Before Wes got laid off, I had no coupon love.  Coupons were the pretty papers that I threw away with the newspaper.  They overwhelmed me and I figured that they were only for the expensive items that I didn’t need anyway. Then I was introduced to the drugstore game.  I had no idea that there was a world of savings that a) would provide me with continually nearly free items every week and b) I could easily follow through a few simple online searches. Since joining the world of drugstore saving about a year ago, I estimate that I’ve saved our family over a thousand dollars in health and beauty products.  Yep.  Over a thousand dollars. If you’d like to join the game, I’m going to give you the simplest tutorial I know how and then leave it up to you to bring on the questions!

DRUGSTORE SHOPPING 101

Here’s what you need to do to get started:

1. Start saving your Sunday coupons.  For tips on how to organize them, go here.
2. Plan your shopping trip in advance through reading this blog and looking at the store’s weekly and monthly flyers.
3. Learn the art of stockpiling.  The way to get the best deals is to buy what you need when you don’t need it.
4. You will spend the least amount of money by rolling over the rewards you earn from one purchase onto the next.
5. Stop by weekly to find the best deals.  I will post them every Sunday.

I recommend starting with one store.  As you feel like you are getting the hang of it, you can move onto the next! Here are my tutorials for specific stores:

• CVS
• CVS Weekly Deals

• Walgreens
• Walgreens Weekly Deals

• Rite Aid
• Rite Aid Weekly Deals