Archives for October 2010

Target & the Great Trial-Size Test

10/22/2010 by Barbara

**This post may contain affiliate links. I receive a small amount of compensation when you purchase from my links, which I"ll totally blow on waffle fries and sweet tea, y'all!**

My Latest Loot from Target:
all this for $10.83 out of pocket!

In case I haven’t said it lately, I really love Target! Not only do they have the one of the best coupon policies around, but the store coupons you can use to stack with manufacture coupons just makes me want to do a jig! (But I promise, no one wants to see that sad mess….)

One thing I have been reading about, and been wanting to test out, is using my coupons to purchase trial size products. There are oodles of coupons for $1 off an item, and most trial/travel size items are marked at, slightly below, or slightly above a buck. This makes for some snazzy deals! You must read the coupons carefully — some specifically exclude trial sizes!

While there on Wednesday, I decided to test the trial-size waters with Target’s wall of trial size items. I used three $1 off Tide coupons for three “one use” packets (ya’ll know by now how to squeeze much more than one load out of that!), which were priced at $0.99 each*. While there, I spotted Clean and Clear face wash at $0.97 each, and was elated to find my $1 off coupons for them, too. (I thought they would be great to keep in my travel bag, instead of lugging a larger bottle of face soap.) I knew I could do the same with the Secret deodorant. And finally, I had one $1.00 off coupon for Head and Shoulders, to match with one trial size bottle at $0.97.

As the picture suggests, I got a few more items while there, but had store and manufacture coupons to stack for them all. Purchasing thirteen items, I used fifteen coupons! Essentially, all items were free except for the diapers, wipes, and Scrubbing Bubbles! Naturally, I’m still experiencing quite a nice high, thanks to my trial-size test.

I encourage you all to take the trial-size challenge for yourself. You may never buy regular sized items again!! :o)

* – Target’s coupon policy is to round a coupon down, if it exceeds the value of an item being purchased. Therefore, for example, if you have a coupon for $1.00 off an item, priced at $0.97, the cashier is to mark the coupon’s amount down to $0.97.

Keep on saving! :o)
--Barbara
**Remember, y'all, this post may contain affiliate links. I receive a small amount of compensation when you purchase from my links, which I"ll totally blow on waffle fries and sweet tea, y'all!**

Filed Under: Coupons, Target

(Shhh…. Sneaky) Sloppy Joes

10/21/2010 by Barbara

**This post may contain affiliate links. I receive a small amount of compensation when you purchase from my links, which I"ll totally blow on waffle fries and sweet tea, y'all!**

Want to bulk up a simple classic with some veggies? Try my Sneaky Sloppy Joes.

Sauté some onions, garlic (two staples I put in just about any skillet dish), finely diced squash, finely chopped spinach. You can also add finely diced carrots, bell peppers of assorted colors, brocolli, and whatever else you can sneak in to the pan! I do all this before browning the ground turkey. Then, prepare as you normally would, whether your sloppy joe sauce is canned, enveloped, or made-from-scratch (c’mon!).

I’ve been packing mine with extra veggies for over a year, and no one is none the wiser. Yet.

(Please don’t show this to my family… please?)

This recipe is also posted under my Big Oven account. :o)

Filed Under: recipes Tagged With: evergreen

Unit Price, Unit Price, Unit Price!!!

10/20/2010 by Barbara

**This post may contain affiliate links. I receive a small amount of compensation when you purchase from my links, which I"ll totally blow on waffle fries and sweet tea, y'all!**

I have discovered that many people do not take unit price in to account when attempting to shop savvily. (Did I just make up a new word?!!) So for my fellow frugal shoppers, or my frugal-shoppers-in-training, let me explain the value in knowing the unit price of an item you wish to purchase, or are pondering purchasing.

What the heck is a unit price??

The unit price is the price you pay per unit of measurement. It can be the price per ounce, price per pound, price per diaper, price per napkin….. get it? Let’s use a bottle of ketchup for this example. Say, you have the SALE price for a 20 oz bottle of ketchup, being $3.00*. In order to find the unit price, you divide the price by the number of ounces. In this case, $3.00 divided by 20, which equals $0.15. At most grocery stores, the unit price will be listed next to the sale price.

Why is the unit price important?

In order to get the most for your money, that handy-dandy unit price can prove quite helpful when trying to decide between two brands, two sizes, etc. Let’s take that ketchup, for example, again. Say you have another bottle of ketchup, perhaps a 50 oz. bottle of catsup (WOAH!) for $5.00. Which would be a better deal: the 20 oz bottle or the 50 oz bottle? If the unit prices aren’t listed, whip out your calculator and see: $5.00 divided by 50 = $0.10. The unit price for the larger bottle is less. But here’s where it gets tricky. Say the grocery store is running a BOGO** sale for the 20 oz bottle. Then, you would be getting DOUBLE the ketchup (40 oz.) for $3.00. Is that a better deal? Do the math to see: $3.00 divided by 40 = $0.075. In this case, the two bottles are a better deal than the one big bottle.

Does the unit price change when using coupons?

When you have a coupon to factor in to the equation, it does change the unit price for said item. But, with a quick zip of the calculator (or your wonderful math-friendly brain), you can determine the better deal. Sticking with our ketchup bottles, let’s play with a few scenarios. First, let’s say you have a coupon for $0.50 off 2 bottles (which means $0.25 off each bottle). Calculate the unit price for the two 20 ounce bottles. $6.00 – $0.50 = $5.50. So, $5.50 divided by 40 oz = $0.13. The unit price for two 50 oz bottles at $5.00 each: $10.00 ($5 x 2) – $0.50 = $9.50. $9.50 divided by 50 oz = $0.19. So, again, the unit price for the two smaller bottles would be a better deal. Second, let’s say you have the same $0.50 off coupon for two bottles, along with a BOGO sale. Go back to the original sale price for one, take off the coupon, and divide. So the two 20 oz bottles would be $3.00 minus $0.50, making them $2.50. Divded by 40 oz, gives you a unit price of $0.0625. And for the two 50 oz bottles: $5.00 – $0.50 = $4.50/100 = $0.045. So, in this case, the BOGO and coupon work best with the bigger bottles.

I Still Don’t Get It!? Gimme some more examples!!

Couldn’t catch up using the ketchup and catsup? Read on, fellow Frugallers to get another explanation…

Since unit price isn’t always available on items (like diapers), you’ll need to be able to calculate the unit price on your own. Check out this scenario, using unit price and coupons: First, let’s say that a certain brand of diapers comes in two different packages: the “jumbo” or the “mega” pack. The “Jumbo” holds 40 diapers for $8.99; the Mega holds 80 for $17.99. Which is the better deal?? The unit prices would be as follows: “Jumbo”: $8.99/40 = $0.225 (rounded off) That means you pay roughly 23 cents per diaper. “Mega”: $17.99/80 = $0.225 (rounded off) That means you pay roughly 23 cents per diaper. In this case, you’ll pay about the same. However…..

But what about coupons? This certain brand often has $3.00 coupons floating around. So let’s play with that: “Jumbo”: $8.99 – $3.00 = $5.99 / 40 = $0.149 unit price (a little under 15 cents per diaper) “Mega”: $17.99 – $3.00 = 14.99 / 80 = $0.187 unit price (a little under 19 cents per diaper) So, in this case, the coupon makes the difference: the smaller size is the better deal.

Unit Price: The bottom line

My point in sharing this wonderful math knowledge is to show you that, sometimes the advertised deals are not always the best deals out there! With some quick math, you can find the best deals for your money by finding the true unit price on the products you’re considering for purchase. When all coupons, BOGOs, and other deals are factored in, comparing the TRUE unit prices can really show you where the REAL deals are!

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*Prices and units of measure are rounded off to nice, even number here, because I’m just not that math-savy today. (Except for the price of diapers, that is forever ingrained in my brain!)

**BOGO = Buy One, Get One [Free]

Filed Under: Coupons, Coupons 101 Tagged With: evergreen

The Power of the Coupon

10/20/2010 by Barbara

**This post may contain affiliate links. I receive a small amount of compensation when you purchase from my links, which I"ll totally blow on waffle fries and sweet tea, y'all!**

Psst! Wanna get high?

Did you know that you can get “high” with coupons? It’s known in the Money-Saving-Mommy-Blogging community as a “coupon high”. Apparently, however, coupons have acquired a bad rap, mainly as a device for old ladies, or willy-nilly SAHMs to use. Do you think THEY get high? You bet!

The purpose of this post is not to discuss my perplexity for those not accustomed to using these wonderful li’l gems. My purpose is to share some of my strategies on how to BEST use coupons, in an effort to let others experience that wonderful coupon high. Here are my rules, in all their rambling glory:

AFM’s Coupon Rules/Guidelines

A coupon, or any sale, is only worthwhile if it is something you would have purchased otherwise. For example, the coupon for $2 off a ham sandwich isn’t really a good deal if you’re a vegetarian, right? However, if you’re almost out of toothpaste, or simply wish to stock up on it, then using a coupon for a good deal on toothpaste would make sense. Thus, my next pointer:
Collect, collect, and collect! With the power of BOGO, clearance prices, and sales, coupled with my coveted coupons, sometimes the store brand is NOT the better deal. It’s all about timing. Therefore, I collect coupons for items that I may purchase (i.e. food, household cleaning items, health and beauty products, etc.) if the price is right. (The key is flexibility in what brand you purchase.)
Coupon Stacking! Some stores will let you stack their store coupon with a manufacture coupon. HUH?!? “Stacking” means that a store will allow you to use both coupons at once, on the same item. For example, Target allows you to stack their online store coupons, with any manufacture coupons. So, if you have a Target store coupon for a Brita water pitcher, for instance, as well as a manufacture coupon for said pitcher, you can save even more! (If you’re not sure about a store, consult their website, but be prepared to dig, dig, dig!)
Organized coupons make for USED coupons! Contrariwise, disorganized coupons tend to be forgotten, and then become sad, expired coupons. There are many ways to organize your coupons, and you’ll need to play around with a system that works best for you. One method to keep coupon collections organized is to take a clear, plastic shoe box, and place categorized envelopes in the box. Another strategy is to use one of those handy-dandy index card boxes, along with index card dividers with tabs, and organize that way. And, of course, there’s also the plastic envelopes with dividers inside. I, in all of my OCD glory, created my own “notebook”, using numerous plastic pouches. (That’s a post for another day…)
Further, it’s not enough to just organize your coupons, you must keep them in mind when shopping, or preparing a shopping venture! For me, I have my coupons out as I create my grocery list. Any time I have an item with a coupon, I star the item, and paperclip the coupon to the bottom of the list. Thus, I’m not scrounging around for said treasures when it’s check out time.
I also keep my coupons and grocery list handy when scouring over the Sunday paper sales circulars. That way, I can keep in mind what items are needed (already on said list), as well as what items may be on sale (perhaps to stock up on?) to add to the list.
Which leads nicely to why you need to plan your shopping trip ahead of time. Did you know that grocery stores anticipate most of their shoppers making impulse buys? Guess what? That’s where they make a killing! If you plan ahead, and have the discipline to STICK with your list, you’d be surprised how quickly your savings add up. On a sidenote, there’s always the high incidences of MomBrain, which prevent you from remembering regular items, like milk… Anyone suffering from MomBrain is automatically allowed a little wiggle room from their carefully planned lists. ;o)
When checking out at the register, I highly recommend handing the coupons over, one by one. This way, you can watch the register, and make sure that each one rings up. There’s nothing worse than returning from a carefully planned shopping trip, only to discover that -for one reason or another- a coupon did not go through! (Small pieces of paper have been note to float to the floor undetected, never getting scanned…) Plus, if you hand them over one-by-one, you can salivate, watching the total SHRINK with each coupon scanned! :o)

This is, more or less, how I “coupon”. Am I perfect every time? Nope! But, as I’ve evolved in this ever-expensive world, I’ve picked up a few tricks along the way. If even one of these tips helps you save a little money here or there, and you, too, experience that wonderful coupon high, well, perhaps I’ve done my job.

You will read this multiple times on AFM,, but it’s bears repeating: Find a system/method that best works for YOU.

Now, go! Coupon! SAVE! And get high! ;o)

P.S. Additional suggestions are always welcome.