Twenty (20) Items You Should Never Have to Pay For

Since I've been couponing about six months now, there are some things that I'll never have to pay for again, simply because I can get them for free with coupons. Everyone has a CVS, Walgreens or Target near them and most of these items can be had for free by stacking store coupons with manufacturer coupons, or using the CVS Extra Care Bucks (ECB's) or Walgreens Register Rewards (RR) that are essentially money back and many times give you overage or extra money back so it's a moneymaker.

 

Its important when you coupon, to NOT be brand loyal – If you only will eat Hunts Ketchup, instead of Heinz or whatever brand ketchup is made by, you're costing yourself money. You need to be able to brush your teeth with any of a multitude of brands of toothpaste like Arm & Hammer, Crest or Colgate. If you can't bring yourself to do that, go ahead SPEND MORE OF YOUR MONEY.

 

Anyway, here is a list of items that you should never have to pay for, or if you do it should be a very small amount, like less than a quarter each.

 

1. Toothpaste – on BOGO at Publix a few times a year, stack with coupons and get it free. At CVS or Walgreens you can get free toothpaste usually every other week with the ECB or RR and a coupon.
2. Toothbrushes – CVS and Walgreens are the best places to get these regularly, but they limit quantities. Kmart has double coupon deals where you can stock up, and Target will stack their store coupon with manufacturer (MQ) coupon to get for free. Publix seems to rarely have toothpaste deals unless you can use the Target coupon stacked with a Proctor & Gamble (P&G) coupon and its on BOGO. Then you can stock up.
3. Dental Floss – Easy to get all the time free with P&G coupon stacked with Publix or Target store coupon, or with Walgreens coupon.
4. Bandaids – Johnson and Johnson always has high value coupons that stack with Publix advantage buys, at least quarterly. Also good item for double coupons at Kmart where they double up to $2 coupons.
5. Deodorant – Most brands Dove, Sure, Degree, Suave, Gillette all can be had for free at all stores, usually involves stacking coupons. Remember those coupons in Walgreens ads are store coupons and can be stacked with a MQ. Plus this is a good thing for the homeless give away box, as are all the personal care items.
6. Razors – Oh this is a fun freebie because they cost so much, but they are easy to get for free with the high value coupons out there. Most often found at Target or Walgreens, stacking a sale with a store and MQ coupon.
7. Air Fresheners and Candles – P&G is big with high value coupons available on the internet and email, lots of free or BOGO coupons to be had, stack with a Publix advantage buy or Target sale.
8. Shampoo & Conditioners – Suave, Dove, Pantene, and many others I can't remember are often on sale for a fair price that you can stack a store and MQ to get for free at Walgreens, Target or Publix.
9. Makeup and Tools – Publix is notorious for offering Maybelline, Cover Girl, Revlon and Max Factor store coupons that can be stacked with MQ coupons, and then wait for the store Advantage buy to get lip gloss, tweezers, mascara and nail files for free.
10. Yogurt – match a MQ coupon with BOGO at Publix for free yogurt, usually once a month.
11. Salad Dressing – when the high value Kraft coupons come out in the summer this is the time to stock up, the coupons are scarce now, but the BOGO deals are still out there. We're still using our supply from May of this year and I'm hoping it lasts. I didn't realize how long in between those great $2 coupons. So, its off to trying other brands that stack with sales.
12. BBQ sauce – this is an easy freebie to get all year round. Lots of brands, notably Kraft, Uncle Rays. Stack a coupon with BOGO to get free.
13. Mustard – usually Frenches is the freebie to get fairly often. The coupons aren't that high value, but stacked with a BOGO deal or Walgreens deal, you can get for free.
14. Cereal – Usually need to start with a good sale like $2.00 box or less or BOGO, and stack a Target coupon with MQ coupon at Publix. This week you can get GM and Kelloggs and Kashi cereals for free with combining printables off the internet. I think we got about 14 boxes of cereal yesterday for mostly free when we shopped at Publix.
15. Tomato sauce or paste – there are always $1 Muir Glen internet printable (IP) coupons, and the sauce is 0.89 so it's a moneymaker any day without a sale. Paste is 1.09 so it costs nine cents.
16. Pasta – combine a BOGO with MQ coupon to get this product for pennies.
17. Pet Food and Treats – These go on BOGO often at Publix, and on sale at Target and the coupons available are high value and BOGO. It's easy to frequently stack a Target BOGO with a MQ BOGO and get all of them free at Target or Publix. Brands available all the time are Pedigree, Chef Michael, Purina, Friskies.
18. Paper Products – free Chinet plates, Dixie, Hefty can be had by combining a great coupon with store sale, or even regular price. Also possible to get toilet paper, paper towels and napkins really cheap at Walgreens and CVS by matching the sales with ECB deals and coupons.
19. Reusable shopping bags – look for peelies or store coupons, I have dozens of these and have never paid for any. Publix has a cute new holiday bag out, and GM has peelies on their products to make it free.
20. Instant Potatoes – these are often BOGO and can be matched with a  coupon to get for free.

October Brag

Yesterday, I made my 5th or 6th trip of the week to Publix to use that wonderful $4 off GM store coupon to get more booty. It was totally a coupon run to either stock up or get rain checks and since it was after work my mind was still sleepy and I forgot THE GOLDEN COUPON RULE. In case you can't pull that little rule out of your already cluttered mind, the rule is make sure you have more items than coupons otherwise your transaction will require a supervisor override. Since I was stacking the $4 Q with MQ coupons and I didn't get filler items, the clerk had to call over the manager. He was cool no big deal, it was all legit (ALL my transactions are).

 

So its taking a little longer than normal and I was done bagging and signing, and a gentleman was behind me in line. He had seen me unpack my cart and it filled up the whole belt and then he saw the pile of coupons and then started peering over my shoulder at the total going down and down and down. When the total was final, the clerks are supposed to read you your receipt and tell you how much you saved at Publix, so she says "you saved 90.14 today" (I paid $15.15) and hands me my receipt and I walk away with all my bags. I heard the guy behind me ask the clerk in amazement, "How much did she save??". It was one of those very few times when I felt proud to coupon. Most of the time coupons are a game to me, its fun. Sometimes, they're a hassle and they make me pissy. Sometimes they make me feel smart, and sometimes they make me feel like I'm being perceived as poor. It's actually amazing how wide a range of feelings one can get from coupons.

 

Anyway, my main brag is to celebrate couponing for about 6 months now and my system just seems to run itself with less and less time from me - or maybe I'm just more efficient. My stockpiles are TOTALLY stocked and I have learned to pass up purchases (even if they are free after coupons) if I don't need the stuff. Our total grocery bill for the month of October was $183,  but then I returned dog food that the dog is allergic too (I had purchased in Sept) for a $81 credit, so the net total was $102. I don't have all my receipts itemized so I don't know how much I saved, but I'm sure it was a lot (maybe $700-$900??) based on how full my cupboards, freezers, fridges and spare room are!

 

So, there - I'm bragging and I'm proud! 

Happy BIrthday Jan

Birthday Blessings

Instead of counting candles,
Or tallying the years,
Contemplate your blessings now,
As your birthday nears.

Consider special people
Who love you, and who care,
And others who've enriched your life
Just by being there.

Think about the memories
Passing years can never mar,
Experiences great and small
That have made you who you are.

Another year is a happy gift,
So cut your cake, and say,
"Instead of counting birthdays,
I count blessings every day!"

Fall Back, Roll Over and Get Up Again

Isn't that an interesting thought? This time change thing really isn't going that well. At first I really "felt" like it was later and was tired and sluggish. But wait maybe that was from the remodel project and hauling a TON of junk out of our bathroom. Okay, so that explains it. Maybe it was partly due to the full moon we've recently experienced, or the colder low humidity weather making it feel COLD in the morning when its 64F. The worst part of the this time change is it makes me want to hibernate and not go outside. The last two days, I've just wanted to roll over and not get up again. All the coupon deals are for baking supplies and cookies to help with that "must stay in" feeling.

 

But wait, my life won't let me be that way. We have way to much stuff going on. We've halted all the extra part time jobs for the rest of the year, no more secret shops, working concerts or hockey games. Plus we've rounded the corner on the project and are now focusing on the master bathroom. The hall bath is nearly completed except for the painting and dropping in the vanity, medicine cabinet and towel cabinet when they arrive later this month. But now for the next six weeks we're busy on the weekends, then we get a weekend off, then its Christmas!!

 

It seems like Fall is always busy. All sorts of activities are going on. We have lots of Holidays this month, plus some annual leave planned for a trip to Miami. So in between all this, we're going to Universal Studios to use our free 7 day pass a couple times, we're off to Vinoy Park for Ribfest and then before you know it, Thanksgiving, and then it'll be time for our Naples trip.

 

We better not get the flu.

Publix Sneak Peek 11/05-11

Go HERE to see the sneak peek at BOGO deals for Publix next week.

Halloween FAIL

Well we were busy all day Saturday with Jack O and when we finally we out for some chicken wings and beer, we decided to leave a plastic pumpkin filled with candy bars outside the door for any trick or treaters who happened along while we were gone. We were making predictions what would be there when we got home a couple hours later - either the bucket would be empty but still there, or the whole thing would be gone.

 

Well neither of those happened. When we got home, the bucket was still there. Full. Not one single kid came by for a piece of candy. Guess the Halloween traditions are dying. We have in the past dressed up like pirates and gone down to Guavaween for a fun night of costumes, live music and partying. Since 2007 when we got pulled over on our bicycles on the way home, and the USF cop made us do sobriety field tests before letting us go, we have boycotted the event due to the hassle of it all. Well, this year rather than the 50,000 people the organizers hoped for - only about 15,000 showed up. The streets were empty when we saw live footage on the TV at the bar, when in the past they were packed. And no beads. What is a party with out beads. After 2007 fiasco we sold boxes of all our beads on craigslist since we knew we were done with all that.

 

So, no trick or treaters, no guavaween. Time to find another cool thing to do next year.