A long winded explanation

I promised to tell you about some of the deals I got this week, and how I did it.  Here's a breakdown of what I do.

First of all, I get the Sunday paper (as mentioned in a previous post) and I cut out just about every coupon I get.  You never know what there will be a deal on (perhaps even one you can make money off of).  The only things I do not cut out are things that I most definitely would not buy, even on a good deal.  These things include pet food and such, and baby items.  I don't have a pet, I don't have a baby, I don't plan on having either any time soon, so I just throw those coupons out. I also don't clip the coffee coupons.  I don't drink coffee, I never will, so I just don't clip them.  Don't discount stuff you don't think you'll need though.  The other week at Rite Aid, I got some Zantac (heartburn medicine).  I don't get heartburn, but it was on sale for $5, plus I had a coupon for $3 off, then there was a $5 Rite Aid rebate, and then there was a $5 Zantac rebate.  So I went ahead and bought it even though I will never use it, because I made $8 off it. So hang on to random coupons because you never know.  Then I file my coupons away in a little file I bought for them.  I file by category (oral care, toiletries, cereals, etc) and by expiration date.  That way, at the beginning of each week, I can throw out the coupons that expired during the course of that week, and I can also easily find whatever coupon I am looking for.

The next thing I do is go pick up the store ads.  I usually do this when I drop Z off at work on Monday mornings.  There is a Rite Aid, CVS, and a Fresh Grocer (grocery store I shop at) all between us and his work, which makes this really easy.  Alternatively, most places post their ads online nowadays.  You can even get e-mail alerts when the new ad is posted online.  I prefer a paper ad myself so I can circle things and carry it around with me while I am shopping.  Then I go home and compare what's on sale in the ads, and what coupons I have.  I am not very good at this yet, and I am relying a lot of blogs to help me out here.  Lots of people have been at this kind of bargain hunting for a long time and they are much better at it than me, so I just look up what deals they found.

This week I started at CVS.  CVS has a program called Extra Care bucks (ECBs).  You can read about it HERE.  Since I have already accumulated some ECBs, I pretty much never have to spend a penny at CVS unless I want to.  This week, there weren't a ton of bargains.  They had some makeup usually priced at $12.99 on sale for $9.99.  I bought this makeup using ECBs that I had previously accumulated, and got $9.99 back in ECBs, making it absolutely free.  While I was at CVS, I wandered over to the shampoo aisle and found 3 different shampoos with tags hanging from them that said "Try Me Free".  These tags are actually little mail in rebate forms which you send in and they will reimburse you for the price of the item you bought (shampoo, in this case).  I picked up all 3.  One of them was even on sale at CVS buy one, get one free, so I got a shampoo and a conditioner there.  I paid for those with my own money since they would not earn me any ECBs, but I sent in the rebate forms and will get reimbursed for the entire cost, making all the bottles free.  

Next I went to Riteaid.  Riteaid is running this rebate program right now.  So my trip went something like this:

1 Healthy Choice Fresh Mixer on sale for $2.50-$2.50/1 ($2.50 off one) coupon= Free

1 Bic razor $5.99- $2 rebate- $2 coupon= $1.99

1 clear eye tears eye drops on sale for 99 cents- $1/1 coupon= Free

1 Colgate total toothpaste on sale for $3

1 Colgate  toothbrush on sale for $3.  There was an in-ad coupon for $3 off when you bought 2 (2 toothpastes, 2 toothbrushes, or 1 of each)- $3 manufacturer's coupon when you buy a toothbrush and toothpaste= both for free.

Insoles on sale 3 for $15- 3 $2/1 manufacturer's coupons ($6 off)-$10 rebate= $1 profit

Also, while I was rite aid, I saw one of the shampoos with the try me free tags that I had seen at CVS, but this time a different one was on sale buy one, get one free, so I picked those up.  I later returned the one I had gotten earlier at CVS.  That made for 5 bottles of shampoo/conditioner absolutely free.  So Rite Aid shampoo and conditioner $6.99-$6.99 rebate= Free. 

Total at Rite Aid... about $1.  I have been shopping at Rite Aid over the past 3 weeks.  I calculated yesterday that I have spent $49- something at Rite Aid in that time and got $50-something in rebates, making everything I bought absolutely free (and then some).  

Next stop was Acme, a grocery store.

My trip went like this:

Pasta sauce on sale $1.

Kelloggs cereals (4) on sale for $1.97 each (sweet sale!)= $7.88- 2 $1/2 coupons= $5.88.

Kelloggs fruit snacks (2) on sale for $1.67 each= $3.34- $1/2 coupon= $2.34

Kelloggs pop tarts (2) on sale for $1.97 each (just a so-so price)= $3.94- $1/2 coupon= $2.94

Keebler cookies (2) on sale for $1.97 each= $3.94- $1/2 coupon= $2.94

Total: $15.10 (we don't have sales tax on food here in Philly) - $10 rebate for buying 10 participating items= $5.10

Finally, today I went to Staples.  Here's the breakdown:

Label maker (funny I know, but hey it was free) $15-$5 instant rebate-$10 online rebate= Free

Dry erase markers $3.99-$3.99 rebate= Free

Notebooks (6) on sale for 1 cent a piece= 6 cents

I also got some CDs to burn music on which cost $3.99 (no rebate).

So basically, this week I spent less than $10 and got all of that stuff, much of it free.

Here's a picture of some of the stuff I have gotten for great bargains (mostly free or better) over the past couple weeks.

A couple of words of advice.  Sometimes, bargain hunting is complicated and can be time consuming.  I have time for that now since I have no life.  Maybe start really small to get some practice if you don't have a ton of time.  Maybe just pick one store and try and hunt out deals at that particular store.  Second, always be very careful to make sure you pick up the correct item. Check the store ad and the coupon to make sure your item is the right size, brand, etc.  It is a pain to try and fix the problem after it's already been made (trust me).  Third, roll with the punches.  Sometimes, the item you want is not in stock and you can't get that deal you had all planned out.  That's just the way it is.  Lastly, rebates are completely awesome, and have made most of my deals possible, but remember that you have to put down some money up front and get it back later.  This is really difficult on a tight budget when we are living paycheck to paycheck.  It is hard to have $50 of my money floating around out there trying to make its way back to me as rebates.

Here are some links to a couple of my favorite bargain hunting blogs.  You will find links to many other blogs on the sidebars of these blogs.  Look for something that works for you.  Since I live where I live, I have a ton of different grocery stores around me.  These blogs may not be as applicable depending on where you are and what you have around.  So find one that is applicable.  They are out there.

Money Saving Mom

My Frugal Adventures

Anyway, this has been fun for me.  I like the thrill of getting stuff for free.  We have a whole bag of school supplies that I got for free to donate to children in our ward.  We are using much fancier toothpaste, shampoo, etc than ever before.  We are able to get some treats that we maybe wouldn't have indulged in before.  All this for less than we were spending before my bargain hunting.  Yay!