As a stay-at-home mom, I firmly believe that part of my job is to make his paycheck go further. Not so humbly, I give myself an A for my recent performance. I should definitely get an A for effort. I spend tons of time each week perusing the ads from the Sunday paper, clipping coupons, and mapping out my shopping plan for the week. I have learned how to play the CVS game and work the Rite Aid rebate system. So far this month, I am scheduled to receive $60+ back in rebates from Rite Aid.
The picture on the left is a sampling of stuff I bought for between $0.30 and $1.50. The picture on the right is a sampling of things I've gotten for free. That's right, FREE! Remember, this is just a sampling. As I was putting everything away from this photo shoot, I kept finding more and more items I had forgotten about. It also doesn't include items I have already used. For example, to the Free Side, add a Gillette Fusion Power Razor, another apron, a children's book "More Spaghetti I Say," a box of Honey Bunches of Oats, a jar of Bertolli Pasta sauce... oh, and I just received a free sample of FiberOne Cereal and cereal bar today. I LOVE getting stuff for free =)
I can't take all the credit. I've had some help. My friends here in Hershey have aided me in my conversion to a bargain shopper. They've introduced me to new "bargain" stores (bargain is the nice term) and helped me learn in-store "systems." We even pass around info on a Hershey coupon clipping blog!!
My personal secret has been to stock up on coupons. Oh, and I don't even get the Sunday paper. I'm too cheap for that. Sometimes John works on Sundays and will bring one home from station. Most of the time I just wait until someone throws their paper in the recycling bins near the dumpsters. Yes, I dumpster dive for coupons. Once I was caught by a man bringing his doggie's doo to the dumpster, "Oh, it's only you," he said, "I was afraid it was a raccoon!"
I not only check the dumpsters near our individual building, but I've also been known to walk or drive to the other dumpsters throughout our apt. complex looking for especially valuable coupons. Some weeks I have managed to wrangle 5 copies of the same coupon! John is completely embarrassed, but I choose to see it as one of my endearing qualities =)
1 comment:
heather you crack me up!!!! I love your finds:) I need to learn more from you!!!!!
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