Anyone who knows me, knows that I am addicted to Coca-Cola. The original kind. Not diet. Not cherry, lime or vanilla. Classic Coke. And I drink way too much of it. There are worse things to be addicted to of course, but still, it's not healthy for me. But I digress...
Anyway, CVS had Coke on sale last week and this week. It came out to $1.66 for a 12 pack of cans, which normally cost $4.99 not on sale. Despite the fact that I am super cheap, my Coke addiction has driven me to pay as much as $1.50 for one 20 oz bottle! So I jumped at the chance to buy cheap 12 packs. I got 12 last week and 8 this week. Yes, I have 20 packs of Coke... They expire in September which means that if I drink one a day, then I'll use them up before they expire. Given that I drink a bit more than that, it shouldn't be a problem.
Am I crazy for buying so many? I spent $33 on soda! In this case I don't mind stockpiling a lot because I have a long history of using this product and know 100% that it will not go to waste. Plus, it saves me from plunking down a dollar in the Coke machine at work every day. I'll break even after not buying Coke at work for the next 33 times, and then I'll still have over 200 cans left. So it's worth it! On the other hand, I bought 4 bottles of Triaminic Kids Cold Medicine a few weeks ago. I made 50 cents on each bottle! They also expire around September. Will I use all 4 by then? Probably not. I will probably give some away, like I did some other products this morning.
When I first I started couponing I bought anything and everything that was a good deal. Now I'm trying to be a bit more savvy and really try to caculate how much we use, and can use by the expiration date. I'm also capping myself off at a certain number. Right now I have about a year's worth of kid's vitamins. Given expiration dates, I probably shouldn't buy any more until I'm down to a 3 month supply. However, if they are completely free or I make money on the deal, then I cannot guarantee anything!
Monday, January 23, 2012
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Cheap Hair Color, Aleve & Vitamins
I had been quite busy this last week and hadn't done much couponing, but I made up for it this weekend. CVS had a great deal on L'Oreal Preference Hair Color and I got 4 for .50 cents each. Now, I already have 7 down in my stockpile that I got for between .50 cents and free, but given that I go through 12-15 of these a year, I jumped at the chance to pick up a few more so I won't ever have to pay full retail ($8 and up).
This past week I realized we were almost out of Aleve so I started checking around and got a great deal on it at Walgreens today. By combining sales, coupons and store rewards, I got Aleve for just .24 cents. I had enough coupons to buy 8 of them, which I did. They don't expire until August 2014 so hopefully we'll be set for a while.
Lastly, I got an awesome price on Flintstone vitamins at Target. Again, I used sales, coupons and store rewards to get an awesome price - only .32 cents per container!
I don't go out and buy $1,000 of stuff at a time. I buy a little here and a little there. As we are out running our regular errands I'll pop in CVS, Walgreens or Target to get my deals. Love it!
This past week I realized we were almost out of Aleve so I started checking around and got a great deal on it at Walgreens today. By combining sales, coupons and store rewards, I got Aleve for just .24 cents. I had enough coupons to buy 8 of them, which I did. They don't expire until August 2014 so hopefully we'll be set for a while.
Lastly, I got an awesome price on Flintstone vitamins at Target. Again, I used sales, coupons and store rewards to get an awesome price - only .32 cents per container!
I don't go out and buy $1,000 of stuff at a time. I buy a little here and a little there. As we are out running our regular errands I'll pop in CVS, Walgreens or Target to get my deals. Love it!
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
A Great Start to Couponing in 2012!
Early on Sunday morning, January 1st, I went out couponing while everyone else was home recovering from New Year's festivities the night before. It was worth it!
I came home with 8 bottles of kids medicine (exp: 2014) , 4 bottles of body wash; 18 rolls of Charmin toilet paper, 6 bottles of conditioner. I spent $20 out-of-pocket, and left with $17 in gift cards/store rewards. The net cost of all these products was $3. Awesome!
I accomplished this by combining manufacturer coupons (inserts & printed), store coupons, store rewards and store cards. I found all the deals at my favorite website, www.thekrazycouponlady.com!
I came home with 8 bottles of kids medicine (exp: 2014) , 4 bottles of body wash; 18 rolls of Charmin toilet paper, 6 bottles of conditioner. I spent $20 out-of-pocket, and left with $17 in gift cards/store rewards. The net cost of all these products was $3. Awesome!
I accomplished this by combining manufacturer coupons (inserts & printed), store coupons, store rewards and store cards. I found all the deals at my favorite website, www.thekrazycouponlady.com!
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Cheap Batteries Just in Time for Christmas!
With Christmas approaching I've been on the lookout for some good battery deals. I used to buy my batteries at Costco, but recently I've found that I can get them cheaper with coupons at other stores.
For example, CVS sells 4 AA/AAA batteries for $4.99 - at full price it's a rip off for sure! Last week CVS had these batteries on sale for $2.99. I had coupons for $1.50 off any Duracell batteries which brought the cost down to $1.50 each. They also were running a promotion where you'd get $5 in ExtraCare Bucks if you purchase $15 in Duracell batteries.
So I bought 5 packs (total cost $14.95 - CVS will accept a few cents shy of the amount). I also used 5 $1.50 coupons for a total $7.50 off, which brought the total down to $7.45. I then received $5 of ExtraCare Bucks, bringing my net cost down to $2.45 for 20 batteries. Not bad, and definitely cheaper than Costco.
Now we'll be all set for batteries for Christmas presents!
For example, CVS sells 4 AA/AAA batteries for $4.99 - at full price it's a rip off for sure! Last week CVS had these batteries on sale for $2.99. I had coupons for $1.50 off any Duracell batteries which brought the cost down to $1.50 each. They also were running a promotion where you'd get $5 in ExtraCare Bucks if you purchase $15 in Duracell batteries.
So I bought 5 packs (total cost $14.95 - CVS will accept a few cents shy of the amount). I also used 5 $1.50 coupons for a total $7.50 off, which brought the total down to $7.45. I then received $5 of ExtraCare Bucks, bringing my net cost down to $2.45 for 20 batteries. Not bad, and definitely cheaper than Costco.
Now we'll be all set for batteries for Christmas presents!
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Try, Try Again...
I bought some items for Christmas from Target. Two days after purchasing them, I got the following two coupons:
Well I went to Target to see if I could return the items, and then do a new purchase with the coupons in order to abide by the rules of the coupon. Well this would have worked perfectly except for the fact that they were sold out of one of the items. They would not let me return mine and then immediately repurchase it. They explained the item would have to be held for 24 hours and then reshelved. Ugh. I left.
I decided to go again later that night and try my luck with a different customer service agent. I was honest with her and told her I had been there earlier and what I had been told. This one told me she thought the 24 hour rule was stupid and did the return/re-purchase right on the spot. So my out-of-pocket cost stayed the same and I left with a $25 gift card. Of course I then turned around and spent it on more items for Christmas, but that's OK. My all-cash Christmas is a reality this year! :)
The lesson here is that you can different results with different cashiers. If at first you don't succeed.... you know the rest.
- "get a $15 gift card when you spend $150" and
- "get a $10 gift card when you spend $50"
Well I went to Target to see if I could return the items, and then do a new purchase with the coupons in order to abide by the rules of the coupon. Well this would have worked perfectly except for the fact that they were sold out of one of the items. They would not let me return mine and then immediately repurchase it. They explained the item would have to be held for 24 hours and then reshelved. Ugh. I left.
I decided to go again later that night and try my luck with a different customer service agent. I was honest with her and told her I had been there earlier and what I had been told. This one told me she thought the 24 hour rule was stupid and did the return/re-purchase right on the spot. So my out-of-pocket cost stayed the same and I left with a $25 gift card. Of course I then turned around and spent it on more items for Christmas, but that's OK. My all-cash Christmas is a reality this year! :)
The lesson here is that you can different results with different cashiers. If at first you don't succeed.... you know the rest.
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Too Overwhelmed To Try Couponing?
A few months ago a good friend of mine expressed some interest in couponing. When I checked in with him about it recently he reported that he was too overwhelmed by the whole process and decided not to try.
Feeling overwhelmed is a common emotion I hear from new couponers. It can seem overwhelming at first, especially if you've watched Extreme Couponing because that level of couponing is a full-time job.
To borrow an analogy from Dave Ramsey - you don't start out skiing on Aspen Mountain. You start on the bunny slope. You're not going to be an expert right away and that's ok - just don't give up.
You can't start extreme couponing on your first day. Start by collecting 4 sets of coupons every week and organizing them. After a few weeks of collecting coupons, pick ONE store to start with. Learn their coupon policies and find a good sales/coupon matchup site for that store online. Stick with that one store while you build your coupons and your confidence.
Couponing is not hard, folks! You can do it! Just start out small and give it a try.
Feeling overwhelmed is a common emotion I hear from new couponers. It can seem overwhelming at first, especially if you've watched Extreme Couponing because that level of couponing is a full-time job.
To borrow an analogy from Dave Ramsey - you don't start out skiing on Aspen Mountain. You start on the bunny slope. You're not going to be an expert right away and that's ok - just don't give up.
You can't start extreme couponing on your first day. Start by collecting 4 sets of coupons every week and organizing them. After a few weeks of collecting coupons, pick ONE store to start with. Learn their coupon policies and find a good sales/coupon matchup site for that store online. Stick with that one store while you build your coupons and your confidence.
Couponing is not hard, folks! You can do it! Just start out small and give it a try.
Friday, December 2, 2011
Some Great Buy 1 Get 1 Free Deals
One Sunday last month a bunch of Buy 1 Get 1 Free (B1G1) coupons appeared in the inserts. Gotta love B1G1 coupons. At the minimum, it's an automatic 50% off. Pair it with a sale for an even better deal. Several of the B1G1 coupons I had were for razors and shaving cream. As you know, I have a stockpile so I didn't desperately need either of those items, but I cut the coupons anyway. As tempting as it was to use them on the first sale that came around, I didn't. Again, because I had enough in my stockpile that I had the luxury of waiting for a better deal.
Well, lo and behold, last week I was shopping at the grocery store and stumbled upon a B1G1 sale on razors and shaving cream. Somehow I had completely missed that this sale was happening, but dug into my coupons and found what I was looking for. The B1G1 sale paired with a B1G1 coupon results in 2 free products at most stores (but not all).
I had 10 of these coupons and walked away with 20 free products. I could have gotten them at 60-70% off if I had used them during the original sale, which would be awesome, but free is ALWAYS better!
Well, lo and behold, last week I was shopping at the grocery store and stumbled upon a B1G1 sale on razors and shaving cream. Somehow I had completely missed that this sale was happening, but dug into my coupons and found what I was looking for. The B1G1 sale paired with a B1G1 coupon results in 2 free products at most stores (but not all).
I had 10 of these coupons and walked away with 20 free products. I could have gotten them at 60-70% off if I had used them during the original sale, which would be awesome, but free is ALWAYS better!
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