May 14, 2012

Revisiting the Good Old Days in The Drugstore Game

I started playing The Drugstore Game back in 2008, and in June of that year, I was able to buy a ton of stuff for free:
Thanks to ECBs and free gift cards that I earned through MyPoints, won from My Good Cents, and received for new prescriptions, I spent zero dollars out of pocket at CVS during the month of June.

The amazing thing is the tally of things that I picked up this month, all for free: lots of toilet paper and paper towels, Lysol wipes, Listerine SmartRinse (regular Listerine devastates my mouth, but this stuff is great), bandages, batteries, toothbrushes, diapers, wipes, and more.

I saved over $150 by shopping at CVS. That's the amount I would have paid at Target during my pre-Drugstore Game days, and that's assuming the best price scenario with sales and coupons.

I didn't even include in my $150 savings the stuff that I wouldn't have bought if it wasn't free or almost-free at CVS: things like deodorant, cotton swabs, cookies, and more. I'm now finding a use for these items, giving them away to friends and family, or donating them to a good cause. And I just have one thing to say ...

I love The Drugstore Game!
Things have changed a lot in the last four years. Gift card offers for prescriptions are a lot rarer than they used to be, and there are far fewer free-after-rewards deal at all of the drugstores. I can't remember the last time I got free toilet paper. You can definitely still save a lot of money by waiting for sales, using coupons, and rolling rewards (I got free contact solution and cheap sunscreen at Walgreens last week) - but it's not as easy as it used to be!

3 comments:

Gina said...

I totally agree. While it's still worth it to take the time for The Drugstore Game (still free toothpaste, inexpensive makeup, etc.), it's nothing like it used to be. I understand it; I got hundreds of $$ of freebies with those gift cards, so I shouldn't complain that it's changed over time.

Chief Family Officer said...

Looking back, I can't believe how much stuff we were able to get for free. No wonder they had to change the deals, LOL! I do miss the good ol' days though :D

Tia said...

I miss those days so much -- and before CVS came to town and made Rite Aid and Walgreens step up their game we were always able to get drugstore items FREE after double coupons (and I mean real double coupons not just the up to a $1 stuff) at Vons and Ralphs. Ahhh -- reminiscing! LOL!