You will see me use a lot of abbreviations & acronyms in my posts. Below is a list of the most common ones and what they mean.

Blinkies = In Store SmartSource coupon dispensed near product, usually from red blinking box
BOGO = Buy One Get One FREE
B1G1 = Buy One Get One FREE
DD = Dear Daughter
DH = Dear Husband
DIL = Daughter-in-law
DS = Dear Son
DW = Dear Wife
ECB = Extra Care Bucks/CVS "money"
ESR = Walgreens Easy Saver Rebate
FAR = Free After Rebate
GDA = Good Deal Alert
HTH = Hope That Helps
IP = Internet Printable Coupon
IVC = Walgreens Instant Value Coupon found in ESR catalog
JMHO = Just My Humble Opinion
MIR = Mail in Rebate
MQ = Manufacture Coupon
OYNO = On Your Next Order
OOP = Out of Pocket
P&G = Proctor & Gamble Coupon Circular
Peelie = Peelable coupon on packages
Q = Coupon
RP = Red Plum Coupon Circular, also known as V or Valasis
RR = Register Reward/Walgreen's "money"
SS = Smart Source Coupon Circular
StQ = Store Coupon
WYB = when you buy
YMMV = Your Mileage May Vary or your pricing may be different so final cost varies

2/$5 = This means 2 items for $5
$1/2 = This means $1 off of 2 items
Catalina = coupon that prints out from a separate machine near the register
Stacking = Using more than one type of coupon or incentive on any one product
Stockpiling = stocking up on a item at rock bottom price

A lot of grocery stores are owned by the same parent company. Funny, I used to think the only grocery stores that existed were Smith's, Dan's and Albertson's! I'm sure it's not a perfect list but at this time, this is what I found:

Albertson's is just Albertson's

Stores under the Kroger umbrella:
Ralph's
Smith's
Foods Co.
Dillon
Fred Meyer
Fry's
Gerbes
City Market
Kessel
King Soopers
Quality Food Center
Cala Foods
Bell Markets
Owen's
Jay C
Pay Less
Food 4 Less
Hilander

Stores under the Safeway umbrella:
Vons
Dominick's
Randalls
Tom Thumb
Genuardi's
Pavilions
Carrs
Simon David

Store sales across the country do not always run on the same schedule. So if you see a deal mentioned but don't see it in your ads, hang tight, the deal should show up in your store within a week or so. CVS & Walgreens sales ads are always the same except for cities that have alcohol advertising restrictions.

Walgreens Basics: The Easy Saver Catalog Explained

Walgreens does not have a rewards program per say. You don’t need a rewards card to take advantage of the sales prices. What they do offer is a rebate program, register reward program, and extra in-store coupons that can be combined with manufacturer coupons.

Each month Walgreens puts out its Easy Saver catalog which contains extra store coupons and a list of items that are eligible for rebates for the month. The catalog is found in the front of the store along with the weekly sales flyers or at the checkout counters. You can also view an online version at the Walgreens website.

Each week Walgreens publishes a sales circular that contains the new sales for the week. Some of the items on sale will need an in-ad coupon to be presented to the cashier to get the sales price. These coupons are printed right in the circular and will say coupon good at Walgreens on them. You do not need to clip the in-ad coupon. Simply open the circular to the page with the coupon and have the cashier scan it. These coupons are just a store discount and are not turned in so if you do clip them, the cashier will just throw them away. If it helps you to clip the coupon so you remember to use the coupon, do. It’s not a big deal either way.

Also, once the in-ad coupon has been scanned, it will apply to each item associated with that coupon that you are purchasing. That means that if you are buying 5 boxes of Kleenex tissue with an in-ad coupon, the coupon only needs to be scanned once to get the discount on all 5 boxes. Or rather you do not have to hand over 5 clipped in-ad coupons, just one will do.

It’s important to remember that Walgreens in-ad coupons can be combined or “stacked” with manufacturer’s coupons. That means that along with the in-ad coupon for Kleenex tissue you can use any manufacturer coupons you may have. You can also “stack” the coupons found in the Easy Saver catalog along with manufacturer coupons for greater savings.

You will notice some items listed in the weekly circular have little white, green or yellow boxes below them that show additional savings.

If the wording says “less Coupon”, this indicates that you need a coupon from the Easy Saver catalog to get the discount.
These coupons are called Instant Value Coupons or IVCs. There should also be a picture of a small oval with the words Easy Saver Catalog next to the item.

If the wording says “ Register Rewards* Good on Next Purchase” this means that after you purchase the item for the original price indicated, a Catalina coupon in the amount of the discount will print from the register.

These Catalina coupons are used as “Walgreens cash” to purchase anything in the store with a few exceptions such as prescriptions, gift cards, and stamps. You will need to read each RR (register reward) for exact exceptions.
It’s important to remember that RRs are not instant savings. They are savings applied to future purchases.

RRs are coupons that are sponsored by the companies of the items you purchased. There are several rules you need to be aware of regarding RRs. RRs are not tied to a rewards card so you can do as many “deals” as you want. However, be aware that the system is set up so that you can not “roll” your RRs on the same product or same company’s products over and over. In other words, you can not use RRs earned from one company’s product to purchase the same product and have the RR print again.
Say you purchase Tide laundry detergent and that earns you $1 RR.
*You can use the earned RR to purchase another bottle of Tide but another RR will not print.

*If you purchase another bottle and don’t use the earned RR, another one will print.
This goes for all items made by the same company. Say also this week Crest toothpaste is earning a $2 RR. If you use the RR from the Tide purchase to buy the Crest, you can but the RR for the Crest will not print because both these products are made by Proctor & Gamble.

*Now, say you earn a RR from a product not made by P&G. You can use this RR to purchase the Tide or Crest and have the Tide or Crest RR print. This is the only way you can “roll” RRs.
So, you can do the deals once or over and over again and save the RRs you earn for future purchases or other items. Or you can do multiple transactions alternating the use of the RRs from the two different companies’ promotions (assuming two different companies have promotions going on at the same time, which they often do). If there aren’t two different company promotions running at the same time, you usually can save them for a promotion running the next week.

*Important, RRs expire about two weeks from the date they are printed so you need to use them up fast.

If the wording says “less Mail Rebate”, this means that you will receive the discount after you send in for the rebate from the Easy Saver Catalog.

Each month Walgreens offers a number of items that will earn rebates. These items are printed in the Easy Saver Catalog. These items usually include a few that are Free After Rebate or FAR.

To take advantage of these savings, you must first purchase the items incurring upfront costs. You will then need to submit your receipt to Walgreens for your rebate. There are 2 ways to get your rebates. You can submit your rebates online. Go to http://www.walgreens.com/ and click EasySaver Catalog and follow the instructions or Submit your rebate by mail. When submitting by mail, you will need to send your original, dated Walgreens cash register receipts with the rebate item, price circled and the offer number written by price and the rebate form found in the catalog in one mailing. You do not need to send UPC codes. Whether you submit your rebates online or by mail you can track all your rebates. Visit www.walgreens.com/easysaver and click on rebate status. You can only submit for rebates once a month so it’s best to wait until the end of the month to do so. It generally takes 7 – 12 days to process your rebate request. If you enter your receipts online but do not submit for the rebate in the allotted time frame, the online system will automatically do it for you and send your rebate in the form of a check. If you send in by mail, pay close attention to the submission deadline.

You can choose to have your rebates sent in the form of a check or Walgreens gift card. If you choose the gift card option, you will receive an extra 10% bonus on all purchased rebates. Your gift card is good on any purchase in any Walgreens store. Each month you can apply your rebate savings to your existing gift card. No waiting for a new one to be mailed to you. You will receive a postcard letting you know your card has been recharged.
The best part about the gift card option, now you have a way to purchase the next month’s rebate items with little or no out of pocket expenses and continue to do so over and over.

Additional rules:

You must have as many items as you have coupons. The register won’t accept more coupons than you have items. Register Rewards count as coupons as do any of the store coupons. So if you find you have more coupons than items, throw in a couple of cheap filler items so that you have the same number of items as coupons.

Walgreens will not give money back so if your coupons are going to bring your total negative, throw in a cheap filler so the register will not have issues.

When handing your coupons to the cashier, it’s best to hand over the RRs first. Otherwise, the register sometimes won’t want to accept your other manufacturer or store coupons.

If the items you want are not in stock, always ask for a rain check. If the item you want earns RRs, the rain check should be written to reflect the price after the RR. This is because the RR will not print after the sale is over.

Slashing your grocery bill
To truly see savings at the grocery store it will take about 3 months or so. A one-month snap shot of your spending is not going to give you an accurate picture. You need analyze how much you are currently spending, track sales cycles, get organized, make a plan to cut your grocery budget and stick to it. The process will go a lot more smoothly if the whole family is on board. Small habits that eat at the budget add up. Sticking to a list and curbing impulse buying is key to success. Since every household is different cutting your budget means different things to each one. Make your goals realistic for your family needs. Start out by trying to cut back by $100.00. The next month try $200.00. I can say I have been able to work up to cutting my budget in half and am working to cut back even more by being smart about my purchases.

Pay attention to your circulars
To save money at the grocery store you need to understand your grocery store sales. Sales usually run 7 days before prices change. The day before the new sales start, you should receive each stores new ad in the mail. If you don't get the ads by mail you should be able to view them online the first day of the new sale.
You want to match up weekly sales with your coupons for better savings. As part of your plan to save money take time every week to go through all your grocery ads and list out any items that are on sale that you need. Your not just looking for what you need that week but what items have the best prices. Match these items up with any coupons that you have. And if you can, try and plan your meals for the week around what is on sale. That's not to say that what you normally eat needs to change, it means that if you were planning on making a pork chop dish but you don't have pork chops in the freezer and pork chops aren't on sale that you move on to other dishes that you have ingredients for or are on sale.

Plan
a weekly meal plan. This will help you stay on course, use what you have on hand and help limit sabotaging extra trips to the store where you are likely to pick up extra stuff you may want but not need.

CouponMom dot com is a free site (you do need to register) that tells you what is on sale at your local store, if there is a coupon for the item and what percent savings it is. Currently the site does not track sales cycles but it can really help in putting your weekly grocery list together. Grocery Game dot com is another site you can use for help however, they charge a small fee. Personally I feel you can get the same result using your sales flier and the Coupon Mom site to get the same result for free.

Try and shop only once a week. Since the sales usually change weekly, this will allow you to take advantage of weekly sales and cut down on impulse buying. Take advantage of multiple store sales. Keep a cooler or cool bag (found in grocery stores) in the car to keep things cool or frozen until you get home. A lot of grocery chains are near each other. If they're not then you need to way out the cost of gas versus the shopping savings.

Understanding Sales Cycles
Grocery Store items usually go on a 12 - 13 week sales cycle. This means that about every 13 weeks an item will be at its lowest selling price or its 'rock bottom' price. This is when you want to buy and use any coupons you have for the item(s) and stock up to maximize savings. The idea is to buy more than you need on sale so that when you do run out you won't have to pay full price. You can go to your storage and pull out another jar or box that you bought on sale at the 'rock bottom' price. Be careful when first starting to stockpile, it can easily bust your budget. Even if its a great price if you can't afford extra or your family won't use it, don't buy it.

So how do you know if an item is at its 'rock bottom' price or just first round sales prices known as 'phantom sale' price? You need to track the sales or create a price book. Make a list of the most common items you buy. Write down the price that you purchased the item for, what the size/quantity/price per unit is and the store purchased from . Now keep track of the items weekly prices over the next 3 months. This will give you a good idea of what the lowest price the item will go for.

When stores run sales for buy "x" amount of product for "x" $ amount remember, you don't have to buy the quantity listed in order to get the savings unless it states on the flier or in-store sales tag that you do. Example: 2 liter soda bottles are on sale for buy 10 for $10.00. You don't have to buy 10 bottles of soda to get the $1.00 per item price. Purchasing 2 bottles will still only cost $1.00 each. If you aren't sure, ask an employee. They are there to help.

Try to be brand flexible. You save the most by buying what is on sale. Ask yourself, if your favorite toothpaste isn't on sale, will your family use the brand that is?

Another tip, try and shop alone. Family members are usually budget busters.

Save money by shopping for all your toiletry needs at drugstores. This is known as playing the drugstore game (more details in Drugstore basics). Use the extra money to buy your perishables.

Knowing your store's coupon policies can save you a lot of money and headache. Store employees have a lot to remember and coupon policies may not be at the top of their list. Especially if you are served by a new cashier, you may need to educate them as to their store policies. Also, there are those out there that get rubbed the wrong way when the customer saves too much money. They make up their own rules and may try to refuse your coupon. Be prepared with the facts!

First, make a list of all the grocery stores in your area, even the ones you think might be too pricey. With the right sale and coupons, you can save big even at the pricier stores.

Familiarize yourself with each store's coupon policies. Policies vary by store and chain. A store in one area can have a completely different policy as the same store across town.
Call into or go in and talk with the store's Customer Service Department about their coupon policies. Common Store Policies:

• No Doubles - your coupons will be accepted at face value only. Most drugstores and retail stores will not double or triple coupons.
• Double Coupons - your coupons face value will be doubled. Stores that double commonly double up to $ .50 - $ .55. Some will double $ .75 - $1.00.
• Triple Coupons - your coupons face value will be tripled. Stores the triple commonly triple up to $ .39.
• Most stores limit how many of the same coupon they will double or triple. If you have four $ .50 coupons for mustard, they may only double the first three. The fourth coupon would be paid at face value. In this case, you would want to do multiple transactions to maximize your coupon purchasing power.
• Some stores will take expired coupons. Even if it is store policy not to accept expired coupons, most cashiers will take coupons that are only a week or two past the expiration date. If they do not accept the expired coupon, they are well within their right not to and you should not make "waves" over it.
• A few stores generate their own coupons that can only be used at their store. CVS, Walgreen’s, Rite-Aid, Eckerd, Longs, Toys-R-Us, Target and some grocery stores are the most common. These coupons can be found in the in-store fliers, home mailers, store ads, and magazines. These coupons can be 'stacked' with manufacturer (MF) coupons for even greater savings. Example: Walgreen's has a coupon in their ad for $ .40 off Charmin toilet paper. You have a MF coupon for $ .25 off the same Charmin. You can combine the store's $ .40 coupon with your MF $ .25 coupon for a savings of $ .65.
• If the store has a loyalty card program, sign up for it. This may be the only way you will be able to get the sale prices. You can also get coupons sent to your home if you provide your address when you sign up.
• Competitor Coupons - some stores accept competitor's coupons or price match competitor's ads.
• A few grocery stores such as Kroger have "e" coupons you can download to your rewards card from different participating company sites such as Proctor & Gamble eSaver. These coupons can be combined with manufacturer paper coupons for the same item and are automatically taken off at the register when your rewards card is scanned. This is currently the only circumstance that you can combine two manufacturer's coupons for the same item. Example: You download an eCoupon for Huggies Diapers onto your grocery rewards card. You may also supply the cashier with a paper coupon for Huggies Diapers. Both coupons will be deducted off your bill for purchasing one package of Huggies.

Ask your store the following questions:

1. Do you double or triple coupons?
2. Up to what coupon values do you double or triple?
3. How many 'like' coupons will double or triple?
4. Do you take Internet printed coupons?
5. Can I combine manufacturer coupons with your store coupons?
6. Do you take expired coupons?
7. Do you take competitor coupons?
8. Am I able to download any "e" coupons onto my rewards card? What companies are providing the "e" coupons?

Using a buy one get one free coupon on a BOGO sale item.

Depending on how the store charges for the BOGO item will depend on how the coupon combines with the sale.

• If the store rings up the first item at full price and the second item at zero then both items will be free when you use a BOGO coupon. The store's sale will deduct the price of the first item and the coupon will deduct the price of the second. This only works when both items being purchased are the same price. If the the BOGO sale is for an equal or lesser value item and you purchase a lesser value item, both the sale and the coupon will take off the lower priced item and you will pay the difference between the higher and lower price. Remember, the store will be reimbursed by the company offering the coupon for the price of one of the items plus $ .08 shipping & handeling. Essentially you are using the coupon to pay for the "buy" part of the buy one get one sale.
• If the store will not allow for two free items, then you should buy 4 items. Two items will ring up at full price and two items will ring up zero. When the BOGO coupon is scanned it will take off the price of the third item. You will pay for one item and get 3 free.
• If the store rings up each item for half price, then the half price amount will be deducted from your bill when the BOGO coupon is used and you will get both items for 75% off. Example: If the item costs $4.00 the two items will ring up at $2 each. The BOGO coupon will take off $2.00 and you will pay $2.00 for both items or $1.00 each. 75% off.

I few months ago I began looking for ways to cut back on our household budget. I came across the practice of shopping at drugstores using coupons and the store's rewards program to get all kinds of name brand household, hygiene and beauty products for free or very cheap. I can use the extra rewards I earn to also purchase other items off my shopping list like diapers, wipes, bread and milk. Not having to spend much money on these items and learning how to use coupons has allowed me to reduce my regular grocery budget considerably and I am working to lower it even more.

Below is a basic explanation of the CVS Pharmacy program. Check here to locate a CVS Store near you.

The Extra Care Bucks program at CVS Pharmacies is a bonus program for frequent shoppers.
In order to participate, you will need an ExtraCare card which is key to all your CVS deals. To get the sale prices on items in the store, you have to use the card. It is a FREE program similar to a grocery store rewards programs. You can log on to CVS.com to order a card or go into a CVS store and pick one up. Picking a card up at the store allows you to use your card immediately rather than waiting a week or so for it to arrive in the mail.

Extra Care Bucks or ECBs are “coupons” sponsored by the companies of the products you buy that print at the bottom of your receipt after purchasing an item that earns ECBs. These ECB coupons can only be used at CVS pharmacies. A $1 ECB is equal to $1 and can be spent on anything in the store with a few exceptions: Alcohol, Tobacco, Gift Cards, and Prescriptions. CVS sales usually run Sunday thru Saturday or Friday thru Thursday. Each week in the new CVS circular you can find what items will be earning Extra Care Bucks for that week. CVS also has items that are monthly ECB earners and can be found in the monthly ECB brochure located in the store.

There are two other ways to earn Extra Care Bucks.
1) You get 2 percent back for all your total purchases in the form of ECBs (excludes alcohol, tobacco, lottery, gift cards, money orders, postage stamps, pre-paid cards, prescriptions, and special order Home Health Care items, including footwear). The 2 percent is calculated after coupons.
2) You get one Extra Buck for every two prescriptions you buy.

For these two types of purchases, ECBs are awarded every three months. CVS will track how much you’ve spent for the three-month period and then give you the Extra Bucks at the end of the quarter printed out on your receipt of the first purchase you make after the three-month period ends.

Quarterly earned ECBs can also be printed online at the CVS Extra Care website. If you print your ECBs online, they will not print again at the store. However, if your ECBs are printed on your receipt, they still show up online. In fact, ECBs will remain online until they expire. Although ECBs can be printed online multiple times, they will only scan once since each unique ECB coupon has it’s own unique code, regardless of the number of times it is printed. Once that code has been scanned, it will not scan again.

Extra Care Bucks expire 4 weeks from the date they are printed. Most cashiers will accept expired ECBs up to a week or two. It’s at their discretion.

Any Extra Care Bucks, Cash Register Tape coupons, or Scanner coupons (explained below) you earn are connected to your card number and are non-transferable. The card is also how CVS enforces limits on some specials.

Extra Care Cards are limited to one per person; however each person in your household can get one. It is reasonable to say that if a family member would go to CVS to make their own purchases, then they can have their own card.
Households using 5 different cards to do their deals each week unless they are truly buying for their parents, their in-laws, their own home, an elderly relative, and a sister-in-law all of whom live in separate households, are not following the rules. Just b/c you can have multiple cards does not mean they expect you to clear the shelves using multiple cards and ignore their "per household" limit.

Playing the CVS game

In general, CVS prices are higher than other stores. It’s the ECBs that make CVS deals so lucrative. Combining coupons with CVS sales will allow you to purchase your items for free or a lot less than elsewhere. Once you have your Extra Care Card you are ready to shop. Look over the weekly CVS sales flier and the monthly flier. Items that earn ECBs will be marked. When just starting out, look for sale items that earn the same amount of ECBs as the item costs. Usually there are a few items each week that are “free” after ECBs earned.

For example, say toothpaste is on sale for $2.99 and it earns $2.99 in Extra Care Bucks. You will have an up front out of pocket (OOP) cost of $2.99 but you will receive back an Extra Care Buck valued at $2.99 to spend on anything* in the store. Say there is a purchase limit of 5 on the toothpaste. You can take the $2.99 ECB you just earned and purchase another tube that earns $2.99 ECBs. Now you have two toothpastes purchased for the upfront cost of $2.99 and you have another $2.99 ECB to spend.

You could do this three more times until you reach the 5 toothpaste limit and would only have spent $2.99 OOP for 5 tubes of toothpaste. After the limit of 5 has been reached, you could buy a sixth tube but it would not generate an ECB. You can purchase all 5 tubes of toothpaste in one transaction for an upfront cost of $14.95. On your receipt, you will receive and ECB valued at $14.95. Likewise, if you purchased 3, your ECB would print for $8.97.

CVS helps you keep track of how many items you have purchased towards your rewards limit by printing your item tally at the bottom of your receipt. After buying your first tube of toothpaste on the bottom of your receipt would print the following:

Brand x Toothpaste, Buy 1 Get $2.99 EB
Amount Toward this Reward 1
Quantity Needed to Earn Reward 4

Once you have reached the offer limit it will say offer limit reached.

It’s important to remember that ECB rewards are not instant savings and in the beginning you will have a higher OOP. This is where savvy CVS shoppers learn to grow their ECB “bank” so that eventually there is little or no upfront OOP costs on their purchases.
The best way to do this is to purchase the weekly or monthly free deals and combine them with coupons. Start out small with only one or two items per transaction until you get the hang of the system.

More advanced transactions include the use of manufacturer’s coupons, cash register tape coupons (CRTs) or scanner coupons. CVS Cash Register Tape coupons are CVS coupons that print out at the bottom of your receipt to be used on a specific product such as $1.00 off Advil. Scanner coupons are also CVS coupons that print out of the price check machines. These machines are usually found near the front of the store. Just scan your CVS Extra Care Card to get the coupons to print.

Sometimes the CRTs or Scanner coupons are random and sometimes they are driven by the items you have purchased on your account. Once in awhile, CVS sends out $x off $xx coupons like $2.00 off a $10.00 purchase. In this case your merchandise total needs to be $10 or higher. The biggest rule to these coupons is that they must be scanned before any other coupons. It will not work once other coupons or ECBs are used because the total will be lower than the required amount.

As general coupon rule, only one manufacturer’s coupon per item purchased can be used. However, CVS allows you to combine one CVS coupon with one manufacturer’s coupon. This is called stacking and is a great way to save even more.

Let’s say you have a coupon for $.50 off brand x toothpaste. You scan your Extra Care Card and you get a coupon for $1.00 off brand x toothpaste. Now, combine that with the ECB deal of buy brand x paste for $2.99 receive $2.99 in ECBs.

Brand x toothpaste - $2.99
minus $1.00 CVS coupon
minus $.50 MF coupon
Total = $1.49 (Earn $2.99 ECBs)
Profit of $1.50!

You have just grown your ECB “bank” by $1.50. Having $20 - $30 in ECBs is a good amount to work with to be able to purchase items and roll your ECBs from week to week.

When making your purchases, get in the habit of first handing the cashier your Extra Care Card. This is the only way you will get the sales prices.
Next hand over any CVS $x off $xx coupons, general CVS coupons and then any Manufacturer coupons. The last coupons you should hand over are your Extra Care Bucks to pay for your items. You can pay any remaining balance with cash, credit card, or CVS gift card.

It takes time and patience and being organized with your coupons and shopping list is key. Shop with a calculator, check to make sure you have selected the right item or flavor that earns ECBs, and always check the rewards limit on your items. If you mess up, ask a sales associate. They are there to help. Knowing what your OOP should be before you get to the register is very helpful in knowing if there is a problem with your transaction. It also helps in organizing what ECBs to use. You can not use ECBs to pay for tax. So if your items cost $10 before tax, you can not use an ECB over $10. You do not get money back so if your total came to $10 and you use an $11 ECB, you would lose $1.

Never leave the store or parking lot without checking your receipt for accuracy and to make sure all your ECBs printed and you got credit for all your coupons. It’s a lot harder to get things corrected after the fact. Remember, you can always return something if you purchased the wrong item.

It sounds a lot more complicated than it really is. After a few transactions you will catch on quick. Consider transferring your prescriptions to CVS when they offer a gift card with a new or transferred prescription. This is a great way to earn CVS cash for buying things you already buy. Gift cards are a great way to pay for any OOP costs.

My goal is to get shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorant, soap and all kinds of other toiletries and hygiene products for free and use those savings to reduce other areas of my grocery budget. Occasionally you will purchase items that you might not necessarily need at the time in order to roll your ECBs. It's a fun way to try new products. Any extra items I get that may go bad or expire before they can be used, I donate them to family and shelters that can use them.

Take your time - have fun!