We all know how that ends don't we? Unfortunately it's also VERY true in coupon land. Good deals pop up almost daily but never put off printing until later or you might (PROBABLY WILL!) lose out. Here are 3 deals I blew this week: First I didn't print out a Ben and Jerry's coupon since it costs more than $3 at my store and they aren't a favorite brand of mine. But when I found out they were 2/$6 or 2 free in other words at WAGS this week---too late coupon was gone. Then there was a south beach diet deal that evaporated very quickly and finally a St Ives lotion/body scrub deal that melted quicker than Dairy Queen in Florida.
My point is that whenever you come across a deal ask yourself if you would buy it if the item was free, or they paid you to carry it out of the store. If the answer to either question is yes, print it out NOW, don't wait or you'll be sorry later. Take it from one who's learned the hard way, good things might come to those who wait, but FREE things come to those who hustle!
PS- No new posts next week since we're taking a family break. N.
Friday, January 9, 2009
Monday, January 5, 2009
Sometimes You're The Bug
I thought I had it all planned out. I was planning to spend about $20 on a WAGS gift card and make off with over $100 worth of stuff. Not a bad week all in all. Plus I thought I'd end up with about $20 in RR meaning I was basically shopping on the house. But, alas, it didn't quite work out that well.
For starters I thought I'd be able to get 4 bottles of vitamins for free plus generate some RR. But the coupons I needed were in a coloring book which my store was out of. So right off the bat the deal would have cost an extra $4. Then, they were out of the vitamins--well actually they only had 2 and I needed 4 for the deal. Bummer. So the $10 RR was a no go. Then there was a sweet cereal deal. Buy 4 for $10 and get 3RR. I had coupons for $4 so my deal was 4 boxes for $3. Except they were out of the ones I had the coupons for. ARGH! So no RR this week. Major bummer.
Still for $22.68 I got:
10pk instant oatmeal
40 Electrosol auto dishwasher gelpacs
3 cans Ajax
64Oz soft soap refill
1 soft soap dispenser
1 Garnier conditioner
2 bottles palmolive dish soap
3 packs of gum
1 candy cane (cheapest filler I could find)
2 mascaras
1 box garnier hair dye
2 13oz jars petroleum jelly
Not too shabby. I was sorry to burn up so much of my gift card, but sometimes that happens. Also because of the cereal and vitamin debacle my coupon count was off. (At WAGS if you use 20 coupons you must have 20 items)
CVS worked a little better:
1palmolive dish soap
1 bottle Dr Pepper
1 Garnier Shampoo
Cost: 11cents OOP plus 3ECB got back 2ECB's. Not exactly a free rollover but not bad. As a coupon newbie I have learned that it's ok to try even when things don't go perfectly. Some savings are better than none. Relax, have fun, and just think that every dollar saved is a dollar that can be put to better use somewhere else. So grand total for the week was $6.36 spent and so far $62.78 saved. The only two items that weren't on my shopping list for the week were the 25 cent candy cane and the free bottle of Dr Pepper. In a past life the items that jumped into my cart cost waaaay more than that so progress is good.
For starters I thought I'd be able to get 4 bottles of vitamins for free plus generate some RR. But the coupons I needed were in a coloring book which my store was out of. So right off the bat the deal would have cost an extra $4. Then, they were out of the vitamins--well actually they only had 2 and I needed 4 for the deal. Bummer. So the $10 RR was a no go. Then there was a sweet cereal deal. Buy 4 for $10 and get 3RR. I had coupons for $4 so my deal was 4 boxes for $3. Except they were out of the ones I had the coupons for. ARGH! So no RR this week. Major bummer.
Still for $22.68 I got:
10pk instant oatmeal
40 Electrosol auto dishwasher gelpacs
3 cans Ajax
64Oz soft soap refill
1 soft soap dispenser
1 Garnier conditioner
2 bottles palmolive dish soap
3 packs of gum
1 candy cane (cheapest filler I could find)
2 mascaras
1 box garnier hair dye
2 13oz jars petroleum jelly
Not too shabby. I was sorry to burn up so much of my gift card, but sometimes that happens. Also because of the cereal and vitamin debacle my coupon count was off. (At WAGS if you use 20 coupons you must have 20 items)
CVS worked a little better:
1palmolive dish soap
1 bottle Dr Pepper
1 Garnier Shampoo
Cost: 11cents OOP plus 3ECB got back 2ECB's. Not exactly a free rollover but not bad. As a coupon newbie I have learned that it's ok to try even when things don't go perfectly. Some savings are better than none. Relax, have fun, and just think that every dollar saved is a dollar that can be put to better use somewhere else. So grand total for the week was $6.36 spent and so far $62.78 saved. The only two items that weren't on my shopping list for the week were the 25 cent candy cane and the free bottle of Dr Pepper. In a past life the items that jumped into my cart cost waaaay more than that so progress is good.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
A Time For Everything
One of my favorite Bible verses is Ecclesiates 3: 1-8. There is a time for everything. So if this is not the time in your life for coupon mania, that's OK. Moderation is a good thing. It is OK to do a little or a lot or none at all. Frugality is not a disease that you catch to a certain degree or are immune to. It's OK to test the water. We all have things we won't do no matter what. We also have things that just aren't worth it right now, and that's OK too. For example I like soft sheets. REALLY soft sheets. The kind that feels so silky it's hard to believe they are cotton. Of course such comfort doesn't come cheap. I have made my peace with this luxury. I'd rather have one set of sheets that feel like sleeping on a cloud than a dozen scratchy cheap pairs. I don't care what they cost. So I understand that we all have different values. Maybe you feel spending $400 for one set of sheets is insane. Maybe you think clipping coupons is just too much to deal with now.
That's OK. It's OK to disagree. It's also all right to pick and choose. If something sounds good and you want to give it a try-- go for it. I'd love to hear about it. If it's not for you, fine. We all spend our money in different ways and thank heavens for that! What a boring place the world would be if we all thought the same way. Plus, I'd have a much harder time scoring sweet deals if everybody was in line for them! Not to mention getting sheets! (Yeah, I do have a sheet fetish...how'd you guess????) So it's OK to hang back and watch, or not. Whatever. But if sometime, in another season of your life, you change your mind you're always welcome and I'd love the company.
That's OK. It's OK to disagree. It's also all right to pick and choose. If something sounds good and you want to give it a try-- go for it. I'd love to hear about it. If it's not for you, fine. We all spend our money in different ways and thank heavens for that! What a boring place the world would be if we all thought the same way. Plus, I'd have a much harder time scoring sweet deals if everybody was in line for them! Not to mention getting sheets! (Yeah, I do have a sheet fetish...how'd you guess????) So it's OK to hang back and watch, or not. Whatever. But if sometime, in another season of your life, you change your mind you're always welcome and I'd love the company.
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