Know Your Prices By Location

The above picture and the below picture are for identical products, but one is priced $.16 less!

Both of these pictures were taken a Meijer locations, and both of these stores are roughly 12 minutes from my house... but it seems that one location is less expensive for me to shop at!

In the grand scheme of saving, $.16 is NOT a great amount of savings! But, when I spend a $.50 coupon, which doubles at all Michigan stores- the above bottle of hot sauce is FREE... and I like FREE!

I'd also say, on average, that I place at least 30 items into my grocery cart each week while shopping at Meijer. If I were to spend an extra $.16 on the items in my cart, I'd be spending an average of an extra $4-5 a week on the exact same items that I could get less expensively by shopping the same store chain, but another location!

Have YOU ever scoped out the prices between identical stores but differing locations?

Q & A

Coupon Clipper: Whoa. Wait....what...? You can use RR from WAGS at Meijer? Like the $ off RR?! Please clarify.

Me: Yup! Sweet huh!?!

I often will make purchases at Walgreens that will earn myself Register Rewards (AKA: store reward money) and I will spend them at a location other than Walgreens.

You see, Register Rewards are actually Manufacturer's coupon (look at the picture!) And Manufacturer's coupons can be spent anywhere that accepts coupons.

The only glitch is that Register Rewards say "redeemable at Walgreens." Yes, they definitely are redeemable at Walgreens, but they are also redeemable elsewhere- but ONLY if the other stores choose to accept them.

Catalina Marketing, the maker of the coupons, and I have had a few in depth conversations. (*I prefer speaking with the legal department rather than a customer care representative!) I have been told that any store that accepts the Register Rewards will be fully reimbursed by the manufacturer for the value stated on the coupon! Yay for us!

Now... stores other than Walgreens DO NOT HAVE TO ACCEPT your Register Reward!!! It is their choice! There is nothing that you can do.

My advice:

1. Ask your store manager the next time that you are shopping if they will accept your Register Reward. You can take the time to explain that they will indeed get reimbursed.

2. If you are asking while standing at a cash register, ask the Manager if (s)he would mind just trying to scan the coupon... it will scan, and sometimes that helps to make up their mind to accept the Register Reward.

3. If your store chooses to accept Register Rewards as a form of payment- still expect to have to explain this to your cashier each and every time you shop with them, because your cashier will look at you like you have six heads!

If your store refuses to allow you to spend your Register Rewards with them... shop around! My favorite Meijer does not allow me to spend my RR's, but a Meijer five minutes further down the road welcomes me to spend them in their store... and ten extra minutes in the car for FREE groceries is well worth my time!

PS: I almost always will send my Register Reward money on meat. This way I can have meat in my freezer ready to make any meal that we normally eat- and it makes keeping my budget low much easier!

Savvy Shopping: Spending Store Rewards

This week Walgreen's has glucose monitors on sale for $14.99, plus when you make a purchase you will earn a $5 Register Reward (Walgreen's store money).

Recently, there had been a coupon in the Sunday paper to receive up to $30 off of a Bayer glucose monitor.

Since the monitor was on sale for $14.99, the coupon value would need to be adjusted down to the purchase price (that's what the wording on the coupons means when it states "up to $30") of $14.99. Basically, the monitor was FREE and the $5 in store money is earned for FREE as well.

Then, I turned around and purchased some spices (I'm hoping they are at least decent), and other inexpensive baking products with this weeks sales!

All for FREE by spending my $5 in FREEly earned Register Rewards!

Keep in mind that there are many locations that would LOVE for you to donate glucose monitors to their patients!

*Food pantries

*Nursing homes

*Free clinics

*Veterinary hospitals

For a donation location near you, visit pantrynet.org!

Savvy Shopping: FREE + FREE

I take time each week to read the local sales flyers, just so that I can be aware of what is on sale for the week.

I keep my eyes open especially for buy one get one FREE sales, since I can spend one Manufacturer's coupon per product: meaning one coupon on the item that I am paying for and one coupon for the item that I am getting for FREE, thus lowering the price of the item that I actually have to spend money on!

I especially LOVE matching buy one get one FREE coupons to a buy one get one FREE sale... meaning the store gives me one product for FREE and my coupon gives me the other product for FREE, so receive BOTH products for FREE!

This week, Rite Aid had Herbal Essence shampoo, conditioners and stylers on a buy one get one FREE sale. I also had (6) buy a shampoo/conditioner and receive a FREE styler coupons.

6 shampoo/conditions and 6 stylers = FREE!

BUT... to make this deal even sweeter (um, if you consider purchasing tampons sweet in the least!) I also spent a $5/$25 purchase coupon especially for Rite Aid.

I was able to use this additional $5/$25 coupon because before I handed over my (6) FREE styler coupons, my purchase total was $27-ish, since each Herbal Essence product was $4.59.

My $27 total qualified me to spend the $5/$25 (so FREE box of $5 store brand tampons) and then I handed over my Herbal Essence coupons - leaving me only needing to pay the 6% sales tax!

***I printed my coupon so long ago that I can't find the link, but Common Sense With Money offered this link to a $4/$20 coupon to Rite Aid! Enjoy!