I just picked this up from Sue Stock's News & Observer blog this morning and I am astounded...it is a great freebie. Here's the post:
The Alter Ego hair salon in downtown Raleigh is giving away a free hair cut to all first-time customers. That's it. Period.
The offer applies to any first-time customer, from kids to adults, regardless of length or cut. That's quite an offer considering the salon usually charges $21 and up for a kids' cut, $28 for mens' cuts and $45 for women (per the Web site).
The salon is open Monday through Saturday, some days as late as 8 p.m. I'd recommend calling for an appointment, since I am sure this will be a popular one! Or, you can book online on the company Web site at http://www.alteregoraleigh.com/Site/Alter_EGO.html.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
An Interesting Dilemma...
One of the tools of the seasoned coupon shoppers trade is actually trading coupons. I began trading a month ago on http://www.hotcouponworld.com/. An unspoken act of trading etiquette is to include some extras in your envelope as part of the exchange. Generally speaking, coupon shoppers are generous folks. I've been known to hand off coupons in grocery stores and I try to look over the wishlist of those I'm trading with and include some extras that they'd want or need.
In trading, I've also received some really wonderful surprises in the mail as extras in the envelopes- most recently, a $20 Mail-in-Rebate when you buy Smirnoff Ice beverages in a minimum $50 total grocery purchase. Upon closer inspection of the rebate form, I learned that since NC law does not require the purchase of alcohol for coupon redemption or rebates I was not even required to make the Smirnoff Ice purchase- I simply needed to produce a receipt for $50 worth of groceries. You would think this would be an easy task but oh no, not since I've become a hardcore coupon shopper. I've looked through two months of receipts and there are no receipts for anything over $30 spent in a single transaction to be found. What's a girl to do??
In trading, I've also received some really wonderful surprises in the mail as extras in the envelopes- most recently, a $20 Mail-in-Rebate when you buy Smirnoff Ice beverages in a minimum $50 total grocery purchase. Upon closer inspection of the rebate form, I learned that since NC law does not require the purchase of alcohol for coupon redemption or rebates I was not even required to make the Smirnoff Ice purchase- I simply needed to produce a receipt for $50 worth of groceries. You would think this would be an easy task but oh no, not since I've become a hardcore coupon shopper. I've looked through two months of receipts and there are no receipts for anything over $30 spent in a single transaction to be found. What's a girl to do??
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Harris Teeter Triples - A Primer & The Tally
Ah, the long awaited return of the Triples week-long event! Every so often, Harris Teeter would triple coupons up to a face value of 99 cents. For those new to coupon shopping, I'll provide a quick primer on Harris Teeter's rules during this type of promotion:
1. You are limited to tripling 20 coupons per day per household. This does not mean you can only use 20 coupons per day- this only means that they will only triple 20 of your coupons. So feel free to bring along $1 and up coupons as these won't count against the 20 limit.
2. Of the 20, you can only use 3 coupons per same item per transaction. By way of example, let's say you have a stack of twelve 75 cent coupons for Mt Olive pickles- you can only use 3 of the 12 during one transaction. Many times you can simply split up transactions with no issues. Other times, a cashier may give you grief over this. I'm of the belief that it's never really worth it to stand there and argue your point. Any time I have an issue with a cashier accepting a coupon, I simply have them remove the questioned item(s) from my order and give me the coupon back. Life is too short to waste any of it squabbling over a coupon.
3. Special rules apply to internet coupons- of these, you can only use 2 coupons per same item per transaction.
Harris Teeter was getting in the habit of having a triples weekend event once a month for several months. Then, they switched to "Super Doubles" weeks the past few months where they would double coupons with a face value up to $1.98- the last one taking place just two weeks prior to this week's Triples event. I'm hoping they will alternate between the two each month.
In either case, it's a great time to stockpile items. This go round we stocked up on GUM children's toothbrushes, small bottles of Tropicana Trop50 juice, Uncle Ben's Long Grain & Wild Rice, Mt. Olive Pickles, Curad bandages, Lysol toilet bowl cleaner, I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Spray, Viva paper towels, Orville Redenbacher microwave popcorn and Snyders Pretzel Pieces. All these items were free or practically free thanks to tripled coupons. When all was said and done, we spent $82.80 this past week for $628.53 worth of groceries - an impressive 86% savings.
During the week, we also purchased various produce items, bagels, milk and other necessities at Harris Teeter. I believe I used a coupon for nearly every item purchased. During my last HT trip, I also picked up a beautiful little flowering plant for 49 cents- it was on sale for $2.49 and I had a $2 off flowers winetag coupon.
1. You are limited to tripling 20 coupons per day per household. This does not mean you can only use 20 coupons per day- this only means that they will only triple 20 of your coupons. So feel free to bring along $1 and up coupons as these won't count against the 20 limit.
2. Of the 20, you can only use 3 coupons per same item per transaction. By way of example, let's say you have a stack of twelve 75 cent coupons for Mt Olive pickles- you can only use 3 of the 12 during one transaction. Many times you can simply split up transactions with no issues. Other times, a cashier may give you grief over this. I'm of the belief that it's never really worth it to stand there and argue your point. Any time I have an issue with a cashier accepting a coupon, I simply have them remove the questioned item(s) from my order and give me the coupon back. Life is too short to waste any of it squabbling over a coupon.
3. Special rules apply to internet coupons- of these, you can only use 2 coupons per same item per transaction.
Harris Teeter was getting in the habit of having a triples weekend event once a month for several months. Then, they switched to "Super Doubles" weeks the past few months where they would double coupons with a face value up to $1.98- the last one taking place just two weeks prior to this week's Triples event. I'm hoping they will alternate between the two each month.
In either case, it's a great time to stockpile items. This go round we stocked up on GUM children's toothbrushes, small bottles of Tropicana Trop50 juice, Uncle Ben's Long Grain & Wild Rice, Mt. Olive Pickles, Curad bandages, Lysol toilet bowl cleaner, I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Spray, Viva paper towels, Orville Redenbacher microwave popcorn and Snyders Pretzel Pieces. All these items were free or practically free thanks to tripled coupons. When all was said and done, we spent $82.80 this past week for $628.53 worth of groceries - an impressive 86% savings.
During the week, we also purchased various produce items, bagels, milk and other necessities at Harris Teeter. I believe I used a coupon for nearly every item purchased. During my last HT trip, I also picked up a beautiful little flowering plant for 49 cents- it was on sale for $2.49 and I had a $2 off flowers winetag coupon.
Freebie- $10 ITunes Gift Card
Take a short survey at http://www.definetheshift.com/survey.php and get a $10 ITunes Gift Card- not a bad return for just a few moments of your time! Pass it on.
Tales from the Thrift
I'm reposting this from my original blog- I hope you will find it helpful! Feel free to chime in with your own money saving tips!
How do we manage a household of six on one income? The answer is simple: being thrifty consumers by spending mindfully (and, hopefully, armed with coupons). Yes, those who knew me back in the day are taken aback by my newfound shopping savvy. Here are some of our best tips for saving money...
1. The most important rule: think before you buy- and think hard before you make a big purchase. Research major purchases using consumer reviews on amazon.com, epinions.com, tripadvisor.com (for hotels when you vacation) and the granddaddy of all consumer research- Consumer Reports (pay special attention to those items labelled as Best Buy to get the most bang for your buck). Even before delving into research, ask yourself "is this a want or is this a need?" If it's a want, think of all the "wanted" stuff you've bought over the years that have accumulated dust in your garage or storage area. We get too quickly suckered into "wants" that end up rotting away in landfills.
2. Cook! Preparing your own meals at home saves not only your wallet but your waistline as well. We very very rarely go out to eat and end up spending a lot less on food than the typical American family. If we do eat out, it is to celebrate a special day or to take advantage of a "kid's eat free" special (check out http://www.mykidseatfree.com/ to find restaurants that offer this type of special in your area). I'd say we probably dine out once every other month (not counting times when we're travelling). Fast food is practically verboten and purchased only in emergency (i.e. we didn't get a chance to pack lunches for a road trip etc.)- Jon & I usually purchase kids size meals or share a side. When we do travel, we also try to book rooms with a kitchenette so we can prepare our own meals. Yes, these rooms do cost a bit more but the amount we save on meals while on the road makes up for the difference in room cost. If you feel you're short on time to cook, keep in mind that you can whip up a pretty good meal in 15-30 minutes...I know I do most nights at home.
3. Discover the wonders of a secondhand store & Craigslist/Freecyle. We love our nearby Goodwill store and shop & donate clothing there often. I've found some absolutely adorable clothes for Stella there and great designer jeans for myself as well. We've also snagged some really wonderful toys & baby items through Craigslist. Secondhand store shopping (and donating!) is the ultimate form of recycling. Everybody wins.
4. Make camping a family trip. This is the absolute lowest cost vacation you can have- and there are really wonderful campsites across the country. One of our favorites is in the Blue Ridge mountains with some gorgeous hiking trails, a bathroom with heated shower you can use (so you're not completely roughing it). I think it costs about $10/night for the campsite usage and each spot comes with a firepit.
5. Learn to do-it-yourself...you can find instructions on everything from how to change your oil to how fix a water pipe break by using the internet or finding a book. We have repair guides for both our vehicles and Jon uses these regularly for small repairs & maintenance. When something goes amuk in the house, we'll try to figure out a way to fix it ourselves.
6. Take advantage of local parks & libraries. How can you go wrong with free?
7. Don't buy school portraits. This may not be true for all of you, but I know that the school pictures taken each year at our kids' schools are outrageously priced. Since it's tricky to get a really good individual portrait shot on your own (I know, I've tried with terrible results), scout out the low cost packages offered by portrait studios (Sears, Portrait Innovations etc.). Typically, they limit these offers to one per household so when it comes to be annual portrait time, I'll end up taking our kids to several different places and make sure each gets a plain white background for most of their shots. Since I'm on the topic of pictures, we also save money on picture Xmas cards each year by simply taking our own family pic and uploading it to Walmart.com to order cards.
8. Keep healthcare costs in check. You can do this by living a healthy lifestyle AND being an informed consumer. I can't tell you how many times I've asked about pricing (and what our out-of-pocket cost will be after insurance is accounted for) of a health care provider only to be greeted with a quizzical look. I'd swear I'd have sprouted five heads after popping this question. I think the prevailing attitude is "well, it's for your health, why should it matter what it costs?" It SHOULD matter- you should always be able to make an informed decision when it comes to your health. I'm not saying you should forego treatment anytime it's going to be costly...you should have the option to really question your doctor on it's necessity given the potential high cost of the procedure to you. Your insurance provider has that right, so do you - exercise it!
9. Shop clearance! Well, for everything but drugs & food (and some say it's okay to do this as well but I'd rather be safe than sorry when it comes to items with expiration dates). You can find some great deals on clothing at most big box retailers. I am a big fan of the Target 75% off rack for clothes. Yes, you'll likely need to buy things that are out of season but they will come in handy when that season does arrive.
10. My best tip for last: COUPON SHOPPING. The first thing you need to do to be an effective coupons (and specials) shopper is to know your prices. To my amazement, I've managed to keep those in my noggin...but many swear by keeping a price notebook where you list out your family's "staple" items (those items you buy faithfully) and then note store prices and dates. If you keep tabs of this over several weeks, you'll learn which sales prices are the lowest & best. Stores tend to "cycle" item prices and once you spot the true "lowest" price you are ready to stockpile & save.
For example by keeping tabs on pricing, I've learned that the best prices on meats we typically buy here are $1.99/lb for boneless/skinless chicken, $2.99/lb for 93% lean ground beef, 99 cents/lb for whole chicken breast. Keeping this in mind, I can stock up on these meats when they hit these rock bottom prices (which, BTW, mirror that of bulk shopping club prices).
When it comes to coupons, I love the Sunday newspaper variety. I don't often use internet coupons and I still do very well coupon shopping. You can find internet coupons on http://www.coupons.com/. I keep a baseball card organizing binder to store my coupons in and organize them in sections (ie, breads, dairy items, soups/marinades etc). You can come up with your own system based on the layout of your most frequently shopped at grocery store. Bone up on the grocery store's rules for coupon redemption - most limit use to a certain number in a transaction, that you can't use more than 2 for the same item etc. One of our local stores, Harris Teeter, frequently runs a triple coupon weekend where they will triple the value of most coupons. In one recent triple coupon weekend, I landed $172 worth of groceries for $27 and netted lots of freebies.
I used to use http://www.thegrocerygame.com/ to plan out my coupon shopping. This site offers a free trial period then you have to pay based on how many stores you want to include. I've since switched to the totally free http://www.couponmom.com/ which has a less aesthetically pleasing layout but offers the same information- and a kick-butt forum where you can learn some unpublished deals at stores. This site has also helped me land several drug store freebies- click on links for cvs, walgreens, rite aid and you can learn which items are free thanks to store rebates or register rewards. If you have a coupon for a "free" item, you can even make money on the transaction- so it's like you're getting paid to use a particular product.
Well, these are my big tips to save money and run a household well on a tight budget. I hope some of you readers will post your best tips too. Fly your frugal flag proudly!
How do we manage a household of six on one income? The answer is simple: being thrifty consumers by spending mindfully (and, hopefully, armed with coupons). Yes, those who knew me back in the day are taken aback by my newfound shopping savvy. Here are some of our best tips for saving money...1. The most important rule: think before you buy- and think hard before you make a big purchase. Research major purchases using consumer reviews on amazon.com, epinions.com, tripadvisor.com (for hotels when you vacation) and the granddaddy of all consumer research- Consumer Reports (pay special attention to those items labelled as Best Buy to get the most bang for your buck). Even before delving into research, ask yourself "is this a want or is this a need?" If it's a want, think of all the "wanted" stuff you've bought over the years that have accumulated dust in your garage or storage area. We get too quickly suckered into "wants" that end up rotting away in landfills.
2. Cook! Preparing your own meals at home saves not only your wallet but your waistline as well. We very very rarely go out to eat and end up spending a lot less on food than the typical American family. If we do eat out, it is to celebrate a special day or to take advantage of a "kid's eat free" special (check out http://www.mykidseatfree.com/ to find restaurants that offer this type of special in your area). I'd say we probably dine out once every other month (not counting times when we're travelling). Fast food is practically verboten and purchased only in emergency (i.e. we didn't get a chance to pack lunches for a road trip etc.)- Jon & I usually purchase kids size meals or share a side. When we do travel, we also try to book rooms with a kitchenette so we can prepare our own meals. Yes, these rooms do cost a bit more but the amount we save on meals while on the road makes up for the difference in room cost. If you feel you're short on time to cook, keep in mind that you can whip up a pretty good meal in 15-30 minutes...I know I do most nights at home.
3. Discover the wonders of a secondhand store & Craigslist/Freecyle. We love our nearby Goodwill store and shop & donate clothing there often. I've found some absolutely adorable clothes for Stella there and great designer jeans for myself as well. We've also snagged some really wonderful toys & baby items through Craigslist. Secondhand store shopping (and donating!) is the ultimate form of recycling. Everybody wins.
4. Make camping a family trip. This is the absolute lowest cost vacation you can have- and there are really wonderful campsites across the country. One of our favorites is in the Blue Ridge mountains with some gorgeous hiking trails, a bathroom with heated shower you can use (so you're not completely roughing it). I think it costs about $10/night for the campsite usage and each spot comes with a firepit.
5. Learn to do-it-yourself...you can find instructions on everything from how to change your oil to how fix a water pipe break by using the internet or finding a book. We have repair guides for both our vehicles and Jon uses these regularly for small repairs & maintenance. When something goes amuk in the house, we'll try to figure out a way to fix it ourselves.
6. Take advantage of local parks & libraries. How can you go wrong with free?
7. Don't buy school portraits. This may not be true for all of you, but I know that the school pictures taken each year at our kids' schools are outrageously priced. Since it's tricky to get a really good individual portrait shot on your own (I know, I've tried with terrible results), scout out the low cost packages offered by portrait studios (Sears, Portrait Innovations etc.). Typically, they limit these offers to one per household so when it comes to be annual portrait time, I'll end up taking our kids to several different places and make sure each gets a plain white background for most of their shots. Since I'm on the topic of pictures, we also save money on picture Xmas cards each year by simply taking our own family pic and uploading it to Walmart.com to order cards.
8. Keep healthcare costs in check. You can do this by living a healthy lifestyle AND being an informed consumer. I can't tell you how many times I've asked about pricing (and what our out-of-pocket cost will be after insurance is accounted for) of a health care provider only to be greeted with a quizzical look. I'd swear I'd have sprouted five heads after popping this question. I think the prevailing attitude is "well, it's for your health, why should it matter what it costs?" It SHOULD matter- you should always be able to make an informed decision when it comes to your health. I'm not saying you should forego treatment anytime it's going to be costly...you should have the option to really question your doctor on it's necessity given the potential high cost of the procedure to you. Your insurance provider has that right, so do you - exercise it!
9. Shop clearance! Well, for everything but drugs & food (and some say it's okay to do this as well but I'd rather be safe than sorry when it comes to items with expiration dates). You can find some great deals on clothing at most big box retailers. I am a big fan of the Target 75% off rack for clothes. Yes, you'll likely need to buy things that are out of season but they will come in handy when that season does arrive.
10. My best tip for last: COUPON SHOPPING. The first thing you need to do to be an effective coupons (and specials) shopper is to know your prices. To my amazement, I've managed to keep those in my noggin...but many swear by keeping a price notebook where you list out your family's "staple" items (those items you buy faithfully) and then note store prices and dates. If you keep tabs of this over several weeks, you'll learn which sales prices are the lowest & best. Stores tend to "cycle" item prices and once you spot the true "lowest" price you are ready to stockpile & save.
For example by keeping tabs on pricing, I've learned that the best prices on meats we typically buy here are $1.99/lb for boneless/skinless chicken, $2.99/lb for 93% lean ground beef, 99 cents/lb for whole chicken breast. Keeping this in mind, I can stock up on these meats when they hit these rock bottom prices (which, BTW, mirror that of bulk shopping club prices).
When it comes to coupons, I love the Sunday newspaper variety. I don't often use internet coupons and I still do very well coupon shopping. You can find internet coupons on http://www.coupons.com/. I keep a baseball card organizing binder to store my coupons in and organize them in sections (ie, breads, dairy items, soups/marinades etc). You can come up with your own system based on the layout of your most frequently shopped at grocery store. Bone up on the grocery store's rules for coupon redemption - most limit use to a certain number in a transaction, that you can't use more than 2 for the same item etc. One of our local stores, Harris Teeter, frequently runs a triple coupon weekend where they will triple the value of most coupons. In one recent triple coupon weekend, I landed $172 worth of groceries for $27 and netted lots of freebies.
I used to use http://www.thegrocerygame.com/ to plan out my coupon shopping. This site offers a free trial period then you have to pay based on how many stores you want to include. I've since switched to the totally free http://www.couponmom.com/ which has a less aesthetically pleasing layout but offers the same information- and a kick-butt forum where you can learn some unpublished deals at stores. This site has also helped me land several drug store freebies- click on links for cvs, walgreens, rite aid and you can learn which items are free thanks to store rebates or register rewards. If you have a coupon for a "free" item, you can even make money on the transaction- so it's like you're getting paid to use a particular product.
Well, these are my big tips to save money and run a household well on a tight budget. I hope some of you readers will post your best tips too. Fly your frugal flag proudly!
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Yo baby, what a great day!
As you know, I love me some freebies! And today was a wonderful day here at the Hamm household for some free goodies. We received the pictured prize pack from the generous folks at Stonyfield Farm thanks to a giveaway on http://www.southernsavers.com/. Stella is looking forward to enjoying her yummy yogurt gratis. We also received our Kroger rewards from the last quarter that I'm going to try to save for the next mega event.We also stopped by Harris Teeter after visiting Daddy for lunch to pick up a pack of free baby wipes thanks to the EVic program, a 47 cent loaf of white bread, 2 bottles of free shower cleaner (thanks to 2 75 cent off internet coupons), a gallon of milk for 99 cents (thanks to a $2 off Keebler coupon), 2 boxes of Keebler cookies for a classroom blind tasting test I'll be helping out with, over a pound of practically free tuna medallions (thanks to three $2/off seafood winetags and my strategically ordering individual portions of these that totaled close to $2) and 3 jars of Skippy for 22 cents each (thanks to doubled manufacturer q's) and our guilty pleasure - a 12 pack of Coke Zero (no coupons for this, unfortunately, but it was on sale at least).
I've been trying to pick up 5 free boxes of Electrasol at CVS for the past few days and have yet to find a store that has any in stock. Considering my coupons for these about to expire, I am not a happy camper. But then I see Stella grinning at me and free dishwashing detergent suddenly doesn't seem so terribly important after all.
Monday, August 3, 2009
Rite Aid Roundup
Lots of great drug store freebies this week to be excited about! I bought nearly $100 worth of stuff at CVS yesterday for almost $10 (would have been closer to $5 if my math skills had been better to fully take advantage of my $4/20 coupons) - lots more school supplies, some Softsoap bodywash etc. Since Stella woke up to nurse at 4, that pretty much kept me up from that point so I was sleep deprived and hence even more mathematically challenged than I already am naturally. Despite my fatigue, I was still able to log in my required 3 mile run as part of the early stages of our half marathon training. A slooooooooow 3 miles but 3 miles nonetheless.
I had a Rite Aid trip this morning that will net me about $15 after rebates. I spent $14.72 at the store and will receive a total of $30.97 in rebates. Here are the details for those interested (links to coupons are provided):
I used a $5 off $25 coupon and made sure my total (before coupons, of course!) came to at least this much. Today's total was originally around $27 before coupons.
I then bought the following "freebate" items - these are where you file for Single Check Rebates on the http://www.riteaid.com/ site (it's easy and you'll get your rebate check within 2-4 weeks of finalizing. I usually finalize mine at the very end of the month because you can only do so once within the month period:
Bausch & Lomb ReNu MultiPurpose Solution, 2-8oz Bottles, Twin Pack using a $2 printable coupon. Total = $2 profit!
Natrol Probiotic, 10ct $8.99 using a $3 off Natrol printable
Zantac 150 Original or Cool, 8ct $4.99 using a $1.50 off Zantac printable. I will also submit this $5 mail in rebate to Zantac.
GE Soft White Light Bulbs 2 pack $2 (no coupons for this one, but it's still free after Rite Aid rebate.
I received another pleasant surprise while shopping at Harris Teeter this morning in order to get a $10 off $50 EVic special offer that's only good until tomorrow. I decided to buy 10 Kellogg's items to qualify for the Fuel for School rebate as part of my purchase and ended up with an additional Back to School Cash Certificate through Harris Teeter for another $10!! I ended up spending $26.43 for about $86 worth of groceries and will receive an additional $20 back through the Fuel for School program and Harris Teeter. A particularly sweet deal considering my order consisted of a lot of healthy, whole foods.
I had a Rite Aid trip this morning that will net me about $15 after rebates. I spent $14.72 at the store and will receive a total of $30.97 in rebates. Here are the details for those interested (links to coupons are provided):
I used a $5 off $25 coupon and made sure my total (before coupons, of course!) came to at least this much. Today's total was originally around $27 before coupons.
I then bought the following "freebate" items - these are where you file for Single Check Rebates on the http://www.riteaid.com/ site (it's easy and you'll get your rebate check within 2-4 weeks of finalizing. I usually finalize mine at the very end of the month because you can only do so once within the month period:
Bausch & Lomb ReNu MultiPurpose Solution, 2-8oz Bottles, Twin Pack using a $2 printable coupon. Total = $2 profit!
Natrol Probiotic, 10ct $8.99 using a $3 off Natrol printable
Zantac 150 Original or Cool, 8ct $4.99 using a $1.50 off Zantac printable. I will also submit this $5 mail in rebate to Zantac.
GE Soft White Light Bulbs 2 pack $2 (no coupons for this one, but it's still free after Rite Aid rebate.
I received another pleasant surprise while shopping at Harris Teeter this morning in order to get a $10 off $50 EVic special offer that's only good until tomorrow. I decided to buy 10 Kellogg's items to qualify for the Fuel for School rebate as part of my purchase and ended up with an additional Back to School Cash Certificate through Harris Teeter for another $10!! I ended up spending $26.43 for about $86 worth of groceries and will receive an additional $20 back through the Fuel for School program and Harris Teeter. A particularly sweet deal considering my order consisted of a lot of healthy, whole foods.
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