What Can You Get For $10? (or less...)

This week I wanted to focus on a beginner scenario with the benefits of nothing but printable coupons. It's not meant to be a means of enticement, however, it might become one. When I first started using coupons, I found that many sites had gobs of coupons in their repertoire that I just didn't have. I'm out to prove that you don't need to buy 17 Sunday papers or trade coupons over the internet or just plain go out of your way period to get great deals. Though, yes, I will buy about 2 Sunday papers and sometimes pick up extra coupons over the internet at a swap or by other means myself - it's not a sin and it doesn't make you insane. 

Aside from this common assumption that all people who use coupons are cheap or that we create a lot of hassle, keep in mind to be polite and friendly with store associates and if you have separate transactions (which you will in this case), please allow people who come in line behind you to wrap up their sales - it's just a common courtesy. That being said, here are the deals I've peeked at this week and my $10 or less OOP (out of pocket total) with nothing but printable coupons and ECBs - keep in mind that in order to get ECBs you need a CVS card!

Word is that there is another 3-day Sale, so get in on Sunday if you can! If not, I can't guarantee that these first two items will be in stock!

Transaction #1:

Papermate Pens 10pk - $0.99, $0.99 ECB 

Pencil Sharpener/Double Blade - $0.99, $0.99 ECB

     = $1.98 OOP (Total Spent - $1.98)

        ECBs Earned - $1.98

        Retail Value/Advertised Value Total - $1.98

        Amount Saved - $0 (wait for it, wait for it.......)

Transaction #2:

U by Kotex - $4.99, $4.99 ECBs

     -$1/1 U by Kotex Printable  

     -$1.98 ECBs from previous transaction 

     = $2.01 OOP (Total Spent - $3.99)

        ECBs Earned - $4.99

        Retail Value/Advertised Value Total - $6.97

        Amount Saved - $2.98

Transaction #3:

Photo Book with 10 6x8 Pages - $7.99, $7.99 ECBs

      -$4.99 ECB from previous transaction

      = $3.00 OOP (Total Spent - $6.99)

        ECBs Earned - $7.99

        Retail Value/Advertised Value - $14.99

        Amount Saved - $7.97

Transaction #4:

M&Ms/Orville Redenbacher's Popcorn (Select Varieties of each) Spend $10, get a free M&Ms Popcorn Bowl! Make it movie night tonight!

   (2) Orville Redenbacher's 3-4pk Popcorn - 2/$6

   (2) M&Ms 9.9oz - 12.5oz - 2/$5

     -(2) $1.25 off WYB (when you buy) Orvilles/M&Ms Together Printable
     - $7.99 ECB from previous transaction
        = $.51 OOP (Yep, you heard me!)
        ECBs Earned - $0

        Retail Value/Advertised Value - $25.99

        Amount saved - $18.46

Total Spent OOP - $7.50

This scenario is based off the fact that you start out with no ECBs. I have $6 to spend from last week (this week) so I will either be making a return trip tomorrow or save it for the 7/25 ad. If these items don't suit you, e-mail me and let me know what you did on your beginner scenario. Remember! You don't need a giant stash of coupons to start doing this as there are multiple resources on the internet. 

The basic idea I keep in mind when working out my plan is that I always want to try and "trade up" my ECBs in order to get the more expensive items in the ad. Also remember, though, the one golden rule of Couponing (for me, anyway): Moderation. Don't buy it if you don't need it or aren't planning to donate it to a good cause! That's how pack rats are born... and I mean that in the nicest way!

Sunday Paper Coupon Preview

Every week you can find out what coupon inserts are going to be in the Sunday paper through this site: Sunday Coupon Preview. This is how many Couponers get their start on match-ups early. Matching coupons to store sales from places like Walgreen, CVS, or Rite-Aid is what makes or breaks a deal. Items that are normally $10 can end up literally costing next to nothing. Investing just a little bit of time and gathering coupons is a great way to lower your overall costs. 

Many people who are less fortunate (or if you just live paycheck to paycheck like we do most of the time), end up holding off on necessities (like TP) or next to necessary necessities (like laundry soap) just long enough to run out of the last piece, pair, or ounce just as the next paycheck hits the bank. So what is the purpose of mentioning the Sunday Coupon Preview? It's necessary to know what you're getting into so to speak.

If you're not using any other resources, like the ones listed in our left guide bar, then chances are you're going to spend hours pouring over two sites: a retailer site (like CVS, Walgreens, Rite-Aid, etc) and the Sunday Coupon Preview site. If you don't have the blessing of working at home or being a SAHM/SAHD then it's also likely you're not going to get enough sleep either.

Many sites will match up and make all the necessary deals obvious for you. The only thing I am going to do is show you the deals that I get in real life to prove this is something that can be done. You should always check out other resources in order to get the full effect of Couponing, however, not all deals are plausible. Take my trip this week for instance, my check wasn't in yet so I didn't have the cash in the account to spend. Couple that with paying for an unexpected item at CVS from the cash pool I had saved for my trip and I was screwed. I cut back on two items and doubled up on another that provided the same ECB twice in order to alleviate my problem.

You should also keep in mind that many different stores now accept competitor's coupons and should always have a copy of said stores coupon policy to save yourself from embarrassment. Many people feel like Couponing is a way to cheat the system and therefore often will refuse multiple coupons. The reality, however, is that regardless of the type of coupon, those stores are still getting paid - a manufacturer's coupon reimburses the store - so you have nothing to feel guilty about. The only rule is to stay organized! Or you just might lose your focus like I did this week and end up paying cash when you still had ECBs or RRs to cover you.

wiseGEEK Plug

Some of you beginning subscribers know that I can quite easily find work online as a writer. Thanks to my lifelong skills in English, I've been blessed with the ability to know how to write effectively. The ability to write for online is very different from Creative Writing or writing Fiction, despite what you might think. Aside from that, there are several outlets for writing online, which is where I find most of my income sources. Although I will try to not always put up links for money makers from writing.

That being said, let me tell you about my latest gig, working for wiseGEEK. I applied to wiseGEEK for a completely different position than the one I have now. I write  around 3 days a week and make  $15 an hour, which translates into an extra $150 to $200 a week. My job, although I'm not going to tell you what it is because I feel I owe it to wiseGEEK's privacy, is to basically generate traffic flow through writing. I had originally applied to be an article writer, however, and you can too. I believe that in my current position, however, I am able to make more than they do.


Like many online companies who employ people from home, wiseGEEK requests that you fill out a W-9 before your first request for payment. With this job, I can only request payment once I've reached 20,000 words or more, which is about every week or week and a half. A W-9 means (normally) that a company is legit in the intention to pay you. However, it also means that you will be filing taxes with a 1099 that year, so keep in mind that you might want to itemize or (if you are currently unemployed otherwise) see if you will qualify for EIC when filing.

Aside from that, this job is still very new to me, but takes minimal effort. I can choose to work as much or as little as I want as long as I make my personal goal of 20,000 words a week or a minimum goal of 15,000 a week according to WG. This means in order to work just 3 days a week for wiseGEEK, I need to write a minimum of 5,000 words a day. It might seem like a lot, but compared to other companies I currently work for writing, it's really nothing.

wiseGEEK isn't currently hiring for article writers anymore, but you can still check out their site below.




Did You Know?

Tuesday - The Weekly Shop Trip

I actually did my shopping yesterday, which normally happens so many of the things I purchased are not around, have all ready been opened or are in the freezer. Here are the receipts from yesterday's trip. I skipped Target for maybe sometime later this week because my transfer from Paypal isn't in yet. I am getting paid three times this week! Isn't that awesome?

Without further ado, here is the low-down:

CVS

Huggies Pull Up Jumbo Pack $8.99, $3 ECB
     -$2/1 Huggies Pull-Ups Printable

Tide 2x Ultra $10.97, $2 ECB

     - $1/1 Tide Detergent (7/4 P&G Insert)

Hefty Trash Bags Big Flaps 40 ct. $6.99, no ECB

     - $1/1 Hefty Waste Bags (From Facebook)
     - $20.99 in ECBs from previous transactions (I was saving them because I knew we needed some high dollar items this week ;) )

     = $1.96 OOP + Tax with $6 in ECBs to spare.

**This week I started with food products and the ECBs they provided were massive - over $20! Also, you can do the milk ECB featured in the ad twice, which helped me because they were out of Pretzel M&Ms. I don't like to count the ECBs that are produced from the product into the final OOP because it's not realistic - you can't use an ECB until it prints and it won't print until you've paid - so to include it isn't being honest about your OOP (out of pocket) price, really. In reality, this transaction could have been cheaper, too, because I still had a $1 and $2 ECB, I just got distracted is all... which happens.

Walgreens

Dawn Dishsoap $.99
     - $.20/1 Dawn (7/11 or 7/17 Insert, can't remember :( )

(2) Ziploc Bags 2 for $5
     -$1/2 Ziploc Walgreens July Coupon Book
     - $1/2 any Ziploc product
     - $1 RR from previous transaction
     
     = $2.79 OOP + Tax

**I normally don't have much to do with Walgreens as all the good rebates and deals are often found at CVS. I would choose CVS' deals over Walgreens any day, but we needed Ziplocs and soap. I also was after the Dr Scholl's RR which fell through when I found out that they were sold out. Also the G2 Pens were on my list, but they were sold out too - I had just bought the Papermate from CVS for the ECB last week, so I wasn't hurting for them anyway.

In all, 5 items for about $5, all name brand products. Look for follow up shopping trips this week as I'm going to get that Dr Scholls RR if it kills me! I could use a boost in stocking up on some RR for Walgreens!

 

A Little History on My Personal Experiences

As a mom, I realized the necessity in Couponing a long time ago. Unfortunately, when I would go back to a "real" job in the "real" world, I would lose all my aspirations to follow up with this useful and valuable aspect of shopping. Thanks to unforeseen circumstances, I now stay at home and work on my own time, at my own pace; I am responsible for my paycheck and choose how much I want to make every week. I like to prove the worth of sites before I actually approve them to be posted here, so just know that I will only put up legitimate work at home opportunities and real coupon scenarios. 

My writing skills stem from childhood and I was lucky enough to wind up being as smart as I am (good genes, I guess).  After my fiance lost his job (like so many people all ready have), I became more resourceful than I had ever been. At first, I was just diligent in trying to find a job, but the location we moved to was too far for anyone to be interested in my skills with Retail Management. I soon turned to "Mommy forums" online to find an answer to that question everyone asks from time to time: Are there legitimate work at home jobs? I quickly found several different resources in my personal expertise of writing and submitted all the necessary information to get started.


My first week was meant for checking out these sites I had signed up with and making sure they paid me so I didn't do a lot of work. Specific sites and companies will be covered in later posts, but I assure you my first week with these companies, I did get paid. Once I'd found monetary stability again, I moved on to ways I could save money.

Because my fiance is unemployed, he was only receiving a portion of his normal wages (about 50%), which pretty much devastated our normal lifestyle; I had to make up the difference somewhere in order to be able to get gas, food, and other supplies. Not to mention we like to do fun things with our kids. I quickly turned back to Couponing as I knew it would help, but had no idea how far it could go.

After just three trips to the store I had saved over $150 and paid less than 1/3 of that. As my resources opened up, I won gift cards, free coupons, and even got free stuff. I have only been Couponing since July 10th, 2010 and have saved over $218, spending just 29% of that at around $64. I have purchased exactly 75 items so far - that's an average of $.91 an item. It amounts to shopping at the Dollar Store for your name brand merchandise like Tide, Pampers, Old Spice, and Schick. Imagine that.