Wisk for $1.31 at Family Dollar

Hurry over to Family Dollar with your $3 off coupon on Wisk.  In the 8/29/10 Red Plum insert there was a coupon for $3 off of Wisk.  Family Dollar has it on sale for $4--using your $3 off coupon it comes to $1.31 with sales tax in Minneapolis.

fyi--Red Plum is one of three possible inserts that come in your Sunday paper, the other two are Proctor and Gamble and SmartSource.

Tightwad Tip #6: Any mug will do!

I know a tightwad shouldn't be buying their beverages out but I confess to being a popaholic and I find my best deal using a refillable mug.  $.At SuperAmerica it costs me $1.07 to fill my  64 oz. mug in comparison a 44 oz. cup of pop comes to $1.47.    SuperAmerica is my favovrite because if you use your loyalty card every 7th drink is free so it averages out to $.93 cents a mug.  Holiday also allows you to use a refillable mug but it is a little more.  I'll get back to you on the price. 

You can use any mug at any convenience store.  In other words--you can use a Holiday mug at SuperAmerica.

Tightwad Tip #5: BOGO Coupons

In Couponese BOGO refers to Buy One Get One Free Coupons.  These are my favorites.  Frequently Walgreen's or CVS has a deal where if you buy one item you get a second free.  If you take a BOGO coupon to a store who is having a BOGO sale you get two items for free.  Last week I scored two Right Guard deodorants for free at Walgreen's using a BOGO coupon.  I guess the store gives you one for free and the coupon gives you one for free.  The only catch is that you have to pay the sales tax.

Tightwad Tip #4: Expired Coupons

Cub foods accepts expired coupons up to three months after the manufacturer's date.  Rumor has is that Eden Prairie accepts them six months after the expiration date.  Check with your local Cub to determine how much past the expiration date they accept them.

Tightwad Tip #3: Store mailing lists

Get on the mailing lists of stores you frequent and they will send you coupons by e-mail.  Cub Foods, Walgreen's, and CVS all have mailing lists.  CVS and Walgreens typically send coupons that are $5 off of a $25 purchase.  Essentially a 20% discount.  I use opportunities like these to get free items.  Last week I got two cans of coffee free at CVS using their coupon.  Another week I used a similar coupon at Walgreen's and got 4 bottles of Diet  Coke for free.  One week Cub Foods sent me a coupon for $2 off any chicken purchase.  The next week they had boneless skinless thighs Buy One Get One Free $3.99 a package.  I used my $2 off coupon and another $.55 cent off peelie attached to the package and received two packages of bonelesss sknless thighss for $1.45.

If you plan on subscrbing to many store mailing lists you should consider getting a separate e-mail address so  your personal e-mail doesn't get bogged down.

Tightwad Tip #2: Traveling to the burbs

Sometimes it pays to travel to the suburbs when making larger purchases.  To give you an example I live in Minneapolis where our local sales tax is 7.775%, if I travel to neighboring Richfield or Bloomington the sales tax is 7.275%.  A difference of 1/2%.  I know 1/2% doesn't sound like much but take this example a $1000 television or computer in Minneapolis would cost about $1077 but just a short distance away I would pay $1072.  A difference of $5 is not much I know. However, I could buy a pound of nice coffee with that $5 dollars.

Princess Post #1: E.L.F

Do you know what E.L.F is?

No I do not mean the little men who help Santa deliver presents on Christmas eve. Im talking about E.L.F cosmetics. Im so excited, today while I was at Target they had cosmetics that were just $1.00 a piece, they had blush, lip gloss, eye shadow, sharpeners, etc... Or a three pack for 3.00. They even had where you could pick your own colors eye shadow and then buy a compact to insert them.  You don't have to be stuck with some icky colors they pick for you.

                                                                             Yasmin :)

Tightwad Tip #1: Early Edition Sunday Paper

Any person that wants to save money should pick-up the early edition of the Sunday paper which comes out on Saturday morning.  The Minneapolis Star & Tribune is available for $.75 and the Pioneer Press is available for $1.00.  I frequently find mine at Cub or SuperAmerica.  Be advised. Always-always check to see if their are inserts in your paper.  There are people I personally considere thieves who removed the coupon inserts from the paper.  There are three possible inserts to look for.  Smart Source, Red Plum, and Proctor and Gamble (P & G).  The P & G insert only comes out on the first Sunday of the month and is loaded with good coupons.  Check the paper before you pay for it to see if their are inserts in it.  There is nothing worse than getting home and finding out you bought a paper that has no inserts.  I almost forgot to mention also look for the Parade magazine it frequently has a coupon or two.  The last thing about the inserts you need to know is write the date of the paper on the front cover of the inserts.

Later I will be telling you about coupon databases where you can search for specific coupons and match them with your store inserts.

Learning Together

Hello-Hello-Hello!

I don't know what possessed me to do this.  I was talking to a computer friend of mine and he said starting a blog is really easy.  So, I thought what the heck--let's try it out.

I'm an avid coupon clipper which I started over 30 years ago when I was a little girl.  I used to go through the Sunday paper and find coupons for free gum that I could redeem at the grocery store in town.  Today,  I am a mother of three and I find it quite challenging to feed and clothe all of them.  To complicate the issue I have a slight addiction to shopping.  I have discovered with couponing that I can go out on a little shopping trip and spend less than a dollar--totally satisfying my urge.

I like to share my deals with family and friends but frequently in this fast-paced society we have barely enough time to talk.  So this is my attempt to share the deals I find with others.