Tuesday, March 3, 2009
How Was Your Week?
Not too bad even with a disappointing start. Nothing terribly exciting for free at Wags or CVs--just the usual shampoo and toothpaste but then a couple other items popped up. The first was 12 free packs of gum. Mentos gum was 99cents at Publix. There were two $1/1 coupons in the Sunday paper so I scored 12 packs for free. There was also B1G1 Ritz crackers at Wags. (2 for 1.99) With the $2/2 coupon scored 8 boxes for free. Also got Fiber One granola bars for about 30 cents a box and a crockpot and iron from last month's wopping rebate. There are a few deals left to score this week so as always don't judge a week by the first day, sometimes it takes awhile to find the hidden deals. Happy Hunting!
Friday, February 27, 2009
Need a reason to coupon?
How about this? Would you clip coupons if it saved a life? Dumb question right? Maybe not. See I recently read a post on using coupons to stock local food banks. I was interested but not sure how to start. Luckily, God had a plan as usual.
Our church is designating March as the month to help a local charity group stock its shelves. They even had a wish list of items they always need. Things like hygiene items, baby food, diapers etc... Now it so happens that this week was double coupon week at Kmart. By spending under $60 I got:
4 jumbo packs of diapers, (normally sell for around $11 each)
6 packs of wipes, ($4 each)
1 ointment for rashes, ($4)
1 can baby formula, ($10)
6 deodorants, (4each)
6 nail clippers, ($2 ea)
10 shampoos, ($4ea)
12 toothbrushes, ($3ea)
10 toothpastes, ($3ea)
6 bathrooms cleaners to donate. ($4 ea)
Total: almost $250 in merchandise
(Plus 10 boxes of cereal, 2 dusters, toilet bowl cleaner and 2 large packs of TP to keep.) Now in BC time I would have spent at least $60 on the items I kept alone. So basially I am able to donate several hundred dollars of merchandise to people in desperate need without costing myself any money. I could never afford to buy that much stuff without hurting our budget, nor could I "just write a check" for anything close to that amount. And even if I did, it is doubtful if the charity could get as much with it. So by investing $9 in newspapers and 2 hours of time I was able to contribute to a worthy cause.
In BC time I thought coupons were worthless or at least not worth my time. I also misunderstood using them, thinking that stores lost money on them. I didn't realize that companies reimburse for them. So stores don't lose money. Now while sales like this one that "double" coupons do cost the store money, they wouldn't do it if it wasn't profitable. Besides, I never shop at this store due to its location, so I gave a store $60 worth of business (Plus almost $200 from the coupon companies) I wouldn't otherwise. In these times I'm sure they appreciate any extra traffic. So I helped a charity, I helped a store, and I didn't hurt my own family's budget. Still think coupons are worthless? Anyway this is just another reason to consider using coupons, if not for yourself, perhaps to help another. Who knows how many lives you could touch.
Our church is designating March as the month to help a local charity group stock its shelves. They even had a wish list of items they always need. Things like hygiene items, baby food, diapers etc... Now it so happens that this week was double coupon week at Kmart. By spending under $60 I got:
4 jumbo packs of diapers, (normally sell for around $11 each)
6 packs of wipes, ($4 each)
1 ointment for rashes, ($4)
1 can baby formula, ($10)
6 deodorants, (4each)
6 nail clippers, ($2 ea)
10 shampoos, ($4ea)
12 toothbrushes, ($3ea)
10 toothpastes, ($3ea)
6 bathrooms cleaners to donate. ($4 ea)
Total: almost $250 in merchandise
(Plus 10 boxes of cereal, 2 dusters, toilet bowl cleaner and 2 large packs of TP to keep.) Now in BC time I would have spent at least $60 on the items I kept alone. So basially I am able to donate several hundred dollars of merchandise to people in desperate need without costing myself any money. I could never afford to buy that much stuff without hurting our budget, nor could I "just write a check" for anything close to that amount. And even if I did, it is doubtful if the charity could get as much with it. So by investing $9 in newspapers and 2 hours of time I was able to contribute to a worthy cause.
In BC time I thought coupons were worthless or at least not worth my time. I also misunderstood using them, thinking that stores lost money on them. I didn't realize that companies reimburse for them. So stores don't lose money. Now while sales like this one that "double" coupons do cost the store money, they wouldn't do it if it wasn't profitable. Besides, I never shop at this store due to its location, so I gave a store $60 worth of business (Plus almost $200 from the coupon companies) I wouldn't otherwise. In these times I'm sure they appreciate any extra traffic. So I helped a charity, I helped a store, and I didn't hurt my own family's budget. Still think coupons are worthless? Anyway this is just another reason to consider using coupons, if not for yourself, perhaps to help another. Who knows how many lives you could touch.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Back in the Saddle
Well after a few days break...I'm baaaack! There haven't been many great sales lately although Wags has had a few freebies. I have gotten quite a few coupon books in the mail lately just by signing up with companies. SE Johnson, Kraft, and others. Some have high dollar amounts. Also gobs of freebies in the mail lately. Vocal point, Pssst, and Shespeaks are great sources of freebies as part of their market research. I HIGHLY reccomend joing them. Other than that we're just trying to stay warm and save as much as possible for a vacation late in the year. Any great news out there please pass it along and until then, happy trails to you!~
Friday, January 9, 2009
You Snooze, You.....
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.
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.
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.
Monday, December 29, 2008
First Transaction of the Year
Ok, so 2009 has not really started but I am starting my record keeping now---hey, it's my blog, deal with it. At the end of each week I'll post what I spent, what I saved, what I earned, and what I got and how long I spent doing it.
Before I started couponing I was skeptical. I though either you couldn't save enough to make it worth your time, or you ended up with stuff you wouldn't have bought otherwise. The first assumption proved to be just wrong. The second has some truth to it. To be totally honest if you really want to make couponing pay off you will in truth buy some stuff you don't NEED. Now it may turn out to be useful. But for example, here's what I'm talking about. Today I bought 5 bottles of cough medicine. My family is rarely sick and I'm allergic to the stuff. So IF we need them they will last all year and we might not even ever use all of them. So why buy them???
First, you never know when you're going to get sick and the last thing you want to do is run to the store so having them on hand isn't all bad. Second, if I don't end up needing them they would make a cute gift basket idea. Tie up a bottle with a can of chicken noodle soup in a mug and give to a sick friend. Or make up a basket of "pharmacy-stuff" as a wedding/baby/birthday gift. Not really exciting but let's be honest---probably one of the most practical gifts!
Of course the real reason I bought them is because of the price. They were on sale 5 bottles for $20. When you bought them you got back $20 in RR. So they were free. But wait. I didn't even spend 20 on them. I spent $10 because I used 5 $2/1 manufacturer coupons. Also I used my Wags gift card from last months rebates. So I didn't even use my money. Basically Wags paid me $10 to carry the bottles out of the store. True I can't spend that money anywhere else but I can buy plenty we need: milk, eggs, cheese or garbage bags, cleaning supplies, whatever. So YES Virginia, there may be a Santa Claus and yes, sometimes you will buy things when you don't NEED them right now.
Before I started couponing I was skeptical. I though either you couldn't save enough to make it worth your time, or you ended up with stuff you wouldn't have bought otherwise. The first assumption proved to be just wrong. The second has some truth to it. To be totally honest if you really want to make couponing pay off you will in truth buy some stuff you don't NEED. Now it may turn out to be useful. But for example, here's what I'm talking about. Today I bought 5 bottles of cough medicine. My family is rarely sick and I'm allergic to the stuff. So IF we need them they will last all year and we might not even ever use all of them. So why buy them???
First, you never know when you're going to get sick and the last thing you want to do is run to the store so having them on hand isn't all bad. Second, if I don't end up needing them they would make a cute gift basket idea. Tie up a bottle with a can of chicken noodle soup in a mug and give to a sick friend. Or make up a basket of "pharmacy-stuff" as a wedding/baby/birthday gift. Not really exciting but let's be honest---probably one of the most practical gifts!
Of course the real reason I bought them is because of the price. They were on sale 5 bottles for $20. When you bought them you got back $20 in RR. So they were free. But wait. I didn't even spend 20 on them. I spent $10 because I used 5 $2/1 manufacturer coupons. Also I used my Wags gift card from last months rebates. So I didn't even use my money. Basically Wags paid me $10 to carry the bottles out of the store. True I can't spend that money anywhere else but I can buy plenty we need: milk, eggs, cheese or garbage bags, cleaning supplies, whatever. So YES Virginia, there may be a Santa Claus and yes, sometimes you will buy things when you don't NEED them right now.
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