Quick, before I get Sidetrack'd

I’ve acquired a new hobby.  In an effort to stock up on some of our household staples and hopefully save a little money I’ve started playing the “drugstore game.”  It’s kind of a puzzle putting together sales, coupons, and store rewards to get household and personal care items for pennies on the dollar.  The challenge keeps my brain working as I put together different savings scenarios, and it’s fun to play the puzzle and to come out with inexpensive goods.  I’m hoping the budget likes it, too.

Here’s what my Walgreens week looked like this week:

Transaction 1
$2.00  Sunday paper
$4.99  Children’s Tylenol
$4.99  Children’s Tylenol
$4.99  Children’s Tylenol
$16.97 Total 
-$3.00 Mfg coupon from Sunday paper
-$4.50 Wags October IVC ($1.50 each)
-$5.00 Register Reward from last week
$4.47 Total OOP (before taxes)

Earned $7 in Register Rewards to use for future purchases.

Transaction 2
$1.99  Dawn dish detergent
$1.99  Dawn dish detergent
$5.99  Pert Plus shampoo (large bottle)
$4.49  Oral-B Pro-Health toothbrush
$1.00  M&Ms (two small bags)
$4.49 Clerz Plus eyedrops for my contacts
$19.95 Total
-$1.99 Wags weekly coupon (Dawn B1G1 Free)
-$0.25 Mfg coupon for Dawn from paper
-$0.50 Mfg coupon for Dawn from paper
-$3.00 Mfg coupon for Pert from paper
-$2.50 Wags October IVC for Pert
-$0.75 Mfg coupon for Oral-B from paper
-$5.00 Register Reward from Transaction 1
-$2.00 Register Reward from Transaction 1
$3.96 Total OOP (before taxes)

Earned $4.50 Register Reward to use for future purchases.

Transaction 3
$3.00  Two bags of lollipops for Little
$2.99  Two new toothbrushes for Little
$4.49  Oral-B Pro-Health toothbrush
$3.49  Swiffer Dusters
$3.49  Swiffer refill cloths
$3.49  Swiffer refill cloths
$3.49  Swiffer refill cloths
$4.99  Charmin bath tissue
$29.43 Total
-$1.65 Wags weekly coupon on Charmin
-$0.25 Mfg coupon for Charmin
-$0.75 Mfg coupon for Oral-B
-$5.00 Wags $5 off $20 purchase
$21.78 Total OOP (before taxes)

Earned $9.50 Register Rewards to use for future purchases.

I spent a little more in my third transaction than I wanted to, but they didn’t have all of the items in my original scenario so I had to substitute a couple of items that were slightly more expensive.  These were all items that we needed, though, so that’s okay.

In summary, this week I spent $30.21 (before taxes), saved $44.63, and earned $14 in Register Rewards to use in the next couple of weeks.  And we’re well stocked on Tylenol and Swiffer products for the next several months. 

This is fun!