The Rite Aid Rules

This is a post I have been needing and wanting to write for months, it just always got pushed back. Well, here we go. Rite Aid, I love this store! It has totally erased those $200 bi monthly Walmart/Kmart/super store trips. At first glance however, it seems ridiculously overpriced and regularly it is, but if you know the rules, you can save upwards of 90%!

1. Rule #1: Get a Wellness Card. First off this gives you "sale" price of the items, but it doesn't stop there. For every dollar you spend (pre coupon!) you earn 1 point. For every prescription you fill you get 25 points. Once you reach 1000 points, you get 20% off regularly priced items for the rest of the year and the full next year. Right now I have 20% off through 2011 (earned in 2010) and am nearly 500 points to my 1000 points to earn 20% off through 2012. Although this 20% off isn't in addition to the sale price, it is nice to use when you run out of something. For instance even though diapers are regular $12.49 at Rite Aid, I know that with my card I will get them for $9.99 everyday and then if I add a coupon around $7.99, which is an good price in a pinch. You can sign up for a card at any register (it takes about 2 minutes) and start saving. It is totally free.
   
2. Rule #2: + Ups. Plus Ups are the coupons that print after you print a certain item. Think of them as a "catalina" or an instant rebate. For instance, this week if you buy Hyland's Leg Cramps pills at $6.99, you get a $6 + Up. You would pay $6.99 up front and then get a $6 + UP coupon at the bottom of your receipt. If you had a manufacturer's coupon (even a FREE coupon) you will pay less up front, but still get the full $6 +Up. The +Ups can be used like cash on most items, including buying more of the same item. They are also considered a kind payment so they don't need to attach to any item, think of it like a gift card. Meaning if you buy only one item, you could use a +Up, a manufacturer's coupon, and a store coupon on that item. I like to try and "roll" my + Ups from the previous week and use it to pay for another item that will earn me a new + Up. This really helps keep the out of pocket expense down. They are starting to impose limits on the amount of +Ups you can get for a certain item, but usually it is at least 2 or 4, so still worth it! This is tracked by your wellness card. You also need a wellness card in order for the +Ups to print.
   
3. Rule #3: Coupon stacking. Rite Aid allows a manufacturer's coupon and store coupon for each item. Even though the coupons in the Rite Aid weekly ad say "manufacturer's" at the top, they clearly start with an RC in the bar code indicating they are a store coupon and can be stacked.
   
4. Rule #4: Video Values. Each Rite Aid month (which is close but not exactly with the calendar) Video Value coupons are released on rite aid.com. These are coupons you can earn by watching short commercials for the products. There are also special groups of coupons you can watch to earn various $2/$10, $3/$15, 0r $4/$20 coupons. The coupons are Rite Aid coupons and therefore stackable! The coupons are available to earn for 4-5 weeks, but are available in your account to print until they expire, which is usually 1 month after. They are only available to print once, so make sure your printer is ready when you go to print. If you have an issue though, be sure to email them. I recently had a printer jam and contacted them, within 5 days, all my coupons were restored to my account.
   
5. Rule #5: Survey coupons. Randomly at the bottom of some receipts are survey codes. Go to the survey site , enter the code and take the survey (less than 5 minutes) and you will get a one time $3/$15 coupon link.
   
6. Rule #6: SCR catalog. SCR stands for Single Check Rebate. This is what got me hooked on Rite Aid in the first place. They seem to be doing less of these because of +Ups, but they are still a good way to get cheap or even free items. Every Rite Aid month (close to calendar months but run 4-5 weeks and from Sunday to Saturday) a catalog is released of the available rebates. All you need to do is purchase the product you are interested in. Then come home and enter a few short numbers from your receipt online on the Single Check Rebate page at riteaid.com. Once you have entered all your receipts for the month, you can request your check and a one "single check" will come for all your rebates that month. IMPORTANT: You can only request a check once per month, so make sure all your receipts are entered and you are done shopping for the month before you request your check. Again, I recycle this money to earn more SCRs and + Ups, to keep my out of pocket down.
7. Rule #7: Go out and shop. In my experience (except for a rare few ornery cashiers) Rite Aid is very coupon friendly. They also like to promote their Wellness, + Ups program, and SCR programs. You will learn how to play the Rite Aid game best by shopping and figuring it all out.
   

• For an in depth discussion, check out maven of savin
• Also check on i heart rite aid for ad previews and monthly + UPs, as well as some fabulous unadvertised deals.
  

Each week I also post my favorite deals, but be sure to check out my favorite Rite Aid bloggers in the sidebar for more deals. Half the fun of Rite Aid shopping for me is finding the deals, it is kind of like a treasure hunt! Good luck and be sure to ask if you have any questions. In no time you will be a Drug Store Diva!

What is a catalina?

This is a question I get a lot...


What is a catalina? How does it roll? A catalina (or cat) is any piece of paper that prints out of that little box next to the cash register. ("Catalina" is just the name of the company that makes the boxes.) They may announce new products or promotions, but most of the time they are coupons. They are triggered by what you buy. For instance, buy baby food, you will probably get one for diapers and formula, or buy frozen food and maybe you will get one for another kind of frozen food.

The most valuable catalinas are the ones you earn by doing promotions. Like buy $25 worth of certain products, get $5 back to spend on your next purchase. This comes out in the form of a catalina. Grocery stores like Albertsons and Safeway use these the most. You can also get them at KMart, Fred Meyer, Walgreens, and Rite Aid (they are called Register Rewards at Walgreens and + Ups at Rite Aid.) Make sure your cashier gives you all your catalinas when you leave, you never know what you might get. Also, the promotion ones usually print out after you have paid, so watch for the flashing green light on the box, if it is still flashing, it is still generating catalinas for you. Make sure you get them and not the lucky person behind you.

A rolling catalina is when you do a promotion, earn a catalina and then turn around and do the promotion again (on your next shopping trip), use your catalina coupon, and then earn another one. Sometimes they roll nicely, sometimes they don't. I will be sure to point out when one is rolling nicely. FYI a "shopping trip" is defined when you leave the store, so technically you can go to your car, unload your car, and come back in to complete another transaction.


So, remember a few weeks ago how Albertsons had that great catalina sale, where you got $ off coupons for buying certain products. Well, I went and redeemed them and I got $132 worth of groceries for $20! That is why learning about catalinas is so important, they can save you big time money!

Coupon 101: Doubles

One of the biggest deal diva secrets is doubles! Now living in the Northwest, it is not as easy as it is in other regions of the country, but doubles still exist and with planning you can score free or cheap products. Stores that double and their "rules"...

1. Safeway, up to 50 cents per coupon, up to 4 per transaction. You just need to hand them the double coupon that is in every ad, every week.
2. Albertsons, up to $1 per coupon, up to 3 per transaction. Hand the cashier the 3 double the value coupons that appear periodically in the weekly ad or a special Sunday insert.
3. Kmart, periodically double events. The last one was up to $2 and limit of 5 per day. This was a Shop Your Way Rewards event, tracked by your rewards card.

I really hate the limit per transaction rule at Albertsons and Safeway. I would much rather they just had a doubles day or something, but alas the rules are in place so it doesn't get out of hand. What do you think, do you like doing numerous transactions to use numerous doublers? Do the cashiers give you a hard time about this?

Note: I have heard of "tripling" coupons, but have yet to see this in the NW :(

Coupon 101: Stacking

Sorry for no post yesterday, it was one of those stranger than fiction days and blogging just did not happen. :(

Deal Diva Secret #2: Most people know you can use one coupon per item or as many items as the coupon states ($1/2...etc), however few know you can use manufacturer's coupons with store coupons to get some great deal! This term is called stacking and fairly simple and straight forward. Some things to remember:

• Manufacturer's coupons are put out by the manufacturer and will say "manufacturer" on the top. The manufacturer is taking the loss on the product.


• Store coupons are put out by the store, they are usually a special "sale price" rather than cents or dollars off. The store is taking the loss here. Store coupons will usually say "store coupon" at the top. They might also have the store logo on them. They are usually found in the store ad for the week, by the product, or occasionally come in the mail.


• If the store mails you a coupon or gives you a coupon that says "manufacturer" on it, but still has the store logo it is still considered a manufacturer's coupon. It is just kosher to use this coupon at the store that gave it to you, as that was the store/manufacturer's intention.


• The one exception I can think of it Rite Aid. Rite Aid store coupons say manufacturer on the top, but has a RC in front of the bar code. Any Rite Aid coupons (video values, ads, wellness, etc) will have this RC and are store coupons that can be stacked.

*Example from this weeks Albertsons ad:

• Bar S meat Franks 88 cents with in ad coupon, use $1/2=76 cents for 2! That means buy 2 packages, at check-out give the cashier the store coupon (usually the coupon will have a limit on it, like 4 or something, but even if you buy 4, you only need one store coupon) and the manufacturer's coupon and you will get both packages for 76 cents!

Couponing 101: Lingo

I was recently talking to a friend, relatively new at couponing, and realized that some deals were "greek" to her. I realized that a two years ago, I had no idea what most of this meant either. I am going to take the next few Mondays and give you 5 secrets to becoming a deal diva. These are the ways to really get the most for your dollar. Secret #1: understand the lingo. Couponers have their language, here is the breakdown:

• BLINKIE =in-store manufacturer’s coupon near the product, usually from a red blinking box
  BOGO/B1G1 = Buy One Get One
• CATALINA (or Cat) = Coupon printed at register after purchased
• DOUBLE COUPON = Coupon that grocery store doubles in value
• FILLER =item purchased for the deal work, example: using a $1 item to get to the needed $25
• IP =internet printable coupon (also called printable)
• GM = General Mills (Newspaper insert)
• LOSS LEADER = item that a store puts on a fantastic sale, usually losing money on it, in hopes that while you’re in store buying the item, you will buy the rest of your shopping list there
• OOP =out of pocket
• OVERAGE=the amount of money made on buying an item (profit), also called Money Maker
• OYNO=on your next order
• OOP = Out of Pocket
• P&G = Proctor & Gamble (Newspaper Insert)
• Peelie = Coupon you peel off package
• RP= Red Plum (Newspaper Insert)
• ROLLING= using a CAT to pay for an item that produces another CAT
• SCR=Single Check Rebate (Rite Aid's Rebate system)
• SS= Smart Source (Newspaper Insert)
• STACKING = Using stores allow multiple use of coupons – manufacturer’s & store coupons or rebates.
• TEAR PAD = A pad of coupons or MIR near a product or on display

Example of an deal the way I post:

• Dishsoap $1.29, use 0.50 in ad coupon stacked with 0.75/1 coupon in 1/20 SS=4 cents...meaning dishsoap is on sale for $1.29 the store has a coupon in the ad for 50 cents off which you can use with the 75 cents manufacter's coupon in the January 20 Smart Source insert to get the item for only 4 cents!

For my deals, I usually post an = meaning the amount you will pay at the register.

However, on Rite Aid the = sign is the amount you pay after for the item after the SCR is factored in, meaning your register total will be higher, but you will get reimbursed when you get your SCR check.

Example:

• Razor $5.99
• SCR $3
• Use $1/1 from 3/7 RP with $1/1 video values coupon
• =99 cents...

which means, razors are on sale for $5.99, there is a $3 Single Check Rebate available for this item, use the $1 coupon from the March 7 Red Plum and the $1 off 1 coupon from video values, total cost of item 99 cents (you will pay $3.99 at register, but get reimbursed later)

*What confuses you? What questions do you have?