Sunday, November 7, 2010
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Cereal Savings
This week I'm drowning in Cereal Savings! I went into Giant Eagle and found Monster Cereals on clearance at 75% off after Halloween. Now they don't expire until August, so plenty of time to eat them. I often donate extras or give them to people who can use them so I try to stock up on good deals.
Then I had 12 coupons for free Honey Nut Cheerios I won from an instant win game. They were on sale at Giant Eagle 2/$10 AND you got a free box when you bought 2. So I was able to get 18 boxes of cereal for free.
In total I ended up with exactly 100 boxes of cereal. $328 retail value for the Monster Cereals, and at sale price for the Honey Nut Cheerios and Cinnamon Toast Crunch was $90. So that's $418 of cereal. My cost? $82. And with bonus boxtops for education on there, it's over $13 of Boxtops, which I save for a school where over most of the kids live below the poverty line.
Then I had 12 coupons for free Honey Nut Cheerios I won from an instant win game. They were on sale at Giant Eagle 2/$10 AND you got a free box when you bought 2. So I was able to get 18 boxes of cereal for free.
In total I ended up with exactly 100 boxes of cereal. $328 retail value for the Monster Cereals, and at sale price for the Honey Nut Cheerios and Cinnamon Toast Crunch was $90. So that's $418 of cereal. My cost? $82. And with bonus boxtops for education on there, it's over $13 of Boxtops, which I save for a school where over most of the kids live below the poverty line.
Friday, November 5, 2010
The Psychic Cash Register
I just returned from Walgreens. I need to make sure I am not charged twice for the things I bought today. I was expecting my bill to come to about $1.50 and it was over $6. Upon investigation, the pretzel M&Ms rang in at $3.49 instead of $2.49. Also, I didn't get the Register Rewards for buying 4. (Buy 4 bags of 9.9 oz. M&Ms and get $5 back in Register Rewards.)
I pointed this out to the cashier,who by the way is my FAVORITE cashier there, she never complains about coupons and is so good about them and actually enjoys seeing how much I can save. She then turned this problem over to the front end manager who insisted the cash register knew in advance I was going to use a $1 coupon and since I "can't use a coupon on a sale item" the cash register added the coupon to the price of the item. I pointed out the cash register had no way of knowing this, and that yes, I could use a coupon on a sale item. She said I wouldn't get a Register Reward back if I used one. I said that yes, I could receive one even though I used one as long as they were issued by different companies. She shrugged her shoulders and refused to do anything else for me. I asked to call corporate (I left my cell phone at home.) She asked if I would like to talk to the general manager. Same song and dance about the register adding the coupons onto the price and the same Register Reward story. I KNEW I was right. (My grandpa used to love a poem that said "He who knows and knows he knows is wise, follow him." In this instance I knew what I was doing and knew I knew.) The manger finally said he did think it was ringing up at $3.49 instead of $2.49 because the holiday packaging was not included in the sale.
So we go to the shelves, get four non-holiday packages of M&Ms. He still said I couldn't use coupons and a Register Reward, the register wouldn't let me. I was trying to explain I could.
So, I finally said, "Would you please try it just to humor me." I could tell he didn't want to. I added, "And if it doesn't work, I'll believe you." So it was a showdown as to who was right.
Needless to say, I won. Four 9.9 bags of M&Ms. One package of Ramen noodles. Four $1 off coupons. One $5 Register Reward applied to order. Total came to $1.95. It often takes about 10 seconds for Register Rewards to start printing. I could tell he was feeling smug in that it wasn't going to print, but after a moment, I was able to say, "There it is!" :)
So, for my Walgreens wrap-up of the week:
Four bags of 9.9 oz. Pretzel M&Ms
Three packages of Ramen Noodles
One bag Ghiradelli chocolate squares
Fives boxes of Sinex
Five boxes of Nyquil
Two bottles cough syrup
One weekly local newspaper
Total I paid after coupons and Register Rewards: $25.61 (includes tax) Total I have in Register Rewards to spend next week: $31 My receipts said with sales and coupons alone I saved $55.93. So that's over $80 of stuff I got for $25, plus $31 back in Register Rewards.
I have been sick lately so the Nyquil is a welcome addition to the house! In fact the other day I said to the cashier, "I've been going through this stuff like crazy lately." He asked if I meant the Nyquil or Ramen!
Photo of my stuff:
I pointed this out to the cashier,who by the way is my FAVORITE cashier there, she never complains about coupons and is so good about them and actually enjoys seeing how much I can save. She then turned this problem over to the front end manager who insisted the cash register knew in advance I was going to use a $1 coupon and since I "can't use a coupon on a sale item" the cash register added the coupon to the price of the item. I pointed out the cash register had no way of knowing this, and that yes, I could use a coupon on a sale item. She said I wouldn't get a Register Reward back if I used one. I said that yes, I could receive one even though I used one as long as they were issued by different companies. She shrugged her shoulders and refused to do anything else for me. I asked to call corporate (I left my cell phone at home.) She asked if I would like to talk to the general manager. Same song and dance about the register adding the coupons onto the price and the same Register Reward story. I KNEW I was right. (My grandpa used to love a poem that said "He who knows and knows he knows is wise, follow him." In this instance I knew what I was doing and knew I knew.) The manger finally said he did think it was ringing up at $3.49 instead of $2.49 because the holiday packaging was not included in the sale.
So we go to the shelves, get four non-holiday packages of M&Ms. He still said I couldn't use coupons and a Register Reward, the register wouldn't let me. I was trying to explain I could.
So, I finally said, "Would you please try it just to humor me." I could tell he didn't want to. I added, "And if it doesn't work, I'll believe you." So it was a showdown as to who was right.
Needless to say, I won. Four 9.9 bags of M&Ms. One package of Ramen noodles. Four $1 off coupons. One $5 Register Reward applied to order. Total came to $1.95. It often takes about 10 seconds for Register Rewards to start printing. I could tell he was feeling smug in that it wasn't going to print, but after a moment, I was able to say, "There it is!" :)
So, for my Walgreens wrap-up of the week:
Four bags of 9.9 oz. Pretzel M&Ms
Three packages of Ramen Noodles
One bag Ghiradelli chocolate squares
Fives boxes of Sinex
Five boxes of Nyquil
Two bottles cough syrup
One weekly local newspaper
Total I paid after coupons and Register Rewards: $25.61 (includes tax) Total I have in Register Rewards to spend next week: $31 My receipts said with sales and coupons alone I saved $55.93. So that's over $80 of stuff I got for $25, plus $31 back in Register Rewards.
I have been sick lately so the Nyquil is a welcome addition to the house! In fact the other day I said to the cashier, "I've been going through this stuff like crazy lately." He asked if I meant the Nyquil or Ramen!
Photo of my stuff:
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
75% off Halloween
I don't celebrate Halloween, but that doesn't mean I won't shop bargains once Halloween is over. :)
I was at the store today and saw a man with a cart full of candy, so I went poking around. I first saw bags of mini Clark bars (one of Mom's favorite candies -- I actually paid $1.59 for a full sized Clark bar on Sunday night.) Bags of the mini ones were 60 cents a bag. Jackpot. A little further on, I saw a lot more clearanced candies, and I thought of the "Christmas store" that my church does where everything is free. I figured some candy in non-Halloween wrappings would be a welcomed donation for people to get to add to stockings, so I got a number of bags of candy. The candy ranged in price from 24 cents for a bag of caramel apple candy corn (which I wanted to try) to $2 for a huge bag of Wonka candies. Everything was 75% off.
I found mini-boxes of Russell Stovers candy for 32 cents. Someone had unwrapped one of the "spider" wrappings from it, and underneath the outer Halloween wrapping was a normal mini-box of Russell Stover candy that would usually sell for about $1.29. I got a few of these thinking they would make nice basket stuffers at Christmas.
And then I looked to a bottom shelf. My gold mine! I absolutely love General Mills' Count Chocula. There was a huge display of it, and it, too, was 75% off. Not only that but there were some cereal bars with bats on them for Halloween also at 75% off.
In all I spent a whopping $59! (Originally $236!) That's a lot just for candy and cereal. But the cereal has a best if used by date in September of 2011 and I know we will use it up.
Also, on two bags of candy I found peelie coupons that if you bought three bags of candy you got $1 off! I looked for more of those coupons but couldn't find any more. The coupons didn't expire until Nov 15, so that fun to spot!
In all I bought:
28 boxes of cereal (26 Count Chocula, 1 Boo Berry, 1 Franken Berry)
3 boxes of cereal bars (wanted more but couldn't reach them)
32 bags of candy
4 mini-boxes of Russell Stovers Candy
3 Chocolate Peeps
Looks like we won't be buying any cereal for a year or so!
I was at the store today and saw a man with a cart full of candy, so I went poking around. I first saw bags of mini Clark bars (one of Mom's favorite candies -- I actually paid $1.59 for a full sized Clark bar on Sunday night.) Bags of the mini ones were 60 cents a bag. Jackpot. A little further on, I saw a lot more clearanced candies, and I thought of the "Christmas store" that my church does where everything is free. I figured some candy in non-Halloween wrappings would be a welcomed donation for people to get to add to stockings, so I got a number of bags of candy. The candy ranged in price from 24 cents for a bag of caramel apple candy corn (which I wanted to try) to $2 for a huge bag of Wonka candies. Everything was 75% off.
I found mini-boxes of Russell Stovers candy for 32 cents. Someone had unwrapped one of the "spider" wrappings from it, and underneath the outer Halloween wrapping was a normal mini-box of Russell Stover candy that would usually sell for about $1.29. I got a few of these thinking they would make nice basket stuffers at Christmas.
And then I looked to a bottom shelf. My gold mine! I absolutely love General Mills' Count Chocula. There was a huge display of it, and it, too, was 75% off. Not only that but there were some cereal bars with bats on them for Halloween also at 75% off.
In all I spent a whopping $59! (Originally $236!) That's a lot just for candy and cereal. But the cereal has a best if used by date in September of 2011 and I know we will use it up.
Also, on two bags of candy I found peelie coupons that if you bought three bags of candy you got $1 off! I looked for more of those coupons but couldn't find any more. The coupons didn't expire until Nov 15, so that fun to spot!
In all I bought:
28 boxes of cereal (26 Count Chocula, 1 Boo Berry, 1 Franken Berry)
3 boxes of cereal bars (wanted more but couldn't reach them)
32 bags of candy
4 mini-boxes of Russell Stovers Candy
3 Chocolate Peeps
I went to a few other stores for regular shopping, and everywhere but this one grocery store had their Halloween stuff at 25% to 50% off depending on what it was. I almost never stop at this store, but decided to today!
Looks like we won't be buying any cereal for a year or so!
Monday, November 1, 2010
30 Day Giving Challenge
I saw about this on a fellow blogger's website today. I was looking at The Things We Hope For and she is participating in this challenge.
It's simple. It's easy, and you don't need to be a blogger. So what if I'm blogging late at night and you missed day one? Start on Nov 2.
The 30 Day Giving Challenge has this as it's theme:
The goal is every day for the month of November is to do something for someone. It doesn't need to be publicized, it doesn't need to be big. Just something.
Maybe take some stuff you've gotten free or cheap after coupons and give them to a family in need. Or buy some pencils and take them to a school. Save boxtops for education and give them to a school. It doesn't need to be expensive, it doesn't need to cost money. Just give of yourself.
I don't want to say what I did for day one, but I will say the recipient was quite grateful.
So, just give of yourself!
It's simple. It's easy, and you don't need to be a blogger. So what if I'm blogging late at night and you missed day one? Start on Nov 2.
The 30 Day Giving Challenge has this as it's theme:
Maybe take some stuff you've gotten free or cheap after coupons and give them to a family in need. Or buy some pencils and take them to a school. Save boxtops for education and give them to a school. It doesn't need to be expensive, it doesn't need to cost money. Just give of yourself.
I don't want to say what I did for day one, but I will say the recipient was quite grateful.
So, just give of yourself!
Sunday, October 31, 2010
WOW! You $aved How Much? review
This post contains affiliate links.
The author of Wow! You Saved How Much?
asked if I would like to review her book. My first reaction to the book was how thin it was. It's only 52 pages, but then again that makes it easy to read, and I've seen some "how to coupon" books contain a lot of fluff or all kinds of extra details that can confuse the "newbie". You certainly won't find any of that here. It's a very well written, straight forward book that anyone can understand.You might think coupons are a waste of time or boring or not worth it or a number of other excuses, but as you've read on my blog and as Renita Perrone teaches in Wow! You Saved How Much?
you'll see those excuses are just that -- excuses.I will say, though, that anyone can see some nice savings with coupons. While this book does explain what I call "hard-core" couponing, you will learn the basics and if you use what you learn in this book it will pay for itself in the first trip to the grocery store.
Bottom line, this is a simple, easy to understand book about couponing. I'd highly recommend it to anyone just starting out with coupons.
What I liked: The concise, easy to follow way this book was put together. I also liked the ideas of how to trade coupons, where to find them, and other information it took me a while to figure out when I was first learning to coupon.
What I didn't like: She didn't mention coupons that spit out at the register when you buy certain items. These can be a gold mine. However, I understand this is for new coupon users, and that can be a bit confusing at times. I did see on Amazon this is called "Volume 1" so possibly she is planning another book.
Also, this book was published in 2009, so information will be dated in this volume.
As mentioned, I received a book to review. Receiving this book free did not influence my opinon whatsoever. My opinions are my own.
Saturday, October 30, 2010
It's got to stop! (Or it's got to start!)
I was sitting with my latest issue of RefundCents last night. I've been a subscriber for a number of years, was on the cover in 1993 for buying 55 packages of bologna, and my mother was on the cover a few years ago because I took her photo with the $1700 of games and toys I bought for $65.
I was reading through the latest issue of RefundCents and was a bit envious of the deals the ladies got. Over $200 of diapers for $50? I have a new "nephew" and that would have made a fantastic Christmas gift. Over $200 of Crayola products? A school near me has 75% of the students living in poverty and that would have been a welcome donation. My church does a back to school bash where they gave out over 200 backpacks filled with school supplies, gave 65 haircuts, and had a clothing giveaway. There is no shortage of places that could have used the Crayola.
Why am I not getting these deals? Because I've gotten lazy with coupons! Take this week at Walgreens, for instance. Contact was on sale for $6 with $6 back in register rewards. Toothpaste was $3.50 with $3.50 back in register rewards. Time was, I would have gotten several of each of these even though it would have meant multiple trips to the store. How many did I get? One.
Rite Aid has a new program called UP rewards. I've not taken the time to figure out how it works.
I don't take the time to stop at Walgreens multiple times a week or figure out how a new rewards program works, and I complain I am not getting the deals I once did.
I'm finishing this blog post to scour over the Walgreens and CVS ads to see what deals I can get this week. I hope to start making my weeks much better than they have been being! Even a few months ago I would post that I got $40 or $50 of stuff and paid $2 or less! I'm hoping to have some more of those posts very soon!
I was reading through the latest issue of RefundCents and was a bit envious of the deals the ladies got. Over $200 of diapers for $50? I have a new "nephew" and that would have made a fantastic Christmas gift. Over $200 of Crayola products? A school near me has 75% of the students living in poverty and that would have been a welcome donation. My church does a back to school bash where they gave out over 200 backpacks filled with school supplies, gave 65 haircuts, and had a clothing giveaway. There is no shortage of places that could have used the Crayola.
Why am I not getting these deals? Because I've gotten lazy with coupons! Take this week at Walgreens, for instance. Contact was on sale for $6 with $6 back in register rewards. Toothpaste was $3.50 with $3.50 back in register rewards. Time was, I would have gotten several of each of these even though it would have meant multiple trips to the store. How many did I get? One.
Rite Aid has a new program called UP rewards. I've not taken the time to figure out how it works.
I don't take the time to stop at Walgreens multiple times a week or figure out how a new rewards program works, and I complain I am not getting the deals I once did.
I'm finishing this blog post to scour over the Walgreens and CVS ads to see what deals I can get this week. I hope to start making my weeks much better than they have been being! Even a few months ago I would post that I got $40 or $50 of stuff and paid $2 or less! I'm hoping to have some more of those posts very soon!
Friday, October 29, 2010
Book Trading
I love to read. I mean, I LOVE to read. Most years I'll read something like 100 books. Of course, this can be expensive, because if I purchased them all new, at only $10 each, that would be $1,000.
I've been a member of Paperbackswap.com for almost five years now. I love it. You list books you no longer want and are willing to mail to others. When one is requested, you mail it (at your expense. This is the only cost of the site until you want to purchase postage on the site or buy delivery confirmation.) When the person who requested the book receives it, they mark it received and you get one "credit" to be able to spend on another book that's on the site.
An example of savings that can be had is my Wednesday night group at church is doing what is called a "Kingdom Challenge". If we REALLY can't afford books, they will buy them for us, but I asked if I could be responsible for getting my own since I knew I had one book already and I have an Amazon
certificate I won last year. (I won a $200 certificate, and figured since I had about $50 left, I'd rather use that than shell out $41 for books.) First thing I did before Amazon , though, was check at Paperbackswap. They had two of the books I needed. Then I decided to put the third on my wish list.
The wishlist is a great feature. Basically you "stand in line" for a book you want. I have been 1 of 1 for dozens of books for a long time. Usually these are hard to find books, such as some of the books on balloon scuplture I have wishlisted. I mean, it's not uncommon for a book about religion or a fiction book to be posted, but not as many people would even want books on animal balloons, and those who do would usually keep them for reference. That said, I *have* received harder to find books (including balloon scupture ones) from Paperbackswap.
Additionally, contrary to its name Paperbackswap is not just for paperbacks. I've gotten spiral bound cookbooks, hardcovers, and even booklets.
Sure, occasionally a book gets lost in the mail or someone mails a book that doesn't meet guidelines (no writing, no water damage, etc.) but you can mark it damaged.
I've had great success and totally love this site!
As for the books I needed for church? The one I put on a wishlist has already come up and has been mailed, so I was able to get all three from Paperbackswap (actually all four since the one I already had came from there some time back.) My total cost? Mailing out four books. (Or at $2.38 media mail rate, a cost of $9.52.) That's sure better than the $41 to buy the books new (even at a discout) through my church. And really, I'm not sure I could have afforded the extra $40 right now, so Paperbackswap saved the day! (Although I was planning on getting the books with the gift certificate I won, but since I had credits and the books were available, I was able to not have to use the gift certificate at all!)
I've been a member of Paperbackswap.com for almost five years now. I love it. You list books you no longer want and are willing to mail to others. When one is requested, you mail it (at your expense. This is the only cost of the site until you want to purchase postage on the site or buy delivery confirmation.) When the person who requested the book receives it, they mark it received and you get one "credit" to be able to spend on another book that's on the site.
An example of savings that can be had is my Wednesday night group at church is doing what is called a "Kingdom Challenge". If we REALLY can't afford books, they will buy them for us, but I asked if I could be responsible for getting my own since I knew I had one book already and I have an Amazon
certificate I won last year. (I won a $200 certificate, and figured since I had about $50 left, I'd rather use that than shell out $41 for books.) First thing I did before Amazon , though, was check at Paperbackswap. They had two of the books I needed. Then I decided to put the third on my wish list. The wishlist is a great feature. Basically you "stand in line" for a book you want. I have been 1 of 1 for dozens of books for a long time. Usually these are hard to find books, such as some of the books on balloon scuplture I have wishlisted. I mean, it's not uncommon for a book about religion or a fiction book to be posted, but not as many people would even want books on animal balloons, and those who do would usually keep them for reference. That said, I *have* received harder to find books (including balloon scupture ones) from Paperbackswap.
Additionally, contrary to its name Paperbackswap is not just for paperbacks. I've gotten spiral bound cookbooks, hardcovers, and even booklets.
Sure, occasionally a book gets lost in the mail or someone mails a book that doesn't meet guidelines (no writing, no water damage, etc.) but you can mark it damaged.
I've had great success and totally love this site!
As for the books I needed for church? The one I put on a wishlist has already come up and has been mailed, so I was able to get all three from Paperbackswap (actually all four since the one I already had came from there some time back.) My total cost? Mailing out four books. (Or at $2.38 media mail rate, a cost of $9.52.) That's sure better than the $41 to buy the books new (even at a discout) through my church. And really, I'm not sure I could have afforded the extra $40 right now, so Paperbackswap saved the day! (Although I was planning on getting the books with the gift certificate I won, but since I had credits and the books were available, I was able to not have to use the gift certificate at all!)
'Tis the Season to start hunting LOTS of bargains
Next week is November. That means that Christmas is around the corner, and with Christms comes tons of great deals.
This week I ordered a new coffee pot. (Details on that soon!) I also ordered about $30 of beauty stuff for about $8. Well, two of the three orders got cancelled. I'm hoping the first order goes through. There were three different valid coupon codes, so it wasn't like I was using the same coupon code repeatedly.
It's the season for finding coupon codes on the Internet, combining deals and finding the best prices available for the things you need (or want).
One year I did all of my Christmas shopping for about 8 people for $50. I don't know I'll ever be able to top that, but each year I try to spend as little as possible but give great gifts. One year family even told me that we bought too much stuff for them! (Spent about $10-20 per person)
I'm also wanting to decorate for Christmas a little more than in past years, so that means I need some more decorations. Need to find deals on them, too!
Remember Christmas is less than 2 months away!
This week I ordered a new coffee pot. (Details on that soon!) I also ordered about $30 of beauty stuff for about $8. Well, two of the three orders got cancelled. I'm hoping the first order goes through. There were three different valid coupon codes, so it wasn't like I was using the same coupon code repeatedly.
It's the season for finding coupon codes on the Internet, combining deals and finding the best prices available for the things you need (or want).
One year I did all of my Christmas shopping for about 8 people for $50. I don't know I'll ever be able to top that, but each year I try to spend as little as possible but give great gifts. One year family even told me that we bought too much stuff for them! (Spent about $10-20 per person)
I'm also wanting to decorate for Christmas a little more than in past years, so that means I need some more decorations. Need to find deals on them, too!
Remember Christmas is less than 2 months away!
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Oh the irony. . .
Fall Allergies. 'Nuff said. Instead of making the trip to Walgreens today for more Cold/flu/sinus medicnes as I had blogged about planning to do yesterday, I rolled out of bed and went to church.
I remember in college, the praise and worship team from my university was to lead singing at a regional conference. Rumor has it the one boy rolled out of bed, and walked on stage in what he slept in, never having brushed his teeth, his hair, or the lint off his clothes.
That's pretty much what I felt like tonight. Everyone should be glad Ididn't show up in jammies. I did decide it was casual Wednesday and wear my dad's "Trust me I'm a doctor" t-shirt. (He's been gone four years now. Unbelievable.) I pulled my hair back in a ponytail, and took a water bottle, and a bag of Halls Refresh. (Free after Register Rewards at Walgreens a few weeks back.) One of my observant friends asked if I wasn't feeling well.
The worship leader snickered when he saw "Trust me I'm a Doctor" on my long sleeved t-shirt. This from a boy who wears a t-shirt that has a bride and groom on it, with a ball and chain on the groom's leg and underneath it the words "Game Over".
I'm craving potatoes. I always want processed potatoes when I'm not feeling well. I thought about going through the McDonald's drive through after church, but I didn't. Now I regret it. Although I don't need the calories, fries would be great. If we had a McDonald's in my hometown, I'd go out and get some, but the closest McDonalds is 10 miles away, and I'm not going to drive 20 miles for fries. I'll just take some free allergy medicine and go to bed and dream of the Fry Guys. . .
I remember in college, the praise and worship team from my university was to lead singing at a regional conference. Rumor has it the one boy rolled out of bed, and walked on stage in what he slept in, never having brushed his teeth, his hair, or the lint off his clothes.
That's pretty much what I felt like tonight. Everyone should be glad Ididn't show up in jammies. I did decide it was casual Wednesday and wear my dad's "Trust me I'm a doctor" t-shirt. (He's been gone four years now. Unbelievable.) I pulled my hair back in a ponytail, and took a water bottle, and a bag of Halls Refresh. (Free after Register Rewards at Walgreens a few weeks back.) One of my observant friends asked if I wasn't feeling well.
The worship leader snickered when he saw "Trust me I'm a Doctor" on my long sleeved t-shirt. This from a boy who wears a t-shirt that has a bride and groom on it, with a ball and chain on the groom's leg and underneath it the words "Game Over".
I'm craving potatoes. I always want processed potatoes when I'm not feeling well. I thought about going through the McDonald's drive through after church, but I didn't. Now I regret it. Although I don't need the calories, fries would be great. If we had a McDonald's in my hometown, I'd go out and get some, but the closest McDonalds is 10 miles away, and I'm not going to drive 20 miles for fries. I'll just take some free allergy medicine and go to bed and dream of the Fry Guys. . .
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