First off I feel that I should tell you that I love to shop!  It is a bad thing to love...at least my husband thinks so! I try not to go shopping too often because 1. I don't have tons of money and 2. I don't have tons of money...see a trend?  Oh well I cannot complain.  I have more than I need in this life and I am blessed!  Ok well even though I try not to go shopping too often I am not a strong enough person to not go shopping at all, other than grocery shopping. So I think I have found a solution to my dilemma!  The answer to all my shopping woes is....get ready for it...Rite Aid!!!  I have recently discovered how fun it is to shop at Rite Aid...I NEVER imagined myself saying that! 

Rite Aid recently started  a new program that allows their shoppers to save money and earn rewards for shopping with them.  They call it Wellness + Rewards.  All you have to do is sign up for a Wellness + card (very easy and fast to do at your local Rite Aid store) and you are off on your way to tons of savings...I really mean tons!  After you sign up for your card (or before, because you can just sign up for a card the first time you go shopping....that's what I did)  you go to this website and create an account.  On this website Rite Aid has several short videos that you can watch to get coupons.  All you have to do is find the coupon you want and then watch the video for it.  Then each week Rite Aid has new sales and if you look at their add you will see that if you buy certain items you get something called + ups.  I will give you an example...in this weeks add they have the Crest Pro Health Clinical Gum Protection Toothpaste or Rinse advertised for $3.49.  When you purchase one of these items you get back $2 in +ups.  So really you are paying $1.49.  The + ups are used like cash in their stores so when you come back to shop next time you can use them to help pay for your bill.  These +ups print out at the end of your receipt.

I will tell you a little secret, I usually turn on both my computer and my husband's so that while I am trying to see what coupons I need, I can play the videos on his computer and don't have to sit through them and waste my time...because if you try to minimize the videos while they are playing they pause.  They think they are tricky but I am tricky too! Ha!  I hope no one from Rite Aid sees this post...oh well! :)  Oh and if you try my little trick be close enough that you can hear when the video ends because they make you type in a code at the end to verify that you are actually a person!

Anyways, you can wait to print out all your coupons at once after you watch all the videos you want.  They will be saved under the My Rewards tab at the top right corner of your screen.  Another tip: make sure you have enough ink in your printer when you press the print button.  I have learned from experience that once you hit print, that's it, their system will not let you go back and try and print them again.  Oh, and you earn credits for watching videos, once you earn 20 credits you also get a $4 off $20 purchase!  Every month you can get this coupon.

Ok so if you stop there with gathering your coupons and go shopping you will save some money, but I am about to tell you how you really save money!  The trick is to try and use as many coupons as you can on one item.  You are able to use one manufacturer coupon and one store coupon on each item.  The coupons that you print from Rite Aid's website are store coupons, they will say manufacturer coupon, but they are not.  So what you want to do is try and find manufacture coupons that you can use with them to save more money.  Where do you find these coupons and figure out what coupons you can use together?  The answer is Southern Savers!!  My favorite couponing website!  On this website they will tell you every week what the deals are and what coupons you can use together to get the best deals.  They will also list what items will give you + ups.  You are able to print coupons right off of this website. 

So after explaining all that, let me tell you what great deals I got this week at Rite Aid. 

I went to two different Rite Aid stores to find everything I wanted to buy.  At the first store I bought:

• 4 boxes of cereal bars
• Shampoo
• Hair Color
• Facial Cleansing Cloths
• Vitamin C
• Vitamin E
• Mascara

I used $28 worth of coupons and I had $4 +ups that I had from a previous purchase.  So after all of that my subtotal came to $1.37 and the tax was $1.44.  So I spent a grand total of...drum roll please...$2.81!!  I also got $5 +ups back so I can turn around on my next purchase and use that money!

Here is a picture of what I bought with my first transaction.  Sorry for the poor picture quality!

At the second store I didn't get as good of a deal but I still got a lot for my money!  For my second transaction I bought:

• Glade Lasting Impressions Kit
• 2 Tea Light Ornament Candle Holders
• Toothbrush
• Toothpaste
• Eye Shadow

I used $10.75 worth of coupons and I used my $5 +ups from my previous transaction.  So after all of that my subtotal came out to $5.71 and the tax was $1.22.  My grand total was $6.93!!!  The best part is that I got $6.50 + ups back so I can use those on my next transaction!! 

See I have solved the dilemma of my addiction to shopping!  I can shop for things I like...makeup, candles, good smelly stuff, etc. and not spend hardly any money!  My husband is even proud of me!  What lady doesn't want to come home after shopping and have her husband say "good job honey!"  I know I love it!!!  I especially love the deals that end up being free, and even better are the deals that you actually make money by buying!!  My advice is always go for these items...even if it is something you won't use...give it to someone in need!

Ok my fellow bloggers...I encourage you...especially if you are like me and love to shop...go out and apply for a Wellness + Card today!!!!  Why wait to start saving?!?!