Mar 17, 2013 |
My birthday is coming up soon. Tuesday to be exact. You’re wishing me a Happy Birthday right now, aren’t you? Sure you are, I can tell. Thank you!
It’s off to a great start. And I’m going to share some of my secrets to a successful birthday with you. How do you like them apples?
How Do You Like Them Apples?!
Let’s face it: Birthday is a bit of a misnomer. What we all really like is a Birthmonth. Am I right? Y’all don’t wake up on midnight of your special day and say, “Wow. Today’s my birthday.” And then 24 hours later think, “I did not see that coming.” Not at all. If you’re an inkling at all like me or my daughter, you start thinking about it a wee bit in advance.
There’s some planning involved. Some surprises. Mostly, just some great go-with-the-flow adventuring.
It starts with a small time investment and some printer ink. Visit your favorite restaurant sites online and see if they have any eClub offers. Many will give you either a completely free or free-with-purchase coupon just for signing up. You might also get a second coupon to be used during the month of your birthday. Just a few of my favorites are Del Taco, Carino’s and Panera Bread.
On Friday, Dot visited me at work during lunch time. We went to the local Del Taco and got two free chicken soft tacos. I have a second coupon to use next week, good for one free premium shake. No purchase necessary on either coupon. I did, however, indulge in a small fries. $1.72 is a nice price for lunch, don’tcha think?
Saturday morning we woke up early. I had a $5 reward certificate from Best Buy that expires in three days. Lucky for me, they have a good selection of cheap CDs. Unlucky for me, they were one penny short of what I needed to spend in order to use the certificate. So I had to add to my purchase. What on earth does This Girl find at Best Buy? A pack of pens, of course! Oh, darn. (You can hear the sarcasm, right? Okay. Just checking.)
Then we crossed the street to enjoy a behind-the-scenes Grand Opening of our new Macy’s store. Trust me, we need this store here in the desert. Just the right touch of snobbery to get people out of their jeans and flip-flops. Yeah. This is a good thing. A better thing? Coupons! Macy’s doesn’t open to the public until Wednesday, but many charity organizations in the area sold $5 tickets. All proceeds were kept by the charities. A ticket was three-part: The first got you in the door, the second got you an entry for a $500 gift card drawing (No. We didn’t win. But thank you for asking.), and the last got you discounts at checkout.
For the regular price of one piece of clothing, I picked up a nice blouse for myself, and two tops for Dot.
Dot’s Tops
It’s like my top paid for itself. Happy Birthday to Me. Guess what I’m wearing on Tuesday!
The crowds were excessive, of course, and standing in line was nearly like doing so on Black Friday. But we managed. We also built up an appetite so I took Mutti and Dot to Carino’s where I had a St. Patrick’s Weekend coupon: wear green and get a free pizza.
Pizza for St. Patrick
They start each table with free bread and dipping oil. We ordered a plate of fried Mozzarella and beverages. They even threw in a free chocolate cake and ice cream for dessert!
Warm Chocolate Cake. Cold Vanilla Ice Cream. ‘Nuff said.
Are they awesome or what? It was so much food, we took some home. Not bad for $25, including tip.
Then we decided a movie was the ticket! Dot treated us to LINCOLN at the dollar theater. We were so stuffed from lunch that it didn’t even cross our mind to get popcorn or a soda. But if it had, we belong to the theater’s Rewards club so every time we go, we get free snacks with purchase.
After the movies, I decided since we were so close, I needed to use my Staples certificates. Do you have a Staples office supply store near you? Did you know they pay you for turning in your empty ink cartridges and buying product at their store? It’s awesome. I tend to save up my cartridges and turn them in only once or twice a year so I get all my rewards at once instead of little by little. For Saturday’s indulgence, I used my certificate to buy a colorful insulated lunch tote. I treated myself to an insulated tumbler. Less than $8.00. I’m okay with the cost. It’ll last. And who doesn’t love drinking out of a fun cup?
By this time, it had been about four hours since we last ate. Panera Bread was calling our name. Let me check… yup. There’s a coupon for that. Just for signing up, I got a free pastry. Pastry? More like a meal! I’m not selfish. I bought Dot a blueberry bagel. Mom wanted to get her own, so I let her. We both spent just over $2.00.
Cinnamon Roll from Panera Bread
But what’s a pastry without a drink? Oh, look! Just down the street is a Juice It Up! and I happen to have a BOGO. That’s “Buy-One-Get-One” in Couponeze. These are a little pricey, but so worth it. $5.49 gave Dot her large Seabreeze Squeeze and I picked up a free Pineapple Punch.
Juice It Up! BOGO
Then we went home to enjoy our day’s spoils and watch Celtic Thunder on DVD. Hey, it’s a weekend full o’ the Irish, y’know? And seriously. Who doesn’t love some mighty fine singing (I’m also partial to the good looking men in suits…. Oh, Man Store, please deliver!).
That ends the day, but not the celebration! In my bag, I still have coupons for free, no-strings-attached:
- Rooty Tooty Fresh n’ Fruity Breakfasts from IHOP (two coupons: one for joining, one for the month of my birthday).
- One free burger (up to $10 value) from Red Robin. [Shout out to Penny for telling me about this!]
- Two free desserts from Carrow’s. One for joining, one for my birthday.
I’ve had a Starbuck’s Gold Rewards for a few years (this doesn’t surprise you, does it?). On my birthday, I’ll get a free drink. Any drink or food item. Now that’s golden!
I’ve also heard that I just need to show my ID at Jack in the Box for a free Chocolate Cake or New York Style Cheesecake. The tough part will be deciding which one to choose.
Aside from all this great food, I’m especially excited to be a member of OSH (Orchard Supply Hardware). I actually love to spend my lunches there (that’s another post altogether). They gifted me a $5 certificate for my birthday, and $10 off any $30 purchase for taking a short survey. That’s going to be $35 worth of gardening beauty for only $20. I’m thinking a windchime and a birdhouse. Or a tree to transplant. Or a few potted herbs. Or flowers. Or cacti. Or a yard flag. Or… whatever else I can find for that amount.
I love these coupons not just for saving money. Let’s face it, y’all know I’m not the richest woman on the block. So saving money goes without saying. But I also love these coupons for two more reasons. The first is, they give me the opportunity to spend quality time with my family. We couldn’t have afforded a $40 pizza lunch. But $20 plus tip? Not a problem. And I’m not going to eat a Rooty Tooty alone. Nope. I can share the bill with Dot and Mutti on that. A simple breakfast for each of us. A cup of coffee. Nothing fancy. But definitely fulfilling. And OSH? That’s the second reason I love coupons. They offer possibility. Promise. Planning. All of the above.
If couponing makes me look like someone who’s counting her pennies… Well, guess what. I’m all in.
Pre-Birthday Spoils
And Frankly, My Dear… that’s all she wrote!
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Clipping Coupons
Clipping Coupons, Part II
Aug 18, 2011 |
by Molly Jo Realy @MollyJoRealy
This couponing gig is more fun than Disneyland!!
Okay, so on my second day of couponing, I first started by getting organized. I went to the local office supply store and spent less about $14 to get small plastic envelopes and one big one, and a pack of labels.
I came home and sorted my coupons and fliers. I now have categories for: Specific Stores (department stores like Kohls or Payless Shoes), Pet Care, Restaurants, Dairy/Meat, Canned Goods, Refrigerator/Freezer, Beverages, Desserts/Sweets, Condiments, Snacks/Chips, Cereal, Toiletries/Hygiene, Household Items, and Receipts.
The big envelope holds the small envelopes and the weekly store fliers. I. Am. Ready!
After checking in with my Coupon Coach to verify my strategy, I headed off to the local Walgreens. Walgreens is a beautiful place. A land of free-flowing sales and wonderfully attentive clerks. A cool, clean atmosphere. And best of all, sales.
Walgreens doesn’t require a Club Card to get their bonuses. They’re available to everyone, all the time. The trick to working them is to know ahead of time what you’re looking for.
If you read my post last week, Nail Polish: If You’re a Guy, You Just Don’t Get It, you’ll understand my excitement at paying just $0.88 for NYC nail polish at Winco. Obviously I’m not into spending much beyond that. But when it’s right, it’s right. And there I was at Walgreen’s, ad in hand, looking at Revlon nail colors. I bit. I bought.
I made four transactions tonight. Four wonderfully successfully cheap transactions. For being my second day of couponing, I call it a huge success!
First, the nail polish. $4.00 plus tax. But I got $3 RR (Register Rewards) back.
Second transaction: Two deodorants on sale, 2/$5.00. I used the $3 RR from above, so only paid $2 plus tax, AND got back $3 RR again.
Third transaction: Two bags of Brach’s autumn mix candies, 2/$3.00. I used the $3 RR from #2, no tax, and got back $1 RR. Can you imagine? THEY paid ME $1 to take the candy!
Fourth transaction: 12 rolls of Cottonelle toilet paper, on sale for $5.00. I used a $1.00 store coupon, $0.75 manufacturer coupon, and the $1.00 RR. Walgreens will let you stack coupons for the same item, as long as your total items equal your total coupons. Meaning, because I had two Toilet Paper coupons, I needed two items in this transaction. So I picked up a $0.49 Snickers bar. The toilet paper cost me just $2.25 plus tax.
All told, I purchased $23 worth of goods for less than $10 Out Of Pocket. That’s “OOP” in coupon lingo. Another important word in the Couponing World is “Stockpile”. As in, I now have 12 rolls of toilet paper in my stockpile cabinet.
Hey. It’s a (cheap) start. Egypt wasn’t saved in a day. The point is, it was saved.
And Frankly, My Dear… that’s all she wrote!
Aug 16, 2011 |
by Molly Jo Realy @MollyJoRealy
Yes, this post is actually about coupon clipping.
No, I am not some poverty-stricken rundown woman with curlers in my hair dangling a cigarette. Neither am I an extremist who’s going to hoard supplies that I’ll never use. While the thought of selling to my neighbors in times of dire need sort of thrills me (especially since my neighbors CHOOSE to not be prepared), I guess I’m not really an I-told-you-so kinda gal.
But I am a storyteller, so here’s today’s story.
I’ve clipped coupons before, saved a few bucks here and there. But this weekend I watched a handful of “Extreme Couponing” on one of those cable home improvement networks. Which I found ironic, because last week I joined a local Facebook group, “Bargain Babes”, started by my friend Genny. She’s a great couponer, and now she shares her wisdom and experience with the group. It’s very interactive. Since we all live in the same area, we each post the different sales and rewards that we know of so others can find the same great deals. It’s a sisterhood of scissoring.
Suffering from a ridiculous allergy attack or severe summer cold (still not sure yet which it is, but that’s a different story…), I didn’t do much of anything yesterday but rest a lot and clip a little. I reviewed the current ads, my current coupons, and I made my list. I called the local market to make sure I knew their coupon policy. Yes, they double the value but only up to $1.00 total savings per item. Yes, they take internet coupons. No, they do not take expired coupons.
Armed with a two-page list of what coupons I wanted to use, and only six other items on my grocery list, I made my way to several stops.
First, I know a lot of people will take whatever they can get for free or near-free. Brand names don’t matter to them. Unfortunately, because my daughter and I both suffer from chemical allergies, I am cautious to switch once I find a brand name product that really works for us. Having said that, I’m not above trying new things as long as I know they won’t hurt me.
Second, stack ’em high! The store I went to today doubles the coupon value. Score! If I have a store coupon and a manufacturer’s coupon, each for $0.50 for the same item, I can use them both. That means, each coupon is doubled to a dollar, and since I have two coupons, I’ve just saved $2.00 on one item! Some coupons require you to buy two or more of the item to get the savings. Guess what? Stack ’em again! Same scenario as above, same two coupons, PLUS a third coupon good for $0.50 off one item. Doubled again. I just saved three bucks. Which makes my on-sale granola bars, FREE. How awesome is that?
Third, get a rain check. If a store advertises a sale, but that product isn’t on the shelf, go to Customer Service with the ad, and have them issue you a rain check. This worked for me the week before Easter when I was in search of a head of cabbage. Vons had a ridiculously great price in their ad. But when I showed up in the produce section, I was told “someone” forgot to order the cabbage. They didn’t have any. But I got a rain check for the sale price, good for 90 days. No, it didn’t help my Easter dinner. I bought cabbage elsewhere for that. But I was able to later get more cabbage for $0.33 when everyone else was paying close to $1.00. Nifty, huh?
Fourth, don’t have a coupon for a favorite item? Go online. Most companies offer printable coupons on their websites. If not, you can call and praise them and they’ll usually send some to you. The drawback of this, is that they only send you a few, and you have to wait for snail-mail time, which is usually several weeks to over a month. When my daughter was born, I called her formula maker and they sent me new coupons every month. Not just the cheap-o “buy ten, save $0.30” kind either. They were awesome coupons. “Buy two get one free.” Who doesn’t love free?
Fifth. Don’t go all over town for a $2.00 savings. You’ll spend more than that in gas. Every stop I made today was within one mile of each other. It made it a lot easier to hit one side of the street, then head back in the other direction. Piece of pie!
So.There I am this morning with my lists and my budget and my daughter. First up: CVS Drugstore. I figured I’d dip my toe in the water before I dive on it. I had two coupons for the same item: Advil. The first coupon was Buy 3/Save $5. The second was Save $2. For the first coupon, I picked up three travel size Advil. You know, the mini bottles that only hold ten tablets. They were supposed to be $3.29 each. With tax, it was over $10. I used my CVS Saver card and Green Tag. This is a leaf-shaped tag with a bar code they scan once a day. If you use the Green Tag, they don’t bag your items. I either bring my own bag or put the items in my purse. Four every four swipes, you get a $1.00 Register Reward. So my first purchase with the three Advils cost me only $5 and change, plus I got my $1 RR. The second Advil was $4.49 plus tax. Minus my $2 coupon, minus my $1 RR, I paid only $1.76 for a $5 bottle of pain reliever. I’m pretty happy about that! And now I’m hooked.
I saved 15% on a box of Cafe Mocha k-cups at Bed, Bath & Beyond with their coupon.
Then I headed to Vons. My total rang up to $169. With my Vons rewards card, I saved $35. Then I handed the clerk my coupons. All my coupons. Pretty much one (or more) for almost every item I bought. And item by item, I watched the total go down. The end result? $107 and change.
And you know what? It was fun. Can’t wait to do it again.
There are many more lessons I’m learning. By no means, am I an expert. But for my first real couponing attempt today, I feel pretty successful. Especially when I treated my daughter to lunch at McDonald’s and for less than the price of one combo meal, we used our free drink coupons, ordered cheap sandwiches and had lunch together. No fatty fries. Good savings. Great day.
And Frankly, My Dear… that’s all she wrote!
Saturday morning we woke up early. I had a $5 reward certificate from Best Buy that expires in three days. Lucky for me, they have a good selection of cheap CDs. Unlucky for me, they were one penny short of what I needed to spend in order to use the certificate. So I had to add to my purchase. What on earth does This Girl find at Best Buy? A pack of pens, of course! Oh, darn. (You can hear the sarcasm, right? Okay. Just checking.)
