There are two different ways to get free stuff by using Register Rewards. For the purpose of this article the words Register Rewards are synonymous with whatever your local store calls the rebates that print out based off of your purchases. For example, Rite Aid calls theirs +UP Rewards. You need to join their Wellness Program to begin. Rite Aid will then issue you a keychain tag that you will scan every time you visit the store.

With the Wellness program you are able to not just save money on advertised (and unadvertised) sales, but you are also able to get +Up Rewards.

Another example is CVS. CVS calls their register rewards Extra Bucks. When you join the CVS Extra Care program you are eligible for all in-store sales as well as you can earn Extra Bucks.

A scenario where you can get freebies would go like this. Trident chewing gum is currently on sale for .99 cents. When you purchase the Trident gum at Rite Aid you will pay .99 but the register will print out a .99 +UP Reward that you can use on your next trip to Rite Aid.

The first way to get freebies is to just save up your Register Rewards and then use them on your next trip. However another way to use the Register Rewards (and lower your Out of Pocket costs) is to break your transaction into smaller transactions. Using this method you can use the Register Rewards from one transaction towards the price of the next transaction and get more things for free and pay less out of pocket costs during your visit.

The way I compose my Freebies list is that on Saturday (when the Sunday paper comes out), I scan the weekly circular for the upcoming sales. Then I compose 2 lists. The first list is all of the free items (items that I get 100% back in register rewards or that I have enough coupons to cover the cost of the total product). The second list is smaller things that I can buy on subsequent same-day transactions and use my register rewards to pay for.

If you don’t want to pay for the Sunday newspaper, there are other options. You can “dumpster dive” which just means check your local recycle bins for discarded circulars. You can also look online. Both CVS and Rite Aid have their weekly circulars for the upcoming week up by Saturday on their websites.