Are There Any Other Baby-Boomer/Couponers Out There?

This image is from "The Coupon Project."  Please do not think I look like this.

Most successful couponing bloggers are young, stay-at-home moms, very attentive to their looks.  I get that.  However, as a woman looking straight at her 60th birthday, I have nobody to whom I can relate. Most of my close friends have done well with their finances and long left their minding of nickels and dimes behind them.

I just googled baby boomer coupon bloggers and came up with very little.

TO ME -- The greatest thrill is combining great deals, coupons --with a senior discount on top, like I am going to get at Walgreens tomorrow.  They have periodic senior discount days.  Watch for the notice on their Sunday insert.

Couponing Tips:
Find reliable couponing sites.  I like Southern Savers, Common Sense with Money and for local--Coupon Katie.

Cut and paste their directions into a list.
Along with your coupons, TAKE THAT LIST WITH YOU TO THE STORE.  I frequently cannot remember the steps of getting "the deal," and mess it up when I get to the store. E-coupons have added another layer of management.

So the following is a cut-and-paste of my shopping this week. They are both deals and things that I really need, like bottled water (for which Walgreens had the best deal this week):

CVS

Reach Floss 55 yd $0.92 (PC thru 8/24)
Use $1/1 Reach Floss Product
Use $1/2 Reach Floss 07/28/2013 SS Insert (exp 08/25/2013)
Use $1/2 Reach Floss Products
As low as FREE after coupons

Walgreens

Colgate Total Advanced, Zx, or Sensitive Whitening Toothpaste, or 360 Toothbrush $3.49, Get $2.50 RR when you buy one
Use $1/1 Colgate Total, Optic White, Max Fresh, or Sensitive Toothpaste, 4 oz+ 07/28/2013 SS Insert (exp 08/10/2013)
Use $1/1 Colgate 360 Manual Toothbrush, excluding Plus, Triple Action, Extra Clean or Classic 07/28/2013 SS Insert (exp 08/16/2013)
FREE after coupon and RR

1,000 BR WYB Aleve Pain Reliever, 50 ct., $5.99 -$2 off Aleve product, 80 ct. +, excl Aleve-D printable

Water

cheerios

Fiber One, Nature Valley Bars

Krogers

Hunt’s Ketchup, 24 oz, $1

Composition Book, 50¢ (good through 9/07)

The rest of these are Mix-Match (or what the bloggers call Mega Deals. I will have to do multiples of five to get the $5 off, which is reflected in the prices below.) -$1.50 off Tyson IF bonless skinless chicken breasts, 3 lb bag, (zip 27511) printable (use $1.50 off, makes it $5.49)

Hillshire Farm Lunchmeat, 16 oz, $3.99 -.55/1 Hillshire Farm lunchmeat, 8 oz+ printable

Cheez-It Crackers, 10.5-13.7 oz, $1.99 -$1.50 off Keebler crackers or Cheez-its, 8 oz +, 1,000 points printable

Chock Full O’ Nuts Coffee, 11.3 oz, $2.99 -$1 off Chock full o’Nuts package, SS 7/14 (makes it $1.99)

Triscuit or Wheat Thin Crackers, 12-14.5 oz, $2.99 -.50/1 Triscuit crackers, 8.5 oz+ printable (use .50/1 off, makes it $2.49)(if doubles – use .50/1 off, makes it $1.99)

Soft Scrub Cleaner, 24 oz, $1.99

-$1 off Soft Scrub product, RP 8/04

Neutrogena or Clean & Clear Skin Cleaning Products, $1 off -$1 off Neutrogena Men item printable

Kroger’s

Crest Toothpaste, 4.6 oz, $1
Use the $1/1 from the 4/28 PG
or the $0.50/1 printable
Final Price = FREE!

Oral-B Toothbrush, 1 ct., $1
Use the $1/1 Oral-B Pulsar, 3D White, Pro-Health, or Complete manual toothbrush, Kroger eCoupon
Final Price = FREE!

 

A Little Savings Here, A Little Savings There . . .

The stuff that makes couponers heart beat fast:

Monday I went to CVS.  The first thing that a veteran couponer does is go to the kiosk, scan her/his card and voila -- a coupon OR coupons!  I had a quarterly reward coupon to come out worth $2, but I also got a $4 for $20 worth of facial products.  Whoo-hoo.   I could apply a $3 coupon from the Procter Gamble circular from Sunday, and if I buy $30 more of products, I can submit for a $10 rebate on the Olay.  I have another $3 coupon from another Procter & Gamble circular (I love my non-couponing neighbors who give me their coupons!)  soooo, basically that means:
Purchase of facial products                                              $30
Kiosk Coupon                                                                   -4
Procter & Gamble Newspaper insert                                  -3
Procter & Gamble Newspaper insert                                  -3
Rebate                                                                            -10
Net pay on $30 worth of "facial product"                         $10
and to consider that this $30 is part of a $50 that I need to spend in order to get $5 credit from purchasing  $50 worth of beauty products                                        -   3
                                                                                     $   7


Yeah, it wouldn't make "Extreme Couponers," but I am thinking it's pretty dang good to get $30 worth of facial product for $7--a 77 percent savings OF STUFF THAT I WILL USE!!!

Onward to the finding the $5,291
(Please note that I only list this when I apply the coupon or cash the rebate, so some of the detailing above is not reflected below)

Last balance                                                                   5,231.00
CVS coupons and buy one/get one free 7/2                       -28.92
Walgreens savings & coupons  7/3                                     - 3.25
CVS buy one/get one free & coupons 7/3                         -14.24
                                                                                       5,124.59

Kroger -- The Ongoing Experiences

I did it!  I saved $2 a gallon on gasoline at Kroger!  See the photo for proof! Please see my blog of June 6 for details.

Earlier yesterday we went out to the new Kroger at Cedar Bluff.  "I feel like I am in Walmart," said my husband.  Our entrance had taken us to the non-food area.  

This was the last day of the grand opening specials.  It was packed, the kind of crowds you see before a predicted snowstorm.  We got a few of the specials, but I should have known better than to think that the $4.99 a pound beef tenderloin would be something we would take home.  They were frozen (that's ok) and the smallest one cost $70+.  
Interesting point on the gasoline--we thought about using our $2 off a gallon there.  We would have gotten an additional $.10 off as a part of the grand opening.  Price was $2.94 a gallon.  We ended up going later to the Kroger on Broadway near Fulton High School to get the gasoline.  Posted price was $2.84. 


I snagged a Kroger $10 gift card for $5 from Half Off Depot this morning.  However, I think they are all gone.  I can't find it on the site anymore.  A $5 certificate from Kroger means more than $5.  For example, if we use it on Wednesday, it really means $5.25 because of the senior discount.  (hmm, that doesn't sound like much.  bad example.) Update:  it might still be up Kroger $10 for $5

Today is July 1, half-way through the year.  I am going to see how long it takes me to realize $5,291, which was my first job's annual salary.

Start:           $5,291

Gas Savings       60

Balance       $5,231

Here are some good coupons  (the General Mills cereals are always good ones to have around):

55¢ off when you buy any TWO packages of DOLE® Frozen Fruit Single-serve Cups

$1.00 off any 2 Welch's Sparkling Juice Cocktails

$2.00 off two or more frozen Bacardi Mixers

$1.00 off any Banana Boat Sun Care

$0.55 off 1 Sargento Sliced Cheese

$1.00 off 3 General Mills divisional cereals

$0.50 off Newman's Own Salad Dressing

$1.00 off TWO BOXES Cheerios cereals

$1.00 off 2 General Mills adult cereals

COUPONS.COM


Baby & Toddler

New Coupons!
$5.00 off MY LITTLE SNUGABUNNY™ Seat


Foods

New Coupons!
$0.30 off 4 oz. or larger HARIBO product


Household

New Coupons!
$1.00 off Comet stainless steel cleaning item


Toys and Games

New Coupons!
$3.00 off Thomas & Friends™ Talking Engine

$3.00 off BARBIE™ in A Mermaid Tale 2 Merliah

$2.00 off WWE FlexForce Figure

$5.00 off Laugh & Learn™ Fun With Friends™ Table



SMART SOURCE

Food

New Coupons!
Save $1.00 on any SPLENDA® Product

When You Need Cheap, You CAN Find It in America

Last  night I was with some dear friends who just returned from Finland --- yeah, THAT country that everybody talks about when the high quality of living standards is the topic.  We concluded that it would be hard to apply the Finnish approach to America because, gosh darn, we are just too diverse. 


Take for example, Harbor Freight Tools.  America the diverse NEEDS Home Depot, Lowe's AND Harbor Freight.


I had never known of its existence until the words "free scissors" caught my eye when I was going through the Sunday paper.  It was the Harbor Freight flyer.  I later asked my son about the store. He pressure washes and might likely have been there for tools.  "Yeah, I've been there when I need something to use once. Whatever I buy there usually breaks after a few uses." Music to my ears!  Somewhere truly cheap that I had never been. "Take me there!" "Mother, there is NOTHING there you would want.'

"I want my free scissors with just one store purchase (no dollar limit noted)."

"But you do not need any scissors.  You have plenty."

He did not realize that he had just lost.  No couponer worth her salt buys on the basis of current need but anticipated.  I knew that sometime in the future we would lose enough pairs of scissors to allow for an extra.   

I won.  We drove there.  It was in a modest neighborhood with minimal signage next to a Food City.  I would have missed it if I were looking for it by myself.

Yep--cheap.  BUT SOMETIMES ALL YOU NEED IS CHEAP!!  I am so disappointed that my picture of the garden gnomes didn't turn out, because they were cheap AND cute, and great for practical jokes. (I looked for flamingos, but I didn't find any.)
  
 Below is a simple canopy.  I was intrigued with the Mustang 
-- has nothing to do with the canopy.
 I was able to do a price comparison: 
To the right is a 40 piece socket set for $3.99.  The least expensive socket set at Home Depot is $12.97 for just 10 pieces.  hmmm. I'm thinking that this is a perfect example of what my son was talking about -- one (use) and done.


What did I purchase to get my "free" scissors.  Can't tell.  It's a Father's Day gift that I reduced the price with a 20 percent off coupon.  Scissors were listed on my receipt at $4.99.  

Cheap Cokes, Cheap Milk, Cheap Some Other Stuff

 

I work at a nonprofit. During our meetings (and there are many), we provide snacks.  More Diet Coke is consumed than all other beverages offered, combined.  

There are stories that Diet Coke consumption increases one's want for sweets.  Not me!  The world is better because there is Diet Coke.  And tomorrow I will buy some Diet Cokes for myself as well as for my business because of this UNBELIEVABLE  $1.99 a twelve pack at CVS--but just for tomorrow.  You have to get the coupon out of their in-store coupon machine. (Thanks to Coupon Katie to getting her alert out before I saw my own e-mail from CVS).

I saw that on my Facebook and was very happy, and then I went to Weigel's to get some skim milk.  What? $2.99 a gallon?  

Another big winner this week is (which Coupon Katie also noted)

Kroger

All Liquid Detergent -$2.99
$1.00 OFF any ONE (1) all® mighty pacs™ or all® Liquid Laundry Detergent (24 Loads or larger) coupon
Final cost=$1.99

Get it tomorrow and get a great deal on blueberries.   Coupon Katie also noted that there's a $1/1 Mayfield Dairy Ice Cream or Frozen Novelty Item from the 05/06 SmartSource Insert (exp 06/30/2012)
Final cost=$1.35!  But we don't eat ice cream so I didn't clip the coupon. 

How I'll Get $2 Off Per Gallon at Kroger

In May Kroger announced that up to 2,000 points can be redeemed for up to $2.00 in savings - at Kroger fuel centers in one fill-up. 

2,000 points -- that you have to earn in ONE month.  The program ends September 30.  If you tried to earn 2,000 simply by buying groceries, that would be $2,000.00 worth of groceries. When chow.com asked what the average couple spent on groceries, most replies came in between $50 and $100 a week. Even a family with three children is going to get nowhere near $2,000.00 in one month.   

Every qualifying prescription earns customers 50 fuel points. 

Purchase of gift cards earn two times the points, but through June 16 in honor of "grads and dads," gift cards earn FOUR times the points.  While I am going to purchase some Bed, Bath and Beyond as we have more weddings to attend this summer, I am considering buying Lowe's cards.  So if I purchase $500 worth of gift cards, I'll get the $2 off per gallon.  My husband's car holds 20 gallons, so we would save $40.

$40 off $500 worth of gift cards would mean an eight percent savings.

Caution:  You have to use the points in one fill-up.  You have to use last month's points this month or they will expire, so that means I would have to use these points up by the end of July.  

But I do have to have a chuckle reading the press release from May 24, which was headlined:

With Gas Prices Going Up, Kroger Doubles Down to Help Customers Save at the Pump

Thank goodness the prices didn't go up as predicted!!

A Realm of the Thrifty: SAHM

Coupon code: FREEFORDAD

First, check off "get something sweet for their dad" off your list:   

One of my daughter's dearest friends blogged today about choosing to stay home with her firstborn.  Congrats!  Check her story out: 

http://www.hellohappinessblog.com/2012/05/change-for-bettermy-new-career.html?m=1 


I nostalgically remember the easy ways to save money when I was at home. I joined the local church's moms support group, where simplicity for sanity's sake was celebrated. A group of moms developed a moms/children interactive playgroup based on some pre-school curricula, which served as a fun alternative to mothers-day-out. And the all-important co-op minimized my spending money on the tennis league experience (with the appropriate clothing), and the children spent those mornings with moms who were likely much smarter than I--physicians' wives, gals whose husbands were wrapping up their doctorate work at UT . . .


I was fortunate that I had a boy first, then a girl. She didn't look bad in the hand-me-downs of denim overalls and striped T-shirts, but it would have not gone well the other way around.


When I was an at-home mom, grocery stores had yet to adopt electronic payments as department stores and restaurants, so those time-consuming checks had to be written out. Some items, including coupons, were not bar-coded, therefore requiring the naked eye to check on prices and expiration dates. Stores rarely doubled coupons; and when they did, the manual review made the lines as long as the modern Black Friday's.


And yet, my journal shows that I saved more than $1,100 in 1987.


I recently read about some SAHMs who elevated their couponing experience. "Fabulessly Frugal’s annual revenues currently hover in the low six-figures. Yoder and Knight each take home a five-figure salary and employ 13 other women part time."


Learn more:  http://fabulesslyfrugal.com/2012/05/learn-how-the-blog-stared-in-the-ny-times-magazine.html

An "Eating the Elephant" Activity

You have heard the old saying, "How do you eat an elephant?" with the response being "One bite at a time." This anticipated shopping drop-by, which I'll incorporate in a periodic trip to the west of our city, is not a super-crazed couponing extreme experience but simply a bite of the elephant.

One thing I'll be doing this weekend is going Earth Fare in Bearden. They have a free first pound of apples with a $5 purchase. They e-mail you a notice after you sign up. http://www.earthfare.com/ But I wouldn't be doing it if I hadn't gotten a $5 off $20 coupon from Ace Hardware next door.

Ace also has a rewards program. For 2,500 points, we will get another $5 reward. I think it is going to be a while, because the coupon attachment noted our point total at 104. Check out http://www.acehardware.com/home/index.jsp

On Drugs? Save Money!

There is a lot of re-posting in the blog world. At least 1/3 of the information I find on coupon blogs I have already seen, such as the best deals at Kroger's, Walgreens or CVS. Most times they are cut-and-pasted word-for-word. Frequently the original information was for a market outside our area and the bargains are simply not available here. However, the ones that I follow are careful about reposting reliable information.

So I am very surprised that I have noted something that I have not seen on anyone's blogs:
saving big money on drugs at Kroger's!!!

Yes, I was thrilled when I opened the Kroger flyer this week. The feature took my breath away: Transfer a prescription and get $25 in free groceries!! "Transfers are easy . . . ask your Pharmacist for details." (This plan is not available for government funded prescriptions or transfers from other Kroger's).

Kroger runs this offer from time to time, so I had anticipated it. However, it had been a long time since I had seen this offer.

I was ready.

Medical experts highly recommend that a consumer get all his medications (over-the-counter and prescriptions) from the same pharmacy, to minimize negative drug interaction. What I do is totally counter to this advice.

I get my medications from all over the place. Between my husband and me, we have five prescriptions to take advantage of discount plans and fuel programs; but also importantly to anticipate a credit for transfer.

IF YOU HAVE PRESCRIPTIONS, here are the offers:
(official from the websites)

Kroger: "We're making it easier for you to save on two necessities: health care and fuel. For the first time ever, our pharmacy customers can now earn fuel discounts on eligible prescriptions. Save more when you choose from our wide selection of generic drugs. Not valid in Arkansas.

Please select the Kroger pharmacy nearest you for details."

Food City: Get 50 bonus points with qualifying prescriptions. (150 points earns you 15¢ off per gallon on a single fill-up (Up to a maximum of 20 gallons per fill-up).)

CVS: Earn 2% back with every purchase in-store and online at CVS/pharmacy.

Walgreens: For someone like me with prescriptions covered under my health insurance, I seen no advantage in getting my prescriptions there. If I am wrong, I would like to be corrected.

Target: cannot see any advantage. In the past, they have had $10 in-store credit for new and transferred prescriptions, but I haven't seen one of these offers in a long time.

Walmart: too far away from where I live, so I didn't check it out.

Just about every pharmacy offers $4 for a limited number of generics.

I know that a lot of people state that they get all their meds from one grocery store to stock up on fuel points. I maintain points at Food City and Kroger's--I never know which one I'll be near when I need gasoline.

But back to the $25 at Kroger's. I have a prescription that I originally filled at Food City (for which I got the 50 bonus points). I will transfer it to Kroger's. My cost (remember, I have insurance) is $8, so my net gain is $17!!!!! (By the way, I have a flex fund account through my employer, so I'll be paying that $8 with full-value, pre-tax dollars.) Additionally, I'll get the credit for the fuel program.

Yipee!

Couponing the Time-Saving Way!

On Sundays I look forward to getting the coupons in Sunday’s newspaper, but I dread the extensive clipping and filing. On a good day it would take an hour, more if I had been given more coupons from my neighbors. With the subsequent pulling of the expired coupons, it frequently felt like a fruitless exercise.

So I am trying something different.

I continue to read multiple coupon blogs (see my previous blogs for their addresses), peruse the Sunday newspaper inserts and determine what we need. But instead of clipping ALL the coupons and filing them in the big book, I am now filing the coupon packets by date, which can be found in VERY small writing on the fold of the coupon packet. I write the date on the front. Instead of locating them filed in my big book, I look them up using the coupon data base at couponkatie.com.

I tried it at Kroger last night. They are having a "Mega Event-- Save $5 WYB (when you buy)10 participating items."

Step 1. Review the items available through the Mega Event by looking through the Kroger flyer and checking the list at southernsavers.com

Step 2. Come up with 10 things that I want and for which I have coupons. (You can have multiples of 10.)

(While I am not going to file the Sunday coupons anymore, I still will file many coupons. These include the ones that Kroger mails me. Also, coupon bloggers post alerts on popular internet coupons. I print the ones I think I will use, because there are only so many printed copies allowed. I also have a section in my big book for Procter & Gamble's periodic flyers.)

Step 3. I look on couponkatie.com's coupon data base for others. I found a Birdseye coupon that I didn't know about. I went to the coupon site for which she had a link and printed the coupon. She also had listed a General Mills cereal coupon from the SS -- Smart Source -- insert of August 28.

Result of my 10 items (these are all products/brands that I would have bought even if I didn't coupon):

6 boxes of General Mills cereal (one e-coupon from Kroger's website for one box, $.50, one Kroger printed coupon that was mailed to me at home, $2 for four, $.50 for one (doubled) from the newspaper

2 boxes of Birdseye frozen vegetables. ($1 off if I bought Mrs. Paul's frozen fish. I'm a cradle Catholic--I crave fish sticks!)

1 Maxwell House Coffee ($1.25 coupon from the packet Kroger sent to my home)

1 Simply Orange juice. ($1 off that I had printed last month because someone posted a notice. I noticed that Southern Savers posted that this coupon was no longer available to be printed from its on-line source. Glad that I printed it when it was available! Timing is everything!)

1. I believe that ALL these items were specially priced. If I had bought any of these items individually this week instead of other weeks, I still saved money.

2. I combined 10 items, so I got $5 off.

3. I had $6.75 worth of coupons on these items.

A triple play! Now that is when I like to play the game of couponing! Sure, with some additional items that I bought without coupons, my Kroger receipt states that I only saved 39 percent. That's not going to get me on Extreme Couponers, but it is still REAL MONEY SAVED!

Additionally, it was much quicker to pull out the August 28 insert for that one coupon that I used instead of clipping, clipping, clipping, filing, filing, filing. I love saving time, too!

The Mechanics of Couponing

Actually having the coupons in my pocket often has not meant that I use them the way I anticipate. I get distracted, I misread the sizes, I stick coupons in my pockets, I miscount items, and sometimes I just flat out panic at the checkout. Try as I can, I attempt to execute The Plan, but it doesn't always happen. However, The Plan gets me closer to my anticipated goal.

Here's The Plan:

I review the list that I have been developing throughout the week, cutting and pasting into a Word document notices from the super coupon bloggers that I follow. I develop my own shopping list of everything else that I need. I create one list. If the individual store lists are long, I create a page for each.

When the list is on Word, the internet coupons are hyperlinked. I print them off. I gather the other coupons I need. They are filed in a big binder, recycled from some training program long ago. I will review my filing system in a future blog.

I rearrange the list as best as I remember according to the stores' layouts. I print them out.

I have a plastic envelope system (photo) that my daughter gave me a long time ago. This was my couponing system until I got intense. Now it serves me well to hold the individual stores' coupons and store credits (such as ExtraCare bucks from CVS).

I take the big binder with me and into the store, because you never know what deals you may run across. Wouldn't it be horrible if you knew that you left THE coupon at home that would make a great deal a super deal? However, I only occasionally pull it out for these incidents.

I put my shopping list in the envelope system. I put the coupons for the respective stores in their envelopes. If I end up not using the coupons, I put them in the very back of the envelope system for re-filing in the big binder. This happens with some frequency because the information that I get off the blogs does not apply to our region or I just decide the deal is not good for me when I actually "confront it" in the store.

I stick the receipt and any credit slips in the respective envelope. The receipts get pulled out at home. The credit slips are there for use on a future shopping trip.

I try to have everything in order. It is amazing how off-task I get. Couponing takes concentration. I am not surprised that the Extreme Couponers are often in the stores for seven hours or more.

Sampling of Couponing

While the media has brought emphasis on EXTREME couponing, with the negative perception of hoarding all that "free" stuff, I believe that many couponers are like me and have much simpler agendas with much more flexible rules.

Rule #1 Try to incorporate a shopping trip with other errands. The cost of transportation plus the cost of TIME have to be factored in.

Rule #2 If I get some things for free that I won't use, that's a plus but not an aim--stuff like free or nearly free toiletries seem to accumulate throughout the year--enough for me to contribute to shut-ins Christmas baskets. Again, I work full time and have other interests. I am not willing to put a considerable amount of time into the process.

Rule #3 If I get a few things free or cheap through combining deals/coupons, I remind myself that I am far better off than if I didn't do it at all. The whole process has made me aware of pricing overall, thus helping with expenses. But I have never, never, scored the $100 worth of good for free. However, today's visit to CVS is typical:

My trip planning started with reading the CVS flyer that is on line and in the Sunday paper. I consult a number coupon blogs who post deals. My number one is CommonSensewithMoney.com. I follow at least six. Others I consult include. SouthernSavers.com and FrugalissaFinds. After a while you will notice that there is a lot of reposting of other blogs. That is perfectly acceptable in the blog world, as long as it is acknowledged.

I start a shopping list: I cut and paste in a Word document bloggers' listings that interest me. As the week progresses, more deals are discovered and the serious shopper bloggers post them. I additionally list things that I have noted are good deals. If I don't have paper coupons, I check the coupon database on couponkatie.com. I may add a few more deals to my shopping list that I have actually found on my own.

Today: Here's what I got
Pantene, price $3.49 ($1.50 off), but I had a free coupon from Pantene for my recent birthday.
Special K, four boxes, at $2.50 each, had two $1/2 coupons.

CVS has certain items that if you spend $30 for, you will get a $10 gas card. Among the eligible items I picked some from the Proctor and Gamble family (P&G's monthy individual coupon insert came out last week), which were Tide, Charmin, Covergirl make-up. I had coupons for all the items.

I bought just 11 items. I used 12 coupons, including Extracare bucks and a $3 coupon from CVS for my birthday. My receipt states that I saved $52.40. I had to pay $20.49, but while I did not get any Extracare bucks for future shops, I did get a $10 off for gasoline.

Additionally, the makeup went to Beauty Club credit (for every $50 spent, I get $5 ExtraBucks), I'll get some ExtraBucks seasonally just for spending money at CVS, and I get a little bit toward ExtraBucks since I used my own bags.