Alana Vandagriff | 

How to Coupon at Drugstores the Easy Way: A Lazy Couponer's Guide

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If you haven’t gotten into couponing at drugstores or other stores because you’re intimidated by all the “extreme couponing” stuff — no worries. We’ll ditch that lingo for a second and enter the realm of “lazy couponing” — aka easy couponing.

You actually don’t need to spend countless hours clipping and sorting coupons to save a ton of money, and one of the easiest places to start lazy couponing is at drugstores. With a little bit of strategy on your part and a lot of digital convenience, even the laziest among us (I like to call us “busy”) can find fantastic deals at stores like CVS, Rite Aid, and Walgreens.

Let me show you which strategic sign-ups you’ll need to make and how to navigate all the digital tools so you can start couponing at drugstores the easy way.

Download the Krazy Coupon Lady app or text HACKS to 57299 for more money-saving tips, deals, and coupons.

 

1. Get familiar with your drugstore’s coupon policy — like how they treat stacking and expiration dates.

Ibotta app on a cell phone next to coupons and Huggies diapers.

Before diving into the world of couponing at drugstores, you’re going to want to have a basic understanding of your drugstore’s coupon policy. Lucky for you, we did the dirty work and have all the coupon policies right here — plus easy-to-understand guides for how to coupon at each store.

The basic things you’re going to want to know are whether or not they allow coupon stacking (this means using a store coupon with a manufacturer’s coupon), if they accept digital coupons, and what their policy is on expired coupons.

Use these guides to get started:

 

2. Join all of the drugstore loyalty programs (and I really mean all of them).

A person in Walgreens looking at walgreens coupon booklet

Almost every drugstore has a loyalty program, and joining them is a must for any couponer. These programs will not only offer you exclusive discounts and digital coupons, but they’ll also allow you to earn points or even cash back on your purchases. Basically, free money.

The more you shop, the more you can save. Plus, once you’re signed up, the store typically sends personalized offers based on your shopping habits. Here are the programs you’re going to want to join at a minimum:

 

3. Get in the habit of clipping digital coupons for a few minutes a day.

Someone holding a phone displaying the coupons in the Walgreens app and holding a Walgreens shopping basket

The beauty of the digital age is that you no longer have to painstakingly cut out physical coupons. Most drug stores offer digital coupons on their websites or apps. These can be easily “clipped” and stored in your account, ready to get applied at checkout. As long as you can handle a couple of taps or clicks, it’s really pretty effortless.

To make it easier for you, we put together a list of the best digital coupon deals each week for Walgreens and CVS:

Related: Once you start getting the hang of clipping coupons, read our guide to the 9 Things You Need to Know About Using Digital Coupons.

 

 

4. Let The Krazy Coupon Lady find all the good drugstore deals for you.

Someone holding up a phone showing Axe coupons on the KCL app in front of a Walgreens counter

Don’t stress about having to hunt down all the best deals … let us do that work for you (it’s what we get paid to do).

Walgreens, CVS, and Rite Aid start their new sale ads every Sunday, so we post the new weekly coupon deals each Saturday so you have a whole day to plan ahead. Plus, throughout the week, we scour the stores for the best deals and share those with you, too!

Add these pages to your bookmarks so you can jump right to the latest deals:

 

5. Keep an eye on drugstore sales cycles, which generally rotate every 6 – 8 weeks.

Woman shopping at walgreens

Drugstores, like many retailers, operate on a sales cycle, usually rotating what’s being discounted every 6 to 8 weeks. Even the laziest couponer can mark their calendar and plan purchases around these cycles.

When you see a sale pop up for non-perishable items like toiletries and cleaning products, that’s your cue to stock up — and to mark your calendar for about 6 – 8 weeks later so you know when to expect the next sale. (And if you’re not quite sure when the cycle started, you can always ask an employee!)

 

6. Download rebate and cash back apps like Ibotta (and actually start using them).

ibotta app being held in front of cart with child

In the spirit of making things easy while couponing at drugstores, you’ll definitely want to check out rebate and cash-back apps like Ibotta, Fetch Rewards, or Checkout 51. With those apps downloaded on your phone, you’ll just take a photo of your receipt after your shopping trip, then watch as the apps give you cash back on specific items.

It’s essentially free money for a minute’s work. Pair those rebate savings with digital coupons, and you’re getting a great deal without any major effort.

 

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