Remember when I posted about How to Get Free Underwear from Victoria’s Secret? Well they have done it again! Check your mailbox for this flyer from Victoria’s Secret. It has the below coupon for a Free Full Sized V.S. Fantasies Mist and No Purchase is Necessary.
Tonight I quickly ran to CVS at almost midnight when I got off of work. I wanted to take advantage of the cheap Finish deal, especially after paying $3.99 for dishwasher detergent when we ran out, because it really does seem to work a lot better than cheaper dishwasher detergents. I also wasn’t sure when else I would be able to make it to the store. I like shopping at the 24 hour CVS in the middle of the night because there usually isn’t anyone else in the store and the cashier’s don’t feel rushed when you hand them coupons.
So here are the deals I did-
$1.99 ECB When You Buy PAAS Easter Egg Decorating Kit, $1.99 Limit 1
Note- I bought this first so I could use the ECBs on my next transaction
Finish Dishwasher Detergent- On Sale 2/$8
– Used $1.25/1 Finish Quantum Powerball Tabs or Gelpacs in the SS 3/17
Cost After Coupons- $2.75
Note- Not the cheapest I’ve ever gotten it but still an ok price since I’m out
Coca-Cola products, 2 liter, 99¢ Limit 5
-.25/1 Coca Cola, 2 Liter CVS Coupon from the Coupon Center
Cost After Coupons- 74¢
Totals for Both Transactions-
Spent- $12.98
Saved- $19.40
Almost two years ago my boyfriend and I moved in together. We are currently choosing to live on less income so that we both can go back to school for graduate degrees. I decided to compile a list of the financial decisions we have made in the past two years that have saved us the most money. After writing this list I have to say that I’m really proud of us!
1. Buying Our Cars With Cash– I drive a Chevy Cavalier that I bought for $2,000 and B drives a Nissan Sentra that he bought for $5,000 we could have easily spent at least $25,000 for these cars USED and that doesn’t even include interest on a car loan (See Our Experience as a One Car Household) Savings- $25,000
2. Renting a House in Our Original Target Price Range– When we were looking for a house to rent we originally decided we could spend $700 to $900 a month but quickly found that it would be very, very difficult to find a very nice home in that price range but we ended up picking out the house we are living in at $900 a month over houses in the $1200 price range Savings- $300 a month or $3,600 a Year
3. Renting a House With Free Water/Sewer/Trash Bill– We have a water well so we don’t pay for water but my sister and her fiancé used to pay $60 a month at their house (see Having a Water Well) Savings- $60 a Month or $720 a year
4. Working Jobs Close to Home– When I worked full time I commuted an hour each way to work. At one point I paid $100 a month just in tolls and I paid about $200 a month in gas Savings- $250 a month or $3,000 a year
5. Working Jobs Where We Don’t Have To Wear Dress Clothes– Dress clothes are expensive, there is nothing else to say! Savings- $50 a month or $600 a Year
6. Negotiating With the Cable/Internet Company- Our current rate would be $130 a month for a smaller package but instead we negotiated to $85 a month for a DVR/HD Channels/Internet/More Channels (See- How One Phone Call Saved Us $343) Savings $45 a month or $540 a year
7. Buying My Treadmill for $30– I had budgeted to spend $200 on a used treadmill but none came along then I got lucky and got mine for $30 (see How I Got a Treadmill for $30) Saved- $670
8. Buying Our 46 in Flatscreen TV for $150– We wanted a nice TV after we moved into our new house so we were able to price shop and use gift cards (See How We got a 46in TV for $150) Saved- $400
9. Getting Our Furniture Secondhand– Almost all of our furniture is high quality but second hand. We could have spent thousands on new furniture but we bought used and saved and our house still looks great. Saved- $3,000
10. Having a $200 a Month Grocery Budget– We try to eat healthy so we can easily spend a huge amount of money on groceries. I’m going to conservatively say that we save at least $200 a month by sticking to our budget. (See More About Our Grocery Budget) Saved- $200 a Month or $2,400 a year
11. Buying Groceries and Household Items with Coupons– We save thousands of dollars by using coupons so I’m going to conservatively say that we saved a couple of thousand dollars in the past two years. (See More About Our Couponing) Saved- $4,000
I was really surprised when I calculated that total! The best part of this is that NONE of these are crazy things. These are regular every day things that with a little bit of extra time and effort saved us a substantial amount of money!
This is what my couch looked like Saturday morning when I started trying to organize my coupons from the past few weeks. Do any of you other couponers have this problem??? Sometimes I am so busy that I’m not able to go through my 4 Sunday Paper subscriptions to get the coupons out for longer than I would like. So after a vacation and a packed work schedule I ended up with three weeks worth of coupons to sort through before I would be getting even more the next day.
I was excited to find that last Sunday 3/10 there was a Publix $5 off of $50 Purchase Coupon. Usually we don’t get these in Volusia or Orange County, FL. So if you still have that paper you may want to look for it.
I filled an entire laundry basket with the newspapers. We will probably recycle them or burn them in our fire pit. It is a major frustration to me to try to decide what I will do with all of these newspapers. I give as many papers away as I can get people to take. We use them as pet bedding, as fire kindling, as drop cloths when painting, and as many other ways as I can come up with but most of them still end up getting recycled. If anyone has come up with any better ways to use old newspapers please let me know.
Usually when I got to CVS and Walgreens I plan my trips around the best couponing deals and prepare accordingly. I write a lot about my couponing trips but what happens when you need to go to the store last minute for one or two things that you just have to buy?
I really needed mascara and dishwasher detergent. At CVS there was a deal on Almay but it turned out to be a better deal to buy NYC brand, which is cheaper even without a sale. There was an old tag for B1G1 half off of any NYC products and the nice cashier honored their sign and discounted the mascara anyways. She even gave me half off the more expensive mascara in the teal tube. I decided to try the $4.99 teal mascara and the $1.99 black mascara and then compare them so I would know which one to buy in the future. The teal mascara was definitely better. I also bought the Free After ECB (CVS Store Dollars) Jelly beans.
Then when I went to buy the dishwasher detergent I realized that it was between $7-9 at CVS and they didn’t have a store brand. I had a hundred things to do that day but instead of overpaying at CVS I made myself stop at Walgreens on the way home. I made the right choice because luckily it was on sale for $3.99 and I was also able to pick up some cheap .69 cents macaroni which was also on sale. We like to make black beans and macaroni and cheese as a cheap and easy lunch.
Today’s shopping trips only prove how much money I really save by stocking up when I find great couponing deals on the things I use, but they also show that even without coupons you can still save yourself a decent amount of money by smart shopping.
Up & Up Bleach 64 oz bottle and Up & Up Dish Soap $1.64 and $1.99
– $2/2 Up & Up cleaning items (excludes items under $1) Target Coupon
Cost After Coupons- $0.64 + $0.99
RE Picture Frames starting a $1.79
$2/1 Picture Frame Target Coupon
Cost After Coupons- Free
Up & Up Antacid Tablets 72 ct $2.03 (through 3/2)
Use the $1.50/1 up & up digestive health item Target Coupon
Cost After Coupons- $0.53!
Target Boots 70% Off
Cost- ~$11.00
Up & Up Printer Paper 400 Sheet Ream $3.14 (Regular Price)
-$1 Off Up & Up® item $3 or higher Target Coupon
Cost After Coupons– $2.14
Although I did get some great deals at Target during this trip I also bought a lot of meats and vegetables because we are still trying to eat very healthy. It definitely costs more to eat healthy!
Spent- $37
Saved $73
I also used one competitor $5 off of $25 purchase Save-A-Lot Coupon for each transaction.
If you are interested in doing any of the deals that I have done in these transactions I will refer you to couponaholic.net and southersavers.com for their deal listings.
I had recently gone shopping at Kohl’s with my mother and sister and I was surprised to receive $10 Kohl’s cash with my purchase. That’s $10 I can spend at Kohl’s at a later date. I had almost completely forgot about it (which is probably what they hope will happen) when my sister reminded me to spend mine before it expires. So on the last day I had before my coupon expired, I went to the store. I couldn’t find any clothing I wanted and didn’t honestly feel like shopping (yes it actually happens!). Then it occurred to me that I wanted some nice towels for our guest bathroom when we have company over. The towels I bought from Walmart when we moved in for $2 looked worn after the first time I washed them.
I found these two Croft & Barrow towels for $5.99 each. After my $10 Kohl’s cash they were only $2.19 for both. I always associate Kohl’s with clothes and shoes but they do have very nice household items. I’m glad I got something that we will use in our home instead of buying something just because I needed to use up the ‘free’ $10. So if you have Kohl’s cash to spend (they have different expiration dates) and don’t want to buy clothes you might want to look in the housewares for something you need.
I did three separate shopping trips this week to stock up on a lot of great deals. Every year during the Publix Viva Italia Sale I stock up on canned goods. I wasn’t actually planning on doing much couponing this week but this sale literally saves us money all year long because canned good last forever. See my last years shopping trip HERE. These are some of the lowest prices I see all year and they make it really easy to buy canned items in bulk with B1G1s and extra in store / printable coupons (same coupons, two ways to get them). Safe to say I saved a lot of $ and we just this month have run out of the canned items I bought last year. We were also fortunate enough to have been given $45 in Publix gift cards by family members so I used those to pay for most of these items. I also used one competitor $5 off of $25 purchase Save-A-Lot Coupon for each transaction.
Shopping Trip 1- (The couch isn’t from Publix although I did get a great deal on it lol)
Order Total- $22.44
Saved- $64.60
Out of Pocket Costs- Paid With a Gift Card so ZERO out of pocket
Shopping Trip 2-
Order Total- $30.42
Saved- $98.70
Out of Pocket Costs- Mostly Paid With Gift Cards so only $8.77
Shopping Trip 3-
Order Total- $14.75
Saved- $42.39
Out of Pocket Costs- $14.75
Weekly Total-
Out of Pocket Costs- $23.52
Saved Before Gift Cards- $205.69
Saved Including Gift Cards- $250.69
Now I think we are also ready for the Zombie Apocalypse should it hit within the next couple of months.
If you are interested in doing any of the deals that I have done in these transactions I will refer you to couponaholic.net and southersavers.com for their deal listings.
Follow Us!