The 12 days of Coupon Deals

Have you ever saved 70% on your purchases in 3 weeks?  Have you ever paid $30 for every $100 worth of items?  I hadn't until this past 3 weeks!!!  To give you the wow factor up front, here's the ultimate breakdown.

Retail Cost of items before discounts, coupons and rebates: $1041.39         Price Paid: $322.09

A-Frickin-Mazin : )

Alright, the couponing has been in full swing within the last 3 weeks.  I had some great luck over Thanksgiving with saving on groceries while family was out.  Of course there are some items you just "have to have" at the holidays, so I wasn't able to totally shop the ads, but I worked it hard!  We saved over $200 that week in groceries.  Granted we spent about $400, but still, $200 is $200!

I've been keeping track of my awesome coupon deals in the last 3 weeks.  When I went back and looked at my list tonight (yes, there is a list - are you really surprised?) I realized there have been 12 stores/vendors that I have saved BIG at in the last 3 weeks.  Time for me to share my awesome deals with you all.  I'm not going to post all the details as to where I got all the coupons and all of that jazz - too much detail might overwhelm you all.  However, if anyone would like the specifics as to how I pulled these deals off, just let me know.  I'd be happy to send you the document with the breakdown : )

Melissa's 12 Days of Coupon Deals

Day 1 - Lane Bryant:

2 Purses and 4 scarves (x-mas presents)

Would have been $180, I paid $90

6 pairs of Underwear: 

Would have been $90, I paid $8 (Who the heck really pays $15 per pair of underwear... not me!)

Day 2 - Target:

Did you know Target has their own store coupons on their website???  They are great to match up with manufacturer’s coupons.  I was able to do this recently, and it paid off! Check out their site here

16 Smart Ones: (Ryan takes these every day for his lunch)

Would have been $32, I paid $16

Day 3 - Rite Aid:

(Rite Aid is running a special right now.  Spend $100 in the store between now and 12/25/10, submit your receipt numbers online and get a $20 rebate check in the mail.  The best part is, they have recently changed their policy to add up the total spent BEFORE coupons.  Based on this, and the deals below – just about anyone could get to $100 before coupons, I did tonight ;)

Colgate Toothpaste

Would have been 3.50, I paid $-1 (yep, I made money!)

Philips Sonicare Rechargeable toothbrush (This was an awesome deal!!!)

Would have been 79.99, I paid 4.99 =)

Sharpies 4 - 8 packs

Would have paid $35.96, I paid $5.49

Hershey’s, Pot of Gold (going to go towards x-mas presents)

Would have been $19.98, I paid $1.98

2 - 4packs of Cottenelle Double Roll Toilet Paper:

Would have been 8.38, I paid 3.19

Gillette pro-fusion glide razor. 

Would have been 10.99, I paid NOTHING!!!

Dayquil 24 ct. caplets and Nyquil 24 ct. caplets. and Puffs Kleenex

Ryan had a cold this week, so this purchase came in handy.

Would have been $16.97, I paid $3

4 Large bags of holiday m+m’s. (Perfect for my father-in-law at x-mas.  He loves these!)

Would have been $15.96, I paid $5.48

Day 4 - Giant:

2 bags of Pedigree Dog Bites 5oz.

Would have been 6.10, I paid $1.50 or 75 cents a bag

Hatfield Pork Loin Fillet (this is the pork I've featured in recipes before)

Would have been $59, I paid $30.25 (Plus an extra .30 cents off per gallon of gas, worth about $4.80)

Day 5 - Turkey Hill Gas Station:

Buy $100 in gift cards, get .40 cents off in gas.  Bought gift cards for stores we still had x-mas shopping to do.  Saved about $6.40 off in a gas fill-up.

Day 6 - Hallmark:

4 rolls of Wrapping paper, 90 sq. ft each

Would have been $19.96 for 4 rolls, I paid $1.96

Day 7 - CVS:

EOS lip balm

Would have been $2.99, I paid nothing = FREE

4 boxes of Gas-X (come on people, it's the holidays - and this stuff never expires!)

Would have been $22.26, I paid $-1.74. Yep – I made money on this one!

4 boxes of Playtex Sport Tampons.

Would have been $21.96, I paid $7.96 or $1.99 a box

Cold Buster cough syrup.

Would have been $8.99, I paid nothing = FREE  

New prescription or transferred prescription at CVS, earn a $25 gift card.

I filled a prescription for a vitamin supplement.  Total cost 1.96, then earned a $25 gift card.

Would have been $1.96, I paid $-23.04.  Yep – I made money on this one!

Day 8 - Kmart:

Kmart every once in awhile has Coupon doubler day!  Double up to 5, $2 off coupons in one day. Must spend $25 before coupons and scan your register rewards card before the transaction starts.

2 boxes of 36ct. Playtex Gentle glide tampons 

Would have been $24.98, I paid $5.98 or 2.99 each

2 bags of Snausages Dog Treats.

Would have been $6.98, I paid $1 or .50 cents a bag.

1 bag of Pedigree Denta Stix dog treats.

Would have been $3.99, I got them FREE!

John Frieda Hair Thickening Cream.

Would have been $5.99, I paid $1.99 (and this stuff works!)

Day 9 - Pet Smart:

5 bags of Nutro Small Breed Adult Dog Food.

Would have been $69.95, I paid $40.85 (This will be enough dog food to last Bentley until June 2011)

Day 10 - Weis:

10 bags of T-bonz dog treats.

Would have been $34.90, I paid $10 or $1 a bag!

Day 11 - Restaurants.com:

Bought $25 gift certificate to local restaurant, Flavers, for $2.  

Would have been $41.30, we paid $18.30

Day 12 - Groupon:

This is a website where you can buy gift cards/certificates at discounted prices.  It’s based out of Texas, but they will sometimes run discounts for national store chains.  I’ve gotten 2 so far! If you’re interested in any of the deals on this site, let me know.  I will get a $10 referral credit for each person I send an invitation to. : )

Cold Water Creek:

Spend $25 to get a $50 gift certificate.  I used this with a coupon I got in the mail for cold water creek (Spend $150, get $50 off) to get a really nice Christmas present! 

Would have been $150, I paid $75 (for the gift in the end).

RedEnvelope:

Spend $15, get a $30 gift certificate. 

Used this and another $10 off online coupon code I found by doing a Google search to buy another Christmas present.

Would have been 59.95, I paid 34.95

Ready to start couponing yet... check out this big, beautiful binder of savings/deals ; )

Prep Materials for setting up the HUGE Binder.  Ended up with 3" binder, and it's packed full.

38 tabs, organized by aisles in the grocery store that we shop in most.  I added categories after sorting.

Using baseball card holders to keep the coupons organized works well.  I also use 4x6 clear picture holders to hold the bigger, store specific coupons.  This binder weighs just under 12 pounds - it's slightly annoying, but saving 70% isn't!