Posts Tagged ‘frugality’

If you follow any coupon or frugalista blogs, you’ve probably already seen this deal today, but I’m going to share it anyway, on the off-chance that you might have missed it.

Groupon is offering a $50 Dormzy gift certificate for just $25 today (November 30, 2010). This is a decent deal, but it gets even better.

If you use the $50 to purchase select products, you can submit your receipt for a $20 rebate from P&G.

Plus, if you purchased your Groupon via Ebates, you’ll get 3% cash back. (And if you’re new to Ebates, you’ll receive a $5 sign-up bonus, which can make your entire purchase FREE after rebates!)

Here’s the breakdown:

• Sign-up for Groupon.
• Sign-up for Ebates.
• Search for Groupon via Ebates and click on the link.
• Locate the Lexington Groupon and purchase. It should be a $50 Dormzy gift certificate for just $25.
• On December 2, go to Dormzy and purchase qualifying rebate items (there seem to be four – Herbal Essence shampoo, Herbal Essence conditioner, Secret deodorant, and Olay body wash). Get whatever combination you want. You’ll receive free shipping because your order is over $49.
• In the message box on the checkout page, ask nicely for an itemized receipt with purchase prices, for rebate purposes. (Thanks for this tip, Prudent Patron!)
• When your package arrives, fill out and mail in the rebate form.

It seems complicated, but it’s really not. And there are no coupons to clip, or stores to rush to – you can do it from your sofa, desk, bed, or kitchen table.

You paid $25 OOP (out of pocket) for the initial Groupon, but got back $20 from the rebate and $0.75 from Ebates.com, which should bring your total somewhere in the ballpark of $5.00.

{Those are my referral links above. If you sign-up for Groupon or Ebates through my link, I will receive referral bonuses. If you don’t want to be a referral, just type in the url for the website and sign-up through their home page.}

27 tubes of Colgate toothpaste - These were on sale at Kroger this week for $1.50, and they were included in the Buy 10 Save $5 promotion they were running, which made them each $1 when I bought 10 participating items. I had gotten a hold of 30 SmartSource coupon inserts from this week, so I had lots of $1/1 Colgate coupons. (I’m giving away a couple of the coupons, so I only used 27.) That made all that toothpaste free!

I got these at two different Kroger’s, and I did not go out the first day of the sale and wipe them out – I made sure there were still plenty left for other shoppers.

Half the toothpaste is going to Operation Christmas Child, some of it will be going to the local domestic violence program, we’ll keep a little bit, and some of it is going to various family members.

6 cans of Cream of Chicken soup - These were included in the promo as well, at $0.50 each when you bought 10 participating items. Since I had 2 $1.50/3 coupons, these were free. (I bought 4 other items that were already on my grocery list to bring me up to 10, so I didn’t spend any extra to get these.) We use this in casseroles, so I plan to keep all of it.

StoveTop stuffing & Pepperidge Farm cookies - I bought these in one transaction, along with 7 of the toothpastes. That brought the cost of the stuffing down to $0.75/box and I had a coupon for $1/3. The cookies were on sale for $2.27 with a peelie mail-in-rebate on the front. My total was $4.52 + tax, and I used a $3 catalina I had received for buying some spices last week. That brought my total down to just $1.61. What will make all of it free is that when I submit the rebate I’ll receive either $2.27 (the cost of the cookies), or $3.39 (the regular price of the cookies). I’ll make back the entire $1.61, plus a little extra to help with, or cover completely, the cost of the stamp.

(Lest you think we only eat processed foods, this is not all that our diet consists of!)

Follow this link to see if you have a BJ’s in your area. If you do, this trial membership is a great way to stock up on bulk products! BJ’s is like Sam’s Club or Costco, but they also accept manufacturer’s coupons, cutting your costs down further.

{Thank you, Money Saving Mom and Mojo Savings!}

One of my older sisters gave me a couple of handmade reusable sandwich wraps as a gift a few years ago. Since I didn’t often take lunch anywhere, I stashed them away in my hope chest. After the wedding, the hope chest got unpacked and the sandwich wraps entered my kitchen, where they’ve been used at least twice a week since Michael and I returned from our honeymoon. They really do a great job of keeping sandwiches fresh – the bread doesn’t dry out at all. As an added bonus, the wrap serves as a placemat and keeps crumbs in one spot.

Now I’m on the hunt for some good reusable snack bags and a couple of nice lunch bags. I spent awhile searching Etsy today and came across a ton. Here’s a sampling of what I found.

{Top row, L-R}

Cherry print cloth sandwich wrap from One Pink Ladybug

Organic snack bag with butterfly by BebelooshMini

Tall box lunch bag in Avocado Damask from urban harmonie design

{Middle row, L-R}

Basic oilcloth lunchbag in fruity pink by Rick Rack Queen

Sandwich and snack bag set from Bag it Conscious

Medium rainbow polka dots pouch bag by urban harmonie design

{Bottom row, L-R}

Set of 3 organic sandwich/snack bags from OrganiLuxe

Recycled cotton lunch bag by Bag it Conscious

Stenciled snack bag from Ulde Yrth

I’ve been using PaperBackSwap for a couple of years now and have really enjoyed it. The premise is simple – you send a book you no longer want to a member who does want it and you get a point deposited into your account. Then you use that point to request a book you want from someone else. It’s not quite as cheap as buying books at the thrift store, but there a whole lot more books on PBS than at the local Goodwill – and you can even set up a wish list so that you’re notified when a book you want is entered into the system!

This week I started using PaperBackSwap’s sister site, SwapADVD. It’s equally as simple to use as PBS, and the points are transferable between my accounts at both sites! I can send out a DVD I no longer want, and then use that point to get a new book. (My husband still can’t figure out why I need more books.)

I haven’t really used SwapaCD yet, though I do have an account there. For each CD you request, you pay a point from your account (also transferablebetween PBS or SwapADVD), and $0.49. It’s still a good deal, but I haven’t gotten around to trying it out.

Each site offers members 1 credit for the initial 10 items they post. They also offer 1 point for each valid referral (10 items posted on PBS and SwapADVD, 10 items plus money for trades at SwapaCD).

I have gotten rid of a quite a few “extra” books through PBS over the last couple of years, and I’ve acquired some nice ones in exchange. This is definitely one swap program I like a lot.

{Please note that the links listed above are referral links. If for some reason you would rather visit those sites without the referral, type the names of the companies into your address bar, followed by .com.}

Food Lion currently has Ronzoni pasta on sale 2/$1.48 and Ronzoni has a mail-in rebate for $3 when you buy 6 boxes. This breaks down to: $1.48 x 3 = $4.44 (plus tax).

Add in $0.44 for your stamp to mail the rebate in, and you’re at $4.88 (plus tax), but you’ll be getting a $3 rebate, making those 6 boxes of pasta only $1.88.

Now, if your Food Lion has the Quick Cook pasta with peelies on them for $0.50 off, you’ll be able to get an even better deal. Buy 3 of the Quick Cook pastas, and then 3 more boxes of Ronzoni and your total will be $4.44 – $1.50 = $2.94 (plus tax).

Once you mail in the rebate, you’re at $3.38 (plus tax), and then you’ll get back $3.00, making your total for 6 boxes of pasta just $0.38. Not bad.

If you can find the $0.55/1 printables from Coupons.com, you’ll be able to get an even better deal!

{Note that the 2/$1.48 is for the regular Ronzoni pasta, not the Smart Taste or Healthy Harvest. These are not whole-wheat pastas.}

Kmart is doubling coupons until the end of this week (August 21, 2010). All coupons up to $0.99 will be doubled, when you present your Shop Your Way reward card. Doubled coupons limited to 5 per customer per day. Click here to find out if your local store is participating.

{Info on the Double Coupon event was found at The Krazy Koupon Lady. If you’re interested in product-coupon match-ups, stay tuned to her blog.}