I got paid to shop!

Have you tried your luck at couponing yet? If not, you should! I just got paid $7 to purchase these items at Walgreens!

The request for more details on how to get started using coupons is quite popular, so I thought I'd break down for you what I did today.

• 13.5 oz Pert Plus
• Three - 4 oz. Children's Tylenol
• Glade Fabric/Air Freshener
• Colgate max fresh toothbrush (it has a scratch and sniff handle... kind of weird...)

I really should have made over $10, but I forgot to use a couple coupons on the Pert Plus. I think I'll go back tomorrow and re-do that, while I'm picking up a few other things.

Alright- this is how I did it:

Tylenol: $5.69 each. I used a $3 off when you buy 3 manu coupon, and $1.50 store coupon scanned 3 times. Total price for each = $3.19

Glade Fabric/Air: $3.99. I used a $1 manu coupon and a $1.50 store coupon. Total price = 1.49

Colgate Max Fresh Toothbrush: $3.49. I used a $1 manu coupon and a $2 store coupon.

Total price = $0.49 Then I used a $5 off a $20 purchase (after coupons I was below $20, but the clerk pushed it through for me anyway, since it was originally over $20)

Add in $0.69 sales tax and my total came out to $13.72.

I paid using a gift card from previous rebates**. The gift card covered the entire amount. $7 of Register Rewards printed out for me to use next time, along with a $4 coupon for a renuzit air freshener.. which I'll probably use.

**Walgreens has a great rebate system, where each month you can get many items for free after rebate, or at a great discount. You don't have to mail anything- just go to their website and type in your receipt number, and they send you a gift card. After the first time you receive the gift card, they just keep adding the rebate to that same card if you want. Easy Peasy!

There you have it. You can get paid to shop, you just have to do a little homework first! Studies show that people who spend 20 minutes a week clipping/organizing coupons, can save at least $1,000 per year!

If you haven't started yet, buy the Sunday paper this week. Pick up the sales fliers from your local Walgreens or CVS (or save them when they come in the mail, instead of trashing them), and start reading some frugal blogs to help you figure it all out!