How To Spend Less By Shopping At The Drugstores 
When I first started couponing, I’d hear couponers say that they saved so much money by shopping at CVS, Rite Aid, and Walgreens. I couldn’t understand how they saved money at the drugstores, because their prices are generally very high! Well, it didn’t take me long to learn HOW to save money by shopping at the drugstores.
When shopping at the drugstores, you can earn reward bucks.
- At CVS, the reward bucks are called Extra Bucks. They print out at the bottom of your receipt.
- At Rite Aid, the reward bucks are called +UP Rewards. They also print on your receipt.
- At Walgreens, the reward bucks are called Register Rewards. They print out from the Catalina machine at the register.
Each week, there are various items that will earn reward bucks. These items are listed in the weekly sales papers.
Here is one example from a recent CVS ad:
In the ad shown, Thermacare is on sale for $3.79. The ad states that you will earn an Extra Bucks reward of $3.79.
If you buy the Thermacare, you’ll pay $3.79 plus tax out of your pocket. (If you have a coupon, you’ll pay less!) Your $3.79 Extra Bucks reward will then print out on your receipt. Hang onto the receipt, because you can spend that reward like cash on your next purchase. The Thermacare is essentially FREE after the Extra Bucks reward.
I suggest spending your reward bucks to buy another item(s) that earns reward bucks. Spend your bucks to earn more bucks! That’s called “rolling your rewards.” By rolling your rewards bucks, you’ll spend very little actual cash out-of-pocket.
Each week, I try to grab the items that are essentially FREE after reward bucks. Using the drugstore rewards programs, I get FREE toothpaste, FREE toothbrushes, FREE shampoo, FREE styling products, FREE feminine products, FREE deodorant, and much more. Imagine how much money you can save if you never again have to pay for all those personal care items!
There are lots of other details that I could share about shopping the drugstores and earning reward bucks. Since this is the final post in my “How to Spend Less” series, I will be doing a series of Wednesday 101 posts about how to shop at CVS and Rite Aid. Look for upcoming Wednesday 101 posts called CVS 101 and Rite Aid 101. (I don’t generally post about Walgreens on this blog.)
This is the final post in my series “How To Spend Less”. Here’s a list of the previous posts:
- Buying on sale
- Using coupons
- Planning your menu around the sales
- Comparing price per ounce
- Buying closeout and clearance items
- Comparing national brands vs. store brands
- Participating in store promotions
- Slow Down When You Shop
It’s Super Bowl time! You can expect to see lots of coupons for snack foods! Here’s a great one:
Here’s a printable coupon for 
You might want to print this Chex Mix coupon NOW and save it for next week.
Use this printable coupon for 
Just in time for summer you can get a pretty good deal on Huggies Little Swimmers at Walgreens.
