Legal Shoplifting

Pardon my play-on-words. :-) But it’s true that sometimes using coupons and scoring good deals makes one feel rather like a shoplifter... but in a good way.

Can I say that?

Anyhow, you all know I love a sweet deal as much as the next person, but when the items you purchase are paid to take end up being family favorites – expensive favorites – it just makes the feeling that much greater.

Hence my happy night last night. And with any luck and some coupons, perhaps you could get the same!

Giant Food Stores are currently (through Friday) running a promotion: buy $15 of select Kashi products and receive $5 off your next shopping order.

They also are offering their dollar doubler days.

Being the Kashi junky I am, I had printed multiple Kashi coupons here and here, in addition to having several that had been mailed to me and some found in previously purchased items.

Note: If you only print coupons online, and you have access to two home computers, you can print each coupon above twice and do a pretty sweet deal.

I rolled my deal, meaning I split all I bought into two transactions and used the money from the first to help pay for the second.

First Transaction
2 boxes of Kashi cereal ($3.29 each)
1 Barenaked Granola ($3.99)
1 box of TLC bars ($2.99)
2 Kashi to-go cups ($1 each)
6 Pillsbury Grands Jrs ($1 each) [*These currently have a catalina deal running... buy 6 get $4 back]

- Used 4 ($1) coupons that doubled = (-$8)
- Used 2 ($0.75) coupons on the biscuits = (-$1.50)
- Used a $10 Giant coupon from a deal I did last week (I also threw in a dozen eggs to the deal)

Paid $5.46 ... and got $9 back ($5 for the Kashi, $4 for the Grands)

Second Transaction
3 boxes of Kashi cereal ($3.29 each)
1 Barenaked Granola ($3.99)
1 box of TLC bars ($2.99)

- Used 4 ($1) coupons that doubled = (-$8)
- Used 1 ($1) coupon that didn’t double = (-$1)
- Used $5 dollars from the previous perchase

Paid $4.17 ... and got back $5

So for the Kashi deal and the Grands deal I technically paid $6.74 and got $9 back. So cool.

And that, my friends, made for a really great night. :-)

Frugal Is as Frugal Does - Toilet Paper Unrolled

Whether it be the result of our current economic state, or just a desire to pinch pennies, most of us are in a race to find the best deals on the products we consume.

I certainly love the challenge of racking up the savings at CVS or meticulously clipping and filing my coupons each week for those rare, but energizing, double/triple coupon events at my local grocery.

But recently I found myself in an unusual, less-than-frugal, situation. It seems I had lost count of our household toilet paper stash, placing us in dire need of TP, and - horror of horrors- with no sale or decent coupon in sight. I stood bewildered in the paper products aisle at the store, staring at the vast assortment of tissue. How in the world does one tally the cheapest TP option when each package can appear so different?

If any of this sounds familiar, than you'll probably like this random post.

It's about toilet paper.

I wrote a post about toilet paper. Toilet paper! Oy vey.

Note: I would be much more embarrassed admitting this post's topic had my research not uncovered a brilliant statistical thesis entitled, The Toilet Paper Problem, authored by a professor at Stanford University. A professor. At Stanford. Writing about toilet paper. No shame.

Anyway, I digress.

During my time in the paper products aisle, I noted several components that characterize a given package of toilet paper. I'm sure you're aware of them all, but do you know which will assist you in making a frugal selection? I'll give you a hint: it isn't the number of rolls per package...

PLY
One... two... even three-ply (in some countries) tissue can be found. Typically, the higher the ply, the lesser the product length - "sheets" - per roll. However, the higher the ply, the less product you need per visit.

Keep in mind, though, what are your TP habits? If you subconsciously unroll a lot at a time, perhaps 2-ply isn't a frugal option for you.

But it's a personal decision. Very personal.

ROLL SIZE
What a joke. I'm fairly sure all the toilet paper companies have united in a global plan to make even the simplest of purchases confusing for the average consumer. But we're not average consumers, are we? And we're not confused, either. Here's the short of it. Each company has a specific way they like to label their product, but essentially they all represent the same sizing. How's this for a quick breakdown:

Brand	Size 1	Size 1 x 2	Size 1 x 3
Charmin	Regular	Big	Mega
Scott	Regular	Double
Angel Soft	Regular	Double
Cottonelle	Single	Double
Quilted N	Regular	Double	Mega

SHEETS and SQUARE FEET
Here is where the frugal shopper's math begins.

Each package of toilet paper lists the # sheets per roll and the # of square feet per package. If you typically use the latter as your way to identify the most cost effective purchase... then congratulations! You are one heck of a frugal mastermind.

Be sure to leave me a comment so I can start coming to you with all my other frugal dilemmas. :-)

Yes, it's true. Don't go by the number of rolls, or the number of sheets. Simply divide the price by the number of sq. feet per package. (Keep in mind the variance in the number of ply.)

Who knew it could be so simple?

****

Little known TP facts:

• Charmin is the dominant toilet paper
• Most individuals use an average of 57 sheets of toilet paper, daily
• Scott was the first producer of toilet paper on a roll, in 1890
• For more fun frugal reading, be sure to check out "The Economics of Toilet Paper"

Frugal Is as Frugal Does

Our little family raked in some super frugal deals last week! The local grocery chain that I frequent was offering quite the promotion from General Mills: buy 15 qualifying items and receive and instant $5 off. On top of that it was triple coupon week!

But the best part was that this little deal included some super mini deals like Totino Pizza Rolls buy 2 get three free and $0.99 frozen Green Giant veggies that likewise generated their own $3 cash back for every 5 you purchased.

Make your head swim? It did mine... but I'm so excited by the outcome. We scored 11 packages of frozen veggies, 5 boxes of pizza rolls, 10lbs of flour, a box of toaster pastries, and a Betty Crocker Warm Delight brownie for $5! Yay!

In other frugal news...

Back in February I mentioned my new obsession with Swagbucks for my internet searches. For those of you who may not have taken action on this great new search engine, you still can! And here's a little update: I've now cashed in my searching points for over $50 in gift cards! I'm loving it! Matt is also a "swagger" and he's added another $20 in gift cards to our little stockpile, too! Looking for some side cash to gear up for Christmas? Sign up here for Swagbucks!

Cheaper Diapers...

Who doesn't enjoy cheaper diapers now and again? I know I certainly grab them up when I can find them at a reduced price. While I typically do my diaper shopping at CVS, I recently found a relatively good deal at diapers.com! What's even better is that the diapers are delivered quickly (1-2 business days) right to your doorstep. Awesome.

To score the deal, simply log onto diapers.com and select $50 worth of diapers (most jumbo packs are currently on sale right now - although they aren't as cheap as I can get them at CVS, combined with the following transaction they are significantly cheaper) and head to the checkout. In the promotional code box, enter UNDE4330 to receive $10 off your order.

Once your diapers arrive, simply fill out this rebate form to receive back an additional $15! (Simply print and fill out this form and attach proof-of-payment of your Diapers.com qualifying purchase(s) and mail both pieces.)

Like I said, for those times when alternative deals on diapers seem scarce, this is a worthy purchase. :-)

Triple Coupon Days

It's triple coupon days again at Harris Teeter. I love when they do this! Today I scored free taco seasoning, free worcestershire sauce, 2 free cans of Del Monte vegetables, $0.50 Celestial Seasons Tea, $0.39 organic yogurt, $0.44 Wet Ones (antibacterial wipes) and $0.84 bacon, $0.85 Honey-Nut Cheerios, and more! For those of you on the East Coast with a HT nearby, here are some great coupon match-ups for you!

CVS for Newbies

Lately a couple of you have mentioned your interest in bargain shopping at CVS. You go girls!

The deals are amazing, the bargains, endless (well, we wish they were)... and overall, it's really not a complicated way to save hundreds of dollars. I thought about doing a little "how-to" post for getting started CVS-ing, but then I noticed that the frugal blogger, Thrifty Mama, is actually doing a great informative series for beginners. Feel free to follow her along, here.

One thing worth mentioning: as a new shopper, you can either sign up for CVS' extracare program online or in the store. Should you decide to try your hand at the sales this week (following Thrifty Mama's program), you'll definitely need to sign up in the store so that your card is activated immediately.


And not to steal the spotlight from CVS by any means, but RiteAid pharmacy has some incredible deals on over-the-counter medications this week. The October monthly rebate offers line up perfectly with many of the cold/flu items on sale this week.

All of the items in the picture at right, I got for free after rebate. Not only that, but for the Children's Advil and the Excedrin, I was able to use $3 in coupons, plus the Sucrets came with a manufacture $1.50 mail-in-rebate! It's pretty nice to be paid $4.50 to stock up on medication for the winter season! :-) Check out MoneySavingMom for a listing of the 30 items that are free after rebate for this week.