If you got a newspaper yesterday you might have noticed the high value coupons for Nivea Body Washes. While everyone seems to have them on sale this week Walgreens has the best deal. They are charging $2.50 a bottle. Other places want four and five bucks a bottle.
But when you combine the Wags sale with the coupons from the paper you get a phenomenal deal. One coupon was for $3.00 off one mens body wash. Another was for $3.00 off of two body washes. That is six bucks off a purchase of three bottles of $1.50 plus tax.
I get two papers so yesterday I bought four bottle (two mens and two womens) for $1.00 plus tax (on ten bucks not one). I also got a bottle of Pert Plus shampoo on sale for two dollars ( $0.99 with a coupon from the same paper).
So for a total cost of $3.04 I got four bottles of body wash and a bottle of shampoo. That is $0.61 an item.
The sale at Wags by itself is already an excellent deal. But if you have a paper clip the coupons and run over. The sooner the better because the shelves will be empty soon.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Target Deals
I urge people to shop at the bigger box stores. My favorite is target. We used to be Walmart loyalists. But the employees cycled and the newer ones were just plain rude. Then last year before Christmas we were shopping with my sons and they pushed me too far. My sons and I were looking at the toys which had been put out for the holiday season. They had Playmobile men for sale. I let each boy get one. But when we got to the checkstand the cashier wouldn’t sell them to us. They had not been entered into the system and the computer didn’t recognize the bar code. I got mad and asked to see a manager. Instead they sent over some loud mouthed obnoxious shift supervisor. This hag informed me that we couldn’t buy them and seized the toys which, as you can imagine, upset my sons. I asked to speak to a manager. She said she was a manager (I have worked in grocery long enough to be able to tell the difference between a corporate level manager and a supervisor). So I asked to speak to someone in a tie. She pointedly ignored my request, informed me the product was not for sale despite being on the shelf, and suggested I finish my purchase and be on my way.
We left without buying anything. My wife then called and asked to speak with the manager, his name and the store’s number are right on the receipt. He seemed put out that we would bother him with something as trivial as wanting to buy stuff and not being able to. He informed us he was sorry we couldn’t buy the product and no he couldn’t leave his office to speak with us or find a solution or than screw you the customer. I sent an email to the company and they couldn’t even be bothered to reply.
Needless to say I don’t shop at Walmart much anymore. I still buy vacuum bags there (target doesn’t carry the right brand) and they have the best price on distilled white vinegar which is an excellent cleaning product.
My goofy rant aside I’m glad it happened since Target turns out to be a fantastic place to shop. The employees are polite and helpful. I get great deals one of which I got yesterday.
Campbell’s condensed soup and pasta O’s were on sale for $0.50 each. This is already a good price. Ralphs was advertising the O’s for $1.00 each on sale. Target wants $0.89 everyday. But with a coupon from the paper a few weeks ago for $0.40 off two you get two cans for $0.60. That was the week I ended up with three papers so I got six of each for a total of $3.60.
No I know home made chicken noddle soup is better, and has less sodium, but at $0.30 a can this is a super cheap lunch that is both better and cheaper than a burger and fries. While the O’s have to much sodium as well a can makes a quick lunch for the kids on the weekend and beats going out to get kid’s meals which would cost eight bucks.
I got another super deal a few weeks ago. Target’s website has coupons some of which are store coupons and some manufacturers. I found a store coupon for $1.00 off a can of Chef Boyardee. The site will let you print up to two copies of each coupon. So I took them to the store and guess what? The cans are each a dollar. So with the coupons Target gave me two cans of this slop (I don’t like but my boys both love the stuff).
Few of these coupons will net you such a good deal but when you use the stores coupons with manufacturer coupons and Targets generally low prices you can get stuff ridiculously cheap.
If you don’t shop at Target I urge you to swing by and get a feel for their prices. This is another excellent way to cut costs and keep some money in your pocket.
We left without buying anything. My wife then called and asked to speak with the manager, his name and the store’s number are right on the receipt. He seemed put out that we would bother him with something as trivial as wanting to buy stuff and not being able to. He informed us he was sorry we couldn’t buy the product and no he couldn’t leave his office to speak with us or find a solution or than screw you the customer. I sent an email to the company and they couldn’t even be bothered to reply.
Needless to say I don’t shop at Walmart much anymore. I still buy vacuum bags there (target doesn’t carry the right brand) and they have the best price on distilled white vinegar which is an excellent cleaning product.
My goofy rant aside I’m glad it happened since Target turns out to be a fantastic place to shop. The employees are polite and helpful. I get great deals one of which I got yesterday.
Campbell’s condensed soup and pasta O’s were on sale for $0.50 each. This is already a good price. Ralphs was advertising the O’s for $1.00 each on sale. Target wants $0.89 everyday. But with a coupon from the paper a few weeks ago for $0.40 off two you get two cans for $0.60. That was the week I ended up with three papers so I got six of each for a total of $3.60.
No I know home made chicken noddle soup is better, and has less sodium, but at $0.30 a can this is a super cheap lunch that is both better and cheaper than a burger and fries. While the O’s have to much sodium as well a can makes a quick lunch for the kids on the weekend and beats going out to get kid’s meals which would cost eight bucks.
I got another super deal a few weeks ago. Target’s website has coupons some of which are store coupons and some manufacturers. I found a store coupon for $1.00 off a can of Chef Boyardee. The site will let you print up to two copies of each coupon. So I took them to the store and guess what? The cans are each a dollar. So with the coupons Target gave me two cans of this slop (I don’t like but my boys both love the stuff).
Few of these coupons will net you such a good deal but when you use the stores coupons with manufacturer coupons and Targets generally low prices you can get stuff ridiculously cheap.
If you don’t shop at Target I urge you to swing by and get a feel for their prices. This is another excellent way to cut costs and keep some money in your pocket.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Newspapers
I know I harp on newspapers a lot but I’m telling you the Sunday circulars are the easiest path to cost cutting fun. Recently the LA Times has run an advertisement in Orange County in their store bought papers for subscriptions. They will give you a year of Sunday papers for $0.19 a week. I got this deal for myself about a month ago and the total with tax was just over ten bucks. You would be insane to pass this up if you see the ad.
However there is a catch. While reading on the internet about his deal I found out that the subscription will automatically renew after the year is up. This is in the fine print on the ad, but who really reads the super tiny legalese at the bottom of ads? The trick here is that the renewal rate is at $2.50 a week for the Sunday paper. This is a terrible deal since you can buy a paper at the store for $0.75 or $1.50.
So if you take advantage of the deal mark your calendar and call up when the subscription is about to expire and threaten to cancel. Supposedly they will offer you a deal when you do this. If the deal is comparable to the in store price it is probably worth the convenience of getting it at your door.
If you forget about two months after the subscription expires you will see a bill on your card for about twenty bucks and then again every two months after that. Remember the paper is a tool for acquiring coupons. So the money you spend on it subtracts from the value of the coupons (since you need to get at least as much in coupons as the cost of the paper to not be losing ground).
While it is rarely hard to get $2.50 in coupons from the paper each week why spend that when you could the same circulars for $0.75 in the stores. That is a difference of $91 over the course of the year. You could keep that money in your pocket.
However there is a catch. While reading on the internet about his deal I found out that the subscription will automatically renew after the year is up. This is in the fine print on the ad, but who really reads the super tiny legalese at the bottom of ads? The trick here is that the renewal rate is at $2.50 a week for the Sunday paper. This is a terrible deal since you can buy a paper at the store for $0.75 or $1.50.
So if you take advantage of the deal mark your calendar and call up when the subscription is about to expire and threaten to cancel. Supposedly they will offer you a deal when you do this. If the deal is comparable to the in store price it is probably worth the convenience of getting it at your door.
If you forget about two months after the subscription expires you will see a bill on your card for about twenty bucks and then again every two months after that. Remember the paper is a tool for acquiring coupons. So the money you spend on it subtracts from the value of the coupons (since you need to get at least as much in coupons as the cost of the paper to not be losing ground).
While it is rarely hard to get $2.50 in coupons from the paper each week why spend that when you could the same circulars for $0.75 in the stores. That is a difference of $91 over the course of the year. You could keep that money in your pocket.
Monday, October 11, 2010
Drugstores Week Five
I didn’t buy anything this week even though there were some ok deals. The best deals were at CVS which had a Nivea Bodywash for men for five bucks with five ebs. But I know my local CVS only keeps about ten on the shelf so it didn’t seem like it was worth the risk of running out on Sunday after lunch to try to get one. But that’s ok it just means a few extra bucks in my pocket.
On Hiatus
On Hiatus.I have been remiss in reporting my savings over the last few weeks. I know it is an excuse but we had midterms last week and this week (going back to school was an excellent idea and all but boy does it take up a lot of time) and with both work and my manuscript I have been overloaded and everything has suffered.
Not to worry we are back on track now. You should start to see multiple weekly posts again soon. And to my strangely interested fans in Singapore and Canada I apologize for my laziness.
Not to worry we are back on track now. You should start to see multiple weekly posts again soon. And to my strangely interested fans in Singapore and Canada I apologize for my laziness.
Friday, September 10, 2010
Drugstores Week 4
This week I spent very little cash but I only got six things. I only shopped at two stores (Wags didn’t seem worth the trip). At CVS I got four products (2 Wish detergents and two Revlon eye shadows) for a total of $2.09. At Rite Aid I got two products (1 crest toothpaste and 1 Hershey bar) for $0.75. I didn’t really need a candy bar but even I give in to impulse shopping sometimes. So for less than three bucks I got some useful stuff, a candy bar (shameful impulse shopping), and $7.00 reward dollars.
So the four week tally is:
The breakdown is as follows.
| Store | Cash Outlay | Reward $ | Retail Cost |
| CVS | $2.07 | 5.00$ | $30.36 |
| Rite Aid | $0.75 | $2.00 | $5.29 |
| Walgreens | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Total | $2.82 | $7.00 | $ |
So the four week tally is:
| Store | Cash Outlay | Reward $ | Retail Cost |
| CVS | $33.45 | $41.99 | $121.37 |
| Rite Aid | $18.15 | $9.00 | $53.12 |
| Walgreens | $20.54 | $43.99 | $41.20 |
| Total | $72.14 | $50.99 | $215.69 |
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Ralphs Has Adjusted its Coupon Policy
Ralphs has recently modified their coupon policy. I found this out when I went in to get my two boxes of Ronzoni pasta. The cashier rang up both boxes and took my two coupons. But rather than being free the total rang up as $0.45. I asked the cashier what happened? She explained that only the first coupon, where a customer uses duplicates of a specific coupon in a single transaction, is now doubled.
So the first coupon doubled to $1.00 and the second stayed at $o.55. Which means two boxes of pasta cost $0.45. This is not a bad deal but I’ll be damned if I shell out cash when I don’t have to.
I had her void the coupon and the second box. Then ring them up separately. There wasn’t a line so nobody was inconvenienced (as if I really care since it is my money). The cashier was not very pleased.
So from now on you will need to spread out your transaction to take full advantage of duplicate coupons at Ralphs. While I understand the company wants to boost profits this is an ineffectual way to do it. I personally do not mind standing in line twice. It only takes a couple more minutes. That few minutes equaled about a buck and half.
All this does is waste the cashiers time which incidentally costs the company money. Personally I was happy with the limit of two duplicate coupons even though I often have three or four copies (two from the paper and two printed online).
Just be aware. If you generally have duplicate coupons you will notice your discounts being eroded.
So the first coupon doubled to $1.00 and the second stayed at $o.55. Which means two boxes of pasta cost $0.45. This is not a bad deal but I’ll be damned if I shell out cash when I don’t have to.
I had her void the coupon and the second box. Then ring them up separately. There wasn’t a line so nobody was inconvenienced (as if I really care since it is my money). The cashier was not very pleased.
So from now on you will need to spread out your transaction to take full advantage of duplicate coupons at Ralphs. While I understand the company wants to boost profits this is an ineffectual way to do it. I personally do not mind standing in line twice. It only takes a couple more minutes. That few minutes equaled about a buck and half.
All this does is waste the cashiers time which incidentally costs the company money. Personally I was happy with the limit of two duplicate coupons even though I often have three or four copies (two from the paper and two printed online).
Just be aware. If you generally have duplicate coupons you will notice your discounts being eroded.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)