First,
It started with a dare.
A dare in the name of Lent.
He got me where it hurt the hardest.
You know that habit you hate the most?
I. will. stop.
I was thrilled.
Name your price.
I had to give up
*gasp*
online shopping
ouch.
It was how I started my day. My inbox stuff with marketing emails and sample sale updates. Hours wasted staring at things I would never purchase. And dollars wasted on return shipping for the things I did. I'm a terrible judge of size and things never look the same in person. This could be a good thing...
I can buy my contact solution in an actual store. So what if drugstore.com is having another sale? I don't need to price compare everything before purchase or look for cashback deals. Driving to an actual store (where I run the risk of getting hit by other cars) means I don't have to look for free shipping codes. I think I can make this.
I was serious.
I removed over 20 email subscriptions.
Reason for removal?
"I am giving up online shopping for Lent. Don't worry I will be back."
Then,
April introduced me to coupon sites.
This is totally my favorite.
People are so creative! They stack manufacturer coupons on top of in-store deals with rebates so they end up paying next to nothing or even making money back.
This just CANNOT be right!
So I tried it for myself.
First I got a coupon organizer to be super official (and its hard to keep track of everything).
Attempt #1 : RiteAid : toiletries
Jane got me totally hooked on John Freida Root Awakening shamp
oo.
oo. It smells yummy and makes my hair soft.
Its cheaper than Fekkai but still pricier than Pantene.
The Plan:
Get a up to a $6.99 Single Check Rebate #4 (must purchase a John Frieda Frizz-Ease styler AND a shampoo/conditioner; SCR will be equal to the cost of the shampoo/conditioner)
Get a $5 Single Check Rebate #41 (limit 3) when you buy $15 worth of Jergens Natural Glow or Moisturizers, Biore Facial Care Products, Ban Antiperspirant Deodorant, John Frieda Hair Care Products or Curel Moisturizers
Get a $5 Single Check Rebate #41 (limit 3) when you buy $15 worth of Jergens Natural Glow or Moisturizers, Biore Facial Care Products, Ban Antiperspirant Deodorant, John Frieda Hair Care Products or Curel Moisturizers
Deal Scenario (based on on-line prices):
Buy 1 John Frieda Frizz-Ease Curl Boosting Mousse $5.49
Buy 1 John Frieda Frizz-Ease Shampoo or Conditioner $5.99
Buy 1 Biore pore strips $7.99
Buy 1 Biore Facial Cleanser $7.99
Total $27.46
Use the $5/$25 Rite Aid coupon found here (use zip code 43666) or here (PDF coupon)
Use the Buy any Deep Cleansing Pore Strips and Get 1 Cleanser free coupon from the 3/7 SS
Use the $1/1 Rite Aid Video Values Biore coupon found here
Use the $2/1 Biore Strips coupon found on most Biore products
Use the $2/1 John Frieda styler coupon from the 3/7 SS
Use the $3/1 John Frieda shampoo/conditioner coupon from the 3/7 SS
Use the $1/1 Rite Aid Video Values John Frieda coupon found here
Pay $5.47
Get back a $5.99 SCR #4 (i.e. the cost of the shampoo/conditioner that you choose to purchase) AND get back a $5 SCR #41
Final Cost FREE + a $6+ moneymaker!
What I actually did:
Purchased shampoo, detangler (next to the styling products), Biore strips,
and a bottle of coke for Jbear (for putting up with my experiment).
Used $5 off $20.
Use the $1 off Rite Aid Video Values coupon for John Freida
Use the $1 off Rite Aid Video Values coupon for Biore
I don't know what SS means so I didn't have any of those.
I can get the $5 rebate.
Apparently the leave-in-conditioner/detangler spray <> styling product.
So no $6.99 rebate.
Darn it. Why do detangler sprays always smell so weird?
Darn it. Why do detangler sprays always smell so weird?
Attempt #1 = FAIL.
Attempt #2 : Toys R Us : games
Every Easter I woke up to find a giant Easter basket filled with toys and candy that my mom purchased from the grocery store. Then at night she hid hard-boiled eggs from the fridge around the house and made my brother and I try to find them because if we did not they would end up smelling up the house. I didn't get a new Easter dress because my mom dressed me as if every Sunday was Easter when I went to church.
This was our Easter tradition.
This year I decided to make lilB the best Easter basket ever!
My goal is to make the total cost of the basket < the cost of a cool soccer basket I saw at Walgreens ($15.99). He doesn't need candy because with all his operations he has the most expensive teeth ever and I figured if he got board games it would keep him away from the TV and I can play too. haha.
The Deal
Buy Elefun Hungry Hippo Game Game $12.99
FREE plush elephant ($9.95 value)
Use $4 off Hungry Hippo coupon here
Get $3 mail-in rebate
Buy Operation $8.99
Use $5 off Operation coupon here
Get $3 mail-in rebate
Pay around $15
After rebates around $9
Get back a $5 Toys R Us gift card for spending $20 (before coupons)
Final: $4 for 2 games, 1 plush elephant
What we actually did:
forgot to pick up the mail-in rebate form
I think I can salvage this one
Attempt #2 = Semi-FAIL
Attempt #3 : Toys R Us: DVDs
Andy is going to college and Woody & Buzz are devastated. How are they going to deal?
Yes I am talking about Toy Story 3. I am going to see it in theaters because I love Pixar.
I saw Wall-E 3x in one week and Up on opening day. I love Pixar. A lot. Could you tell?
Toy Story and Toy Story 2 were both released on Blu-Ray and include and offer for a free movie ticket.
I've been holding onto my $10 off Disney Movie Reward coupons.
While I was at Toys R Us semi-failing with the Easter basket games I found the bestest deal I could!
(Costco had DVDs $24.99 each and $10 off if you buy both but Costco only takes Costco coupons. Haters.)
Buy Toy Story and Toy Story 2 ($29.99 each)
Toys R Us deal buy 1 DVD get 1 50% off
Also, buy both get $10 off
Total = $35
Not bad.
What I actually did:
What I actually did:
Sign up for Disney Movie Rewards here.
Use codes 786936294507 and 786936294521 in the Enter Code section.
Get $10 off coupons for each.
Final Total = $15
Final: $15 for 2 blu-ray DVD combo packs, 2 movie tickets for Toy Story 3
Attempt #3 = WINNER!!!
So Lent was a fail but I hope my dad likes his new fitness trainer. 
I don't know if I want to online shop so much after Easter. Sample sales are rather stressful.
Get $10 off coupons for each.
Final Total = $15
Final: $15 for 2 blu-ray DVD combo packs, 2 movie tickets for Toy Story 3
Attempt #3 = WINNER!!!
As for the no online shopping bet?
I made it to Palm Sunday.
What got me?
My bro and I bought my dad a Wii like 2 years ago to get him to exercise.
Unfortunately Wii Fit was always sold out. So poor Wiibi sat and collected dust.
EA Active has good reviews but always sells for around $60.
It was on sale for $43.54
Used $20 off $40 Promo Code: PAXEAST842
Free Shipping
Total = $23.54
So Lent was a fail but I hope my dad likes his new fitness trainer.
His contract ends this month so he will have lots of free time and I better see some sweat! Hmph!
Jillian Michaels working it.
I don't know if I want to online shop so much after Easter. Sample sales are rather stressful.
After all this coupon madness, I may never pay full price for anything again.
Except maybe staples like milk or oranges.
(Did anyone else totally take advantage of the 5lb cuties for $2.97 from Safeway?)
wow this took way too long to type.
HI Miss C.Mi, SS stands for "SmartSource", in case you haven't figured it out yet ;)... it's one of the coupon inserts in the Sunday paper. I love couponing, but I am also very much a minimalist... so, yezz, i also need to exercise a bit of self control and moderation when it comes to these good deals. But I LOOVE Rite Aid and CVS drug store games. We never pay for personal care items! bwa ha ha. Oh as you may have noticed, there is a bit of a learning curve to this couponing business. I got frustrated in the beginning after a few fails (esp cuz the websites make it look so easy!), but then after some practice, i got pretty good at it! =)
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