10 — Smart Source and Red Plum
17 — Smart Source
24 — Smart Source and Red Plum
31 — Smart Source, Red Plum and Procter & Gamble

August
7 — Smart Source and Red Plum
14 — Smart Source and Red Plum
21 — Smart Source and Red Plum
28 — Smart Source, Red Plum and Procter & Gamble

September
4 — No Inserts scheduled (Labor Day)
11 — Smart Source and (2) Red Plum
18 — Smart Source and Red Plum
25 — Smart Source and Red Plum

October
2 — Smart Source, Red Plum and Procter & Gamble
9 — Smart Source and Red Plum
16 — Smart Source and Red Plum
23 — Smart Source and Red Plum
30 — Smart Source and Red Plum

November
6 — Smart Source, Red Plum and Procter & Gamble
13 — Smart Source and Red Plum
20 — Smart Source and Red Plum
27 — No Inserts scheduled (Thanksgiving)

December
4 — Smart Source, Red Plum and Procter & Gamble
11 — Smart Source and Red Plum
18 — No Inserts scheduled (Christmas)
25 — Procter & Gamble

Ambassadors Reunion: My Dad's In The Band

Close to 40 years ago Howard Payne University was hit with a wave of students from Gardendale Baptist Church in Corpus Christi, Texas. These guys loved what God had done for them in their lives and formed a gospel singing group that even cut a record. As you can see the ties are still strong.

This Weeks Savings: $42 worth of items for $8.24.

Bought the following items for $8.24.

4 cans of Progresso Hearty Soup
4 boxes of General Mills brand cereal.
2 Secret deodorants
2 Gillete body wash
2 medium sized Chex Mix bags.

If you look on the ticket you can see that I save 80% on my bill. Very cool.

I utilized coupon mom and also logged onto citymarket.com to load extra coupons onto my card. I found out about cellfire.com, which also allows you to stack additional coupons onto your card. I went home and registered at this site and was able to add coupons immediately to my card.

Next I went to Walmart, where I purchased two Suave Clinical sample deodorants for .47 a piece. This deodorant is expensive at 11 dollars a pop. The sample was 2.47. It was fun.