Rite Aid 101: Rite Aid Video Values

When you are finished with registering at Rite Aid and setting up your Wellness+ Online page, go to the Rite Aid home page. Scroll down a bit until you see a box on the lower right-hand side of your screen that says, "Rite Aid Video Values".  You'll want to click on that (here is a direct link).

Here's where shopping at Rite Aid starts to get fun. Rite Aid will reward you for watching a wide assortment of videos about products and services at Rite Aid.  The videos range from about 30 seconds to about 3 minutes each; most are 30 seconds.  If the video is about a specific product (Kit Kat candy for example), once you've viewed the video, you'll be rewarded with a coupon good toward the purchase of that product.  This will be a Rite Aid Coupon, not a manufacturer's coupon.  This is an important distinction. Rite Aid allows you to "stack" one of their coupons with a manufacturer's coupon.  This means that if you have a coupon you have clipped from the newspaper or have printed from an online coupon source (coupons.com, redplum.com, smartsource.com) you can use BOTH in a single transaction for the SAME ITEM.  You could look at it as a sort of coupon doubling, although the values of the two coupons might be different.  Where your savings can really start to add up is if you have a Rite Aid coupon, a manufacturer's coupon, AND Rite Aid is offering a +UP Reward (basically a coupon good for any future purchase at Rite Aid) for the purchase of that product (I'll explain +UP Rewards in a later post).

As you look over the Video Values page, you will see that there are several boxes, each with its own category of videos.  Take special note for any boxes that mention a bonus offer.  For this month, you'll see that there is a Beauty Bonus Offer.  When you watch all 12 of the videos in that section, not only will you be rewarded with individual coupons for the products highlighted, but you'll be able to also print out a coupon good for $2 off any Beauty product purchase of $10. Not a single item, but your total purchase in that category should total $10.  Keep in mind that this $10 total is before subtracting the value of any manufacturer's coupons you may have.  For example, if you've looked over your coupons that you saved from Sunday's paper, there should have been some Cover Girl coupons.  The value of those coupons would be subtracted after you have met the $10 minimum.


Now, about watching those videos.  There are new ones issued each month.  We are now at the first of March, so it's time to get started!  IMPORTANT: The programming for these videos will not allow you to play them while you pull up another tab or document on your computer.  If you leave that screen, the video will pause. Therefore, what I do is pick a time when I will be doing other things at my desk and start to play the videos, one after the other.  You need to be at your computer while they are playing, because as soon as the video is over, a screen will pop up with a "Captcha" code that you must enter within 30 seconds.  I like to get all the video watching taken care of all in one setting so that I know right from the start of the month what I have to work with.  So I pick an activity that will take me a while (bill paying or going through paperwork) so that I can get them all viewed at once.  You may find it works better for you to watch them in several segments.  But I encourage you to get the task done as early in the week as possible, so that you can get the coupons you want printed and filed away and ready to match up with manufacturer's coupons and sales.

You don't have to watch all the videos.  Except for the ones included in any Bonus Offer, feel free to pick only the ones for products you might actually purchase. (Keep in mind, however, that even if it's not a brand you typically purchase but it IS a general product you typically buy, it is a good idea to get that coupon.  You might be surprised at how cheaply you can get that item should it be featured in a sale...maybe even FREE after coupons and +UP rewards!) Do be sure to watch the videos that are generic Rite Aid videos about the services offered at Rite Aid.  When you watch the  Rx Services video this month for example, you will be rewarded  with $1 off your NON-prescription purchase.

And always open up each category to see what offers are there.  I couldn't imagine what was in the "Tax Time" section.  Due to the complicated nature of our tax preparation, we always have someone else do it, so I almost didn't click there.  It turns out that there are offers there for stationery products (pens, notebooks, etc.) and reading glasses!

Once you've watched all the videos you wish to see, you can click on "All Rewards" (you can see this at the top left-hand side of your screen in the dark grey bar).  You will then be presented with a list of all the videos, with check boxes next to the ones you have viewed. Click on each box to check it off, then click on the blue "Print Coupons" link at the top left.  Your coupons will print up to 6 per page.  They do not have to be printed in color. Be frugal and adjust your printer settings accordingly so that they print only in black ink.

So there is your introduction to the Rite Aid Video Values!  You'll be busy watching all those videos, so I'll wait until tomorrow to go over this week's Rite Aid ad along with this week's coupons and the Rite Aid coupons you have printed out.

Have fun!

Rite Aid 101: Your Wellness+ Online page

I am trying to keep each of these Rite Aid 101 posts as simple as possible, preferably with only one aspect of Rite Aid per post.  I figure this way it will be easier for you to find what you need should you wish to go back later and re-read about just that part.

Once you've registered for your Wellness Card, check out your MyRiteAid page.  For future reference, if you are on the Rite Aid home page, you can find links to your pages in a box at the top left-hand side.  If this is your first time at this screen after registering, you'll want to look over the list of free online programs ("My Programs") available through MyRiteAid. Click the Get Started Now button to sign up for those that fit your interest.

You'll want to click on the wellness+ online link at least once a month to see if there are any current special offers.

In my next post, I'll explain the Rite Aid Video Values.

Rite Aid 101: First things first...Register for a Wellness Card

In order to take advantage of the great offers at Rite Aid, you need to have a "Wellness Card".  Go here to register and read about the benefits of the card. When you register, you'll get a coupon good for $5 off your next $25 purchase! So even if you have no other coupons with you on your first visit, you'll be saving $5 right off the bat.  You will need to print a temporary Wellness card to use until you get a permanent one in the mail. Finally, go to My Programs and select the Rite Aid programs you want to enroll in and your contact preferences (email, mail, etc.).

Rite Aid 101: If you've visited Rite Aid in the last 2 weeks...find your receipt.

I just read this over on Hip2Save.  At the bottom of your receipt, there is a message that says, "Tell us about our service and you will be entered to win $10,000".  If you're like me, you often ignore these messages.  Well, this is one time you shouldn't.  If you can find your receipt from a purchase that you made less than 14 days ago, there is a 16 digit code.  Go to this link and you'll be asked to enter that code.  Fill out the survey (it only took me about 3 mintues) and at the end, you'll be rewarded with a coupon for $3 off your $15 purchase.  Print that out and put it in a safe place where you won't forget it when you make your next trip to Rite Aid.  I'm so glad I read about this, because this coupon offer isn't mentioned on the receipt, so it wouldn't have occurred to me to take this quick survey.

I have a zip-close pouch that I keep all my Rite-Aid specific coupons in.  If you don't have something, it will be a good idea to get something...even if it's just an envelope.  As you follow the steps to save at Rite Aid, you'll be getting numerous coupons only redeemable at Rite Aid, so you'll want to keep track of them.  If you keep a coupon notebook, perhaps a pencil bag that fits in a looseleaf notebook would work well for you.

So, take the survey and tuck away that coupon.  Next time I'll post about yet another way to get Rite-Aid specific coupons that you'll be needing to keep in a safe place as well. 

Meanwhile, if you did purchase the Sunday paper, be sure to pull out the coupon fliers as well as the store ad for Rite Aid and any other stores you'll be wanting to shop at.  Be sure to always flip through your Parade Magazine too, if your paper carries it.  I didn't see any coupons in there this week, but once in a while there is one, so you'll want to make that a habit each week.  If you have a filing system for your coupons, then go ahead and clip them and file them.  If you don't have a filing system as yet, there are some coupon users who don't cut the coupons until they are going to use them and instead file them in a 13-pocket accordion file.  For now, if you don't have a filing system of some kind, just put those Sunday coupons in a safe place until later when we'll look over the sale flier together.

If there's a Rite Aid near you, join me for some "Rite Aid Shopping 101"

I'm going to do some "Rite Aid Shopping 101" posts in my blog this week. For the longest time after I started using coupons at the grocery store, I ignored the posts on the blogs I follow that told about the savings at places like Rite Aid as it just seemed really confusing and overwhelming. I'm sure there are others out there too that are like this, so I decided that I'll do a series of posts that will help beginners get their feet wet in the amazing world of saving money at Rite Aid. Then you'll be able to more easily understand the blog posts on other blogs that tell you the specific deals for each week. I don't want to re-create the wheel when they are already doing such a great job. I figure I'll leave out all the "coupon-ese" language and explain the basic steps, so you can walk through the process and end up saving some big $$.  Then you can go to those other blogs for the specific sales for any given week.

Yesterday, I was able to leave the store with over $45 worth of products. I paid just over $13 out of pocket, but was also given $24 worth of what Rite Aid calls "+UP Rewards" (basically in-store credit!) for my next shopping trip. Effectively turning that shopping trip into a money-maker. I give the details of the shopping trip in this post.

If you want to try this out, then be sure to get the newspaper today (Sunday). There should be TWO inserts: SmartSource and Proctor & Gamble. Double-check your paper before you buy it. I've noticed some city papers sometimes leave out one or the other, so it could mean buying a different city's paper to be sure you get all the coupons. But don't worry, you'll more than save enough to make up for the cost of the newspaper.

Rite Aid paid ME to take over $40 worth of products out of the store.

Thanks to coupons, +UP Rewards earned from previous purchases (think of these as in-store credit "refunds" for purchasing certain products), a $20 "Winter Reward" earned for purchasing $100 worth of product (for which my out-of-pocket expense was about 1/3 of that), I was able to leave the store with the following items plus another $24 in +UP Rewards to use on my next trip:

• Two 8-count packages of Brawny paper towel on sale for $6.49 each
• Eleven bottles of Johnson & Johnson baby shampoo & baby bath all on sale for $2.99 each

That's a total of a $45.87 value (plus 78 cents tax so $46.65 in all).

Here are the manufacturer's coupons I had:

• two 50 cents off 1 coupons for the Brawny
• five $1 off 1 coupons for Johnson & Johnson shampoo
• two $3 off 3 coupons for Johnson & Johnson baby products

That is a total of $12 worth of manufacturer's coupons

Then I had the following Rite Aid coupons:

• Winter Wellness Plus Reward $20
• +UP Reward $1

That's $21 worth of Rite Aid coupons

So...   $46.65,
minus $12.00 
minus $21.00 
          $13.65 out of pocket

BUT...

Due to these purchases, I earned $24 in new +UP Rewards to use on my next Rite Aid Visit!  That means that I ultimately got PAID $10.35 for taking all that paper towel and shampoo/baby bath off the store shelves.

Gotta love it! 

By the way...I must put in a plug for one of my favorite blogs here: Hip2Save.  Not only does Collin do an awesome job of explaining how to get the best deals at Rite Aid, but she gets them to you EARLY (she already has next week's list ready to go on Saturday night!) AND she has the best print-out option I've seen...you can easily print ONLY the deals you are interested in.  I just love that customizable print-out she has!

If you've been thinking about it, but haven't joined yet, NOW is a GREAT time to sign up for Swagbucks!

Monday is going to be a big birthday bash for Swagbucks as they celebrate their third birthday.  There will be special codes posted throughout the day for extra bucks and so much more!

What is Swagbucks? With Swagbucks, you earn virtual currency that you can exchange for gift cards and other items simply by doing what you are already doing every day on the web: searching the web, shopping, and by engaging in other activities such as phone recycling, playing games, taking surveys and more.  I talked about some of the easiest ways to earn bucks in this post.

Since the first of January, I've been able to earn enough Swagbucks to get $45 in Amazon gift cards!  That's at least one $5 gift card per week.  If I continue at my current pace, I'll end up with over $250 in Amazon gift cards by using Swagbucks as my primary search engine and following other tips that I shared about in my other post.

When you sign up as a new member, you are automatically awarded 30 Swagbucks.  You also get 50 on your birthday.  Click here to sign up and start earning!

Oh, and to help you find those elusive Swag Codes (especially this coming Monday when there will be more than usual), I've added a "Swidget" Widget to my sidebar.  Look just below the ad for my eBay store and you'll find it. It the black area at the bottom of the box, click on the "SC/Swag Codes" tab and a "Check if there's a Swag Code" blue bar will appear above in the white area.  Click on that, and you'll be told if there is a code and where to go to find it.  If you're ever wondering if there's a Swag Code, remember that you can come here to my blog to check.