Fillers- like it or lump it! That's just the way it is.

Good morning! I received lots of email yesterday about the use of "fillers" by those of you who are anxious to hit the stores and need to know just why in the world I needed to throw purse packs of kleenex in with my purchases! Let me explain.

Coupon usage, although we consider it a beautiful thing, is actually quite complex! All stores in all chains (Walgreen's, Target, CVS, K-Mart, WalMart, etc.)have their registers set up to accept ONE manufacturer's coupon for EACH item purchased. If you exceed one coupon per item, the register goes completely haywire and begins to spit, sputter and in most cases, start beeping at you like a rabid beast.

If the one coupon per item rule was as simple as it seems, life for all would be far-less complicated.....albeit not nearly as fun (for those of us who are seeking super-cheap or free products!). The exceptions to this rule are Walgreen's and Target....especially Walgreen's.

As you know, Walgreen's puts out all sorts of their own STORE coupons (Target does too, just not as many as Wags) that seem to be hidden throughout the store. It's almost like a treasure hunt sometimes- finding coupons hidden in the pharmacy area, at the cosmetics counter, tear-off pads, etc. Sometimes Walgreen's issues coupons found in the Sunday newspaper inserts that are marked "to be used exclusively at Walgreen's"- which is considered a STORE coupon- one of their own. Of course, they also have coupons in the weekly circular and Easy Saver booklet, too.

Walgreen's rule about using manufacturer's coupons along with their own store-issued coupons is: you can use ONE manufacturer's coupon per item, and as many of their different store coupons as apply to the item being purchased as long as the store coupons have differing bar codes. For example: you might find Tylenol cough and cold on sale in their weekly ad for $4.99. Say you have a manufacturer's coupon for Tylenol cough and cold for $1.00 off. Of course, that can be used. But then you notice there's an Easy Saver coupon for $1.00 off Tylenol cough and cold. That can be used in conjunction with your manufacturer-issued coupon. So now you have 2 coupons to use on the one product. Additionally, you discover ANOTHER coupon for $1.50 off any Tylenol product back at the pharmacy department in one of Walgreen's fliers. You can use that one, too! Yes, you can use all three (1 manufacturer's coupon and BOTH store coupons) for a total coupon discount of $3.50 off of the price of $4.99. By knowing about all of the secret coupon sources, you can save big!

But what does this do to the cash register that's programmed to accept one coupon per item purchased? In Walgreen's case, (Target, too) nothing. The cash registers recognize their own coupons, take off the discount and don't freak out when multiples are used. That's why you're able to use coupons out of their booklets and keep them to use again and again- the registers recognize them as their own store discount.

At this point, just to summarize, we know that an unlimited amount of store coupons can be used along with 1 manufacturer's coupon, right? Read on.

Using the Tylenol example above, let's say you have a sick child at home, you're in a hurry, you left supper in the oven and you're husband is cranky about having to watch the kids for 10 minutes while you run to grab some medicine for the night. You're not there to browse around the store sniffing out the bargains. You need Tylenol, you needed it an hour ago, so you grab it and head to the register. Now we all know that once this couponing business gets in your blood, it's hard to ignore the fact that you've got that $1 coupon in your purse! No matter how rushed you are, you still want to get the product as cheaply as possible, right? Being the savvy shopper you are, you also know you can save extra cash by pointing out the coupon in the ES booklet, which you do- and you've saved even more. So, after all of your store coupons and your 1 manufacturer's coupon have been used- you remember you have that $2.00 Register Reward left over from buying Kellogg's cereal the day before. You think, "Hey, well, now's just as good as any other time to use it!" So you hand it over to the cashier. Guess what?! The register is going to beep.

How do I know the register is going to beep? You're buying 1 item. You're using 1 manufacturer's coupon. You're using 1 or 2 store coupons. The store coupons don't count toward your item/coupon ratio- you could use 50 store coupons (if they had 50 different barcodes!) and it wouldn't count against the item/coupon ratio. But your register reward DOES count.

Any time you use a register reward to pay toward your purchase, you must keep in mind that it is counted by the cash register as a manufacturer's coupon!!! Just look at one- it will say something like, "Compliment's of Dr. Pepper" or something like that- and along the top, it will read, "manufacturer's coupon". So, you'll have to throw something tiny on the counter to add to your item count. I don't care if that item costs a penny! The cash register will now recognize that you are purchasing 2 items and using 2 manufacturer's coupons. All will be right. The register won't start to blow steam, hiss, or eventually blow up.

So, the key point to remember is you can't have more manufacturer's coupons than the number of items you're buying. If you're like me (remember yesterday's post and the sample shopping scenario with rolling the register rewards?) this situation will happen often- using a RR to pay for another purchase, but the items ALL have a manufacturer's coupon applied....just make sure you add a super cheap "filler" to tell the register that everything is okay.

One more thing...Walgreen's doesn't give cash back if you're using a RR worth more than your total purchase. Be sure to pay with the lowest value RR possible to keep your out-of-pocket expense as close to $0 as you can.

I hope this helps clear up the "filler" mystery! Feel free to ask any questions that you come up with!