Deal Alert: Possible Walgreens Moneymaker and Some Coupon Reflections
First off, at Walgreens this week, select Oral-B toothbrushes are $4.49 and have a $4.49 register rewards print out when you buy it, making them effectively free (one register reward per transaction). On top of that, this week’s Sunday coupons had a $0.75 off Oral-B manual toothbrushes coupon. Paired together, you make $0.75 for buying a toothbrush. I did this deal yesterday, and I am planning on going back today and doing it again.
Because this week, I have two sets of coupons because I bought two newspapers.
Why I bought two newspapers is kind of pathetic. I bought the first one at Walgreens (using my gift card so I didn’t pay out of pocket for it) but it was missing half the sales flyers, including two I actually use. Now, I could have gone to the stores in question and picked up flyers on my own, but I was irritated and the coupons this week were good (for me - diapers, wipes, and other random things I was excited about) so I just went over to Kroger and bought another paper. Luckily, both papers had all the coupon inserts, so that was good. And the Kroger paper had all the sales flyers.
I probably could have just gone back to Walgreens and complained but I for some reason didn’t.
As for coupons, I have had an adjustment period to them, but it is starting to become smooth sailing and noticeably pay off. The first month I was using them and expanded my shopping strategy, I actually spent more than I usually do. But then I made a few realizations. First off, there will always be another good deal. So if I had stocked up on something, I stopped buying it altogether unless it was very close to or actually free (or, in the case of the above toothbrush deal, I actually make money on it in the process). Second, I don’t have to use every coupon I clip. I talked about this before, and I have been much better using coupons now that I leave half (or more) of them in the store. Also, for things I am not totally stocked up on, I really adhere to only buying items when I can get them at a very very low per unit price. Knowing what is a good deal, per unit, lets me compare across brands and different container sizes without driving myself crazy.
This past week our grocery list was half of what it usually is. My spouse remarked that he felt like he was missing something because the list was so short. But he wasn’t - the couponing and bulk buying of deals was just starting to pay off. And so we spent a lot less than normal as well, even with the stocking up on a few deals I have started to incorporate into my routine.
I wasn’t sure I would be able to declare couponing a success, but I think it is starting to work for us. And I bit the bullet and subscribed to the Sunday paper this week. So soon I won’t have to worry someone’s taken stuff out of my paper from the store.
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September 29th, 2008 at 9:39 pm
This week, with a combination of manufacturer’s coupons and Target coupons for the same items, I actually spent only $14 on $28 worth of stuff! They were all items I would normally buy, although three of the items had coupons of the “buy two” variety. I normally hate those, but since I also had the Target coupons the discount was worth it. I actually bought a bottle of pump Dial hand soap for $.37!
Coupons really do work as long as you stick to the mantra: buy only what you would normally buy!