My gramma always had (and still has) a free box in her closet. It's simply a box of things she's gotten for free from Walgreens' mail-in rebates. When we were in college, my sis and I loved rummaging through gramma's free box and snatching up new deodorants and toothpaste tubes. I'm trying to be frugal in every area of life and I've always kept the free box idea in the back of my brain as something to do when I had more free time. Ha! When will that ever happen? When Jenny Muth sent me a link to money saving mom, I caught the coupon/rebate fire!
The author of the money saving mom blog does all the leg work. She finds the sales and links you to the appropriate online coupons which make most purchases free or just a few cents. She covers big chain drug stores like Walgreens, CVS, and Wal-Mart. She also gives tips and how-to instructions for newbies like me.
I can't tell you how THRILLING it is to get something new for free! I'm totally hooked. Check out the loot I got in the picture above. I spent a grand total of $1.47 for all of those products. And I have a $2 mail-in rebate for the toothpaste so really I earned 53 cents in the transactions.
There seem to be two disadvantages in the process. 1) Traveling to different stores to garner the deals. This week we already had a planned family trip to Wal-Mart and then during my grocery shopping run I hit two other stores to get the pictured freebies. If I'm going to keep this up I'll have to be extremely organized with my coupons and shopping excursions. 2) Do we really need this stuff? I'll need to be selective in what I acquire.
Do any of you partake in these free offers? If so, what tips do you have for me?
6 comments:
I have the same reservations about trying to do this. Since I work so much (nearly 52 hours a week), do I have the time to organize & run around? And since it's only me that I'm shopping for, many times I really don't need things very often. But it is fun & the high you get is addictive. The free box is an excellent idea & can be a blessing to so many people. Pros & cons...what to do? ;-) Have a great weekend!
Sadly, we don't have CVS or Walgreens locally; if we did, I would love to try doing the CVS deals. We do have Rite Aid, and I've been doing their rebate program for a little over a year. I can't get quite as good deals there as most people seem to with CVS, but they do have quite a few free-after-rebate items each month (some months are much better than others). I love being able to stock up on toothpaste, shampoo, etc. And it's fun because I get to try new brands that I probably wouldn't buy otherwise, due to expense.
I love the Money Saving Mom site too, and have gotten some good freebies through it, such as a year's subscription to Family Fun magazine, among other stuff!
I was just about to post something on my blog about this after I did one last trip to CVS today and took a picture. I started CVSing about six weeks ago after I came across the Money Saving Mom link (I think through Jenny Muth as well). I am COMPLETELY hooked too! For me, it does take time to map out my plan and organize the coupons even with having the Money Saving Mom work her scenarios so I have to make sure I'm not spending too much time on it since time is worth a lot these days.
I started out very simply with CVS because I wanted my out of pocket to be $1-$2 instead of buying stuff to save a little, but I have gotten more adventurous as I have learned what works best for me. I got $100 worth of stuff this week for $7 but best of all I came away with $30 to spend towards my next time there. Like you said, it wasn't all stuff I will use so some is in a give away box, but I needed to have a $100 total so I would get $20 off the stuff I really needed that wasn't free after coupons. The best things I got this week for the $7 out of pocket were 3 packages of Huggies diapers, 2 Cover Girl foundations, a Schick Quattro razor, 2 boxes Cheez-its, and Advil. The stuff that went into the box this week was 5 Excedrin Migraine, 1 CVS brand Tylenol, 6 toe separators, Febreze spray, a Febreze candle, and 2 gift bags.
This stuff is really so addicting! I go by a CVS store on my way to and from French class twice a week so it's no extra gas. I'm going to have withdrawal when it's time to shop in Cameroon where everything is more expensive than regular prices here and there are no CVSes!
Good for you for being frugal both for your family and so you can be a blessing to others.
Thanks to Carrie's favorites, I found the Money Saving Mom and LOVE checking in with all of her tips. I usually partake of the CVS deals more than the Walgreens deals but it just depends. I prefer the ECB instead of the Rebate program but that's because I haven't gotten as hooked on Walgreens yet. I like how she posts other people's ideas and finds:). Using the coupons and being very organized, even though time consuming, is my way of making a contribution to keeping my husband's hard-earned money in our bank account.
My husband has been thrilled with the money that we have saved at CVS and has actually taken part in my little game :). I'm not as good at the game as other people are but I'm learning. My cupboard has 15 toothpastes, tons of lotions, deodorants, shampoos, cleaning supplies, diapers for our new little one, and razors. It is so nice to be stocked up on these items before Marcus arrives. I'm glad that you have jumped on the money saving mom bandwagon:).
YAY for you! I am so glad you've discovered the thrill. The real thrill for us is being able to use designated household funds to pay for other things - every little bit helps!
I did recently take a shopping break, and it was what I needed to do at the time. Organization IS key, for sure. I usually make a list of deals and wait until the end of the week to go. Then I try to decide if the trip is worth it. Walgreens, Rite Aid, and Kroger are all less than 2 miles from my house. Other stores have to have really great deals for me to travel the 5 plus miles. It might not seem like much, but those 5 miles and the hour it takes to do the shopping definitely factor into how good the deal ends up being.
But I'm SO GLAD you've discovered the joy of free personal care products. WoooooHoooo!
I haven't done this yet, but I like reading everyone's tips and adventures on it.
We were at Aldi tonight and I was thinking how much I appreciate stores like that because they are cheaper. I was telling Kevin about the CVS and Walgreens deals that everyone gets. He told me I should try it because I work VERY close to a Walgreens.
Maybe I will soon have a picture on my blog...Maybe...after I slow down a bit at work. Thanks so much for the blog and all of the tips...
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