What is a Filler Item at Walgreens?

Walgreens (Wags) is very confusing and complicated. It takes a while to get the hang of shopping there. I’ve been doing coupon shopping there for about 2 months and I am still learning. One of the most confusing aspects of Wags is how to use their Register Rewards (RR). These rewards are “coupons” you get for buying certain items. For example, buy Sobe Vitamin water for $0.99, get a $0.99 RR.

Register Rewards work like coupons, not like a gift card or cash. And, you can only use one RR per item. So, if you have 7 RR, you need 7 items.

Now let’s say you are buying 8 items, and have 7 manufacturer (mfg.) coupons and 7 RR. Since Wags only let’s you use one coupon per item (and a RR is a coupon), what do you do to get the savings?

You use what’s called a “filler.”

The manufacturer coupon must be for that exact item, however, each RR will attach itself to another item you are not using a coupon (no matter what the price of that item, be it $0.01 for $100+).

For example, you could buy:

• 2, 2-pack Reach toothbrushes on-sale for 2/$5 and receive a $2 RR with purchase. (You also have 2, $2/off a 2-pack of Reach toothbrushes mfg. coupons.)
• 4, Garnier shampoos for $2.99 each and receive a $4 RR with purchase of 4. (You also have 4, $1/off Garnier mfg. coupons.)
• 2, Old Spice Body Washes on sale for buy one get one 50% off. (You also have a “Buy one Get one Free” mfg. coupon.)

You also want to use your 7 RR from previous purchases that equal $10. You have now have 7 mfg. coupons and 7 RR. You are buying 8 products. (Note, make sure these RR are not from items you are purchasing or you won’t get another RR. For example, don’t use a Reach RR for purchasing another Reach toothbrush.)

• The 7 manufacturer coupons will attach themselves to the correct items.
• One of the RR will attach to an item with no mfg. coupon (one body wash).
• You now need 6 filler items for your RR to work.

You can buy something you need, something that’s on-sale that you don’t have a mfg. coupon for (you can have an in-store coupon though as these can be combined with mfg. coupons and RR), or a cheap item such as a $0.33 caramel. Let’s say you buy 6 caramels.

• Reach Toothbrushes: $5 minus $4 mfg. coupon = $1
• 4 Garnier Shampoo, $2.99 x 4 = $11.96 minus $4 mfg. coupons = $7.96
• 2 Old Spices Body Washes ($4.49/each, on-sale for BYGO 50% off): pay $2.25 for the one for 50% off, get the full-price one free. Total: $2.25
• 6 Caramels @ $0.33/each = $1.98
• Total Before RR: $13.19
• Use 7 RR for a total of $10 off
• Total: $3.19 (before tax)
• You will then receive a $2 RR from Reach and a $4 RR from Garnier, for a total of $6 in RR. You can use these RRs on any purchase, but it is one RR per item. You cannot buy one $6 item and use the two RR. You would need to add a filler to make it work.

Also, if you try and use a RR to pay for the same product you received it from (or any products from the company you got the RR from), you will not get another RR. You can use it to pay, but you won’t get another one.

Is Sam’s Club Worth It?

I had a friend ask my opinion on shopping at warehouse stores, such as Sam’s Club. Here is my answer. It depends.

Most articles I’ve read by couponers say that warehouse stores such as Sam’s Club are not worth it. Here’s why I believe that’s so: they don’t accept coupons. And, if they did, the percentage of savings by using the coupon is not that significant. For example, a $3/off coupon for Huggies is not that great of a savings for a box of 200 that costs $40, as it is for a jumbo bag of 27 that costs $8. Plus, where you buy that jumbo bag, you can also stack store coupons and store rewards. Case in point, I bought 4, 27-pack diapers at Rite Aid and with stacking coupons and rewards I paid $12 out of pocket and received $10 toward my next shopping trip. Coupons give you the best percentage of savings on the smallest item.

Another reason is over-spending. There is so much fun stuff to look at. DVDs, books, clothes, electronics, flowers, etc. Go in for formula, come-out with a cart full if you’re not careful.

However, having said all of that, I think there are some reasons to use Sam’s Club:

A Product You Like
First, I saved a significant amount of money by purchasing the Sam’s Club version of the Enfimel Gentlease Baby Formula. It was literraly half-price of the name brand and had the exact same ingredients. The savings was great enough for me to want to pay the $40 a year membership. There may be a certain product you buy at Sam’s Club that makes the membership worth it.

Large Family
If you have a large family, it may be easier and more cost-effective to just shop Warehouse stores. I don’t know what large is, maybe 4-5+ kids?

Cool Stuff
Sam’s Club has cool stuff. I do like to find gifts there at Christmas, and sometimes I find a good price on clothes. They also have nice produce, great prices on Rotisserie chicken, and carry large boxed frozen items you can’t get at the grocery store. They also have decently-priced electronics. I have even bought a mattress there. However, I don’t know if this is a reason to have a membership. It might be better just to get a free pass once or twice a year to go shopping for gifts and specialty items. I also believe with sales and coupons you can probably find these items for the same price or less elsewhere.

Save on Gas
Another bonus: discount on gas.

You Throw a lot of Parties
Sam’s Club is a great place for buying large quantities of pre-made food, if you need something like that often, such as deli platters, rolls, croissants, bulk wine, large bags of chips, potato salad, etc.

I do have a membership to Sam’s Club. I used the membership mainly to buy formula and sometimes diapers, and then I had about 3 other items I liked to purchase (frozen breakfast sandwiches, some produce, and whole grain flaxseed tortilla chips, plus sometimes a rotisserie chicken). I also lived about 5 minutes from a Sam’s Club. Now that I moved and am not as close to a Sam’s Club, I don’t know if it’s worth it. I also no longer need to buy formula. I do find that I save so much more money shopping sales with coupons. I think I will give-up the membership and just go once or twice per year if I find a free one-day pass offer.

YuppieMom Says: Reading the “Cool Stuff” paragraph makes me want to go shopping at Sam’s Club!
FrugalMom Says: I like having one less store to go to by crossing this one off the list.

Extreme-ish Couponing: How to Shop Rite Aid

Just had to post a great Huggies diaper deal I got at Rite Aid in case anyone was interested in trying it, and of course to show how I am finally getting the hang of this couponing thing. The nicest thing was I was actually in the store for all of 10 minutes as: I did not have the toddler with me; I knew where the diapers were; and it was slow at the store at 3:00 p.m., so no line. I also had a shift supervisor as my cashier who was super friendly, and was impressed with my savings (instead of stressed and annoyed by all my coupons)!

Transactions

Transaction 1:
Buy 2 Renpure Organic Shampoo/Conditioner at $4.99/each, receive 2 $4.99 +Up Rewards
Paid: $9.98 plus tax (received $9.98 in +Up rewards)

Transaction 2:
4 Huggies Jumbo Packs at $8.97 each (27 diapers per pack)
Total: $35.88

Coupons:
$3 off $15 Rite Aid survey coupon
$1 off Video Values Wellness+ coupon
$1 off Video Values RX coupon
$1 off Video Values Huggies coupon
$2 off Huggies manufacturer coupon
$2 off Huggies manufacturer coupon
$2 off Huggies manufacturer coupon
$2.50 off Huggies Pure & Natural manufacturer coupon
For a coupon savings of $14.50

Total: $21.38
Use 2 $4.99 Up+ Rewards from previous transaction
Grand Total: $11.40 ($12.94 with tax)
Received $10 Up+ Reward (Rite Aid was running a promotion of spend $30 in Huggies products–and that’s before coupons!–receive a $10 +Up Reward.)

So, I paid about $3 per pack and received a $10 +Up!

+Up Rewards
Rite Aid +Up Rewards are like gift cards you can use for your next transaction or purchase. I have finally learned to split my transactions so that the first transactions are the items I will get +Up Rewards and then I use them on my second transaction (instead of saving them for the following week). However, sometimes my second transaction gives me more +Up Rewards, which I will save for the following week (as in the scenario above). Rite Aid does not count their +Up Reward as coupons and therefore can be stacked on top of their Video Value coupons, in-store coupons, and manufacturer coupons.

Rite Aid Survey Coupon
After every transaction at Rite Aid, I have always received a survey code for completing a brief online survey that gives me $3 off $15. The survey takes me about 3 minutes to complete. Make sure to always use this survey coupon first during check-out to maximize your savings.

Rite Aid Video Values Coupons
Video Values coupons are coupons you receive by watching a short video (20 seconds to 2.5 minutes) at Rite Aid.com. You must join their Rewards Club to earn the coupons. While the video plays, if you navigate away (open a new window, check your email, open Word, etc.), it will pause. There is also a code at the end of each video to type in when it’s complete, in which you have 30 seconds to do so before you will have to watch the video again to get the coupon. I normally don’t like getting coupons this way as it’s a bit of a time waster for me, but I felt it was worth it for the transaction I did above. I look at it this way: I made $3 in 5 minutes, so $36/hour. 🙂

Stacking Coupons at Rite Aid
Rite Aid will take 1 Video Value, 1 store coupon (as found in their sales flyer or website), and 1 manufacturer coupon PER item. That’s awesome! And that’s how I got the deal above. I did not have any store coupons, but I bought 4 items and had 4 manufacturer coupons and  3 Video Value coupons. I also had a survey coupon (one survey coupon can be used per transaction no matter how many coupons you have). And, being that their +Up Rewards are like gift cards or cash, I use those last as my payment, and then my credit card or cash to pay any balance left.

Coupon Order when Checking-Out
I recommend the following order when checking-out at Rite Aid:

1. Survey coupon
2. Video Value coupons
3. Store coupons
4. Manufacturer coupons
5. +Up Rewards

I hand the coupons one at a time to the cashier, and not in a stack, to make sure they all go through. After each “beep” I hand the next one. I felt stupid at first doing this, but I’ve gained more confidence in the last few weeks coupon shopping and decided that I was in control of my coupons and not the cashier.

Other Resources
For more information on coupon shopping at Rite Aid, I recommend reading Rite Aid 101 at thekrazycouponlady.com.

If you’d like to try the diaper scenario above, I’d recommend adding to your first transaction the Crest Clinical White 2-pack that’s on sale for $5.99 and gives you a $4 +Up Reward. This deal is even sweeter if you have a Crest coupon. Then, use the $4 +Up in your second transaction making the total $7.40 plus tax. For the Huggies scenario, you don’t have to have the exact same manufacturer coupons as I did; you may find better ones. The Huggies Pull-Ups ($8.97) and Little Swimmers ($6.97) are also part of the sale and count toward the $30 to get your $10 +Up. Please comment if you have any questions.

YuppieMom Says: Really, can’t we just go to Babies ‘R Us once a month to buy the big box of diapers and look at/buy all the cute baby clothes and toys?
FrugalMom Says: I now “make money” by watching videos online.

My Extreme-ish Coupon Plan: Summary 1

I am finally back after about four weeks of trying my hand at couponing. I have not had time to write my blog!

After trying a more extreme form of couponing over the last month, I did ask myself, “Why have I not been doing this all along?” And then I ask, “Why am I doing this to myself?” On one hand, this form of couponing is a great money saver. I don’t think I can every buy toiletry items at full price again. On the other hand, couponing to this degree takes time, patience, an extreme form of organization, and a bit of confidence and aggression when checking-out at the register.

I have learned quite a bit over the last month, and am going to share my findings in a series of blogs. I’ll keep this one a bit short.

Is Couponing Worth It?
Yes. Using coupons is worth the time it takes to clip, organize, and match with sales. However, you need to decide how much time you want to spend on couponing.

If You Don’t Have Much Time for Couponing
If you don’t want to spend too much time on couponing, I find the biggest savings have come from the drug stores on toiletry and household items and occasionally some food items. Pick one drug store (Walgreens, Rite-Aid, or CVS), and match-up your coupons (Sunday paper and coupon.com) and their sales each week. You could spend about 45 minutes per week printing, clipping, and organizing your coupons and preparing your list, and then about  30 minutes shopping (more if you are unfamiliar with the store, it’s crowded, etc.).

I never would have thought to buy anything from these drug stores as the prices are outrageous. But, when they run sales and you match them with store coupons, manufacturer coupons, and rewards credits they give you on purchases, the savings are amazing. I have saved from 50% – 90% on all my purchases the last month. I have paid $2 or less, or have received free, for body washes; $1 or less for toothpaste; $1 or less for deodorant; $0.50 for toothbrushes; $.50 for 6-pack of toilet paper; $.50 for a 50-pack box of Ziplock bags; amazing deals on diapers; etc. A few of my transactions have been less than $5 total. And, all of these purchases were name-brand products I normally buy for my family.

Where Do You Find All These Coupons & Deals?
My number one sources for coupons are the Sunday paper and coupons.com. My main resource for finding deals is The Krazy Coupon Lady (www.thekrazycouponlady.com). She matches up store sales (Walgreens, Rite Aid, CVS, Target, Walmart, and a few others) with coupons and will link you to the coupon if it’s available online (a huge timesaver!). She will tell you which store the item is on sale, and then provide a link to the coupon or tell you which Sunday circular the coupon was in. In many cases, she links you to coupons found through the manufacturers’ websites, Facebook pages, or another coupon website. One of my favorite deals I found through her website was $6/off a 51oz. bottle of Olivari olive oil. At Walmart the final price was about $4.25 (by the way, there was only one left on the shelf). If you buy olive oil, you know what an awesome deal this is.

Where Do You Coupon?
When I first started, I planned on couponing at Rite-Aid, Walgreens, CVS, and Target. And then going to Food Lion (which has amazing weekly sales) and Walmart (where you can also find great deals with coupons) for my grocery items. That’s six stores a week. I quickly learned that was not going to work for me. I cut-out CVS because it was a little further from my home than the other two drug stores. (And it’s hard to see all those great deals posted on the KrazyCouponLady.com for CVS and pass them up!) After a few trips to Target, I realized that I need to cut that too–or at least just keep it to once a month or only when there was a spectacular deal on diapers or cat food (more on that later). At Target, I was to tempted to buy all kinds of things for my 2-year-old (clearance clothes! toys! games! balls! coloring books for $1!). So here is my plan for now:

• Monday morning: Rite-Aid and Walgreens (with the toddler, he gets rewarded with playground time when we’re done). Also, need to go early in the week as the deals at these stores quickly sell-out.
• Tuesday morning while toddler is in preschool: Food Lion OR Walmart grocery shopping (note to self: I cannot do both!).
• Thursday morning while toddler is in preschool: Food Lion (if I went to Walmart on Tuesday and they are running extreme sales) or Target for great deals that are worth my time. If neither of these stores have sales of interest to me, I get a morning off!

What is a Spectacular Deal?
You need to figure-out your personal spectacular deal (something you buy a lot of that if on a spectacular sale would be worth extra time to get). For me, it’s diapers and wet cat food (Fancy Feast for diabetic cat and Friskies for renal failure cat). One of my best diaper deals was a Target. The Huggies jumbo packs were on-sale for $8 (27 per pack for size 5). I then had 3, $3/off and 3, $2/off coupons. Target then gave me $5 gift card for every three packages I bought. I did two transactions and got 6 packs of diapers for about $33 ($0.15/diaper) and then received a $10 gift card (making the diapers $0.106/each). What would have been even better was having Target store coupons for the diapers in addition to the sale and manufacturer coupons.

So, there’s my quick summary of my coupon experience. I’ll go into more detail of my methods and savings over the next few weeks.

YuppieMom Says: I’m tired.

FrugalMom Says: Me too! Oh, and by the way Yuppiemom, we had a housecleaner today because of all the money I saved!

My Extreme-ish Coupon Plan: Part 4

Today, I went grocery shopping at Food Lion. I planned this trip the night before by looking at their weekly ad online, and combining in-store sales with manufacture’s coupon. I got a great deal on everything, but just listed the pricing on my best deals. Here is what I got for about $79 (everything was on-sale, except the pasta sauce, bananas, and avocado):

1. Planter’s Heart Healthy Nut-rition Nuts ($3.49)*
2. Ritz Crackerfuls*
3. 2 Boxes of Mueller’s Elbow Macaroni (bogo)
4. Food Lion Garden Pasta Sauce
5. 2 Packages of Nature’s Bounty English Muffins (bogo)
6. 4 Cans of Green Giant Cut Greenbeans
7. 6 Cans of Green Giant Low Sodium Corn
8. 2 Jars Vlassic Pickles ($0.74/each)*
9. 6/Pack Bottles Pepsi Max
10. 2 Rice-A-Roni Whole Grain Rice Mixes (bogo)
11. 8.16 lbs. Smithfield Spiral Glazed Ham
12. 4.97 lbs. Frozen Whole Turkey Breast
13. 2 (1.44 lbs./each) Smithfield Garlic and Herb Pork Tenderloins ($3/each)
14. 4 Bananas
15. Avocado
16. 3 Cartons of Strawberries
17. 5 lbs. Red Potatotes
18. 2 Boxes of Ms. Pauls Low-Calorie Crunch Fish Fillets (bygo)
19. Homestyle Eggos
20. Frescetta Frozen Pizza*
21. 3 Boxes of Green Giant Frozen Vegetables*
22. 6-Roll Bounty Basics Paper Towels ($3.99)*
23. 2 Tubes of Arm & Hammer Toothpaste ($0.74/each)*

*One-sale plus used coupon(s).

bygo = buy one get one free.

My receipt said, $68.22 savings from using the MVP card, and $75.32 total savings with coupons. Total: $79.06.

My new grocery shopping experiment will be to shop the sales at Food Lion every week, making our meal plan around what’s on sale that we like. Then, I’ll go to Walmart once or twice a month to stock-up on essentials that we use a lot, such as toddler food, apple juice, paper goods, cleaning products, and toiletries that are better priced at Walmart (unless it is on a great sale at Food Lion).

Of course, it would have been wonderful to have a coupon for almost all items that I bought, but I’ll get there!

FrugalMom Says: Wow, you got a lot of meat for just spending $79!
YuppieMom Says: I miss just buying what I want.

My Extreme-ish Coupon Plan: Part 3

This post is a continuation of “My Extreme-ish Coupon Plan: Part 2.”

Today, I went to Walgreens to combine their weekly ad sales, Register Rewards, and manufacturer coupons. I was a bit disappointed.

First, I had a really hard time finding all of the items on my list. Part of it was that I was unfamiliar with the store and where things were. The other reason was that the items that were marked for sale in the weekly ad, were not marked for sale on the display.

Here’s what I was shopping for at the Walgreens in Ghent:
Two packs of Scott paper towels

• I found the paper towels right away in the paper aisle. However, it was obvious that this package of Scott Natural paper towels was specifically made for drug stores. They were the skimpiest rolls of paper towels I’ve ever seen, the the packaging was stamped “Only $5!” I bought one instead of two so I could compare the square footage price with the Scott towels I normally buy at Walmart (see this post).
• Price: On-sale for $5, used $1.50/off manufacture’s coupon, for a total of $3.50.

Note: The 6-pack Scott Natural paper towels at Walgreens has a total of 247.4 square feet. The price per square foot with my $1.50/off coupon was $0.1415. So, it was cheaper per square foot than Scott paper towel 6-pack I buy at Walmart at regular price of $5.97. But, if I use a $1/off coupon on the Scott towels at Walmart, the Walgreens Scott towels I just bought with the coupon wind-up being similar in price. So, it wasn’t worth the extra trip.

Goody Ouchless Hair Accesorry

• These were marked in the weekly ad as on-sale for $3, then receive a Register Reward for $3 to use toward your next purchase. I found the hair accessory aisle, but could not find any Goody hair products that were marked on-sale. I finally had a clerk help me. She rang-up four different Goody Ouchless products, with one coming-up as on sale, so I took that one.
• Price: On-sale for $3 (originally $4.99), plus $3 Register Reward.

Reach Total Care Floss

• I could not find this in the floss section and finally gave up. I think it sold out or they did not have it.

Crayola Color Wonder Kits

• These were on-sale for $1.50 and I had one coupon for $1/off and $1.50/off. I was going to save these as Christmas presents for my toddler. I could not find them in any of the toy, stationary, or school supply aisles. I finally asked a clerk for help and she told me they no longer carried the item.

Hall Cough Drops 

• I found these on an end-cap in the medicine section. They were not marked on-sale, but they did ring-up on-sale.
• Price: On-sale for $1.39 (regular price, $2.99), plus $0.75 manufactuer’s coupon, for a total of $0.64.

Mini Diet Coke Cans

• Price: Regular price of $3.99 and I used a $2/off Walgreen’s coupon for a total of $1.99.

Total Spent: $9.63 with tax.

Without sales and coupons, total would have been $16.97 (plus tax).

Savings of about 45% (plus $3 Register Reward to use at my next trip).

I decided to try another Walgreens on Tidewater Drive, to see if there items were more clearly labeled and if it would be a better store to shop.

Here’s what I was shopping for at the Walgreens on Tidewater Drive

Crayola Color Wonder Kits

• I went to the school supply aisle where the Crayola products were and could not find the kits, so I was done looking for them.

Reach Total Care Floss

• I found this right-away in the dental section. It was not marked for sale, but the sale and Register Reward did ring-up.
• Price: On-sale for $2.99 (regular $4.99), plus $1/off manufacturer’s coupon, plus $2 Register Reward.

Total Spent: $2.14 with tax.
Without sales and coupons would have been $4.99 plus tax.

Savings of about 60% (plus $2 Register Reward to use at my next trip).

Summary

Again, none of the sale items that I was looking for were marked on the displays as actually being on-sale. However, this Walgreens was larger and a bit easier to navigate. Since I now have $5 in Register Rewards, I will try Walgreens again next week to see if I have an easier time (the toddler will also be in preschool so it should be a quicker trip). If I still find it frustrating, I am going to give-up Walgreens. I am also not sure if it is worth the planning and time to buy such few items (although I did wind-up getting a very good bargain on things I do use). A Rite Aid store is located right near my home, so I am thinking of shopping there instead.

FrugalMom Says: Can’t wait to use the Register Rewards next week!

YuppieMom Says: You went to a second Walgreens to buy one package of floss?

My Extreme-ish Coupon Plan: Part 2

This is a continuation of my post, “My Extreme-ish Coupon Plan: Part 1.”

This morning, I was able to visit Target and Toys ‘R Us to try-out my new method of shopping. Here are the results:

Target:

Two, 2T Shirts on-clearance for $3.50/each

Chutes & Ladders and Candy Land Games

1. On-sale for $6.49/each, plus “buy one get one” 50% off.
2. Two, $2/off one Hasbro game coupons.
3. Total for two games: $5.74.

Three Bags of Pepperidge Farm Cookies (we love these cookies and I bought them for our vacation to Williamsburg in May)

1. On-sale for $2/each.
2. One, $1/off two coupon.
3. One, $0.55 coupon from instant coupon on one bag.
4. Total for three bags of cookies: $4.45 (these cookies are usually $2.99 to $3.49/each).

Neutrogena Naturals Face Wash (plus free lip balm)

1. On-sale for $6.99.
2. One, $1/off coupon.
3. Bonus: free Neutrogena Naturals lip balm with purchase, valued at $2.99.
4. Total: $5.99.

Six Cans of Friskies Indoor Select Cat Food (one of my cats needs a low-phosphorous food, and this brand fits the criteria)

1. Six cans at $0.69/each.
2. Target coupon for $0.50/off six cans.
3. Manufacturer coupon for $1/off six cans.
4. Total for six cans: $2.64.

• Total: $22.35 (with tax); includes a $5 gift credit from previous Target purchase of Fancy Feast Cat Food (see this post)
• Total without in-store sales, coupons, and gift credit: $48.31 (plus tax) (does not include savings on clearance shirts)
• Savings of almost 55%

Toys ‘R Us

Toys ‘R Us is running a sale this week: all V-Tech infant and toddler toys are “buy one get one free.” I also had four coupons for $5/off any V-Tech toy $19.99 or more. My goal was to keep each toy as close to the $19.99 as possible, for the maximum amount of savings.

I was able to find four toys at $19.99/each that I liked. One is for my son’s birthday, one is for my nephew’s birthday, and two are for my son for Christmas (I bought two toys that are a little advanced for his stage that he can enjoy later). I was really hoping they would let me use all four coupons: one coupon per item. But, they didn’t. I could use one coupon per transaction. So I split the purchase into two transactions:

1. Two V-Tech Toys: $19.99/each
2. Buy one get on free.
3. $5/off any V-Tech Toy $19.99 or more
4. Total for two toys: $15.99 (with tax)
5. Repeat
6. Two V-Tech Toys: $19.99/each
7. Buy one get on free.
8. $5/off any V-Tech Toy $19.99 or more
9. Total for two toys: $15.99 (with tax)

• Total for four V-Tech Toys: $31.98 ($7.99/each).
• Total without in-store sales and coupons: $83.96
• Savings of almost 63% 

This is getting addictive……

FrugalMom Says: Nice job, but let’s see you save this much on groceries.

YuppieMom Says: You saved so much you should have bought more!

My Extreme-ish Coupon Plan: Part One

Like many of you, I’ve been watching Extreme Couponing on TLC and thinking, “I could do that.” Or at least, “I want to do that, but not spend 20 hours a week on couponing.”

I do already use coupons. I clip coupons from the Sunday paper and one website. My coupon process was always to clip coupons for only the things I buy, and if the generic brand is cheaper than the name brand with the coupon, I usually buy the generic.

A few days ago, I needed some eggs and decided to go to Food Lion. But, I decided to shop their sales also and combine them with my coupons like they do on the show. I checked-out Food Lion’s online circular, combined sale items with coupons I had, and went to the store. (I focused on items I would actually use and not just because they were a good price.) I bought eggs at full price, a few sale items with no coupons, and a few sale items with manufacturer coupons. My total without in-store sales and coupons was $36 and with in-store sales and coupons was $21. A savings of about 35%. Pretty good for my first try with about 15 minutes worth of planning. In the past with coupons, I was saving $10-$15 per grocery trip (but that with with a bill of $150++). I now want to save 50% or more.

And, that’s the point of extreme couponing. To combine store sales with store coupons and manufactuer coupons. I don’t know why I have not done it all along. So, I decided to do some research.

Finding a Book on Couponing
First, I looked for a book on Amazon.com and found “Pick Another Checkout Lane, Honey: Save Big Money & Make the Grocery Aisle your Catwalk” to have good reviews. After reading the reviews, however, I realized that I already knew the basics of couponing and the author’s website,  http://thekrazycouponlady.com, gave me all the extra information and resources I needed.

Using a Couponing Website for Resources
On her website, I first read through “10 Days to Becoming a Krazy Coupon Lady” in about 30 minutes or less. This list gave great tips on rethinking grocery shopping, creating a coupon inventory and organizing it, why to build a stockpile of goods using coupons, and coupon lingo (among other tips).

Building a Coupon Binder
Next, I researched to buy a coupon binder, but they retailed for about $20 – $35, and I figured I could just make my own. I already have a binder, ordered a pack of 9-Pocket Page Protectors through Amazon, and downloaded and printed The Krazy Coupon Lady’s binder dividers for free (I liked her categories).

Printing and Clipping the Coupons
The Krazy Coupon Lady has a page with links to the top three websites for printing coupons: coupon.com; redplum.com, and smartsouce.com. I printed from these three websites any coupon I thought I might use if there was the right sale. I also clipped the coupons from my Sunday paper of all the items I thought I might use. Note: I will be inquiring on how to get two more additional Sunday papers so I have three sets of coupons.

Organizing Coupons
My pocket page protectors are not arriving until Tuesday, so I will be organzing my coupons then. In the meantime, I am doing a trial run tomorrow on three stores using coupons and in-store sales on things I need, would buy with the right coupon, and items/gifts for my toddler. The stores are Target, Walgreens, and Toys ‘R Us.

Matching-Up Coupons to Sales
At Target, I am matching coupons and in-store sales to buy: two preschool games; two packages of Pepperidge Farm cookies; two Venus razor refills; Neutrogena Naturals face wash; and Friskies cat food. At Walgreens, I am matching coupons and in-store sales to buy: two packs of Scott paper towels; Goody hair accessory; Reach floss; two Crayola products; Halls drops; and mini Diet Coke cans. At Toys ‘R Us, I will be combining coupons with in-store sales to buy four V-Tech toys. I will report tomorrow on my purchases, savings, and if the products I wanted to buy were still available.

FrugalMom Says: You go girl!
YuppieMom Says: This is a lot of work.

NY&Co. Coupon Game

While I was in NY visiting my parents last week, the toddler and I had a free day alone. I decided to go to the mall, and visit my favorite clothing store, NY&Co. I purchase about 90% of my clothes at this store. It has the styles I like, the clothes fit me well, and, best of all, they run sales that you can combine with coupons that save you up to 40% off or more. I had one of these coupons.

The store was a bit crowded–it was a Sunday after all and I usually shop on weekdays. I found four tops, but wasn’t sure if I hit my goal of spending $90 (my coupon was for $40 off $90). If I did, this would make the tops $12.50/each, plus tax.

By this time, my toddler was done. I mean, done. He did not nap before we left, and I thought he’d nap in the stroller. He usually does, but not this day. He was grabbing clothes hanging from the racks, groaning, crying, and pounding his legs on the stroller. He did not want a drink, nor a snack, his paci, or his favorite toy car. You get it.

I told him we were almost done, and went to ring-up. My total came to $89.80. No joke. I was only $0.20 under the coupon. I had to go find something else to buy.

Now, the problem is, you do not want to go too far over the coupon’s minimum purchase, as it does not save you the best percentage. For example, $40 off a $90 purchase is about 45% off. If you spend more than that, the percentage of savings goes down. It’s best just to spend the minimum requirement on the coupon and come back another day with another coupon to buy more. Or use two coupons (do two transactions to do this).

I do allow a little wiggle room. The objective of my NY&Co. shopping trips is to stay around $5 over the coupon minimum purchase. On that day, there was no way I was going to find something for around $5.20. They were putting-out the new summer items, and the store was practically empty.

A lady was standing near me with the same problem. She was $2 under her coupon and told me she had been in the store over two hours trying to make her total $90. She was getting very annoyed. She then brought a clearance item to add to her purchase. The cashier had to let her know that clearance items were not included in the coupon. The lady was so frustrated, she walked-out.

NY&Co. mistake #1: Not including clearance items in their coupon.
NY&Co. mistake #2: Not allowing the customer who walked-out to use the clearance item toward her coupon instead of losing the sale.

I told the cashier that my toddler was done, and I was going to have to leave. She looked very surprised and disapointed. She recommended I look at the jewelry and sunglasses. First, I know that the jewelry in NY&Co. is a big rip-off. It is over-priced and always “on sale” for “buy one get one (bogo) 50% off.” The jewelry in NY&Co. is only worth buying when it’s on clearance. But, I do always need sunglasses. I told the cashier they were $16/pair and she offered “bogo 50% off.” Two pairs of sunglasses would have been $24 (umm, not even close to $5.20!). I told her no thanks and left.

NY&Co. mistake #3: Marking-up jewelry and then having it “on-sale” for bogo 50% off.
NY&Co. mistake #4: Having sunglasses the same price as your tops.
NY&Co. mistake #5: Thinking that people believe bogo 50% off is a good deal.
NY&Co. mistake #6: Letting another customer walk-out instead of ringing-up $0.20 to make her coupon work.

I wonder if they had a meeting that day after two customers (in a row) walked-out on their purchases.

I will still shop at NY&Co. Hey, I just go another coupon: $40 off $100. But as a loyal customer, I am highly considering emailing corporate to let them know how my shopping trip went that Sunday in NY.

Lessons Learned:

1. Do not go clothes shopping with a grumpy toddler. Haha.
2. It’s ok to walk-out and not buy anything. Even if the tops were cute, looked good, and were 45% off.
3. Next time, speak to a manager to make my purchase work the way I want it.

Frugal Mom Says: Stick to 40% off or more on NY&Co. clothing purchases and do not be swayed!

YuppieMom Says: You should have just bought some sunglasses.

My Top-Ten Beauty Products

These top-ten products are my favorites because of the combination of effectiveness and price.

1. Suave Color Protection Shampoo and Conditioner
Bottle says,”Salon Proven to Protect as well as Biolage.” Under $2 each for 14.5oz. at Walmart. Love the price.

2. Maybelline Full ‘N Soft Mascara
I’ve tried other mascaras over the years, and I keep going back to “Full ‘N Soft.” Does what it says at a drug-store price. About $5.50 for .28oz.

3. Mary Kay Full Coverage Foundation
Goes on soft and smooth without a pancake look. I don’t think Mary Kay is making this foundation any longer, but you can find it online for prices between $7 and $17 for 1oz.

4. Mary Kay Satin Hands Set
This three-set system really works (and I am not easily impressed by “beauty” products). This winter, my hands were dryer than normal and I remembered I had Satin Hands. My old cracked hands looked young again. For $34 you get a Hand Softener, Hand Scrub, and Hand Cream. In my opinion, you could just buy the softener and scrub and use your own (cheaper) hand cream, but I’m not sure if they sell the system seperately.

5. Any Store-Brand Version of Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser
I was introduced to this skin cleanser in grad school by a friend for my acne-prone skin. This skin cleanser is really gentle and great for all skin types. It can even be used as a gentle body wash for babies. Cetaphil ranges from $10 – $12, but the store brands (almost all grocery and drug stores carry their own versions) range from $3 – $6 for 16oz.

6. Aussie Hair Insurance Leave-In Conditioner
I like to use a leave-in conditioner to detangle my long, straight hair before blow-drying. This one smells so good (like coconut or something) and works great for the price: about $3 for 8oz.

7. Equate (Walmart brand) Sensitive Skin Body Wash
Compared to Dove Sensitive Skin Body wash at about half the price: $3.23 for 24 oz.

8. Petroleum Jelly
When I have super chapped lips, petroleum jelly works better than any lip balm. Also known as Vaseline. Just buy the store brand since the ingredients are identical.

9. Skintimate or Satin Care Shave Gel
I get razor burn easily on my legs. I tried using cheaper brands of shave gel or even body wash–but it doesn’t work for me. These two shave gels are thick, smell great, and usually have coupons available in the Sunday newspaper. Under $2 each for 7oz. at Walmart.

10. Gillette Venus Original 3-Blade Razor and 4-Pack Refills
I actually think the refills for this razor are expensive, but this razor works best for my razor-burn prone legs. However, there are two good things: first, I find that dull blades actually work best for me, so I use one blade for a long time (I think I only buy one, 4-pack refill a year); and second, there is the rare coupon in the Sunday paper. Price is about $10 – $14 for 4-pack refill.

YuppieMom Says: You’re a cheapo. Except, for the Satin Hands set; that sounds luxurious.
FrualMom Says: Good for you. Except for the Satin Hands set; you could probably make your own.