I recently went for almost two years without paying money for shampoo or toothpaste. In the fall of 2007, before the word “recession” was an excuse for almost all behavior, I went on a kick to save money on groceries and toiletries. I quickly found a list of websites that told me which local stores had the lowest promotional prices on specific items, and also which circulars contained coupons on those some items, so that I could combine coupons with specials.
I saved up all of the coupons from our Sunday paper and also begged, borrowed, and stole coupon inserts from my patient in-laws. At one time I had a stack of coupon inserts that was higher than my cat. I would faithfully monitor my choice of coupon websites each Sunday night to find out which hot steals I could combine with which coupons from my substantial pile. Since I had multiple copies of the same inserts, I could buy the sale item with coupons multiple times in the same week.
As a result of my time couponing, I know which brands are featured in which of these three inserts: Redplum, SmartSource, and P&G. I know which stores offer promotions on some of these brands on a semi-annual basis. I checked the internet coupon sites so many times that I knew much of the lingo that their regulars used. (For instance, OOP is “out of pocket”.)
My employer is within walking distance of two Rite Aids and two CVS’s (one of the perks of working in downtown Pittsburgh, and I don’t have to pay a commuter tax to shop). I also live within walking distance of a third CVS. I do not have much trouble going to either of these stores to buy a sale item only to find that it had been sold out. I can just hit up the next Rite Aid or CVS on my list.
I stockpiled “bargain items” for about a year until I got burnt out and stopped watching the weekly deals. By that time, I had amounted a stash that included (among other groceries and toiletries) about 18 months worth of toothpaste that I got for “free” after rebates and coupons, and about 20 months worth of shampoo for which I paid less than $20 OOP after the same. At one point, I had run out of room for my loot, so some of it also went to a food pantry and to my family. The one coupon site that I visit recommends that people who shop this way should maintain no more than a six-month supply of their stockpile at any time. I guess that I went a little bit overboard.
Well, we are now almost completely out of shampoo, just as we are packing to leave for vacation. I went onto one of my favorite coupon sites and discovered that tomorrow I can get a really good price for a certain shampoo that I use, and that there should also be a $1.00 coupon in circulation for it. Well, tonight I spend an hour searching for the coupon and discovered that in our region, the inserts provide a $.50 coupon, not a $1.00 coupon for the item in question.
Oh, well. Better luck next time. And there will be a next time. We will run out of our favorite laundry detergent in a few weeks, and CVS regularly offers a Buy One, Get One Free sale on this brand. The P&G insert often has coupons for the same item. I need to pay attention for both of these offers so that I can combine them soon.
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