$0.05

That was how much I spent at Walgreens tonight. I walked out with 2 boxes of Kleenex, 4 rolls of Scotch tape, and some dishwashing liquid. How you ask?

• I had a $4 register reward from a soap purchase a few weeks ago


• I scanned their circular for the week when I walked in


• I tore out 3 coupons for the above items.

The clerk rang me up and also seemed amazed that my total was 5 cents. Then came the slighly embarasing knock yourself upside the head moment. I joked about having 5 cents, because even I, the queen of the swipe, realized that was too little to swipe. I put my hands in my pockets and realized a) my wallet wasn't with me and b) all I had on me was a penny. The clerk was cool about it but I ran out to my car, pulled a nickel from the change tray, and ran back in.

I couldn't have done this without some help from Money Saving Mom. She blogs about all sorts of deals, including the items that get you register rewards at Walgreens. I've been shopping at this particular Walgreens of and on for over a year and had no idea that register rewards existed. My only note of caution is to only get things that you actually need/use. On a few occasions I've thought "wow that's a great deal" but when I think about it I'd never use the product.

Happy saving.