Frugal Friday: The Thrill of the Coupon Hunt!

It's time for another edition of Frugal Friday. This week's topic:

The Coupon Hunt!

Those of you who are seasoned couponers know what I'm talking about when I make reference to a trip that you make to a store not necessarily only to buy something, but also to see if there are any good coupons to be snagged. It could be that you heard that a free coupon booklet was up for grabs in that store (as in CVS, frequently), or that the store was on the way to another errand and you decided to see what offerings were new.

The best stores I've found for coupon hunting are not usually grocery stores. I've found that unless it's a booklet, grocery store coupons are typically tear pads for a somewhat paltry amount ($1/2 or $1/3 of something for example), or blinkies that spit out nondoubling low-value coupons. The best finds are high value double-able manufacturer coupons. This is because:

• Manufacturer coupons can be redeemed anywhere - provided they say "Manufacturer Coupon" (as opposed to something like "Store Coupon" or "Target Coupon", etc.)
• If there is a number 5 as the first digit of the bar code number and the coupon does not prohibit doubling or tripling, you coupon's value may be doubled or tripled as long as it fits the parameters of the store's coupon doubling or tripling offer.

Good form!

Where you really want to be on the lookout for high value coupons as we slide into the holiday season. Use good couponing form!

• Specialty displays specially set up for that item. Think store entrance displays (by the ad flyers at Giant, or the theft-detection gates at CVS, or a "holiday baking" display at any grocery store).
• Drink fridges or food freezers - like at CVS or Wawa. Often there are manufacturer coupons on these for $0.50/1 or $0.75/1 20 oz. drinks, which when doubled or tripled can net you a free or near-free drink! (Note: when I'm road tripping - as many of you are bound to be doing this holiday season - one of my favorite pasttimes is searching drink fridges at gas stations for coupons to add to my coupon envelope. Often there are drink coupons available in other parts of the country that I wouldn't encounter at home, even within the same national chains where I'd buy gas!)
• Displays at your doctor's office. Be on the lookout, especially in the waiting area, for mini displays featuring coupons. These are just terrific because the expiration date is usually several months away (since the display designers know that the display may sit there for a long time) and the values are almost universally higher than what you'd find in your Sunday paper. At my daugthers' pediatrician there were Dove hair care coupons for $1/any Dove hair care item! When that doubles I could be getting some cheap Dove hair care. There were also "new baby" booklets featuring high-value coupons for Johnson & Johnson baby care products, infant Tyenol, and other baby drug store necessities.
• Customer Service or Pharmacy coupons. I've spotted rogue coupons at the Customer Service desk in my Giant and at the pharmacy counter in the back of my CVS.

Bad form!

How not to harvest coupons (a.k.a. examples of Bad Couponing Form!):

• Off of the packaging of an individual item of merchandise. I'm talking about "peelies" or perforated edge coupons that you can tear off of an item's packaging. It's generally considered bad couponing form to harvest these when the implicit assumption is that you will be buying that item right then and there - and it deprives those who buy the item of their coupons, too.
• In stores that you otherwise never frequent. You want to be in the position of being a coupon-savvy - but appreciated customer. If you walk into a store where you never spend money and harvest a bunch of coupons that you would definitely never redeem there, well - let's just say there's no short-term benefit or long-term benefit for that store.
  
• By tearing off an entire coupon pad. Try to reasonably assess how many coupons you truly need. Even if you come across a soda coupon that could mean freebie sodas when doubled, is it really necessary to tear off the whole pad of 50 coupons? Being coupon-greedy can not only alienate you from the stores you visit, but also deprives fellow couponers of a shot at savings of their own. If there are only a few coupons left and you can truly use them, don't feel bad about harvesting them - just consider others and your actual ability to use the coupons when taking them.

Earlier this week, I found myself in the rare position, delightedly, of being a few minutes early on the road to drop my eldest off at preschool. Since my local CVS is on the right side of the road that we take, I decided to make a quick stop just to see what was on offer. I pulled in, unbuckled the girls, and headed into the store straight to the coupon register tape (CRT) coupon kiosk. It used to be that when I stopped by CVS after not going there for a while, the coupon kiosk would print me a cornucopia of high value coupons, also often involving a $/$$ coupon (Ex. "$5 off any purchase of $15 or more."). Apparently not anymore! I scanned my card and had a coupon for "$1 off any People magazine" print out. Psh!!

Anyway, I hustled the girls around the store a bit looking for any other worthwhile coupons and then headed back out, when I noticed on the theft-deterrent gates at the entrance there were manufacturer coupons for $0.75/1 Halls Refresh cough drops. SWEET. Those could double at almost any Northern Virginia grocery store (since most grocery stores now double up to $0.99 in value) - or even be used in that same CVS when on sale! All I need to do now is keep Halls Refresh cough drops in mind when I'm browsing matchups across the blogosphere. The cough drops are bound to be on sale for $1.50-$2 per pack soon, so they could be free or close to it with a doubled coupon. I took three coupons and we left the store to get back on the road. For 5-7 minutes of my time, I netted $4.50 worth of coupons - for an hourly rate of return of around $45/hr. tax-free. I love successful coupon hunts!

Where do YOU sniff out coupons these days?

Frugal Friday: Buying Travel Sized Toiletries at Bed, Bath & Beyond!

It's time for Frugal Friday!

I visited Bed, Bath & Beyond for the first time yesterday in ages. Really, ages. I mean, when did they install a huge pharmacy section? I was shocked to see makeup, soap, etc. as part of the new "Harmon Pharmacy" in my local store. What a change!

I had expired coupons in hand and was determined to get a Snuggie as a gift for my SIL. I knew BBB accepted expired coupons, so I planned to use a $5/$15 purchase coupon along with a 20% off coupon. The Snuggie was quickly found and cost $14.99. Wanting to get over the $15 limit, I walked through the new travel toiletries section. That place is mini heaven! I was impressed with the variety of toiletries and the competitive pricing. I like a particular aerosol hairspray and mousse, and both were there. Contact solution is only $1.49, not ~$5 like it is everywhere else. Major props to BBB for this new endeavor! I hope it lasts!

So, back to the Frugal Friday story. I bought a Snuggie and 2 travel size toiletries and spent just over $12. Score! I plan to go back with other expired coupons to stock up on Christmas gifts in the next few weeks.

Keep those Bed Bath & Beyond coupons!

Frugal Friday: Cutting Our Own Hair

It's time for Frugal Friday!

For the last five years, I have been cutting my own hair. At first I was very tentative and cut it in a simple long cut. But over time, I grew more adventurous. Yes, I have made a couple of mistakes, but nothing that couldn't be amended with a couple of bobby pins or some hot rollers for a few weeks. And I have learned from my haircutting mistakes to where I now give myself a decent layered long cut in the bathroom mirror in about 5 minutes.

Now for some caveats: My hair is thick and straight and fairly manageable. If it were a texture requiring a bit of extra care or shaping, then I would probably invest in professional haircuts. But since my hair is straightforward and my days are spent at home with my young daughters (and not, say, as a newsanchor), I save around $288 annually in haircutting, if you assume $40 cuts every 8 weeks with a 20% tip.

I also cut my 3-year-old daughter's hair. Her texture is even more forgiving as it has just a bit of wave, and I am not about to spend money sending her to a salon when the haircutting practice I've earned on my own head can be put to use on hers! Even if I would instead take her to a budget haircutting place every 8 weeks at $20/cut, with 20% tips, that's still $144 saved annually.

Since I'll be regularly cutting my baby's hair soon, that's a total of $576 + tax saved annually for the three of us just for me being willing to experiment with a pair of haircutting scissors at home. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, right? The one place I do invest is in the scissors - I spent over $13 on scissors specifically made to cut hair which have serrated edges. :)

What grooming tasks have you turned into DIY efforts to save money?

Frugal Friday: Running!

Though it's not my favorite form of exercise, I have to say that running is by far the most frugal form of exercise! All you need is a pair of running shoes (running clothes optional, we all know that!) and you can run anywhere. Maybe it's not that easy, but it is a whole lot cheaper than the annual gym membership I let lapse at the beginning of the summer.

You may have read that I recently ran a half marathon. I used a Hal Higdon half marathon training schedule to get myself in shape. It was a lot easier to train knowing that many have gone through this type of schedule before me. Having a one-page printout on my fridge kept me accountable and also gave me a place to take notes on runs and keep track of where I was going to run certain distances.

Click here for Hal Higdon's 12-week half-marathon training program.

For more Frugal Friday tips, head over to Life as Mom.

Frugal Fridays: Thrift Store Shopping

It's Frugal Friday!


For those of you who subscribe to our RSS feed, sorry about the incomplete post! I've (Mel) been out of town all week and just finished this one.

I have become a huge thrift store shopper. I've familiarized myself with the layout of our local store in the past year, and I've also signed up for the store's email list for sales tracking. With 1 to 2 visits per month, my family is now getting outfitted with secondhand clothes more regularly. And with my new sewing hobby, I've scored some vintage fabrics at next to no cost!

There are two stores I highly recommend here in the Northern Virginia area.
Yesterday's Rose
9960 Main Street
Fairfax, VA 22031-3902
(703) 385-9517‎
http://yesterdaysrose.org/

Salvation Army Thrift Store
13287 Gordon Boulevard
Woodbridge, VA
(703) 490-2396www.salvationarmy.org


Here are my tried and true tips for thrift shopping.

• Find & master a thrift store near you. Familiarize yourself with its store layout and sales cycles. I saw a thrift store advertised in my community newspaper for months before I visited it. At first I wasn't impressed with the store's organization, but over time I've become familiar with where things are and how staff put things on the racks. The staff is very helpful, though they're very busy. I signed up for the store's email list and now frequent "Thrifty Thursdays" when clothing & shoes are on sale for 50% off.
• Keep a running list of what your family needs. This helps me know how to shop (which section to hit first and where to spend my time) and limit what I buy. I'm learning not to buy something just because it's a good deal. If it's not on my list or something we'll use within the next 3 seasons, I don't buy it.
  
• Be willing to buy something for another season. This tactic has helped me plan our wardrobes within the coming year. I often find name brand items that I adore but know we won't use in the current season. If I know we have storage space for such items, I buy them. If not, I don't.
• Shop without kids whenever possible. Even though I know my store's layout well, I can't make it in & out of the store in less than an hour. My toddler would never hold up for such a long time, so I shop when I have coverage for him. Our store is open from 9 am - pm, so I have options on when I visit. Of course first thing in the morning offers me the best selection, so I aim for that when possible.
• Use a cart and snag things when you first see them. I like using a cart because it allows me to have both hands free. My shop organizes things by age (adults vs. kids) and sex, then loosely organizes things by color. There can be a lot to sort through, so it's crucial to have my hands free. I pull anything I might remotely buy, then I find an area of the store that has good lighting. I sort back through everything and weed out items that look the wrong size, have stains or other damages, etc.
• Enjoy the idea of bargain hunting! Twice in the past year I've had great runs where I find Banana Republic items for myself, Old Navy purses in mint condition, and name brand toddler clothing for my son. At least 2 other times I've left the store with next to nothing. I don't allow myself to get disappointed on the days I don't find much, because I know that I'm saving my family lots of money on the days when I DO find steals. Part of finding steals is having days where you don't!
  

Below are some pics of recent thrift shop finds.

$3 for this Disney brand tutu!

$9 for beautiful Naturalizer shoes!

Redemption Unlimited is for entertainment purposes only. Mel and A. are not a financial advisers and no information found on this site should be construed as financial advice.

Frugal Fridays: Dirt Cheap Yarn

Admittedly, I am not a knitter. But, I recently heard a fantastic story from my college roommate, who was visiting with her husband. Apparently my roommate's mother-in-law peruses the racks at a deep-discount retailer which sells imperfect or security-ink-stained clothing; essentially one level below the likes of Ross or TJMaxx. She is not shopping for clothing - she's shopping for yarn in the clothing racks.

Since size or small imperfections are no hurdles, she can pick up knit sweaters for pennies on the dollar, whereupon she returns home and unravels the sweaters. (If it were me doing this, I'd totally do it while watching reruns of my favorite show...) SO, as I understand it, she is essentially getting entire skeins' worth of yarn for a buck or two per skein, which she uses to knit hats and mittens. (Compare this with buying yarn at the craft store, where even with a sale or coupon the yarn could cost around $4-5 per skein.)

I am pretty sure my jaw had hit the floor by the time my roommate had finished telling me about this practice of her mother-in-law's. Once I'd fully absorbed the story, I said, "With your permission, I'd like to blog this..." :)

If you were a person who was very crafty with knitting winter accessories, especially for rapidly-growing kids who were only going to use them for a few months, this could be an extremely frugal way to go about it!

Frugal Fridays: Breakfast Burritos!

It's time for the blog carnival Frugal Fridays - when we blog about the small habits and other tidbits we include in our comings and goings to save money on a regular basis.

About every other month I sign up to take snacks to our adult Sunday School class. People like to eat hearty breakfast food, and I've found a way to make breakfast for a crowd without breaking the bank... breakfast burritos!

Since I buy large amounts of eggs at a time from Costco, I can make 24 burritos for $6-8 depending on what I throw into the scrambled eggs. The price is right, and I like that I can make these the night before we'll eat them, stow them in the fridge, then warm them just before eating the next day. The burritos also freeze well in foil. I usually make a few extras so I can have an "on the go" breakfast to throw in the toaster oven for 10-12 minutes.

Mel's Breakfast Burritos

1 lb. sausage, browned (I use my homemade turkey sausage)

18 eggs, scrambled

Salt & pepper

1 and 1/2 to 2 cups salsa

2 cans black beans

2 cups shredded Mexican or cheddar cheese

24 small flour tortillas, warmed

Roll of foil, cut into pieces to wrap burritos individually

Cook sausage in saucepan and drain juices. Set aside. In same pan, scramble eggs, adding salt and pepper to taste.

Add salsa and black beans to eggs. Stir until evenly combined.

Turn off heat and set up an assembly line: tortillas on the left, then cheese, then egg/salsa/bean mixture. Assemble one burrito at a time, starting with cheese, then wrap it tightly in foil.

Warm burritos at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes, 35-40 minutes if stored overnight in fridge.

Redemption Unlimited is for entertainment purposes only. Mel and A. are not a financial advisers and no information found on this site should be construed as financial advice.

Frugal Fridays: Flexible Spending Accounts

It's time for the blog carnival Frugal Fridays - when we blog about the small habits and other tidbits we include in our comings and goings to save money on a regular basis.

We have a Flexible Spending Account through my husband's employer. It allows our healthcare-related expenses to be pre-tax, which ultimately saves us about 20% on what we spend on those expenses!

There are a couple of big ways that you can do FSA shopping once you secure an FSA through your employer. One is to buy FSA-elligible items, and submit receipts for those items at the end of the spending year. The other (which I use the most) is to buy FSA-elligible items with an FSA-specific credit card issued to you, and use that credit card only on FSA items to ensure that you are spending only on what qualifies.

The tricky part of an FSA is trying to determine a) what you already buy that qualifies, and b) how much you think you'll spend on that over the course of the spending year. If you don't use your FSA-set-aside dollars, you lose them! I know of a coworker who once discovered that her FSA spending year deadline was fast approaching, and so she set about finding a pricey pair of prescription glasses just to ensure that her FSA dollars wouldn't float out into the ether, utterly foregone.

As you can see, it can quickly turn into a "The Price Is Right"-style game. Ultimately, you're generally better off erring on the side of setting aside less than you'd spend than more, since FSA-set-aside money that you don't spend is forfeit.

Here are just a few examples of things that may qualify under your FSA plan (check your plan specifics to be sure!):

Over-the-counter cold and pain medications
Allergy medications
Sunscreen
Diaper rash creams
Bandages
Doctor's office visit and prescription copayments
Flu shots
Eyeglasses and contact lenses

...and much, much more! Even if you're a guru of CVS shopping, you could still stand to save 20% on whatever you do spend on FSA-elligible items, so that's more money in your pocket.

So check out the details of the FSA plans offered by your employers; once you determine your theoretical FSA-elligible pending over the course of the year, the rest (shopping for them, and sometimes saving receipts to submit at year's end) is pretty painless for all the savings you might reap.

Redemption Unlimited is for entertainment purposes only. Mel and A. are not a financial advisers and no information found on this site should be construed as financial advice.

Frugal Fridays: Chai concentrate recipe

I recently stumbled across a new chai concentrate recipe. A. posted her version here, but I never happen to have cardamom pods lying around. A., however, seems to! I was glad to see a recipe that included ingredients in my pantry.

I only have regular Tetley tea in the house. Though I didn't try the chai with black tea, I still liked it, especially with one of my delicious birthday cupcakes that just happened to be chai flavored!

The downside of this recipe is that it makes a huge amount of chai concentrate. Since I only drink it about once a week, I'm looking for a creative way to use up the rest. Does anyone have a recipe for muffins or cake that uses chai concentrate? If so, do tell!

Frugal Fridays: Eat from the Pantry and Taco Seasoning!

Over at Life as Mom, Jessica has challenged bloggers to write about what we're doing to stretch our dollars a little further.

Both A. and I are committed to cooking and baking as much food as possible for our families. During Eat from the Pantry month, we've ramped up our efforts more than ever. I've learned some things about myself this month, and I'll share more about that later, but I now know that eating from the pantry will be something we do every month.


Out of necessity earlier this week, I looked up a taco seasoning recipe because I was out of the Ortega packets I usually have in our pantry. I usually get those packets for under $.75 when Shoppers does triple coupons, but those days seem to be few & far between anymore. I was pleasantly surprised with how well this seasoning recipe tasted. I like that I can control the amounts of heat and sodium, making it family friendly for us. I quickly made a second round of the seasoning after using it and stored it in a small plastic container in my spice cupboard. I used it again in a tortilla chicken soup I took to a friend yesterday, and we still have more for later!

Here's the recipe if you'd like to try it. I originally found the recipe here but adjusted the salt, pepper and red pepper flakes because the amounts were way too much for our family.

Mel's Taco Seasoning
Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon black pepper

Directions

In a small bowl, mix together all ingredients with a fork. For a finer consistency process seasoning in a food processor. Store in an airtight container.

Frugal Friday: peppermint hot chocolate recipe

My sister and I adore the peppermint hot chocolate served at Starbucks. At around $3 per cup, though, I've been experimenting with ways to make a yummy, quick equivalent at home.

My favorite hot chocolate mix is a dark chocolate organic fair trade can of mix found at Trader Joe's. I haven't spotted it there this year yet, so I've been working with Swiss Miss packets since I'm too lazy to make some from scratch.

Here is a recipe that will score you a cup of delicious peppermint hot chocolate for less than 50 cents per serving. Enjoy!

Mel's Peppermint Hot Chocolate

1 packet of hot chocolate, any variety

10 ounces boiling water

4 ounces of milk, any variety (I've tried vanilla soy and skim; any milk adds some necessary creaminess!)

3 drops of peppermint extract

crushed peppermint candies or candy cane, sprinkling of marshmallows or spoonful of Cool Whip, optional

You'll want to use a large mug for this one - it's a generous serving or enough for one mom and one toddler's small sippy cup. Add ingredients and stir.

* NOTE: A little peppermint extract goes a long way, so be sure to use a medicine dropper or pour the extract on a spoon before mixing it in. Too much extract ruins the drink.

Frugal Fridays: Making Your Own Fancy Chai Latte - and Other Hot Drinks

This post is a part of the Frugal Fridays carnival, hosted by Life as Mom.

I know that making one's own fancy hot drinks is a strategy common to frugalistas near and far, but I think it's a habit that's only proliferating in the face of the current state of the economy. People are starting to measure the actual return on investment of $4 drinks, and wondering if they might not get a similar ROI with their own brews and concoctions at home. Even better, most find that they prefer their own drinks because of the ability to control flavor aspects and ingredients to their liking.

Which brings me to the homemade chai latte. Back in my college days, my student union introduced chai lattes, and at around $2/cup for the largest size, I was instantly hooked. Even though it initiallly had to be explained to me as "pumpkin pie in a cup", once I was in the chai-buying groove, I felt so hip and cosmopolitan - not to mention warm and sugar-sated.

But folks? Even $2 for a drink can add up quickly if it's a habit, and mine was quickly becoming one in my college's colder climate. Then one semester, my longtime roommate and chai-loving bosom buddy came back to school with a revelation. Over the break, a friend of hers had taught her how to make chai lattes from scratch at home. What's that? Chai whenever you want - in the comfort of your own dorm room? No cross-campus treks through the cold to spend money on chai? I was mesmerized as she laid out the method (posted here with her permission):

Ingredients for one homemade chai latte:

• 1 bag plain black tea (you can use decaf black tea for a decaf chai latte!)
  
• 1 mug full of milk
• 6 or 7 cardamom pods, cracked open with any mortar/pestle type method (but not completely crushed)*
• 3 or 4 whole cloves
• 1 cinnamon stick (or ground cinnamon)
• Sugar or Splenda to taste

*Note: I have found these at Whole Foods in a small package in the bulk dry foods section - several hundred pods for around $4.50. I'm willing to guess that they might also be found at Wegmans and international groceries in the area.

My chai master says:

Aficionados would demand that you cook the recipe on the stove, starting with slowly boiling the milk, tea, and sugar, then adding the cardamom pods, the cloves, and the cinnamon stick and simmering the mixture for about 10 minutes. They would also say that Splenda is a horrible product.

You can also dump everything into a mug and microwave it. [...which is exactly what we would do in our dorm rooms...with Splenda!]

OK, so we were not chai purists - but my roommate's recipe removed the aura of mystery from chai lattes - and to this day I see how far I can break down fancy drink concoctions by myself at home. Other ingredients I have been known to add to my homemade chai lattes:

• Fresh sliced ginger
• Ground ginger
• Ground cardamom
• Nutmeg

Note: one way to keep chai latte seasonings contained is to use a tea infuser (I got mine at IKEA for cheap). Make your drink hot with the black teabag, then add the other ingredients via tea infuser to brew - in other words, don't microwave a metal tea infuser. :) When you're done brewing and ready to drink, all you need to do is remove the teabag and the tea infuser!

If you're having a gathering of friends over and want to impress with fancy drink options, you're in luck! This is the time of year when hot drink mixes and ingredients are marked down for holiday sales - and coupons for them are everywhere. Here's what you need to host a barista gathering on the cheap (I put "couponed!" next to items for which I've seen coupons in the past):

• Regular ol' coffee (couponed!)
• Milk (lots)
• Half and Half (lots)
• Cans of whipped cream (couponed!)
• Black tea (couponed!)
• Cinnamon sticks/ground cinnamon
• Cardamom pods
• Cloves
• Sugar (couponed!)
  
• Honey (couponed!)
• Artificial sweeteners, if desired (couponed!)
  
• Flavored syrups (couponed!)
• Hot chocolate mix (couponed!)
• Bittersweet chocolate shavings and/or caramel syrup, to sprinkle/drizzle on the top of whipped cream drinks along with cinnamon

This assortment pretty much enables people to make their own coffee, tea, or hot chocolate, adding their dairy product and sweetener of choice, and topping with whipped cream and the aforementioned accoutrements like chocolate shavings and caramel syrup.

If you'd like to make flavored coffee to rival expensive flavored gourmet coffee, check out our classic post on making your own flavored coffee in your coffee pot at home.
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