A Guide to Shopping at Victoria's Secret and Pink.

Ladies, we all do it from time to time. Shopping at the mall and our eyes fall on that goddess of stores, VS. With their cute unmentionables and sweet smelling fragrances, stores like Victoria's Secret and Pink are where we go to splurge a little bit on feeling good about ourselves. What you wear underneath your clothes can do miracles for boosting your self-confidence. But with prices on average hitting about $42 a bra, $50 a pajama set, and $12.50 per panty, you can feel a little guilty about indulging with a trip to VS. So here are some tips for shopping at those stores where we splurge from time to time.

Sign up for snail mail from Victoria's Secret. I cannot stress this enough. Every 3 months or so, I find myself with a mailer from Victoria's Secret with a coupon for free panty and $10 off a bra. I mean, come on, who doesn't want a free panty? And with bras frequently priced anywhere from $29.99-$70.00+, a $10 off bra purchase coupon could help make a dent in that amount when it comes time to buy a new bra again. 

Sign up for Pink Nation for Pink stores and/or emails from Victoria's Secret. They will send you emails with discount codes, new promos, special events, etc.. Make sure to sign up using your extra email account though because you will get a new email literally every day. I like to keep an eye out for the $5 panty specials that they have from time to time. Also, when you join Pink Nation, they will occasionally send you member-only freebies so keep an eye out for these!

Use discount codes when shopping on online. Victoria's Secret is one of those awesome stores that allows more than one promo code per order (up to three total). Often there will be codes for free shipping with the purchase of a bra, or a free panty with purchase, etc. I always, always look for promo codes before buying anything online at VS.

Wait for their huge semiannual sales to buy pricier items. Victoria's Secret is known for it's blowout sales right after the 4th of July and Christmas when items can be bought for a fraction of their regular price. This is a good time to stock up on certain items that would be pretty expensive any other time of year. Also, I've heard that the after Christmas sale is better than the 4th of July sale so if anything, splurge a little more after the holidays to get an extra bang for your buck.

Just to show you how I combined some of these techniques for maximum savings, here is a scenario that I pulled off today.

Victoria's Secret:

Bought No Show Sexy Panty $14.50

Redeemed Free No Show Sexy Panty (max. value $14.50)

Total: Free!

Pink:

Bought Pink Cheeky $5 Date Night Panty Special (normal price $14.50)

Redeemed Free Mesh Backpack with Pink Purchase for Pink Nation Members only thru October 7th! ($19.50 value) (cannot be used with CLEARANCE items, but date night panties were on SALE)

Tax: $ 0.40

Total: $5.40 or $2.70 per item

Total value of items from both stores before sales/coupons: $48.50
Total actually paid out of pocket for the items from both stores: $5.40
Total from both stores saved after all sales/coupons applied: $43.10

I couldn't be happier with today's haul. I walked out of the store feeling very satisfied with my purchases and with more savings than originally expected. So I'd received an email from Pink just the other day with info about the Free Mesh Backpack with Pink purchase and was really excited to see that there wasn't a price limit on the pink purchase to get this cute backpack. So I walked into the store, thinking I'd just buy a pair of panties for $10 and get my free backpack. And lo and behold, I see a stand advertising the new date night panty for $5 each. Seeing that it was a sale (and not clearance), I jumped on the chance while feeling somewhat hopeful and took my date night panty to the register with my coupon in hand. The lady at the cash register looked at the coupon and, after reading the fine print once through, said yea I should be able to use it! So I walked out of the PINK store, having paid less than $3 per item! =)

Cool Stuff I get in the Mail

 

Hi guys! It's been a while since my last post but I did want to keep you updated on some of the great samples I received this last week. This last week was quite exemplary when it came to samples. I received several smaller samples including hair products from Garnier, John Frieda, and Clear (not pictured). I also received "No Texting and Driving" thumb socks, Essie cuticle oil, an anti-bullying pin, a Minties dog treat, 2 Gevalia coffee samples (1 not pictured), and Natralia heel balm (not pictured).

 

 

 My favorite sample received was definitely my free 10 personalized business cards from Moo.com. It was a great opportunity to make cards to help promote my blog and also to get some free business cards. I've never had a business card before so I'm definitely proud of these!

I was also quite impressed by the Gevalia Kaffe sample sent. I can't believe that they actually sent a potful of coffee over. As stated earlier, I actually received two samples, one pictured here and the other in a single cup form so I'm very pleased and excited to try this product.

And finally, last but not least is the Mio Fit Energy Drink sample from the Twitter promotion. To get this sample, you had to post on their Twitter homepage how you are changing your fitness routine and they would send you a free sample of Mio Fit. Can't wait to taste this! I love Mio. =)

Free Audiobook For Shannon

So my lovely friends, we meet again. I found a freebie deal that I cannot possibly pass up. Would you like a free audio book? I've never tried an audiobook before but thought Pride and Prejudice would be a good book to start on. Through the month of June, go here  and enter pridefree at checkout. Normally priced at 13.95, this is a steal for all you Jane Austen fans! (ahem, Shannon, this deal made me think of you!) :)

Cool Stuff I Get in the Mail

 

Okay, so updates on some samples I received lately. I got a complimentary issue of American Photo as well as samples of Ovaltine, Pure Via sweetener, and Taster's Choice Coffee. What did you get this week? =)

Links are available for any freebies still available here:
Pure Via Sweetener
https://www.smartsourcesamples.com/temp/47.htm
Taster's Choice Coffee
http://www.tasterschoice.com/sample/form.aspx
American Photo and Ovaltine samples (expired).

And UPDATE with today's goodies 6/12/2013

Today, I received my Bio true contact solution as well as my P&G Sampler, two great freebies that every couponer should apply for. The Bio true contact solution is quite impressive for a sample at 4 oz of solution and the P&G sampler had baby wipes (great as make up remover!), a feminine hygiene pad, and dental floss all in one little convenient box.

Links are available for any freebies still available here:

http://www.biotruechallenge.com/solution/tryit

https://www.pgbrandsampler.com/pgeds/brandsampler.jsp?site_source=en_us (expired for the spring edition, but sign up so you can catch the summer edition of P&G samples)

CVS Haul Week of 6/09/2013

Breakdown (including weekly sales):
1 Jergens Original Scent Lotion 3 oz = 2.69
1 Jergens Ultra Heal 12.5 oz = 4.49
1 Gilette Fusion Manual = 9.79
1 Maybelline Baby Lips = 4.19

Coupons:
2 off 2 Hand or Body Lotions
2 off Maybelline Cosmetics
3 off Gilette Fusion Manual
1 off Jergens 8 oz or more
20% Off Purchase Non sale Items Only (took off 4.23)
6 ECB

Subtotal 2.91
Tax 1.35
Total 4.26

BUT my ECB for Jergens didn't print even though the employee I spoke to said it wasn't trial. I was skeptical so I brought an extra bottle of lotion up to the counter, just in case and thank goodness I did! The lady was super understanding and asked if I'd like to return that item and get the bigger size bottle so I could get my ECB. So I got a refund for my 3 oz Jergens with tax which was applied to the following transaction.

Breakdown (including weekly sales):
1 Jergens Ultra Heal 12.5 oz = 4.49

Coupons:
0.80 off for something

Total 4.05
Cash applied 2.31 (I'm assuming for the refund)
I gave her a 20 dollar bill and got 18.26 back in change
And my total was 1.74.

NO IDEA HOW THIS HAPPENED. I think on the refund, they subtracted the discounts received from my prior purchase since it was no longer included in my total. Not too sure about that. She gave me my refund slip but I guess I left it on the counter because I couldn't find it anywhere. No matter, that's still okay with me. Still a killer deal. As far as I'm concerned, getting that 5 ECB was more important than saving the amount I would have save from the 20% on that item.

Final Outcome:
Jergens Deal 3.59 (20% off already applied) + 1.74 (with tax) = 5.33, receive 5 ECB
Gilette Razor 9.79 (20% off)= 7.83- 3 q= 4.83, receive 4 ECB
Maybelline 4.19 (20% off)= 3.35 -2q= 1.35 (AMAZING deal)

Total SPENT:
4.26 + 1.74= 6 total, receive 9 ECB
So 6 bucks for $22.96 worth of stuff or 74% savings.
Since I put 6 ECB into this transaction and got 9 ECB out.
My total cost after ECB's gained was technically $3.00.
No idea how. No idea why. I'm just happy with the results.

6/5/2013 CVS Mid-Week Haul

Oh yes, I am guilty of the mid-week visit to CVS. They sent me a 3 ECB credit for anything in the store that expired on Wednesday and how can you pass up 3 bucks? So I took advantage of a couple deals that are popular on the internet right now: the Revlon B1G50% + receive 4ECB, the CVS purse pack maxi pads, and Secret's Clinical Strength Sale. This was done in two separate transactions for maximum savings.  Personally, I was really excited about the purse pack deal simply because it always great when you get more ECB than you pay out of pocket for an item and also, because I can't wait to use that little pack to store random items in my purse! I love the paisley design on it and purple is my favorite color. =) Okay, now for the breakdown:

Transaction #1

2 Revlon Designer Collection Tweezers (each 7.49) Buy 1 Get 1 50% Off= 7.49+3.74 =11.23
1 Secret Clinical Strength (normally 9.99) on clearance for 4 each= 4

Coupons:
3 off Secret Clinical Strength greater than .5 oz
3 Emailed ECB
9 ECBs from previous purchase

Final Outcome:
2 Revlon Designer Collection Tweezers (each 7.49) Buy 1 Get 1 50% Off= 7.49+3.74 =11.23 (-3 ECB from email)= 8.23, receive 4 ECB
1 Secret Clinical Strength (normally 9.99) on clearance for 4 each= 4 (-3 mnf q)= 1.00 or 90% normal price

9.23- 9 ECB from previous purchase= 0.23

Subtotal 0.23
Tax 0.98
Total: 1.21, receive 4 ECB

So yea, I finally cashed out on some of my ECBs. I thought since I earned 3 extra ECB last time and got 3 ECB in the mail, might as well get some pretty tweezers that I've been waiting on. After the ECB's redeemed in this transaction, I technically spent 6.21, which is still less than the cost of any of those items by themselves.

Transaction #2

2 Maxi Pad Pack (1ct) x 1.99 ea= 3.98, receive 4 ECB (Free After ECB!)
1 Cucumber Aloe Facial Mask (normally, 2.57) on sale for 1.29= 1.29 (DIY Spa Day with the Little Sis)

Coupons: 4 ECB

5.27 - 4 ECB from previous transaction= 1.27

Final Outcome:
Subtotal 1.27
Tax 0.42
Total 1.69, receive 4 ECB

So total was $2.90 out of pocket for two tweezers, one clinical strength deodorant, two maxi pads with purse pack, and one spa facial mask. However, I spent 5 ECB on this transaction and so, technically, my two transactions cost me 7.90 for a savings of 74%. The best part was I would have paid 7.90 for just one of those tweezers +tax AND I walked away with 4 ECB + 2 ECB from my previous purchase for next week's deals! Not to mention, today I just got a 25% off coupon from CVS in an email. You know what that means -some more extreme couponing next week! See you in my next post and keep up the couponing. =)

Serious Savings with Online Promo Codes: (Wrapp.com, Hearts.com)

So I wanted to make a post about the importance of online savings and promotions. I've use a couple of these to get some pretty amazing savings. To start off with, I wanted to introduce you guys to Wrapp.com. In case you haven't heard about it, this website is a gift card giving service where you can buy gift cards and give them to friends for birthdays, graduations, promotions, etc. One of the best things about Wrapp is that they will offer giving select gift cards (usually ranging from $5-10) for free. Now I know you're probably thinking the same thing I was thinking: why would stores just want to give out $10 promo codes? It doesn't make any sense! The whole ideology behind giving out these free gift promo codes is that the recipient will likely spend more than the gift is worth. For example, you give your friend a $5 promo code for Office Depot. They go to the store and buy something worth $8. They never would have gone to the store if it hadn't been for your promo code. So Wrapp is a great way to advertise for different companies. Not to mention, it's a great way for friends to give each other little gift cards and stuff like that for free!

Now a couple months back, Wrapp was having a promotion where if you gave 3 friends a promo gift for Hearts.com, you would get a $15 promo code in return. So I did this deal and ended up with $15 to spend at Hearts. An important tip about Hearts, is that you can only use promo codes on non-sale items. Hearts.com is the most adorable clothing/jewelry website. It's all about recycling, fair trade, and traditional/cultural art in all the products that it sells so you can feel good purchasing whatever you do, knowing that the money is going for a good cause. Each seller has their own profile so you see where your money is going to, whether its a leather maker in the US or ladies in Guatemala. So I ended up buying the "Deeply Denim Pouch" for $18. But shipping was about $9 so all in all, my purchase was the following:

18-(15 promo)=3+9 ship= $12

which I thought was pretty decent for a denim pouch. And next thing I know, I get a confirmation email for my purchase and at the bottom of that email, it says that they're running a special promotion that if you submit a video of you opening your package and talking about what conscious consumerism means to you, that you can earn a $75 promo code. Now this is an amazing opportunity, I thought. Since they were a company that sells mostly hand-made products that are good for the environment and help support fair trade, a lot of their stuff was on the pricier side.


So when my package arrived, I recorded myself opening it and talking about conscious consumerism; then, I sent it in. A couple days later, I got an email saying that I was talking too softly in the video and therefore, they wouldn't be able to give me the promo code; however, they could offer me a 30% off promo for entering a video or I could simply submit another video to try again. With a 75 off promo code dangling in front of my face, I was quite determined and ended up redoing the video while crossing my fingers. In the next email, they thanked me for sending in another video and sent me the $75 off code!

 With that code, I bought the "'One Sip at a Time " Guatemalan Coffee Bag Tote $58 and "Alice" Leather Bracelet $28. To be honest, I never would have bought a leather bracelet for almost 30 bucks but I'd tried making a similar bracelet a while ago and ended up breaking my needle (not leather-proof) while trying. So when I saw the exact same design, I snatched it up with my promo code! By the way, I absolutely love that bracelet. It's the softest leather you will ever feel and goes great with any outfit because of its neutral tones. For those of you who see me often, as you know that tote bag is now a regular staple of my wardrobe and is one of my favorite bags. Overall, I couldn't be happier with my purchase which is represented by the following equation:

 

58+28=86 (-75 promo)=11+9 ship= $20

So my total for all of my stuff from Hearts.com was $32 including shipping after promo codes: a haul that included one Deeply Denim Pouch, one "One Sip at a Time " Guatemalan Coffee Bag Tote, and one "Alice" Leather Bracelet. A total value of $122 including shipping for both transactions! A nifty little extra about ordering from Hearts.com is that they will sent you a complimentary dust bag for any item that you purchase, no matter how big or small. So in addition to all the other great items that I got, I also received three complimentary Hearts dust bags. These dust bags really do come in handy. The largest one I use to hold onto laundry items. The smallest one I use to hold pencils and pens. Reduce, reuse, recycle right? ;)

 

CVS Haul Week of 6/2/2013

So today was an interesting shopping trip! I went to CVS with a couple things in mind and coupons in hand. As always, I took full advantage of a couple extra care buck deals this week. This week at CVS, when you buy any Physicians Formula cosmetic item worth equal or greater than 7.49, you get a 7.00 ECB. Also, when you buy an Oral B cross action tooth brush or select Colgate total mouthwash, you get 2.00 ECB each. I also did the CVS body wash deal posted about earlier this week.

Break Down: (including weekly sales)
1 CVS brand Fresh Body Wash = 2.37
1 Oral B Cross Action Tooth Brush (normally 9.99, on sale this week for 5.99) x1= 5.99
1 Colgate Total Spearmint 16.9 oz (normally 5.79, on sale this week for 4.99) x1= 4.99
1 Physicians Formula Last Boosting Mascara (with BONUS, fullsized mascara)= 10.49

Coupons:
2 off any cosmetic purchase of 10 or more (CVS mnf q) from Magic Coupon Machine
1 off any Colgate mouthwash 8 oz or larger (CVS store q)
2 off any Colgate mouthwash 8 oz or larger (mnf q)
3 off any Oral B Cross Action Tooth Brush (mnf q)
1 Free select CVS Body Wash q, max value 2.57 (CVS store q)

Final Outcome:
1 CVS brand Fresh Body Wash = 2.37 (-2.37 store q)= free!
1 Oral B Cross Action Tooth Brush (normally 9.99, on sale this week for 5.99) x1= 5.99 (-3.00 mnf q)= 2.99, receive 2 ECB
1 Colgate Total Spearmint 16.9 oz (normally 5.79, on sale this week for 4.99) x1= 4.99 (-2.00 mnf q, - 1.00 store q)= 1.99, receive 2 ECB
1 Physicians Formula Last Boosting Mascara (with BONUS, fullsized mascara)= 10.49 (-2.00 store q)= 8.49, receive 7 ECB

13.47 -8 ECB from previous purchase = 5.47

Grand Total:
Subtotal: 5.47
Tax: 1.80
Total: 7.27 w/ 11 ECB

Okay! So here's where things got interesting. My original total was 9.27. So I was sitting in my car, looking over my receipt (always a good thing to do before leaving the store) and found a miscellaneous charge on my receipt for "1 taxable item." I'd never seen that on my receipt before. My receipt also stated there was a total of 5 items bought so I went through my shopping bag and shrugged my shoulders. Then I realized that there was no deduction for my $1 off any Colgate mouthwash (CVS store q) and instead there was a $1 charge for an item that didn't exist. My guess was that when my cashier went to manually enter that coupon (it beeped), she accidentally charged an extra dollar, instead of taking one off. I went back inside and explained what I thought had happened to my cashier. She said that yea that made sense since there was no deduction for the $1 off q and gave me two dollars back for the $1 extra she charged me and the $1 she was supposed to have taken off. And then I realized this would be a great thing to mention in my blog, a really good learning experience! Before you leave the store, check your receipt against what's in your shopping bag. Maybe your cashier forgot to enter a coupon. Or maybe the amount entered in was wrong. Be thorough and exact with your numbers the first time and you'll save yourself an extra trip to CVS!

So in total, out of pocket, my transaction cost me $7.29 for all that stuff.
A haul which included one mechanical toothbrush, one body wash, one mouthwash, and two tubes of mascara. :) And the best part is that I have $11 of store credit I can use for next week's purchase! Since I put 8 ECB in from last week and got 11 ECB out this week, $3 of my transaction, is being recycled again next week (keep in mind, you can never make money, but you can RECYCLE it). So technically, what I actually paid for today's transaction was $4.29 and $1.80 of that was tax!! Not too shabby, if I do say so myself.

 

Cool Stuff I Get in the Mail

So I came back from an amazing date with my fiancé only to find a pile of samples/freebies sitting on my bed. I was too tired to open them last night but I did this morning and saw some much anticipated goodies! :)

 

 

So I got a complimentary issue of the American Lighting Association's 2013 "Lighting" magazine. I got some free dinosaur stickers from the Wildlife Conservation Society as well a "Trumped" ruler from Crestliner. My favorite freebie here was the personalized mousepad I received from CowCow.com. They ran a promotion a couple weeks ago (offer now expired) where the first 500 people a day to enter the special promotion code would get a completely free personalized mousepad. I took this opportunity to make an adorable mousepad of me and my sister from a couple years back. <3

Also, I updated this post to include two more freebies I received the day after. The microfiber cleaning pad I received as part of the Libman Big April Giveaway on Facebook. It took me forever to win something from that! Lastly, in the little baggy, is my free sample of Color Scents trashbags. Even the plastic bag it came in smells good haha. :)

 

 

Links are available here for any freebie still available:
http://www.americanlightingassoc.com/free-magazine.aspx
http://trumped.crestliner.com/get_it.cfm
CowCow.com deal, Dinosaur Safari stickers, Libman giveaway, and Color Scents samples (expired)

Freebie Alert: Free Copy Paper After Rebate (thru 6/1/2013)

Staples is at it again! They are offering their copy paper free after rebate. Print this coupon and take it to any Staples location by this Saturday 6/1/2013, pay 7.29 for the paper, and submit online for your rebate. This is personally one of my favorite offers because as a couponer, you can never have enough printer paper. And nothing is better than getting something you really need for free. Now a word on how the Staples Easy Rebate works: At the end of your transaction, some very long receipts will come out of the register. On those long receipts will be two important numbers, the rebate offer number and easy rebates ID number. Go to your computer and enter both these numbers at www.stapleseasyrebates.com when prompted. Staples will send you a confirmation email as well as a tracking number to see how your rebate is moving along! A month or so later, you will literally receive a check in the mail for the $7.29 that you can put directly into your bank account. This is by far the easiest rebate I have come across. It only takes 5 minutes to fill out and the process is super straightforward. Just a reminder, make sure to send in your rebate 60 days after your purchase date! I just received my checks for the last "free after rebate" promotions they ran so I'm extra motivated to take advantage of this new deal. Let me know how this deal works out for you!

*UPDATE*

 

The total for my purchase was 7.29 + 0.58 tx= 7.87. According to the website, it should take 4-6 weeks for everything to get processed. So I should be expecting a check for the original 7.29 next month. I just submitted for my rebate today and now all I have to do is wait!

Freebie Alert: CVS In-Store Coupon (print thru 5/31/13)

It's summer. Super hot outside. Just spent the whole day doing stuff. Now it's time to get inside and take a nice cold shower. How about if you could make taking that shower a little bit cooler with some free body wash?

Right now through 5/31/13, Minute Clinic (the official in-store clinic of CVS) is running a promotion that if you like the MinuteClinic FB page and put in your email/zipcode, you can get a full size body wash for free when you print the coupon and bring it to any CVS store through 6/23/13! Just wanted to give you guys a heads up on this great little full-size freebie. You may want to bring some change in case there is sales tax -I'll make sure to let you know as soon as I try this out! When you go in to redeem your coupon would also be a good time to register for a CVS card if you don't already have one. You'll need one because the easiest way to get in on some savings without any effort is to have a store rewards card. It's completely free to you, you can give them your couponing email (they'll send you nifty coupons via this email), and you can start earning those extra care bucks today.

I Want to Start Couponing BUT...

So you want to start couponing but don't know where to start? Or maybe you have doubts?

                        

Where do I get coupons?

From the newspaper, from the internet, from coupon booklets/tear pads in the store, from magazines, from clipping services. Most high value coupons will be found in the newspaper -in either Red Plum, Smart Source, or PG Brand Saver. For those of you at OLHC, the next time you're there look at the table full of booklets and flyers. I got my newspaper subscription from a flyer there; it was a deal with the OC Register and our school, PPA. Pay $1 and get a year's worth of the Sunday paper. You can't find a better deal than that anywhere especially considering that YOU CANT EVEN BUY A SUNDAY PAPER FOR $1. Not to mention, the school gets a donation for every subscription fulfilled.

The second most common way of getting coupons is through the internet. Most coupon websites allow two printings of a single coupon (each one with a different ID number) per IP address. This means that people with more than one computer at home can print more than 2 coupons per deal. Always make sure to print coupons in color because many of them will have a little colored dot that needs to be in color in order for it to be considered valid. Another tip: make sure to use all of the paper. Most coupons will take up maybe 1/4th of the space on the page. We're trying to save money here, remember? So don't be afraid to feed that half sheet of paper back through the printer in order to get the most bang for your sheet of paper!

If all else fails, you can get coupons in the mail, in booklets in the store, or in samples that you receive.

How do I find good deals without spending hours looking?

The internet! I would recommend checking a couple websites daily. My top three couponing websites are the following: thekrazycouponlady.com, hip2save.com, and freestufffinder.com.

These are three websites that I feel show a relatively accurate view of the couponing scene. They are updated daily with the best deals of the week so you can go through and pick which ones best pertain to you and your lifestyle. When you click on a particular deal, it shows you the coupons necessary for the deal and where to find them (either a link or a reference to a newspaper insert)- no need for searching through all your coupon inserts! Not sure how a particular deal is working out? All of the aforementioned sites have forums with plenty of feedback from other users so you can see what others have experienced before ever stepping foot in the store.

Why bother using coupons? Most of the ones I see don't even look like they're worth the effort. 

Every little bit counts. That's why you stack coupons and get products for cheap/free, silly! You might only have a $1 off manufacturer's coupon that you just printed off of couponnetwork.com. But when you stack that coupon with a $2 off store coupon along with that 30% off  CVS store coupon you just received in your email, you're looking at substantial savings.

For those of you who have contacts, you know how expensive contact solution can be. I am lazy and run out of that stuff so fast that I only buy the two packs. The price for a two pk of Opti-free Replenish costs about $20 (pretty average for a two pk of solution) but that week, it was on sale for 14.68. I combined the sale price with a 5 ECB I had and ended up paying less than half price on something I used every day without even using a coupon, just store rewards!

I don't need 24 bottles of ketchup -those crazy couponers! Who needs 24 bottles of ketchup?

I will agree with you on this one haha. Not everyone is stockpiling to feed a family of eight or just eats hamburgers every day and is in desperate need of condiments. That is just on the TV shows. And this goes back to THE GOLDEN RULE OF COUPONING: never buy what you don't need or can't use. Spending 79 cents on some great deal that will be useless to you, is a waste of 79 cents no matter which way you look at it. Spend wisely and you'll have more money to spend on things you really want.

I just missed a great deal on some 99 cent deodorant! What a bummer. It's the end of the world./ I just got a great deal on some 99 cent deodorant and bought out the entire store!

These are both incorrect ways of thinking; neither is better than the other. Stores cycle through their various weekly sales. You can expect to see that same kind of product on sale for about that same price approximately 3 months from now with the exception of seasonal sales. So don't sweat it! (Literally, haha) Just wait around until next time to take advantage of those deals. And directed towards the second comment, don't ever impulsively overbuy because something looks like a good deal. When you first start couponing, every deal sounds like the best thing on earth; you'll learn what a stick of deodorant should cost, not through the eyes of a general consumer but through the eyes of a couponer. Also, it's considered bad etiquette to partake in "shelf-clearing." If you just happened to grab that last one, that's okay; however, taking all 42 sticks of deodorant while leaving none for other shoppers is a discourtesy to your fellow shoppers and people like that give couponers a bad name.

What advice do you have for someone just starting out?

My best advice would be to treat this as a learning experience. You will make mistakes along the way. Maybe your coupon will beep at the register and doesn't go through. Or maybe you didn't read the fine print and bought one item too many. Or maybe you'll get confused with how to use store rewards and let them expire. You just have to take it as part of the price of learning how to save money this way. Smile and enjoy yourself a little bit. Couponing is supposed to help improve your quality of life -not hurt it.

To end, I just wanted to leave you with what inspired me to start couponing. I was at my job one day when a lady came up to the front desk. She'd been sitting at her table looking through newspaper inserts and cutting coupons for the last couple hours. She smiled at us and asked if we wanted some stuff. We thanked her and accepted the plastic bag, only to find that it was filled with all these brand new products- coffee, toothpaste, cough drops. I'd never seen anyone just give stuff away like that before to total strangers for no apparent reason. I wanted to be secure like that -to be able to feel secure enough in myself to give unselfishly. And so here I am blogging about my efforts over a year later! :)

                                  

                                       
                                           Now here is a goat sticker to brighten up your day.

CVS Haul 5/27/2013

So I was bad by stalling on this week's couponing trip and it showed. It was a bit of a disappointment that I had the swap the Jergens deal because the smaller size was out (snatched up by other couponers, I suspect!) and so was the Colgate deal I wanted to try. So much for those. In couponing, it really is the early bird that catches the worm. On popular deals, if you are not there to get them early on the first day they come out (Sunday), you won't get them at all. I also was unable to find the Neutrogena deal that the couponing sites are buzzing with. However, I was able to take advantage of a couple good extra care buck (ECB) deals this week. This week at CVS when you buy 2 Jergens products, you will receive a $5 ECB and when you buy a double pack of Crest toothpaste, you'll receive a $3 ECB. Also, all Dentyne Gum is buy one get one free this week.

Break Down: (including weekly sales)
Dentyne Ice Gum 16 ct x 4 total (1.50 ea wyb 2) + (B1G1 Free x 2) = 3.00 (essentially, you get 2 free)
Jergens Ultra Healing Lotion 10 oz (I got the bonus-sized 12.5 oz bottles!) x 2 (4.49ea) = 8.98
Crest Extra White 2 pk, 6.2 oz ea x 1 (6.29 ea) = 6.29

Coupons:
(2) 1 off Dentyne Gum Packs, 9 ct or larger.
(1) 1 off Crest Toothpaste, 4 oz or larger
(1) 25% CVS Coupon (received in my email, applicable to all non-sale items only) -total off: 3.82
8 Extra Care Bucks from a previous purchase. (equivalent to $8 off my purchase)

Final Outcome:
Dentyne Ice Gum 16 ct x 4 total (1.50 ea wyb 2) B1G1 = 3.00 [-(2)1 off mnf q] =1.00 total or 0.25 ea
Jergens Ultra Healing Lotion 12.5 oz x 2 (4.49ea) = 8.98 [-2.25 from 25% off]= 6.74, Get 5 ECB
Crest Extra White 2 pk, 6.2 oz ea x 1 (6.29 ea) = 6.29 [-(1)1 off mnf q] + [-1.57 from 25% off] = 3.72, Get 3 ECB

11.46 -8 ECB from previous purchase= 3.46 (rounding error in my math?)

Grand Total:
Subtotal: 3.45
Tax: 0.97
Total: $4.42 w/ 8 ECB

At the end of my transaction, the cash register spit out $8 in ECB for me to use on my next purchase. Now, don't go jumping for joy and thinking, "she only paid 4.42 and she got 8 ECB in store credit back -it must have been a money maker!" (Though admittedly, it's always a nice feeling to get more store rewards than your transaction just cost you out of pocket) Remember how I put in 8 ECB into my transaction from the Coupon section? Essentially, I just recycled my 8 ECB from my last coupon haul at CVS and applied that 8 to this transaction. And now, I will use that 8 ECB on my NEXT transaction. So I'm making that original $8 I invested work twice as hard by "recycling" it. This is a term known in couponing circles affectionately as "rolling;" the most common examples of how this phrase is used are rolling ECB's, rolling Register Rewards (Walgreens' store credit), or rolling UP Rewards (Rite-Aid's store credit).

So in total, my transaction cost me $4.42 for all that stuff.
A haul which included four packs of gum, two "bonus-sized" bottles of lotion, and one double pack of toothpaste. :) In comparison, if I had bought each pack of gum at the sale price of 1.50 some other week, it would have cost more than this whole transaction w/ tax (excluding ECB's). Just goes to show how important it is to wait and be patient when it comes to the sale cycles every week!
                              
                                 

Advice on Requesting Free Samples

What sounds better than trying a new product for free with no strings attached? Requesting free samples is an easy way to try something you've been meaning to try out and get a little something for free too. Since I've started requesting free samples, I've received all kinds of goodies in the mail. From trash bags to all natural sweetener to coloring books, you never know what the next sample might be for. I've received stickers, lotion, hair care, vitamins, recipes, feminine hygiene, perfume samples, tea, coffee, valspar paint, a hat, and various sample size beauty products.

There are a couple golden rules when it comes to requesting samples:

1. Set up an additional email account for sampling/couponing ONLY
This is incredibly important unless you want to be inundated with spam every day of your entire life.
Also, never give out your phone number except through a google voice account. You may want to consider setting up a free google voice number that way if a sample requires a phone number, you can give a valid number without giving out your own personal one.

2. Opt Out
ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS opt out. This is where samples will get the unexperienced newbie. Under almost every sample request form there will be a checkbox next to a little phrase that reads something like "If you would like to receive more info on specials, coupons, and other money saving advice from InsertYourCompanyHere, check this box." Chances are this box will be pre-checked so you have to put the extra effort in and uncheck that box unless you want to get 270 emails a month from a company you might not care about.

3. Be Patient and Do a Little Bit Every Day
Sampling, unlike couponing, takes on average 4-6 weeks to see any results. But if you take 30 minutes a week to fill out a bunch of sample forms, you will receive several goodies in the mail a couple months later. Do this every week and you'll see consistent results. I've come to the point where I check the mail and see stuff coming in every couple days/weeks.

4. Enter Online Sweepstakes
So you heard that Loreal is giving away 10,000 boxes of hair color every day for a month on FB. Go check it out. While you're visiting your FB, make sure to take 2 seconds to spin that wheel and see if you win something! I've won hair color, water bottles, and recyclable shopping bags so far.

5. Give Away as Little Information as Possible
If a sample form asks for your phone number, look to see if there is an asterisk next to it. If there's no asterisk, that often means that you don't need to provide that information -so don't! But companies put this on the sample form because chances are, you'll just fill it out anyway simply because it's there. You already followed step 2 so you can be relatively sure that you aren't going to be on anyone's calling list or will be sent any additional information. But you want to be extra sure. Be stingy with giving away personal information.




These are some of the things I've received in the mail so far over the last year or so.

                           

And another picture because I forgot to show you some more of these awesome freebies.

                           

And do keep in mind that while most samples will be "sample-sized," you will also find some samples for full sized products. Keep in mind that all these goodies were received through sample requests; this is not even considering couponing or online savings.

Mini Target Haul 5/24/13

This was my coupon haul yesterday. I had to go to Target anyway so that Sister could get her groceries and so I decided to bite the bullet and do the Brita deal that everyone's been talking about; I'm happy to say that everything worked out as planned!

Break Down:
Brita Kids' Water Filtration System x 2 (7.89ea) = 15.78 total
Target Flip Flops, Black, Leonie style (on sale, normally 2.50) x1 (2.00 ea) - 2.00

Coupons:
2 off Target Womens Flip Flops
(2) 3 off Brita Portable Water Filtration System mnf q
(2) 3 off Brita KIDS' Portable Water Filtration System store q

Final Outcome:
Target Flip Flops 2.00 (-2.00 store q)= free
Brita Kids' Water Filtration System x 2 (7.89ea) = 15.78 total [-(2)3 off store q + -(2)3 off mnf q]= 3.78 total or 1.89 ea

Please be advised that the Brita deal did *beep* for me with the mnf coupon. However, my cashier looked at the item, read the description and terms of use, and ended up pushing the coupon through. This haul was also performed in two transactions because all Target store q's are one per customer per day. I had a friend with me in order to qualify for redemption of my second Target store q for the Brita. All in all, I was very happy to get in on this deal and get a chance to try out these Brita water bottles! Plus some free sandals just in time for summer. =)

                                               

Some Couponing Lingo

Before I can post anything about my shopping trips, I do want to make some things clear for an coupon newbies out there. First, I posted the abbreviation (if applicable) as will be used in my blog for each couponing term. Next, I will include an informal definition for that term.

q=coupon

This is a general term for a coupon.

mnf q =manufacturer's coupon

Manufacturer's coupons come direct from the manufacturer. These include coupons found in the newspaper, on most tear off coupons, and most online coupons. If a coupon is a manufacturer's coupon, it will state this on the top of the coupon. 

store q =store coupon

Store coupons are made specifically for that store and are only for use in that store. This includes Target, Walgreens, and CVS coupons. These coupons will specifically state that they are store coupons. 

stacking q's =stacking coupons

Stacking coupons is an important concept when it comes to couponing. The biggest savings often does not come from just using a coupon but from "stacking" manufacturer's coupons and store coupons together for maximum savings.

ecb's -extra care bucks

Extra Care Bucks are basically the currency used by CVS's reward system. They will be earned by buying certain products as marked in that week's circular and can be used to buy just about anything in the store (besides the usual exemptions) on your next purchase.

sale cycle
Sale Cycles typically run the length of week. They start on Sunday and end on Saturday; they include all the items that are on sale that specific week. If you read closely on sales tags, typically they say something along the lines of "these prices valid from this date to this date" and that's what this is referring to.

% off coupon (CVS only)
Percent Off Coupons are q's that CVS will send to your email from time to time if your email is registered with them. They are good for a specific value (usually 20-30%) off of your purchase through a certain date. They are only good on non-sale items, even if the non-sale items are producing ECB's.

More will be added to this list as my couponing efforts continue.

Welcome!

Welcome to 123 Coupon! This is a simple blog about my part-time couponing adventures. A little about myself- I am a college student who is using coupons as a way to save money, try new products, and improve my quality of life. I've been doing this for a couple years now and since I've started, I have found that saving money has become an integral part of my life. Paying "full price" hardly ever happens. From thrift store scavenges to receiving cool samples in the mail to saving over 75% on everyday items, this blog will take you through all of it. I hope you enjoy hearing about my couponing experiences and come to see that couponing is as easy as 1 2 3!