I put any moneymakers at the top (but not penny moneymakers), freebies in the middle, and items that will cost something at the end. All I really pay attention to are the last 3 columns. I want to keep as many of my RRs as I can from transaction to transaction and grow them if possible. If there are any moneymakers I want to include them in the first transaction if I can. I also want my freebies after RR to be earlier in the scenario.
The mathematical game part comes into play to spend my original RRs. If I have a $5 RR to work with I want to see what combination of items I can buy and stay as close to that $5 as possible. If I can match my existing RRs within pennies, then I’ll only spend pennies on that transaction. I use the New Price column to find items that add up close to 5 (starting with freebies or moneymakers). In this case I’d see that the Crest for 2.98 after Qs and the Dentek for 1.99 after Qs = $4.97. It would look like this:
Transaction 1
2 Crest Kid TPs @ 4.98
1 Dentek @ 2.99
1 mini notebook @ .49
subtotal: $8.46
use (2) $1/1 Crest for Me
use $1/1 dentek printable
use in ad Q for notebook (takes off $.30)
use $5 RR
new total: $.16, get $3 RR and $2 RR
I needed to buy the notebook as a filler to be able to use my RR. Both because I didn’t have $5 without it, plus I had already used a Q for both Crests and the Dentek. (again, if you’re not familiar with the Wags system, you should read this tutorial on Walgreens first)
Then I go back to the New Price column to find my next combination of items using the RRs I just earned. I want to spend them both if possible to have fewer transactions, but I still want to get as many RRs back as possible too. For this example I’d get the W Tampons and the Irish Spring = $5.50 after Qs.
Transaction 2
W Tampons @ 1.50
2 Irish Spring Deo @ 6.00
1 mini notebook @ .49
subtotal: $7.99
use (2) $1/1 Irish Spring
use in ad Q for notebook (takes off $.30)
use $3 RR and $2 RR
new total: $.69, get $1.50 RR and $4 RR
Sometimes you’ll notice that I save a RR to use later in the scenario. It’s just all part of the math. I may not be able to find items to match up closely with all the RRs I earned.I now have $4 and $1.50 to work with, but my remaining 3 items add up to $7.20, not near $5.50. Since the L’Oreal is $3.99 after Q and I have a $4 RR and a $1.50 RR, I’ll save the $1.50 RR for later:
Tranasaction 3
Loreal @ 5.99
1 mini notebook @ .49
subtotal: $6.48
use $2/1 Loreal
use in ad Q for notebook (takes off $.30)
use $4 RR
new total: $.18, get $3 RR
Transaction 4
2 Scunci @ 3
1 Pure Silk @ 1.99
subtotal: $4.99
use $.80/1 Pure Silk
use in ad Q for Pure Silk (takes off $1)
use $3 RR
new total: $.19, get $3 RR
I have this $3 RR as well as the $1.50 RR from Transaction 2 that I can use for next week.
Again, it’s all just a mathematical game. Writing out the prices like a chart above will help you quickly find which products to spend your RRs on, as well as to see the coupons you’ll be using to tell if you need a filler or not.
There is a spreadsheet with the cells already set up to do the math for you that is available on the right sidebar at iheartwags. But for me it takes more time because I need to fill in all the info and may realize it doesnt match up as well as I thought and I have to go to each cell and take the info out to move it. It’s worth trying to see if it would work for you though.
There is no right or wrong way to make a scenario, this is just what works for me. I usually don’t keep many RRs on hand-no more than $10, so I usually do medium transactions with 2 or 3 RR items. I usually am able to get the items I want in just 2 transactions. (because I rarely buy items that actually cost money after Qs and RRs- besides fillers) I may go back to the store later in the week after they restock if I want more of an item. The scenarios I write each week are to show you the possibilities, but I hope that you’ll be able to get some practice with those scenarios and learn to write your own. Remember I do have a tab at the top for personalized scenarios if you need some help. If you have any questions about the process of writing scenarios, feel free to ask!
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