The key to getting free items at Walgreens (and many other stores) is simple.

Coupons.

Yes, coupons. You know, those little booklets you have to toss aside to read the Sunday comics. They're a gold mine. It's worth getting two copies of the paper, in fact. Maybe even more if there are lots of coupons for products your family uses in a particular week's inserts.

Now, if you've looked at a coupon insert, you're probably thinking to yourself, "How is this going to make anything free? $1 off this, 50cents off that....how could this really make a difference?"

The key is in the timing. Think of your coupons like your hand in a card game. It can be tough to spot from the beginning what's a good card and what's a great card. But when the time comes, if you have the right card to play, you win. Coupons are the same way-you just have to learn when to play them. So when the item is the lowest price it's going to be before the coupon expires, that's when you want to play it.

Walgreens often runs sales & promotions where items hit a very low price. When you play your coupon during the promotion, you win.

Your assignment for this week is to get at least two copies of the coupon inserts from the largest paper in your area this Sunday. Once you have done this, proceed to step 2:clipping and organizing your coupons.