What I have learned...Pride, is it worth it?

Well I did it again. I went to a store with a very clearly laid out plan of what I was going to get and how. I had my coupons neatly gathered in order and I even brought scissors so that I could cut them out in the car ahead of time (and thus reduce the likelihood of losing them in the car). Alas this is yet another in the line of cautionary tales I share with you here.

I'm sure you remember my time savers post. Well I'm ashamed to say I broke just about every rule I learned from that! I went to do the Walgreens Deal I learned about at Money Saving Mom. I printed out my Cheerios coupons, got a 4th All You magazine (I already had 3), got 2 ES rebate booklets and proceeded to shop. Everything was priced differently than posted on various blogs!

The Cheerios was 3.79 instead of $1.99, the hemorrhoid travel wipes was 4.79 instead of $3.99 and the Jell-o was .79 cents instead of .39! I had seriously considered called ahead because I have on far too many occasions gone to a store just for the free item, only to find that either the item wasn't there at all or the price was different enough to make the trip a waste of time! But, I figured everybody was going to do that deal, it's too good to pass up, so asking about the Jello or Wheat Thins might just get me flak from the store personnel. Don't ask me why I let that stop me, but I did.

So what did I learn in my first ever foray into Walgreens' Easy Saver world?

Double check your source! If someone says something is a certain price, find it yourself as well. Now that you know what you are looking for, you should be able to find it much easier. Confirm the price, get the source for the official price and don't be afraid to question the tag on the shelf if the price doesn't match! What's the worst that can happen? They tell you, that you are wrong? Better to confirm the price is not what you thought then have to run back into the store once you find out the price is indeed as advertised, just not on the shelf. Of course you could always call ahead and save yourself the hassle of driving out for possibly nothing, but I would suggest that you only confirm prices on the "deal breaker" items. For instance, I went there for the Wheat Thins Deal (the Cheerios was merely icing). Had I known the Jell-o was more than twice the price listed for the deal (which it might not be, just mislabeled), I might not have gone down there. Then again, maybe the Cheerios would have been enough, who knows.

edit: Turns out the .39 cents was based on a coupon in their weekly flyer, guess next time I will have to check the ad myself to make sure I don't need a coupon for anything!

That's it for this installment of What I Have Learned...tune in next time. It's a new town with new stores, there's bound to be a learning curve!