The headline is facetious, but I thought I got everything for free in the photo. But when I did the math, I got $25.47 in merchandise at Rite Aid tonight for 44 cents. Still a dang good week.

This shop illustrates the power of blogs. I don’t come up with all these coupon and Single Check Rebates scenarios to work Rite Aid. I use blogs.

The best for Rite Aid is For The Mommas.com. Every week, she not only tells you the deals, but beginning Sunday, she posts scenarios on how to net the most for free. Read the comments, too, for even more deals. To just go to the Rite Aid deals and the ones I used this week, use this link.

Yes, it was a good week at Rite Aid, and, before, I stopped at Walgreens to net me Listerine in which I will make $7 with a rebate and also a free 8X10 enlargement. I learned of these deals at This Frugal Life.

Both web sites you may “like” on Facebook, and I highly recommend you do so. They religiously tell you every deal they find as soon as they come available.

(By the way, if you wonder why I bought the popcorn. This is called a “filler” item — I was at $24.93 for the deals, but needed to hit $25 before coupons to use the Rite Aid coupon for $5 off $25. That little bag of popcorn for 50 cents saved me $4.50.)

All I can say today is the knowledge I gained from reading blogs netted me $25+ in merchandise for 44 cents! With tax, I paid $2.18 (you pay tax on the purchase price before coupons). That was cheaper than the shampoo alone! By the way, the power razor, alone, was normally priced at $12.99! Who says you can’t live better with coupons?

Yes, it’s true — I got paid $6.82 to buy $48.43 in merchandise tonight at Rite Aid! I had not been there in a month because the specials were nothing special. But I scored tonight. Even with tax, I only paid $1.76 for all this stuff, including $25.99 in Prevacid — I paid 99 cents!

Now don’t think I figure out all these deals myself. I am helped by Shannon at For the Mommas.com. Each week, she spells out the best deals, the rebates, and the coupons to use. I am proud to say I figured out the Prevacid deal on my own, though.

You gotta love when you get paid to buy products you need anyway.

I am so loving rebate offers right now. Tonight, I walked out of Rite Aid with $17 in merchandise and will get all free!

Sure deodorant is offering its “try me free” rebate on a variety of its newest products — just look for the tag. And I scored on this pricey Organix shampoo. It has a full price rebate, and Rite Aid has it as a BOGO this week (that’s coupon talk for “buy one, get one free”). So I bought the Sure for Women and two Organix shampoos, and will get refunded the entire purchase price! How cool is that?

Blogs, such as For the Mommas and Saving Cents with Sense, will tip you off when these deals are available. I still need to snag the free Olay lotion rebate that just came available, as I mentioned in this post.

But you can see, you can net a lot of high-priced merchandise with these total purchase price rebates. But why do companies do it? It’s called the “heroin method” in marketing. You give people the first product free, get ‘em hooked, and then they have to buy it in the future.

But there’s nothing saying you can’t just take advantage of the free item and go about your non-addicted way.

Another tip — add coupons on top of the rebate. For example, I will get the Sure deodorant for free, but I also had a dollar off coupon, so they will pay me $1 to buy it! The manufacturer only looks at purchase price — not any other incentives you added to it.

Finally, for those people who think it’s too much trouble for rebates, as I mentioned in this post, my strategy is to send off for the rebate within 24 hours of coming home with the product. That way you have the receipt and the item close at hand for any requirements (usually they want you to copy the UPC code off the back). Also, on the UPC, they normally want you to include the tiny numbers on front and back of the larger numbers, so be sure and include those.

Yes, rebates require a bit of work, but if you found $17 outside your local drugstore tonight, wouldn’t you pick it up? That’s what full price rebates are — found money … and products! By the way, I deposited $50 in rebates tonight at Wells Fargo from this month. Gotta love free stuff!

I just wrote a scathing letter to the manager of my local Rite Aid on how the assistant manager at the store treated me tonight — not because my coupons weren’t accepted, but because she treated me “lesser than” for using them. Who is “lesser than” when I walked out with $32 in merchandise and they paid me 1 penny! I consider that “smarter than!”

I am one angry black woman!

But, yes, tonight, I got hassled for using coupons. This comes eventually to every couponer. It also comes into play to know the store’s policy. But that’s not where the problem was tonight — it was because two of the coupons I used required a manager approval, and she said to me — twice — “You’re still here?”

I always try to be courteous when using coupons, routinely letting people in front of me. But my money is just as good as theirs. Not only that, stores are not only reimbursed for coupons, they are also paid to redeem them.

Such a different reaction tonight when I stopped in Vons and got 89 percent off my small order. The woman behind me even said, “Whoa — you use coupons, don’t you?” Yes, I do!

So tomorrow, I am going to drop off a complaint letter to the Rite Aid manager — whom I know by name — about the previously mentioned assistant manager. But the big thing to remember is you are not “lesser than” for using coupons. You are smarter than!

Working the drugstore deals is one of the biggest highs for a coupon shopper. That’s because most of the time, you get paid to shop! All the major stores have programs, but my personal favorite is Rite Aid.

It’s Single Check Rebate program and liberal coupon policy usually will net me nearly $20 in free merchandise each week. Today was a great day — $44.18 in products and I will end up getting paid $3.29 to buy ‘em all. Even after tax, I still got paid 26 cents! It is so much fun to walk out of the drugstore and know they are paying you to take it all.

I’ve noted many of my drugstore deals in these posts, but let me quickly tell you how I did it today. It’s a matter of combining coupons, with sales and with Rite Aid’s Single Check Rebate program, in which you enter your receipt online and once a month request the company send you all your eligible rebates in one check. That’s it!

Now don’t think you have to use too much brain power to figure the deals out. Some very nice bloggers weekly tell you exactly what products to buy, the coupons to use, and what you will end up paying. Every week, I rely on the list I find on For the Mommas. She even puts an asterisk next to the free or money-making deals. How easy is that?

All you need to do is save the coupon flyers each week (I just have them in a big white envelope with the date they were issued written on top), then you just cut out the coupons to go with that week’s deals. Go to the store, snag the deals. Check out. Come home. Enter the receipt info online for Rite Aid, and put away the haul. I can tell you straight out, I have not paid for deodorant in more than a year!

OK, let me quickly show you how I did the two transactions. (That’s a tip — to use the Rite Aid store coupons in which you get $3 off $15 or $5 off $25, you split the transactions. Don’t worry, the cashiers don’t care.)

Here’s how it went down: I used one $3 off $15 purchase Rite Aid coupons (found online). Always give this one first. Used two “Buy a deodorant, get free body wash” coupons from the Proctor and Gamble flyer insert. Used $4 off the purchase of two Gillette body washes (keep in mind, I got ‘em for free!) and then submit for one Single Check Rebate for $2. End result — I get paid $1 to buy it all.

Now, I know it sounds complicated, but remember, great blogs will tell you when the coupons came out, how to match up the deals and even give you the links to the Rite Aid coupons! All you do is cut, combine and shop.

Here’s how this one went down. Used a $5 off $25 Rite Aid online coupon (always give this one first, so the register acknowledges you “spent” $25+), then I used a number of manufactuer coupons and will request $8 in Single Check Rebates. I will detail in a later post about how a “buy one, get one free” special at Rite Aid actually nets you both free, but you’re gonna have to wait for that.

For today, I just want to say if you are not using the drugstore deals, you are cheating yourself out of hundreds of dollars of free merchandise — not to mention, saving at least 90 percent every time you go. Check out For the Mommas or “fan” her on Facebook, and you, too, can see how you can get these kind of deals each week.

There is a nearly indescribable thrill for me when I walk out of a store with stuff for free (and I’m not talking shoplifting). It’s just knowing that you worked the deals well. Tonight, I walked out of Rite Aid with $17.50 in merchandise, and will end up getting paid $1 to buy it all! If I had paid full price, it would have been $31 in stuff!

Once again, I used the tips I found on Couponmom.com and on For the Mommas.com, which tell you what the steals are at the drugstores and what coupons you can use to make them even better. Here is the list from For the Mommas this week, with all the matchups and final prices, so you can see how simple it is.

Rite Aid also offers its Single Check Rebate program (which I detailed here and love). That means I walked out of the store today with the $17 in merchandise for $3.90 (including tax!), but I will have $5 in rebates coming back to me at the end of the month once I enter the basic receipt info at the Rite Aid web site, resulting in getting paid $1.10 to buy it all (and that’s after tax)!

A couple tips from the shopping trip:

So, once again, I walked out tonight with some purchases that allow us to lead a more comfortable life for nothing extra. I take a lot of pride in that. Just wanted to share how I did it.

Today reminded me why I love using coupons and rebates — I get to enjoy the thrill of buying without the guilt of paying for it! In fact, I will get paid $1 to buy everything in this photo.

I snagged the free 8X10 photo deal at Walgreens I mentioned yesterday on Facebook (a $2.99 value), so I am all set for a lovely gift for my friend Jayne. But before I headed out, I checked other blogs who enjoy saving as much as I do and found that I could pick up four of the expensive soy-based Glade Fragrance Collection candles at 2 for $5 at WAGS. But they also recently had a high-value coupon for $3 off 2, so now they were $1 apiece. (If you keep your coupon flyers — as you should — you can also find the same coupon in the February 2 SmartSource circular.)

But it gets better!

The same blog noted that S.C. Johnson still has this great rebate offer going that when you buy 3 participating products, you get $5 back on a rebate. So, yes, I will get paid $1 to buy everything — $13 in merchandise!

I know it is sometimes hard to believe, but these scenarios occur on a regular basis. Just this week I got a check for $12 in the mail for the two Olay lotions I bought with this rebate offer, in which I also used a $2 Ecoupon coupon (learn about them here). So not only did I get free lotion, but I got paid to buy them! I also just sent off for the great $15 Olay rebate to net two body washes and another lotion. This deal is still available! Last night, I sent off for the “try me free” rebate for Sure deodorant for men. Of course, I used a $1.50 coupon, so I will not only get the purchase price back ($1.99), But I will also get paid $1.50 to buy it. The rebate programs don’t care about coupons. They only look at the purchase price — a big secret. That means you often make money buying luxuries and necessities. Gotta love that!

This is one of my favorite aspects of couponing and using rebates — you get to enjoy items you normally would not buy when on a tight budget. I call them my little luxuries.

The Material Boy in me is happy, and you can still do this candle at Walgreens through today!

Geez louise, I thought I lucked out in December when Olay offered to reimburse the total price of two body lotions, but a new offer just came out that’s just as sweet! Receive a $15 rebate when you purchase three Olay products before March 12. I did the deal today, and actually made money!

I got two big bottles of body wash and another bottle of body lotion today at Rite Aid for a total cost of $19.49. I then used two manufacturer coupons from the January 17 Proctor and Gamble coupon insert to net $2 off the lotion and $1 off the body wash, bringing the cost down to $16.49. With the rebate, I am now paying $1.49 for three items. Woo-hoo! But then I added in a $5 off $25 Rite Aid purchase, and when all was said and done, I got paid 2 cents to buy everything in the photo, when I used one rebate, one more manufacturer coupon an and Internet coupon for the soup available at Campbellskitchen.com! $25.45 in merchandise for free! Sweet!

Even if you used no coupons, but just looked for a good sale, you still should be able to get three Olay products for only $1 apiece. Still dang good. I also just saw that if you do some good shopping at Walmart, you can make even more money on this deal! This one is a sweet deal!

Eligible products are Olay facial moisturizers, facial treatments, facial cleansers, hand and body lotions, body washes or 6+ bar soap packs. Just fill out this form with the UPC codes for all products and include the original receipt (with the items and prices circled) and you’re on your way to making a great deal! The purchases may be made separately but prior to March 12. The form and receipt(s) must be postmarked by March 26. Only one offer per household.

Special thanks goes out to For the Mommas blog for tipping me off on this great deal.

Who doesn’t love getting stuff for free? I do, and that’s why I love doing my drugstore deals nearly every week. Believe it or not, I got paid to buy all these products in the past two weeks! And it is so easy — you can do it, too.

I normally shop at Rite Aid, because I love its Single Check Rebate program, where I enter my receipt number online, and at the end of the month, I request my check for all rebates. CVS and Walgreens offer similar programs, but theirs involve getting credits on your receipt that you may use for future purchases. My pal Traci at Southern CouponBelle blog loves CVS, and she has it down to a science. Personally, I would rather get the cash back and spend it where I will, but if all you have is CVS and its Extra Care Bucks program or Walgreen’s Register Rewards, you’re still gonna walk away with a lot of free products.

But what makes these programs sweeter is that you can combine with store and manufacturer coupons, and that’s how you turn ‘em into money-makers. These are the Holy Grail for couponers, where you are actually paid to buy the items! And Couponmom.com makes it easy every Sunday, when she posts all the deals and the coupon matchups. Just check what you want, cut out the coupons and you are on your way to saving.

Look at the Gillette shave gel above. It was on special for $2.99, with a $1 Single Check Rebate. Now it’s $1.99. But I also had a manufacturer coupon for $1 off, so that brought it down to 99 cents. Then I had a coupon from the bottom of my receipt for last week for $1 off any shave product $1.99 or more, so I actually got paid 1 cent to buy it. I combined the rebate, the store coupon and the manufacturer one to make it a steal.

Want to guess how much all the above items cost me? $1.47. But I had a $5 off $25 coupon (often available online and currently with this link), so I actually paid nothing for ‘em. (I bought a bottle of gin, which threw me up to $25 — and was a deal at $12.99 — so I figure I got $3.50 off it, and $1.50 off these items … and I wanted the gin.)

(In this case, the gin was what is referred to as a “filler item” — something you buy to make sure you can maximize your coupon savings. I did it at right with the shoe cushion inserts. Great to have, but I normally would not buy, but they allowed me to use the $5 off $25 coupon, and I had manufacturer coupons and the Single Check Rebates on ‘em, so they were free, and they got me to $25 so I could use the $5 coupon. It’s important to remember — the stores count your total purchase before coupons and rebates, so I hit $25 on their books but still paid much less than that at the store.)

Want to see how it all works? In the photo directly above, I was actually paid 60 cents to buy everything!

You’ll notice on the drugstore shops that there are not a lot items. But that’s the secret with doing the Rite Aid, CVS and Walgreens deals — you go in and hit the hot, hot specials and leave. You’re there to buy, not to shop — meaning you go in with a list of the deals with coupons in hand, throw ‘em in your basket and leave.

How much of a difference does it make? If I had paid the sale prices on all these items, my total would have been $48.92. But instead, I got paid $2.10 to buy ‘em all! A $50 savings — now that will pay the phone bill and I got a lot of great items, too.

I think a lot of people think these kind of deals are a secret and require a lot of work, but with the Internet, you can make them easy as pie. Now, you’ll excuse me, but I am going to enjoy a Nyquil sleep — for free.

“Sweet” — that’s what the cashier said when he saw the total after my coupons today at Rite-Aid. But that’s before he knew what I was going to pay after online rebates! An original $25.52 bill will end up being just $1.77!

I love it when the cashiers note that you know how to work the system — I had more than $16 just in coupons. After $9.27 out of pocket, he said, “You know how to shop” — and it only took 12 minutes. But that’s before he knew I would end up paying just $3.24 with tax after rebates.

I prepared my list for Rite Aid last night and gathered my matching coupons using the list at www.Couponmom.com (updated every Sunday for drugstores). I stopped at the bank ATM to make a deposit, and then in the course of 12 minutes, I went into Rite Aid and racked up 90 percent in savings (and that includes the tax!).

If I paid the sales price, the items pictured would have cost $25.52, but I will end up paying $1.77! That’s as if I just bought the lighter! Factor in the sales tax, and it’s if I bought the toothpaste at regular price, and everything else was free! (Here’s an example, with the rebate, the Crest toothpaste was 99 cents — a great deal — adding in a coupon, it was 24 cents! Try getting that price at Costco!)

Now let me tell you on hitting drugstore deals, you are not going to walk out with a full cart — and frankly you should not. You’re there to buy, not to shop. Go in with a list. Hit those loss leaders and leave. Match them with coupons and online rebates, and you’ve got a steal of a deal!

CVS and Walgreens also offer similar deals, but no online rebates like Rite Aid. Instead, you get a cash register receipt with a certain amount off your next purchase. That’s great, but it also has an expiration.

I prefer to have the cash at the end of the month to spend as I wish, but let me tell you, if you have a Walgreens or CVS nearby, you can reap similar savings. You just need to be diligent about going back to spend your “Register Rewards,” as is the case with Walgreens, or “Extra Care Bucks,” as is the case with CVS. My pal Traci at Couponbelle explains how to work their programs at her great blog. Also, Melissa at the Savings Cents with Sense blog each week offers a list of all the deals at the drug stores, and flags you when the $5 off $25 Rite Aid coupon is available (which I used today).

I prefer the simplicity at Rite Aid. Sure, I match the coupons and deals, but its online rebates is where you rack up savings, and it could not be simpler. I just come home, log on to www.riteaid.com, and register my receipt. That’s it! No mailing receipts, noting UPC codes or anything. They keep track of it. Then, at the end of the month, I just request a check online — last month’s was $109 in what ended up being free merchandise.

I love using the drugstore deals — I get items I need anyway (shampoo, razors, toothpaste, etc), but also a host of other items that I normally would buy in an emergency (cold related, for example) and others that make life sweeter (a Febreze candle, for example — that’s going to be a Christmas gift).

It took me a little bit to dip my foot into the drugstore savings pool, but after I did, I can tell you, the only thing getting soaked is the store.