Claire at Choystercash is going to be doing a weekly guest post for me. Most will be published as part of Thrifty Thursdays, but here is her first post so you don't miss it since the second one will come out this week. Visit her blog for more great tips and ideas!
Couponing E-Course Week 1
Welcome to week one of the couponing e-course here at Choyster Cash. If you stick with this one-day-a-week e-learning course for 10 weeks, I can promise you that you will be able to bring the joys of free toiletries, household goods, and non-perishable items into your house on a regular basis. Just a couple years ago I had no idea about any of this, and now I almost never pay for any toiletries or household items. And I am not alone! Thousands of Americans are doing this every day, and I want to teach you how. Turns out – it’s not so hard at all!
Haven't joined the free course yet? Go here.
To start, I want to review some of the things I talked about in the Introduction last week.
Why should you do this free e-course?
Because the coupon game is one of the best budgeting secrets out there - and the stuff you can get regularly for free will amaze you!
The premise of a coupon is simple. You get a coupon, you use it to save money. However, many people believe you can't really save much money with coupons. But these naysayers , simply don't know how to use them correctly. It's time that you start reaping the rewards that thousands of thousands of Americans are enjoying – free toiletries and household items.
What you need if you want to participate:
1. You need to want to do this.
To me, this is fun. It's also one of the best kept secrets about saving tons of money every month to free up your budget for fresh food items and other things on your list. I love getting tons of makeup, toiletries, face washes, razors, toilet paper, candy, non-perishable food and regular household products free. Now that I hardly ever pay for anything at CVS or Walgreens, it's almost painful to watch all those people shelling out 20 bucks for shampoo.. But heck, this whole couponing thing might sound like the most boring thing on the planet.
If that's you – don't do it!
2. You need these items:
* - A box or drawer you will devote to this project
* - A marker or pen
* - A notebook
* - Envelopes
* - A calculator
* - A Sunday newspaper each and every Sunday with coupon inserts inside
3. You need to commit to doing these things every week if you want to see success:
* Come to this blog at least once a week to read what your directions are for what you need to do this week to get your free items. Signing up for my newsletter or feed will ensure it is delivered to your inbox if that is easier for you. (See below)
* Get a Sunday newspaper that has coupon inserts inside.
* Go to Walgreens or CVS (or both, if you get excited by all the free stuff you are getting) that week following the directions to pick up your items.
Week 1 Assignment: The Easy Free Items at Walgreens
So here comes the assignment for week one!
We are starting simple, of course, with the goal that after this week’s fun you’ll be so excited about all your free goodies that you’ll be looking forward to making things a bit more complicated in moving forward.
Walgreens has a system called Easy Saver Rebates. Every month a list of things are on the monthly list of Easy Saver Rebates, and some of those items give you back the entire purchase price of the item purchased. This month there are 6 free after rebate items.
Okay, so there are three steps to getting the free items this month! So let's get started!
1. Go to the Walgreens Easy Saver Website:
Sometime before the last day of February your job is to go to the Walgreens Easy Saver Rebate website.
For future reference, it is: http://www.walgreens.com/store/rebateclub.jsp.
Now sign up for an account so you can log back in later. This is *very* important!
Now, please download the rebate catalog to your computer.
Turn to page 32 to see the tally sheet. At the top of the tally sheet you see the items that are entirely free after rebate from Walgreens this month.
2. Go to a Walgreens Store:
You can bring the rebate catalog if you want to print it out, but I would recommend simply picking up another in the store to save paper. When you walk in, immediately pick up the small Walgreens Easy Saver Rebate Booklet at the front of the store (It will look like what you downloaded online). Remember what it looks like (see above).
This week you do not have to worry about picking up the weekly flier. Go to page 32 again, and then go and find the 6 items listed free after rebate.
1. Garnier Fructis Wonder Waves Shampoo, Conditioner, or Stylers 6.8-13oz ($4.29)
2. Revlon Age Defying Spa Concealer or Spa Foundation ($9.99)
3. Revlon Creme Lip Gloss ($10)
4. ThermaCare Trial Size Neck, Shoulder & Wrist Heat Wrap ($2..49)
5. Walgreens Multi-Purpose No Rub Solution 4oz ($1.99)
6. Zucol Cold Care Lozenges 18pk ($7.99)
Pay for these items!
Yes!
You will spend about $37 ($36.75 if your products ring up for the estimated prices above – keep in mind that different areas differ by price).
Make sure you buy exactly these products, and you can compare them with the pictures in the Easy Saver Rebate Booklet.
3. Go Back to the Walgreens Easy Saver Rebates Website
After you go home, log on to your computer and return to the webpage you were at before: Walgreens Rebates
Now, follow the simple directions to "claim your rebate" - meaning the way to get Walgreens to send you your money in the form of a Walgreens Gift Card with a 10% bonus!
Here's how:
• You will first go to “start/add receipt”. This will take you to an online tally sheet, where you check off what items you bought this month (you bought exactly the 6 I told you to buy above).
• Press “continue”, and then type in the receipt number on the written receipt you have from your purchases. Then press “save” to the receipt.
• When redeeming your receipt in the next window, do not ask for a check from Walgreens for your roughly $37.00. Instead, redeem your reward in the form of a Walgreens Easy Saver Rebate card for the 10% bonus (to ensure that your taxes are paid and to make around a 3% bonus depending on what state you live in).
Now wait for the Walgreens card to come in the mail. The card will have $37..00 plus 10% ($40.70) for you to spend at Walgreens next month.
You have just picked up $40 of free items!
So - that was week 1!
We have a ton of great people taking this e-course, and I'm so looking forward to hearing your stories - the good stuff and the challenges - about how this worked for you this week!
If you have any questions at all about anything, make sure to email me at choystercash (at) gmail (dot) com.
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