Living better, spending less.
It took me all week and at least five different Walgreens (and this town only has two!) last week but I used up my remaining Bayer Contour meter coupons. They expired on Friday and I had eighteen of them left. I had purchased something like 120 of them when they first came out, in anticipation of sweet money-making deals and knowing that the prices would only go up as the deals surfaced. I was so right–they were selling for like $5 each on eBay last week! It just so happened that on the last week of the coupons, Walgreens was giving $10 RR. What timing! It was fantastic. You know what the best part was, though? I think I was pretty much the only one around who still had coupons left. >:)
Anyway, that means I had $180 profit just on those, plus a handful of assorted other MMs. So…. last night, my husband took me out for a birthday dinner (not frugal in the least but delicious) and allowed himself to be talked into swinging by Walgreens afterward. The draw? I promised to let him help me pick out what to spend that $180 of free money on. :) I didn’t even have a couponing shopping list ready. (I am perhaps a little burned out on shopping after last week!)
It’s actually kind of hard to spend that kind of money. I mean, you could buy anything, but what would be the most useful way to spend it? We bought six cases of Sprite Zero for M, a pair of sunglasses, a Barbie car and a Mickey Mouse game for E, some allergy meds, some hair accessories.. just a wide assortment of random stuff. It was just over $100 of stuff and I walked out of there paying about $6 out of pocket. (Sales tax.) It was fun! Except at the very end, when it was incredibly embarrassing. I checked out with a beauty advisor that is used to the way I shop. I pointed out one of the ad coupons, she scanned it, and then waited patiently for the next coupon and I didn’t have any. haha.
If I can get myself motivated, I am planning on using some of the rest of the RRs on photo printing. I need to update our albums, plus a few other little albums that I need to get done. I might also pick up some bottled water and charcoal. What would YOU buy with an excessive amount of absolutely free* coupon overage? And, would it bother you to pay twice what something is worth in that situation, or would you figure that it was free anyway so it didn’t matter? There were a few things I refused to pay drugstore prices for, hehe. When it’s five dollars or even twenty, I would just keep rolling it without thinking about it as real profit, but I knew I didn’t stand a chance of doing that with so many of them (especially since I received a bunch of other RRs from the regular freebies.)
*Free, except for coupon costs, which were accounted for MONTHS ago. Maybe fifty cents each?
In other news, my first yard sale of the season–which has been sadly delayed for two weeks in a row so let’s hope that third time is a charm–is Saturday. Can’t wait to see how we do!
When I became a stay-at-home-mom, I promised I could save our family money by shopping sales and maybe even using a few coupons. I had no idea what I was getting into. These days, I am on a first-name basis with the cashiers at the local drugstores, I haven't paid for toothpaste or shampoo in over a year and I spend my free time here, helping others do the same. So please, make yourself at home while you learn how to save, and when to spend!
Tabitha
May 12th, 2010 at 8:36 pm
WOW! I don’t think I could spend it on regular price stuff. But I might get something that’s not that great of a deal but still on sale or have a coupon for.
For example, I only get toothpaste when it’s free. But I might be more likely to get that 75c toothpaste if I had a ridiculous amount of RR to spend.
I do think I’d still be “thrifty” with them. Though I might be more likely to grab something I really need that might cost a little more at Walgreens but would save me a trip to another store. :)
Jasmine
May 17th, 2010 at 12:12 pm
Wow, you go!! I actually just bought my first glucose monitor during that same sale….
Have you ever actually sold any in your yard sales? I am going to give it a go.
Kisha
May 17th, 2010 at 1:23 pm
It was a lot of fun. :)
Ooh, you have joined the club now.. once you start buying monitors, you can’t stop. hehe. Yeah, I have sold a few. Probably around ten or so, but I’ve sold at least one or two at every sale. I was forewarned that they didn’t sell well, so I was going to put $1-$2 on them in hopes of moving them, but my dad and husband wouldn’t let me. I put $5 on them. I *might* have sold a few less that way but I definitely wouldn’t have sold more than twice as many to make up for the lower price. However, I only have a few out now anyway, since I generally have been tear the boxes apart and giving the strips and lancets to my mom. I’m planning on putting the leftovers (monitor + case + poker thing (can’t remember what they’re called) + manual) out next time for like $1/set. I’m thinking people might find them interesting that way. If not.. eventually I’ll tear them apart further and try to sell the pouches or the batteries or.. whatever. I don’t think I could donate them at this point so it doesn’t really matter if they sell. I’m just happy to have saved my mom several hundred dollars. :) Good luck with yours!