We’re looking for ways to lower our spending in these uncertain times. You know I’m already a coupon-clipper and Goodwill-shopper, so I want to try to lower or regular, monthly expenses so we don’t have to forgo as many of our occasional treats, like a Sunday lunch out for the family or a nice latte when I come to work grumpy. We already tackled cable. We switched from the digital starter package, which is what I consider to be the typical package most people have, to the basic cable plus family tier. We are still mourning the loss of...
managing money
to do: get a wii on the cheap
which means having to deal with this kind of exchange: From: meTo: Craigslist sellerSent: Fri 7:40 PMI would love your system. I’ll pay cash. Would I be able to pick it up on my way to work tomorrow, about 3-3:15? From: Craigslist seller aka Teenage boySent: Fri 10:05 PMal right From: meSent: Fri 10:14 PMSweet. Where would be a good place to meet? Someplace in/near Southtown would be good for me but I’ll meet wherever is convenient for you. From: Teenage boySent: Fri 11:26 PMeast bloominton From: meSent: Fri 11:49 PMfurther east than Southtown? How about the TGI Fridays...
and the winner is …
Marketing Mama with a guess of $24. The rest of you gave me WAY too much credit, or you haven’t bought a box of cereal in a decade! The actual price was $22.35 and the breakdown is: 6 General Mills cereals: $20 – $10 ECB – coupons for $1 and $.75 = $8.25Playtex: $7 – $2 Q = $5 (should have passed on this “deal”; generics at Target are cheaper)2 Kotex: $9 – $2 and $1.75 coupons = $4.252 Listerines: 2 for $9 – $4.50 RR – two $1 coupons = $2.502 Progressos: $2 – .50 Q = $1.50Ajax:...
This can be yours … if the price is right
I decided to do a blog giveaway. Let’s see how many comments we can get on this thread. These are my Walgreens/CVS deals for the week. It was all a good deal but not a ridiculously good deal (not $2 like Mark guessed). Whoever guesses the closest to what I paid for these items gets to have one item of your choice. Round your guess to the nearest dollar. In case you can’t tell, there are six boxes of GM cereal, two mouthwashes, one tube of toothpaste, a small bottle of Ajax dishsoap, two Progresso soups, one Sure deodorant,...
Didn’t get my weekly deal fix
I didn’t make it to Walgreens/CVS this week. I have been cutting coupons and planning my trips on Sunday nights but I don’t yet have a routine for actually following through on those trip plans. I was going to get two tubes of toothpaste, a small box of tampons, five bars of soap and a bottle of coffeemate for 45 cents. Well, plus the tax on the pre-rebate prices so maybe more like $1.30. But still a good deal. But I didn’t make it, and I can’t go on my way home from work because I left my coupon...
Oh, the bargains! Be still my heart.
This post was written a week ago but I finally can get the photos of the camera: Friday I did my grocery shopping — alone! — at Target and used lots of good coupons. I hit a CVS on Friday and then Walgreens on Saturday/Sunday (at midnight so I got last week’s deals, waited for the time change, then bought this week’s deals). I got four 12-packs of Pepsi and the stuff below for 54.70. It’s all worth about $150 though I’m not going to detail the breakdown this time. The only thing we probably won’t use is the...
Falling into the rebate trap
I just discovered the $18 worth of rebates slips I had for CVS expired on Sept. 4. I can’t find the receipt I need to claim $13 in Walgreen’s rebates. I have until Oct. 4 to turn that in. I can’t find the mail-in slips for $10 worth of rebates from Pert. This is why stores/products offer rebates instead of coupons. To make money off of stupid, disorganized people like me.
To do: Save money AND give to charity
Here’s a report of my first try at the Drug Store Game, which I learned about from my friend Lucrecia. I bought: One tube of Crest for $2.49, minus a $1 coupons, with a $1.50 rebate = -.01 Two small bottles of Dawn for $1.76, minus two 50 cents coupons = 0.76 Two small tube of Colgate for $5.98, minus a $1.50 coupon and a $1 coupon, with a $4 rebate = 0.48 One bottle of Kids Advil for $5.79, minus a $1 coupon, with a $5.79 rebate = -1.00 One Oral B toothbrush for $2.49, minus a $1...
To do: give haircuts
The whole family was in need of haircut except for me. Mark’s favorite hair stylist recently quit the business and he decided not to get a new one because he getting to the point where even a professional can’t disguise his lack of hair. So we decided to go back to me cutting his hair. I did it regularly for many years but when I cut it on Monday I was a little out of practice and was using a new razor. You see where this is going, right? After two spots got inadvertently short, I had no choice...
