Man, I've been having so much fun not only shopping the great deals but also blogging about my adventures and here I am on another break. It's for a completely different reason than my recent lags, though.
I made the decision in the past couple weeks that we're scaling down our shopping to grocery deals, immediate needs, and once specific type of item. A few weeks ago I began feeling a bit ill in the mornings, and shortly thereafter we discovered that Andy & I will have an addition to our little family later this year! We're extremely happy and very much looking forward to our little couponer-in-training.
I wasn't prepared for just how much impending motherhood takes out of one's body, though. I'm constantly exhausted, and the thought of getting up early on Sundays and chasing deals hasn't been very fun! In addition, we'll be moving to slightly larger living quarters in coming months; the less of the loot stack we have to tote, the better. And, finally, many of the free items we're able to get with coupons at the drug stores still "cost" us sales tax. I would rather put the $5-10 a week in tax towards diapers or the savings account!
For the short-term, I'll be concentrating our shopping on grocery items and immediate needs (paper towels, garbage bags, that sort of thing) as well as baby items like diapers, wipes, etc.
In the longer-term, the blog will obviously take a bit of a different direction. Our adventures in frugality will take on a whole new dimension with the addition of a baby: finding good stroller deals, homemade baby food vs. prepackaged jars, frugal entertainment, the possibilities are endless!
So, that all said, I'm sorry if my updates aren't as frequent as they have been for right now. I'm still adjusting to everything, but with any luck I'll have the energy and mental acuity to pick up the posting soon. Here's hoping for some great diaper deals in the near future!
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Monday, May 2, 2011
Dual Drugstore Deals: $128 for a $3 profit, April spending, and back from a short break
I took a major step back from shopping overall for the month of April - you'll see just how much with the monthly numbers at the end of the post!
There were two major reasons I pulled back.
1. As I mentioned a couple times, we're really very well stocked on the items we use. There have been some good sales over the past couple weeks, but I've been weighing just how good they are a lot more carefully than before. If it's not something that we use frequently, I only want to chase a deal if it's profitable. Have you seen gas prices lately? Ugh.
2. The Extreme Couponing show is having an affect in many areas, mine included. Stock has been an issue and it's getting worse; combined with isolated reports of new couponers trying to use coupons improperly, it was (still is, really) time to lay low a bit.
That said, there were some deals that got me moving this weekend! Let's take a look.
Walgreens - shelf price $70.88
6 Right Guard body wash $4.49ea, BOGO sale, $13.47
6 4pk Noxema disposable razors $3.99ea, $23.94
1 8pk Tuf paper towels $3.99
Subtotal $41.40, less three BOGO Right Guard, less six $2 off Noxema razors
Total $15.93, received back $18 in RRs ($3 for each Noxema razor)
This was a quick, painless trip. I would have liked some more of the razors at a $1 profit each, but stock wasn't great so I didn't overdo it. We'll be stopping back later in the week as Wags has milk cheaper than the grocery store; if they get more razors on this week's truck I'll grab a few more packs.
Some of the razors have a $2 coupon inside the package. I'd like to touch briefly on the proper protocol for this sort of thing. The coupon is inside the package, so only open that package if you're buying the product - I'm hearing of some stores that now can't sell any of their razors because people went before the sale started and tore open the packages to take the coupon. DO NOT DO THIS!! I took the razors up to the counter with everything intact, and before anything happened I explained that I was going to buy one package and then cut it open to get the coupon right there. This way everything is on the proverbial up and up; no one is destroying packages before they're purchased, no one looks "shady" cutting or tearing things up in a corner of the store, and everyone is happy.
Rite Aid - shelf price $57.16
2 Gillette Fusion Proglide razors $9.99ea, $19.98 (LIMIT TWO)
1 Dove for Men deodorant $3.99 (LIMIT ONE)
5 Revlon emery boards $1.49ea, $7.45
3 Revlon tweezers $1.37ea, $4.11
2 16oz bags Red Vines licorice $1.50ea, $3
1 package Easter eggs $.49 (clearance)
Subtotal $39.02, less $5 off Proglide, less $4 off Proglide
Total $30.02, received back $31 in +UPs ($5 for each Proglide, $3 for Dove, $4 for each pair of Revlon (LIMIT FOUR), $1 for each Red Vines)
Revlon beauty tools are on sale for 40% off and you get a $4 +UP back for each two (limit of $16 in +UPs total). If you can find items in stock which are around $3 or less regular price, you wind up with free or profitable beauty tools - the trouble is finding the items in stock, of course! I mostly lucked out, though I had wanted a different type of emery board (the type I actually use). Those had been cleared out before we got to the store by one shopper who, according to the cashier, kept coming back into the store over & over to buy more Revlon. Holy extra Wellness cards.....
Today's trip
For the month of April
See? We barely shopped in April! The biggest expenditures were the perishables - milk, meat & produce.
I'd really like to see some great grocery deals start cropping up soon. That may be wishful thinking, what with prices everywhere going up, but a girl can dream.
There were two major reasons I pulled back.
1. As I mentioned a couple times, we're really very well stocked on the items we use. There have been some good sales over the past couple weeks, but I've been weighing just how good they are a lot more carefully than before. If it's not something that we use frequently, I only want to chase a deal if it's profitable. Have you seen gas prices lately? Ugh.
2. The Extreme Couponing show is having an affect in many areas, mine included. Stock has been an issue and it's getting worse; combined with isolated reports of new couponers trying to use coupons improperly, it was (still is, really) time to lay low a bit.
That said, there were some deals that got me moving this weekend! Let's take a look.
6 Right Guard body wash $4.49ea, BOGO sale, $13.47
6 4pk Noxema disposable razors $3.99ea, $23.94
1 8pk Tuf paper towels $3.99
Subtotal $41.40, less three BOGO Right Guard, less six $2 off Noxema razors
Total $15.93, received back $18 in RRs ($3 for each Noxema razor)
$2.07 profit!!
This was a quick, painless trip. I would have liked some more of the razors at a $1 profit each, but stock wasn't great so I didn't overdo it. We'll be stopping back later in the week as Wags has milk cheaper than the grocery store; if they get more razors on this week's truck I'll grab a few more packs.
Some of the razors have a $2 coupon inside the package. I'd like to touch briefly on the proper protocol for this sort of thing. The coupon is inside the package, so only open that package if you're buying the product - I'm hearing of some stores that now can't sell any of their razors because people went before the sale started and tore open the packages to take the coupon. DO NOT DO THIS!! I took the razors up to the counter with everything intact, and before anything happened I explained that I was going to buy one package and then cut it open to get the coupon right there. This way everything is on the proverbial up and up; no one is destroying packages before they're purchased, no one looks "shady" cutting or tearing things up in a corner of the store, and everyone is happy.
Rite Aid - shelf price $57.16
2 Gillette Fusion Proglide razors $9.99ea, $19.98 (LIMIT TWO)
1 Dove for Men deodorant $3.99 (LIMIT ONE)
5 Revlon emery boards $1.49ea, $7.45
3 Revlon tweezers $1.37ea, $4.11
2 16oz bags Red Vines licorice $1.50ea, $3
1 package Easter eggs $.49 (clearance)
Subtotal $39.02, less $5 off Proglide, less $4 off Proglide
Total $30.02, received back $31 in +UPs ($5 for each Proglide, $3 for Dove, $4 for each pair of Revlon (LIMIT FOUR), $1 for each Red Vines)
$.98 profit!!
Revlon beauty tools are on sale for 40% off and you get a $4 +UP back for each two (limit of $16 in +UPs total). If you can find items in stock which are around $3 or less regular price, you wind up with free or profitable beauty tools - the trouble is finding the items in stock, of course! I mostly lucked out, though I had wanted a different type of emery board (the type I actually use). Those had been cleared out before we got to the store by one shopper who, according to the cashier, kept coming back into the store over & over to buy more Revlon. Holy extra Wellness cards.....
Today's trip
Shelf price $128.04
Total $45.95
Rewards earned $49
$3.05 profit!!
For the month of April
Shelf price $277.44
Total $115.54
Rewards earned $62.98
Out of pocket $52.56
See? We barely shopped in April! The biggest expenditures were the perishables - milk, meat & produce.
I'd really like to see some great grocery deals start cropping up soon. That may be wishful thinking, what with prices everywhere going up, but a girl can dream.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)