My Adventures in Couponing (Modoc Style) – Part 2 of 2 (Rite Aid)

First up, this is from The Krazy Coupon Lady’s website, about shopping at Rite Aid:

“Before shopping at RiteAid you should sign up for a Wellness card or get one in your store.  The best deals at Rite Aid utilize the +Up Rewards and the Single Check Rebate (SCR) system.   In addition to the +Up Rewards, which are coupons that print with your receipt (similar to CVS), Rite Aid sends you a monthly check for the total of all your rebates purchased during that month with the SCR program.  You can cash the check as you would any other check.  In addition to the +Up Rewards and the SCR program, you can watch videos on products and receive Video Value coupons.  These coupons can be printed from your computer after you watch the corresponding videos. You can use each coupon once per Wellness card.   Go here for RiteAid’s updated coupon policy and here to watch the video on shopping at Rite Aid.”

Rite Aid accepts all manufacturer’s coupons, which you either print from the internet (coupons.com, redplum.com, smartsource.com, facebook, adperk.com, etc.), or get out of newspaper inserts, and sometimes they have ‘in-ad’ coupons in their weekly sale flyer, or (like I mentioned in yesterday’s post) they have other in-store coupons from places like my flu shot coupon book.

Now here is the ‘Rite Aid’ specific Q&A that you need to know…it’s what makes all the difference.

+Up Rewards: What are they and how do you use them?

Say you’re planning your Rite Aid shopping trip and you see this deal for Old Spice and Gillette in the Rite Aid sale flyer:

It’s showing the sale price for the Gillette/Old Spice products and the +Up Reward (free money!).

So you put some Gillette and/or Old Spice products on your shopping list, because 1) your man could use a stockpile of body wash or deodorant, 2) you get an +Up Reward when you purchase two bottles, and 3) you have a few coupons for $2 off 1 bottle of this body wash from the Proctor & Gamble insert in last Sunday’s Herald and News = you’ll get this item for very, very cheap!

Here is what the tag in the store looks like:

The price is normally $5.29 each bottle ($10.58 for 2).  Right now they’re on sale (when you give them your Wellness Card at checkout) for $8.00 when you buy 2.  So to break it down again, just by buying 2 you’re saving $1.29 on each bottle (with your Wellness Card).  Then if you take your future +Up Reward off, the price is now 2 for $6.  Then you add the coupon for $2 off one bottle (use 2 coupons because you’re buying 2 bottles!) the price is now $1 for each bottle of body wash that you bought your man.  You saved $8.58 and only spent $2 (technically 4, but you earned $2 off your next purchase), which is an 82% savings!  I actually did this three times, because they had a lot of coupons in the circular, and with the items being so cheap I just kept buying them and now my husband will have body wash and deodorant for MONTHS.

Note the “Limit 2 Per Household” note at the bottom of the tag…I learned this the hard way this time.  I only earned 2 $2 +Up Rewards (even though I bought 3 sets of items).  Lesson learned.

Here is what an +Up Reward looks like on your receipt (I cut some of the info. off so you can’t use my coupon – not sure if it’s even possible – but it’s showing the top of one +Up Reward and the bottom of another).  It’s basically free money off of your next purchase, though!

 

So pay attention to your receipts as those +Up Rewards are like GOLD!

What are Single Check Rebates (SCR) and how do you use them?

This is another way to get money back from your purchases.  An example is this in a post I saw on the Krazy Coupon Lady website:

“Profoot Foot Care $4.99     
Buy 1, Receive $1.00 +Up Reward and Submit for $3.00 Single Check Rebate  
Use $1.00/1 – Profoot Product – (profoot.com)
Pay $3.99, Receive $1.00 +Up Reward and Submit for $3.00 Single Check Rebate
Final Price:  $0.01 MONEYMAKER  ”

So first I followed that link and printed my $1 off 1 coupon from profoot.com.  Then on my next trip into Rite Aid, I wandered into the foot care section, looking for a product that matches this scenario.  Sure enough, there were some shoe inserts there that promised “relief of knee, back and foot pain” or something like that…so I bought them in my size with my coupon.  Did I really need them? Sure, I could use some pain relief in my big, pregnant state.  Would I have bought them otherwise? No.  But if I can get them for free, why not?  So as you’ll see I paid $3.99 up front (normally $4.99, but I had the $1 off coupon).  But a $1 up reward printed on my receipt.

Now what about that Single Check Rebate?  How do you get that?  What you do is go to the riteaid.com website.  You sign in to your account (if you don’t have one, make one) and find the link to submit your Single Check Rebate.  You look through all their rebates offered right now, add the one you used to your account, enter the information off of your receipt (Store #, Register #, Transaction ID) then submit it and they will mail you a check for $3!  So I technically made a penny by buying shoe inserts.  Woot!

So my best advice when shopping your trips to Rite Aid is to follow this link first: http://thekrazycouponlady.com/category/rite-aid/ or visit another blog/website that you like for Rite Aid shopping scenarios and tips.  There are lots out there!  And definitely “like” them on Facebook, because if you’re on there anyway and a good tip pops up in your news feed then take advantage! That’s how I MADE $2 last week…so here’s the story:

• I was at work…and I had Facebook open (perks of self-employment) when a post titled “UPDATE – Hot! Moneymaker on John Frieda at Rite Aid, No Coupons Needed!” showed up on my wall.  I clicked over to see what it said.  Note: this sale is over, but here was the offer – apparently if you bought 2 John Frieda hair products, you’d receive a $5 +Up Reward.  And the TRIAL SIZE of their products is included in this – crazy, right?  So I went down to my Rite Aid, found the John Frieda products, and sure enough the tag right under the John Frieda trial/travel size shampoo and conditioners had the tag saying you’d earn a $5 +Up Reward for buying 2.  They were $1.43 each.  Do the math and I spent $2.86, and was supposed to get $5 back!  But at checkout it didn’t show up on my receipt, so I told my cashier I should have gotten a $5 +Up Reward…we went back and looked at the product area, and since she saw it with her own eyes they were able to just give me a $5 bill!  When the cashiers are Rite Aid are shocked by your purchase, I think that’s a good thing.  That cashier is my favorite…she makes sure every coupon works, and is very helpful.  Her name starts with a ‘V’ if you’re curious…hehe…I always go to her if I can!

So anyway, back to the title of this post.  I spent $41.05 $31.55 at Rite Aid yesterday, and here is what I bought:

• 2 4-packs of Starbucks Frappuccinos.  They were 2 for $10, but I had a coupon for $2 off 2 from the Pepsi insert from the Herald and News or this week’s Modoc Record.  Plus you get a $2 +Up Reward with that purchase.  Total $6 (Making them less than $1 per bottle – a lot cheaper than buying them alone!)
• 2 12-packs of Lipton Iced Tea.  Same deal as the Frappuccinos.  Good for my husband’s lunches.  Total: $6 (Making them $0.25 per bottle!)
  
• 1 bottle of Got2B Hairspray. Normally $6.79, but they were on sale for $4.79, plus I had a $2 off coupon from watching a Got2B commercial at riteaid.adperk.com so I was looking for a good deal in the Got2B brand. And I really did need some hairspray! Total: $2.79
• 1 bottle of Vick’s Nature Fusion Nighttime Cold Medicine. Normally $5.99, I had a coupon for $1.50 off from the P&G insert, plus you get a $1.50 +Up Reward. Total: $2.99 (Good to have on hand! For Glenn…I can’t take cold medicine right now if I need it, boo.)
  
• Profoot insole for women (scenario listed above). Total: -$0.01 Moneymaker
• Bee MD Honeylemon Organic Cough Drops: In the clearance section for 50% off so I grabbed a bag. Total: $1.49.
• 2 small bottles of Dawn Dish Liquid: They were Buy One, Get One Free at $2.19 each, plus I had a coupon for $0.50 off one Dawn product. Total: $1.69 ($0.85 per bottle)
• Cover girl makeup: These are Buy One, Get One 50% off right now, plus there’s a $8 off 2 coupon in the P&G insert from the Herald & News so I bought an eyebrow pencil and mascara at $5.99 and $1.79 (50% off) = $7.78 – $8.00 coupon.  Total: free! Also, if you spend $30 on certain P&G (Covergirl & Pantene) items in the month of October, you’ll receive a $10 +Up Reward.  My receipt showed me how close I am to that total.
  
• 2 bottles of Johnson & Johnson Baby Shampoo: Normally $4.79 each.  All I know is I had a $1 off coupon for each bottle…I didn’t get an +Up Reward for buying them (I’m thinking I should have – see, I’m still making mistakes!), so I can’t remember what the deal was and I can’t figure it out from my receipt.  :)  But there was a purpose for buying them! I’m thinking something didn’t compute right and I’m, unfortunately, not catching it until now!

So here is my receipt…

You can see my total, how many items I bought (making each item an average of $1.38 – not bad for things you need from the drugstore!), see what I saved by using coupons, as well as with using my Wellness Card.  So my total would have been $87.26 for all of that without them! I saved $46.21 – more than what I spent so I’m happy! Plus I have $6.50 to spend at my next purchase with my +Up Rewards.  So I *technically* spent $31.55! (I also minused my Single Check Rebate that’s coming in the mail).

So, if you just put in a little bit of research time, those deals are out there…and I like stocking up on things that I know I will need, but I’m buying them at good prices instead of when I’m impulse buying!  Let me know your Rite Aid shopping tips and if you scored any good deals there lately!

If you have any questions, feel free to leave them in the comments section here, or on the Likely Design blog Facebook wall.  Happy Shopping!