I used to rock out with coupons every week. I vividly remember stocking up on diapers for Darah when I was pregnant (this was before I knew about cloth!). I amassed 6 months’ of diapers for her, and paid, on average, about 25% of the retail cost per package. It was pretty awesome.

I stopped couponing for about a year after Darah was born just due to a lack of time. Once I got her into a parents’ day out program and once we found our new rhythm in Chattanooga, I got back into couponing. And once again, I got wonderful deals, largely at drugstores like Walgreens. I routinely saved between 50-75% on stuff I needed, as well as stuff I could save for later.

But as soon as morning sickness with baby#2 set in, I was off the couponing wagon. And I have yet to get back on. I’m just short on time, folks! I’m sure you can relate.

But here’s the weird thing: I’ve noticed that because I don’t use coupons anymore, I feel as though I shouldn’t even visit my favorite drugstores. It’s like I have this mentality that if I don’t know how to maximize the deals for the week and get all those Register Rewards then there’s no point in even trying. So I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve been in Walgreens in the past year. And I used to go every single week! I think in some weird way I felt as though I would be a failure if I shopped without all those coupons.

But just this past week, Walgreens unveiled a new program that is SUCH a good thing for people just like me: the ones who love to save money but who also need to save time. They now have the Balance Rewards program, and Layah and I ventured into the store I used to frequent to get signed up and see what all the buzz is about. You can see my full shopping experience (including two diaper changes BEFORE we got out of the house! Sheesh!) in my Google+ story here.

Here are some highlights:

 

This is my (little) big helper, Layah. I successfully got her in the car, finally! She’s ready for our adventure.

I signed up for Balance Rewards at the front register. The salesperson was very helpful and had me all set up in 3 minutes!

I was THRILLED to see that Walgreens sells milk at a competitive price. This is actually cheaper than what I pay at the grocery store. I’ll be back for milk next week, and the week after, and the week after…

JACKPOT!!!! Walgreens had all their summer toys marked down by 75%, and the selection was great! May I suggest that you make a stop at your nearest Walgreens today to see if you have the same good luck I had? 🙂 I bought several cool gifts for our gift closet (those birthday party invites keep rolling in!).

I learned all about some of the great features of the rewards program, such as the fact that if you can build up your points a little bit more, your payout rate improves ($50 for 40,000 vs. $5 for 5,000 points). And please check out the pharmacy chat option that Walgreens offers its customers!

When looking through the sale flyer, I was really impressed with some of the point earning opportunities. By spending on Zyrtec and/or Children’s Benadryl (which you’ll likely need at some point this fall!) you get 10,000 points, which is basically like getting $10 back!

While I have a dinosaur model of the iPhone, those of you who are slightly more up-to-date will most definitely want to download the free mobile app. You can keep track of your points balance on your phone, shop online (oh heck yes! Free shipping with orders over $25 and under 10 lbs!), and even ask a Walgreen pharmacy professional a question. Gotta love a store that takes the convenience factor to a whole new level.

Walgreens is definitely on the cutting edge of offering a variety of ways for its customers to save time AND money. I’m so very glad I got over my fear and stepped back into the store. What I found waiting for me were great deals galore!

You can keep up with all the latest and greatest Walgreens happening by following them on Facebook or Twitter.

I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ and Walgreens  #CBias #SocialFabric. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own.