Saturday Savings - 04/18/15

**DEAL OF THE WEEK**

Sale price = 3 for $2.00, $4.00 total cost

Stacked with 4 coupons for $1 off one

Total Paid = $0.00 

SIX FREE!!!

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Sarturday Savings - 03/28/15

**DEAL OF THE WEEK**

Regular price = $11.49 for twin pack (singles $7.29 each)

Sale: spend $10 get $5.00 extra care bucks

Stacked with $0.50 coupon

Final cost $3.00 each

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Saturday Savings - 03/21/15

**DEAL OF THE WEEK**

Regular price = $5.49 each, Sale price = 2/$6 x 5 = $15.00

Stacked two $1 manufacturers coupons = $13.00 for six...

Stacked with an additional $5 extra care buck received!

Cost $7.00 for or $1.34 each! Great price!

BUT WAIT...remember those extra care bucks from last week?!?

Paid $9.50 with ECB...

THEY PAID ME $2.50 to take them out of the store!!!!

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Saturday Savings - 03/14/15

**DEALS OF THE WEEK**

Walgreens Trip Total = $13.52,    Regular price: $45.64!

...about the price of the soap alone!

Sales, stacked with manufacturers coupons for all items, plus one store coupon for the candy (counted twice) AND a $3 register reward coupon and $2 balance reward points (both to be applied to my next sale)

58% savings!

CVS Trip Total = $16.11!!, Regular pice: $47.09!

Sales, stacked with manufacturers coupons for all items, plus one store coupon for the deodarant, AND a $9.50 in extra bucks coupons (to be applied to my next sale)

49% savings

Total cost = $44.13

Total savings for the trip = $47.73 before extra buck/reward coupons

Actual total saved = $63.10!!

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Saturday Savings - 2/14/15

**DEAL OF THE WEEK**

Two boxes of Post Raisin Bran and Gallon of Hood Milk

Regular price = Cereal - $3.39, Milk- $3.99

Sale price = Cereal - $2.50, Milk - No sale...

Stacked with 2 cereal coupons for $0.75 each, both doubled to $1.50 (Cereal = $1.00 each)

and

Coupon for free milk with purchase of 2 post cereals

Total cost for all $2.00!!

(Less than the cost of the milk alone!!)

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Saturnday Savings - 1/10/15

**DEAL OF THE WEEK**

Bayer Aspirin

Regular price = $2.99

No sale...

but, I had a coupon for $10 of 3 items (from that manufacturer)

Making them...

FREE!!

 

There are web sites online which will hunt down the deals for you! All you have to do is prepare...and shop!

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Saturday Savings - 12/13/14

**DEAL OF THE WEEK**

Riesen Candies:

Regular price = $2.99

No sale...but, I had two Register Reward coupons for $3.00 that were going to expire.

So...

2 @ #$2.99 - $6.00 = $0.02 money maker

AND

2 Catalinas printed for more Riesen candies ($1.50 off two). I am holding these hoping they will go on sale in time to use them!

Remember that Couponing is always a work in progress - and that is OK! 

I once again reworked how I am organizing my coupons. At first, I cut and separated them into a binder by category. Then, I decided (as did many other long-timer couponers) that a lot of time was wasted managing that system!

Then, I started keeping the entire coupon flyers by week... But that leaves you carrying around a ton-crap (yes, that's the official term) of extra paper weight.  And, more importantly, good coupons get missed!  After cleaning out my expired coupons and tossing coupons for items I knew I had or would have bought, I was kicking myself!

So...

My new system is: 

Cut all coupons out weekly and toss extra paper. Separate/organize them by expiration date! Duh!

Most of the couponing sites that list deals also list the expiration date, so I can easily find them. Also, as the date nears...I can pull that envelope and flip through, pulling coupons for coupons that I don't want to waste, regardless of sale dates (for example Riceworks chips, no sales on these but I am going to buy them...they are awesome...and money saved is money saved, right?!). Also, removing expired coupons is super easy, rather than the hours it took previously! I still use my binder separators for printed coupons, as I only print ones I know I will use.

Is it perfect? No, there have been a couple situations where I knew I had a coupon for an item I wanted to buy but couldn't find it, requiring a fair amount of sifting through coupons. But that's rare and a small price to pay.

Again, I am working this system for a few months to see how it works. If it's not successful, I'll change again. But hopefully this will work better for me.  Couponing is definitely not one-size-fits-all. Do whatever works for you, whether its a big binder and lots of organizing or a small couponing envelope.

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Saturday Savings - 12/6/14

**DEAL OF THE WEEK**

Orange juice:

Regular price = $3.00-4.00 (not sure)

No sale...but Stop 'n Shop mailed customers a coupon as a loss leader this week, making it FREE!

Stacked with $1.00 coupon (wasn't sure this would work, but it did!)

So... $1.00 money maker!!

A "loss leader" are those items that stores put on sale, knowing they will loss money...but expecting the sale to bring shoppers in the door.

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Saturday Savings - 11/15/14

**DEAL OF THE WEEK**

 

Knorr Pasta Sides:


Sale price = $0.88 each (an awesome price to start, usually they are $1.00 on sale*)
 

Stacked with a Catalina (a coupon printed from the register after a previous sale) - $2.00 off seven

Total cost = $4.16, $0.59 each

AWESOME DEAL!!

One of the keys of couponing strategically is finding the rock bottom prices for products and only buying when those items are very close too or at rock bottom!  If you are paying, for example, $2.00 for a box of cereal after a coupon...that is NOT a good deal!  Most of the time you shouldn't pay more than $1.00 for cereal. Or toothpaste, if you are paying more than $0.50 for toothpaste you are being cheated! Often you can get boxes of toothpaste for FREE with a little effort.

All products have rock bottom prices and you just have to keep your eyes out to figure them out based on the sale cycles. There are websites that offer lists, but keep in mind those lists are often effected by location. What is rock bottom here in Boston may not be rock bottom in Georgia!

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Saturday Savings - 11/8/14

**DEAL OF THE WEEK**

   
Rolaids Softchews...

Love these things. They disappeared for awhile, but they are back!
  
Twin pack sale price = $2.49 each

Stacked with a Walgreen's store coupon for $1.50 off each one
Stacked with a manufacturer's coupon per two: B1G1 (buy one get one free!)

Total cost = 0.50 each

A GREAT DEAL!!

Sometimes you can find coupons similar to the ones in the newspaper online, so while I had two "newspaper" B1G! coupons, I was able to print another from Smartsource.com! Always check online coupon sources!

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Saturday Savings - 10/25/14

**DEAL OF THE WEEK**

Generally speaking, I am an honest person.  I'm a black/white, right/wrong person...very few"greys".  Seriously, I've corrected someone or spoken up to my own detriment on many occasions.  That being said, there are some cases where I have learned to keep my mouth shut. "Big business" (shopping) is one of those. I feel that, if the big-name stores (Walmart, Stop n Shop, etc) hired staff at more than minimum wage, then they might get better than minimum wage employees. Furthermore, big business spends billions of dollars a year trying to screw me out of my hard earned money!  Errors are the cost of doing business the way they do.

Case in point...

A couple weeks back, a big name store had a deal on Arm and Hammer laundry detergent. They were $1.88. And, there was a $2 off 2 coupon in the paper. Their ad, conveniently (and perhaps shadily) pointed this deal out prominently, the potential price of $0.88 nice and big to catch everyone's eye. While I am sure they would say they were doing us a "favor", the truth is that I am confident they caught more than one shopper who didn't note the coupon needed part and didn't check their receipts after.

When I went in to get the deal, they were of course out of stock. And so I asked for a rain check for the max I could get, ten bottles.  The gal wrote the price check...for the $0.88 price!! I didn't notice until I was home, but at that point I decided it was their error, to my benefit. I returned to the store this week with my rain check and coupons...and oh, what a deal!!

Laundry Detergent = $2.99 on sale, BUT...

$0.88 each, per rain check

Minus two $2 of 2 coupons

Total cost = 0.48 each, or $4.80 total paid

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Saturday Savings - 10/18/12

**DEAL OF THE WEEK**

Total trip = $0.48!

Papers towels = $5.00 each minus $1 coupons for each

Soap = $3.39 each, BOGO (buy one get one free), so $3.39 for two, minus $1 coupons for each pair

And I had last week's extra care bucks (CVS) =  $13.50

Total paid was $3.48

But I got an additional $3 ECB, so total cost $0.48!

Actual cost was about $0.50 for paper towels per roll (pretty good, though not 'amazing' price) and soap about $0.57 each (not a rock bottom price...bit I needed to use or lose those extra care bucks this week).

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Saturday Savings - 9/20/14

After taking a while off, I'm finally getting back into the swing a bit with the couponing. I'm trying out a new system for organizing my coupons. Not surprisingly, cutting all those coupons was beginning to wear on me.  So now I am trying the method I mentioned where you just cut what you need. I'm also using post it notes to ensure I don't miss great coupons from that week...and maintaining my binder categories for peelies, printed, and "found" coupons.

Not sure how this will all work... But as always it's a work in progress!

**DEAL/S OF THE WEEK** 

2 packs for FREE!

Regular price $0.99
Stacked with two coupons for $1.00 off each

=

FREE

Sale price $1.83
Stacked with $0.50 coupons for each

=

$1.33 for each

Don't forget rain checks! This past week's Arm and Hammer deal was good, but with coupons it was great.  But, both local Stop 'n Shops were out. Hmmphhh!  But, they were willing to rain check the deal. So when more comes in I am ready to stock up my shelves.

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Saturday Savings - 06/21/14

**DEAL OF THE WEEK**

Ramen-like soups on sale for $0.41 each
Stacked with $1 off 2 coupons (or $0.50 off each)

Final cost:  *FREE!

*at some stores this would be a MONEYMAKER, but Stop and Shop doesn't give you the xtra

Still an excellent deal though!!

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Saturday Savings - 05/3/14

Couponing - Making Mistakes

As a new couponer this is, of course, all a work in progress. And I've made lots of mistakes!  But each trip I try something new, find a new deal, find another way to save time and energy. Most weeks I come home with a deal.

As with the newspaper inserts, not every week is going to be a winner. Some weeks won't be big on sales. If there is a week where there truly aren't any deals that you find worth it, then skip the trip. Don't go!

A couple weeks back, I shopped only Stop and Shop. I had no need to go to Shaws or Market Basket, so I didn't. I do usually find at least one deal at CVS and Walgreens though, so I stop on the way home from work. But again, if there are no good deals I just head home and skip it that week.



**DEAL OF THE WEEK**

Total trip = $0.46!

Single toothpastes on sale for $3.00
Double packs were $3.99
Stacked with mutiple toothpaste and Colgate coupons.

Renuzits on sale for $0.88 each
Stacked with 2 Renuzit coupons for $1.00 of 3

Lipstick was $5.99
Stacked with a $4 coupon, and a $1.99 reward buck, was FREE!

Actual cost, about $15...but, all stacked with left over reward bucks from last trip, actual spent $0.46!

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Saturday Savings - 04/26/14

Couponing - Preparing for the Deals!


Though I organize all my coupons into a binder, this doesn't relieve me of spending some time each week preparing for my shopping trips. I could, of course, just take my binder and go, but that would leave me at the store digging through the binder hoping to find a good deal. Can you say time consuming?! To say nothing of pissing off the other customers trying to get around you.
 
Instead, I choose to spend a couple of hours going through all the weekly flyers and visiting a few favorite coupon websites (you can put these into your blog feed!) to find the deals that week. I then pull my coupons out, put them into an envelope with a list for each store and when I get to the store, I whip out my envelope, find my items, and go.

I don't actually like shopping at all...  Hate it! This system helps save time, and sanity!
**DEAL OF THE WEEK**

2 bottles for $0.32

On sale for 2 for $7
Stacked with two coupons for $2.50 a piece = minus $5.00
Stacked with $2 worth of bonus points

=

FREE or $0.32 (after taxes)






Where you live has a lot to do with sales! I live in Massachusetts. For some reason, when the rest of the country has a $1.99 laundry detergent deal...we're paying $2.99 for the same exact item! And, generally speaking, prices overall are more expensive here than many other states. Take the coupon sites' "deals" with a grain of salt and double check the deals when you get in store. You may find different, but sometimes even better, deals.

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Saturday Savings - 04/19/14

Coupon Basics - Organization


So, you've got lots of coupons...now what?!

Different people organize their coupons in different ways.

Some couponers just buy a typical A-Z coupon organizer and call it done. A bit messy, but usable.

Others couponers opt not to spend time cutting all those coupons (remember, you may not use every coupon you find if the deals aren't worth it or if the item is not in your list of items used*).

The Insert Method requires storing your weekly newspaper inserts by the date that they were released. While this saves time cutting coupons you won't use, it requires that you spend more time preparing for each weekly shopping trip (finding sales, pulling and cutting the coupons). Also, this doesn't prepare you to get those surprise deals on items for which you don't have coupons ready (unless you want to cut away in the store aisles) and it doesn't account for those random coupons you find, so you need a back up system to organize those too.

I currently use the Binder Method, which means I cut and gather all my coupons and organize them in a binder (I use plastic currency holders and dividers to separate them).  I organize by categories (Baking, Frozen, Paper and Plastic, etc.), but some people use the store aisles or manufacturer names.  Though it takes time to cut and file all those coupons, I can always carry my binder in the car and if I stop at a store, I am always prepared!



**DEAL OF THE WEEK**

FOUR boxes of Tampax 18ct, for $4.96

On sale for $3.99 each
Stacked with two coupons ($3 off two boxes)
And, received a $5 gift card for next purchase

=

$1.24 a box, total $4.96



When you start couponing, it is worth doing the math to figure out what is truly a deal or not. Figure out the per item or per ounce price of that super-size version you usually buy and the same for the sale and compare. Don't just assume! Eventually, it will become second knowledge. Above: 18 Tampax times 4 boxes ($0.07 a piece, typically these are $0.12 or more each!)



*My one note on this is don't be too judgmental, sometimes its worth saving everything! Recently, I tossed a Clearasil coupon. "I'll never need this!"  Turns out Clearasil also makes a really nice, fruity facial scrub I would have loved and it was FREE a few weeks ago with the right coupons! I missed out, stupid me.

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Saturday Savings - 04/12/14

Coupon Basics - Gathering

As noted, there are various kinds of coupons available. To maximize your savings, you will want to gather coupons from as many sources as possible.

Manufacturers' Coupons...

The most obvious place to find manufacturers' coupons is the newspaper inserts. As noted, you can also find these at stores (blinkies, tear pads, and peelies...usually found on the shelves with the items), on the Internet (Coupons.com, RedPlum.com, and SmartSource.com, among others), and in packaging of purchased products.

You can also find them in magazines (AllYou usually provides several good coupons monthly) and in those little inserts or newsletters that your health insurance company sends sometimes. Also, many companies will give you coupons if you like them on Facebook or if you visit their website. Sometimes you have to sign up as a member, but its usually worth it and you can just create a couponing email address too.

Basically, manufacturers' coupons are everywhere. You just have to keep you eyes out!

Store Coupons and eCoupons... 
 

Stores coupons can be found in various places. A great place to start is store websites. Target, for example, offers not only printable store coupons but also a system called Cartwheel which offers eCoupons (and yes, you can use both on the same product).  

Each store tends to have its own system.  Some stores offer monthly booklets with coupons (Walgreens), some have a coupons dispenser in stores (CVS), some give you the option of watching videos online (RiteAid), and a variety of other options. Walgreens also offers a reward point system which tracks points for specific sales which equate to dollars off your next sales, Reward Points. This program is in addition to the Catalina bonus reward coupons that you get at check out!

SavingsStar.com is another eCoupon option which links sales to your store car, but rather than immediate savings you get a credit toward an account which you can "cash out" later.  There are also a variety of online coupon sites that pay into a similar account only after you purchase and download your receipt: Checkout 51 and Ibotta are just a couple.

Again, they are everywhere just keep you eyes out!





Note that Walgreens will not let you EARN reward points and SPEND reward points in the same sale! They say it is a legal issue... But making this error can throw off a deal, so be careful.

**DEAL OF THE WEEK**

FOUR tubes of shampoo/conditioner, for $0.75

On sale 2 for $6
Minus $2 "reward points" each sale, making them $2 each
Stacked with two $1 coupons and two $1.50, one for each item

=

$0.75 per bottle or $3.00 total



Compare: these four 10oz bottles to the cost of a 40oz economy bottle ($10+), a much better deal!

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Saturday Savings - 04/05/14

Coupon Basics - Types  

There are several kinds of coupons available and most stores allow you to "stack" those on one another, creating the best discount possible on each item.

For example, most stores have weekly or monthly sales which are offered to get buyers in the doors. Some require store loyalty cards, some do not.

Manufacturers' Coupons...

Manufacturers offer coupons on specific products to garner interest (i.e. sales). Typically, manufacture's coupons are thought of as what you find in the newspaper, but they can also come as blinkies, peelies or tear pads.  These are found in the stores, usually next to the item, on pads on the shelving, on the item itself and peeled off for instant savings, or in little hanging boxes by the shelves which often have a blinking red light to catch buyers' attention.  Some manufacturers also put coupons in the box with purchased products (like lunch bags and such).

You can also print manufacturer coupons off the internet.  Another online option is eCoupons. eCoupons can sometimes be linked to your store loyalty cards or scanned on a smart phone at the time of purchase.


Store Coupons...
Stores themselves often offer coupons on specific items. Again, these boost sales on specific items and are meant to spark interest and get a buyer in the doors. Stores also offer catalinas, which are the coupons that the store clerk hands you back with your receipt (which most people ignore and toss). Catalinas can be  manufacturer or store coupons, or sometimes are just a store reward bonus coupons, so double check!

Store reward bonus coupons are called Extra Value Bucks (ECB) at CVS and  Register Rewards (RR) at Walgreens. They are additional coupons for a specific dollar amount that you get for purchasing specific deals - kind of like getting a $5 dollar bill back and applying it to your next order -  which you apply to your whole sale at the end.



Remember coupons are stackable (at most stores)!  You can only use one manufacturer's coupon per item, ever.  But you can usually stack a manufacturer's coupon with a store coupon, which can be stacked on top of a regular weekly sale price, and for icing on the cake...use a RR or ECB to finish off the sale!

THAT'S HOW TO GET THE BIG DEALS - ITS THAT EASY!

**DEAL OF THE WEEK**

FOUR 6-bar packs of Irish Spring soap, for $4 (in two sales...)

On sale 2 for $7
Stacked with $1 off two coupon

Stacked with $4 "store reward bonus coupon"
 (x 2 times)

=
 

$2 or $1.00 per box (or less than $0.25 per bar)

That's a good deal!



 

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