Scavenger

In an awkward moment the other day, I found myself squatting next to a self-checkout station's trashcan.  My son, who was enjoying a ride on one of those bright, orange cars attached to the shopping cart, was clinging on to this trashcan, and attempting with his other hand, which had disengaged from the steering wheel, to pull items out from it. 

As I intercepted my way between the trashcan and his hands, I noticed something wonderful.  Register coupons.  No dirty tissue papers or ABC gum, no used drink bottles (which I might have recycled for 5 cents if there were any there) or anything sticky or grimy-- only crisp, beautiful, register coupons.

Someone ahead of me had no problem discarding $1 register coupons for any paper towel purchase!  Someone ahead of me had no problem discarding $1 register coupons for any dish detergent purchase! 
It was as if they practically just threw the rolls and bottles into the trashcan unused. 

I picked them up, cleaned my hands with the free Purell wipes the store keeps available at the entrance, and happily organized them into my purse.  Lo and behold, today's Stop and Shop flyer advertised for brand name Bounty paper towels--  10 for 10 sale.  I just need to go this week and pick up two for free!  I'll just bide my time and wait for a sale on dish detergent.

I am not advocating trash scavenging, but if you happen to be at that level while extracting a toddler from its sides, you might just find a reward.

Drinks are in/on the House

Forbidden soda.  Bright bottled fluids with electrolytes.  Individual juice servings infused with "Natural Energy with Yerba Mate Extract."  All wonderful, refreshing, beverages which my family rarely partakes in, especially when out at an event which sells them anywhere from $1.50 to two bucks a bottle.  If we do splurge with a drink not in a reusable water container, or at least a recycled bottle, it is with Poland Springs, which usually comes out to 16 cents a bottle for a pack of 24 at $3.99.  (I purchased my last two packs at CVS for $2.99; costing 12 cents a bottle, but I used my rewards coupons and checked out the load without using any cash). 

Today is the final day at Stop and Shop to purchase your choice of $15 worth of products (listed in their flyer) to receive a $5 rewards coupon for your next purchase.  Although I had no coupons to match this up, I still fell for the deal, lugging home 16 bottles of Powerade, 12 bottles of Coca-Cola, and 2 Minute Maid Strawberry Kiwis (one did not make it in the photo above).  I figured that if by chance, by desperation, that is, we purchased drinks outside at $1 per bottle, we would have spent $30.  With the rewards coupon, I only spent $10. 

As a bonus, which completely surprised me, I received a coupon that stated:  "Congratulations!  Your Coca-Cola product purchase using your Stop& Shop card between 3/25 and 3/31 qualifies for a FREE Coca-Cola Zero Basketball.  Visit MyCokeRewards.com and enter the code below to claim your basketball."  I certainly don't mind waiting 10-12 weeks to find a free basketball in the mail, which I can save as a gift for one of my athletic sons. 

So don't forget to check those coupons that pop out of the register.  You never know what treat you might be receiving.

Incidentals revisited

Benjamin Franklin's adage "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" still rings true today.  With March and April reigning as peak months for contracting influenza, there is nothing like doing one's best to prevent from getting sick.  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend flu vaccinations done in October and November.  For those who have skipped this precaution, other prevention tips include avoiding close contact with sick people and avoiding eyes, nose, and mouth touching. 

My bills went exponentially up this month for the very reason of flu illness.  Additional sick visits to the pediatrician, each $20.  For my youngest, we took him to the emergency room when his fever led to shakes, ending up with a bill for over $270.  Over-the-counter Mucinex cost $13, after using a coupon.  Tamiflu medication copay was $27!  Sadly, I couldn't even go to the Price Chopper pharmacy for this, since Tamiflu was out of stock there, and therefore I was not able to at least recapture some of the cost with gas points (they would have awarded me $1 off each gallon of gas for a new prescription).  Until this month, I was not aware that a small bottle of Pedialyte can cost almost $7!  I did not stock up on Gatorade, juices, gingerale, and other fluids that were most probably on sale a month or two back, and ended up needing to buy these items full price, including popsicles that were made from 100% juice and ended up costing almost $5 a box!  Add to this full-price on children's Advil, Tylenol, and Motrin (my son had 103.5 for almost four days, requiring us to piggyback medication), and one can see how easily one can go astray from sticking to a grocery budget.

Save your coupons in an organized manner so that they will be on hand at a moment's need.  Stock up on OTC medications, fluids, anti-bacterial wipes, and tissue boxes when they are on sale.  And by all means, keep purchasing that not-from-concentrate orange juice weekly from whatever grocery store advertises them on sale.  An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, and a pound of money.

A Bright Idea

When I showed one of my sons how this lightbulb, which normally costs around eight or nine dollars, was free, he asked, "you mean you can double up on coupons?"  It was an aha moment for him.  Since the grocery store ran a special on these energy efficient bulbs -- handing out store coupons to sell them at 99 cents each, I had easily pulled out my manufacturer's coupon for $1 off the product. 

Similarly, a recent special at CVS last week was even more titillating -- Allegra allergy tablets were on sale for $6.99, with a $6.99 rewards coupon awarded after the purchase.  After applying my $2 coupon off the product, I paid only $4.99 and received $6.99 back.  These were the same OTC medication tablets I had recently purchased for my mom.  They were on sale back then and I used a coupon, but I certainly did not earn $2 during the transaction as I had with this one.

So, don't forget to stock up on your coupons.  Although I sometimes never envision myself using some of these products (for example, I would have never bought such an expensive lightbulb and I personally do not have allergies), I certainly would try them if they were free.  And if I don't end up trying them, I could give them to someone who could.

February Numbers and Good Hood

I am so pleased to have calculated the final tally for the month of grocery shopping in February 2011 to be under $800 -- $761.89.  However, due to many occasions and celebrations during this month, I ended up spending an additional $105.54 on gifts/miscellaneous, plus my Honda Pilot needed $132 worth of maintenance (after a 10% coupon I used).  My oldest son landed his first job at Target, which required a purchase of a $12.99 red polo shirt (which of course went on sale a week later).  My middle son won 2nd place in another spelling bee, which required a wonderful gift from his parents -- a Gamestop gift card, which I charged at the grocery store and should have technically included in my grocery list.  A wrong turn in NH landed us at the Mall of New Hampshire, instead of downtown Nashua. That mall trip translated to $37.27 in snacks -- our favorite Aunt Annie's pretzels (no coupon since I was unprepared), Orange Julius, and Pizzeria Regina and an eighteen dollar purchase at Aeropostle...

Reflecting on the additional expenses, I am disappointed that I overspent.  I should have considered these incidental expenses and really trimmed my grocery bills even more to allot for them.  So perhaps I need to make my goal for March to be less than or equal to $700, to compensate for this month.

On another note, I feel victorious over not succumbing to the call of Ben and Jerry's last night.  On sale at 3/$7, I almost bought one... my hands touched the glass before Pistachio! Pistachio!  Even though I knew Walgreens was selling B&J's for only 2/$5 this week, the call was strong, siren-like.  Alas, I moved the cart two doors down and went for a healthier choice -- Hood Frozen Yogurt, on sale for $1.99.  I had a coupon for $1 off two.  With live and active cultures, their Chocolate Fudge Brownie flavor provides 3 g of protein, 10% DV of Calcium and 4% Iron.  Total fat is only 1.5 g per serving.  My craving for sugar satiated, my wallet preserved, I can asseverate that my choice of Hood was good!