Easy Peasy

The most common request I get from my clients is for electronic or even "automatic" savings; whether that is just being aware of sales that require no coupons, or being able to load coupons onto their store loyalty cards, or things like Savingstar. So - here are a few deals I've come across that require little or no paper coupons!

Staples
Remember the deal I told you about last week where you could get Staples 8.5" x 11" copy paper, 5-ream case for only $4.99 - making it only $1.00 per ream (after Staples Rewards)? Well - it's available again this week. So if you want that deal - you have to cut no coupon. You just go in, use your Staples Reward Card, and your rewards account will be credited $20 at the end of the period. If you are ok with printing ONE coupon, you can get this deal for FREE! Click here, and use this coupon to get $4.99 off per 5-ream case. You'll still get the $20 credit at the end of the period. Total Cost: Free + tax!!!! Can't beat that deal!

Walgreens
One of my biggest rules of couponing is: buy what you need if it's a good price - even if you don't need it, so that when you need it - you won't have to pay a premium! Well, I didn't do this! I needed 3-ring binders and couldn't find them on sale anywhere. Also, I was in a rush and just ended up having to buy them at Walgreens for $3.49 each!!! It was hard to pay that price - knowing that I normally never pay more than $1! But no use crying over missed sales!!! I was at Walgreens and was able to console myself because I found a fantastic deal on Scotch Mailers! I rarely have to mail something in a padded mailer, but when I do - it's a pain to have to make a special trip to the store just to get an envelope. And then - it kind of makes my skin crawl to have to pay $1.50-3.00 for a mailer, before I've even paid the postage! Well - all of Walgreens Scotch mailers (padded and photo) - regardless of size - are on sale for $.39 each!!! Some of the ones I got were regularly $2.79 each. I ended up getting 16 various sizes and kinds for a total of $6.24! - a savings of $27.60!! To top it off, the register spit out a $2.00 off of a $10 purchase coupon!!!! So, I didn't have to use a single paper coupon, but was still able to save about 87% - just by keeping my eyes open!The sale will run through Saturday - so there is plenty of time to get out there and stock up on your mailers!!!

Little Vacation

Sorry for the lack of posts! I escaped for the weekend to help a dear friend celebrate a monumental birthday! Now it's back to life and back to saving! I'm working on a proper post, but until then, here's a few little things to tide ya over:

• Tomorrow is the last day for Harris Teeter Super Doubles - go out there and get some deals! 
• I'm giving a coupon class tomorrow at 9:30am. If you want to brave the rain (and it looks like there's going to be lots), there are a few open spots! Email me at charlottecouponcoach@gmail.com!!!
• One of my favorite savings sites is: www.hip2save.com. If you haven't checked it out, you should! 
• Only one insert in yesterday's paper. Did you get it? Coffee shops are a great place to find extra inserts! People buy the papers to read while sipping on a cup-o-joe, and often leave behind the inserts!
• We read lots of silly magazines on my girls weekend and I was reminded that there are often good coupons in them! One that I saw was a $2 coupon for Herbal Essence. That coupon will double to $4 at Harris Teeter, which is more than enough to make it free and a fantastic addition to my donation bin!!!

Prescription and Dental Savings Plans

I have fairly standard health insurance coverage, and my prescription plan on it isn't terrible. It's a pretty straight-forward $10/prescription/month, unless it's anything super specialized. I have a couple of regular prescriptions that I take every month - so I was pretty content with the price I was paying ($20/month or $60 for a 90 day supply). One day when I got my prescription, one of the workers had written on the outside of my package what the cost would have been had I been a member the Walgreens Prescription Savings Club. The difference was 50%!!! So I started doing some calculations: At only $20 to join, it would pay for itself the first time I used it to refill a 90 day supply! The cost is $20/year for an individual and $35/year for a family. Here are the details:

• Valuable discounts on thousands of brand-name and most generic medications
• 
  
• Between 5 percent and 20 percent discounts on most immunizations
• 
  
• 10 percent bonus on purchases of Walgreens Brand and Nice! products and in-store photofinishing services³
• 
  
• 10 percent savings on services from Take Care Clinics^SM at select Walgreens⁴
• 
  
• Savings on preventive and lifestyle medications your insurance may not cover
• 
  
• Additional prescription discounts on pet medications with a human equivalent, all compound medications, nebulizers and diabetic supplies with a prescription

And if you don't save the cost of the prescription plan in one year, they'll refund you the difference! So there really is no risk! It's a pretty awesome plan that I use on a monthly basis! And to put a cheery on top, you get 500 Balance Reward points for every prescription you get filled! But more about that later. . .

Another discount program that I've just stumbled across (well, I actually went looking for it) is Careington Dental Discount Plan (careington.com). Most people on individual medical plans (like myself) have found that have a dental rider is cost prohibitive because of the high premiums, long waiting periods, and in the end - limited coverage. So joining something like Careington is a pretty good option. After being quoted roughly $1,600 for a crown from a dentist, I started shopping around (that is, after I stopped crying). Careington is the one I like the best - for lots of reasons - but just a few are: it has an A+ rating with the BBB, has been featured on Good Morning America, and was recognized by the billing "specialists" at the various dentists offices that I called. Plus - it's only $6.95/month!!! Long story short - with my membership in Careington, I'm going to be able to get a crown for only $897! That's almost a 50% discount!

Tip: Before you sign up for these (or any discount programs like these) - call the drug stores/dentists that they claim to be a provider for, and make sure they'll accept the program. Also, there are different degrees to which they'll accept the programs. They should be able to give you exact prices on the treatments you're looking for, because the pricing on that has been pre-negotiated as part of their participation agreement with the discount plan. Just talk to someone in billing and you should be good. I haven't run across an unhelpful person yet - so don't feel bad about asking them a ton of questions! :-)

Harris Teeter Super Doubles - Round 1

I've  been couponing for quite a while - but I'm still thrilled by big savings! Here's what I got just minutes ago at Harris Teeter's Super Double Coupon Event (shopped at Morrocroft/Tajma Teeter)! You'll see that I spent a total of $14.81 on everything. Plus I'm going to get back $.50 in my Savingstar account. And, I just let $.50 in savings go (one of the coupons didn't ring-up correctly, and it just wasn't worth the time to get the manager to come over and fix it. . . I had my 2 1/2 year old with me!). So really and truly - I paid about $13.81 for about $71.37 worth of groceries; $20.81 worth of savings because items were on sale, and $35.75 worth of savings from just the use of coupons! And that's without any competitor coupons! Items that I'm particularly excited about are the Gillette Body Wash and the Hormel Completes Meal - all completely free (plus I made a $1 on the body wash because I had an eVIC coupon that came off at the register, in addition to my paper coupons). These are excellent additions to my donation bin! Hefty Baggies - only $.15 per package. Cheerios - only $.24 + I'm going to get $.50 deposited into my savingstar account - so I'm really making $.26 on it! Lots of fun! Can't wait to take my Coupon Coaching student (Lori) on Friday and show her how to do this! She's going to be so excited!!!

Starbucks Idea

Most of you who know me, know that I LOVE coffee. Well, I  just completed 28 days of no gluten, sugar, alcohol, dairy, or caffeine (which of course meant - NO COFFEE)!!! It was hard. This money-saving girl has allowed herself this one luxury throughout the years: good coffee. But what this cleanse really brought to the forefront of my mind is how much money I spend on coffee! No matter if I go to Starbucks, Dean & Deluca, Caribou, or Dilworth Coffee - a medium coffee costs me around $2.25. I was doing that a minimum of 4 days a week! Yikes - that's at least $40/month on just coffee! So here's what I've decided to do: 

I got a $15 Starbucks Gift Card as part of a Staples deal a couple of weeks ago. I downloaded the Starbucks app on my phone (or you could go online to starbucks.com) and I registered my gift card. Now every time I use that gift card, I get a star. Five stars earns me free refills and a free drink on my birthday. The more stars I get, the more rewards I get!

So here's the idea part: Each month I'm going to load $20 onto my Starbucks gift card. That's it. That's all I get.This does several things:

• Gives me a budget that I have to stick to. When it's gone - it's gone! 
• Keeps me from making impulse-stops at whatever coffee shop may be around. If there's no Starbucks, I'm not stopping - because I only have credit at Starbucks!
• Stretches my dollars: when I'm buying my coffee, I'm earning rewards! 

Obviously there will be times when I'm meeting a friend for coffee and we need to meet somewhere other than Starbucks. But honestly, those times are rare (maybe once or twice a month). So that would probably come out of my entertainment budget anyway. I realize that this is mostly mental - and all about discipline. But I'm the kind of person who needs parameters and a few "rules" to get me on the right track to start with.

This, That, and The Other

Gas Prices

Don't assume that gas prices are the same everywhere! I passed by three different gas station areas this morning, and saw three drastically different prices!

• Close to intersection of Providence and Fairview (in front of Fresh Market) - $3.79/gallon
• Fairview and Sharon - $3.53/gallon
• Park Road and Woodlawn - $3.59/gallon

Why it's so expensive right in front of Fresh Market, I don't know! But a $.26/gallon price difference is huge!  

Super Doubles are Coming on Wednesday

It's official people, Harris Teeter will be doing Super Double Coupons starting on Wednesday of this week - all the way through Tuesday of next week. So start gathering up all of your coupons up to $2.00 face value - because they'll be worth double at Harris Teeter! This is the time to stock up on dry goods, paper goods, and cleaning supplies!!!

Last Call

Still a little room in the class I'm hosting tonight at 7:30 pm!!!! Email if you want in!!! Or, if you think you might be interested in hosting your own class, email me for details at: charlottecouponcoach@gmail.com 

President's Day Coupon Class

If you've ever wondered what the coupon hoopla is all about, and been skeptical about whether any of it is worth your time/energy - then I think this introductory class will be really helpful for you. I'm going to give an over-view of how it all works, the various tools out there, and some examples of what I do - and how much I save (focusing on either Harris Teeter or Target - I'll let y'all choose). Here are the details:

• Location – email me at charlottecouponcoach@gmail.com for address
• Time - 7:30 pm
• Cost - $25/person
• Includes - coupon book and one-hour instruction time

Comment below, or email me at charlottecouponcoach@gmail.com to reserve your spot!

Harris Teeter e-VIC Special Savings Alert!

Here are some of the items that are on super e-VIC special at Harris Teeter this weekend. Keep in mind: you only qualify for these prices if you have signed up as an e-VIC member (not just a VIC member). Also, most of these deals also assume you have a savingstar account! If you don't, click here to sign up for free!

Fiber One Bars or Nature Valley Bars - $1.97 each (limit 2)

Buy 1 Package of Fiber One Protein Chewy Bars @ $1.97

Use 1 Manufacturer Coupon for $.50/1 (available at coupons.com) - it will double to $1.00 off

e-VIC coupon for $.50/1 will apply at the register

Pay: $.47

Get back $.40 in your Savingstar Account

Total Actual Cost: $.07!!!

What's cool about this deal? You only had to clip ONE coupon! Or, if you're not a Fiber One Fan - try this deal:

Buy 2 Packages of Nature Valley Bars @ $1.97 each 

Use 1 Manufacturer Coupon for $.50/2 (available on coupons.com) - will double to $1.00

e-VIC coupon for $50/2 will apply at the register

Pay $2.44

Get back $.50 in your Savingstar Account

Total Actual Cost: $1.94 or $.97/box

Wisk 50oz Detergent - $3.97 (limit 2) 

Buy 2 @ $3.97

Use 2 Manufacturer Coupons for $2.00/1 (was in the paper a few weeks back)

Pay $3.94 or $1.97 each

*My daughter has sensitive skin, so this detergent doesn't really work for us. 

But, it's great for our donation bin!

 

SATURDAY ONLY: Yoplait 6oz cups: 13/$5.00

Buy 13 for $5.00

Use 2 Manufacturer coupons for $.40/6 (available on coupons.com) - will double to $.80/coupon

e-VIC coupon for $.40/6 will apply at the register

Pay: $3.00

Get back $.40 in your Savingstar account

Total Actual Cost: $2.60 or $.20 each 

I plan to go to Harris Teeter tomorrow for some of these excellent deals! I'll let you know how I do! 

Thinking Outside the Box

I wanted to get a really nice card printed with my Coupon Coach information on it - to have with me at my informational classes. I wanted it to look nice, professional, and more than anything - pretty! But I really didn't need more than 2 or 3. I started looking at Vistaprint (which is a great resource for very inexpensive promotional items) - and not only was I going to have to buy an entire set (starting at 10, 25, or 50 depending on what you get) - I just wasn't excited about anything I saw there. Then I remembered cardstock.com - where I got my Christmas Cards printed! I was able to find a really cute card, adjust the text to say what I wanted, and then just order 3! Here's how it all worked out: 

• Started at ebates.com (if you don't have an account - get one NOW by clicking here); typed cardstore.com in the search box. They're running a 7.5% cash back bonus right now! Yay!
• After clicking "Shop Now" - I was immediately directed to Cardstore.com where I found a 40% off code on their site! Not the best discount code - but it had to do!
• Each card was $2.29 x 40% discount = $4.12
• Unfortunately I did have to pay shipping for $1.00 since I wanted them shipped to me
• Total = $5.12 
• Then I'll get $.38 back in my ebates account
• Total Actual Cost: $4.74 - or $1.58/card

Now that may not be an astoundingly good price (normally I can plan on getting at least 60% off at cardstore - but I just happened to catch them on a not-so-good promotion time). But it is still a good deal if you consider that it is a very high quality card, I was able to order such a small quantity, and it was shipped to my door in less than 48 hours! Plus, it's saved in my order history - so I can order 1 more, 4 more, or 40 more whenever I want. And - if I want to have them sent to someone directly, they'll mail them for me - for free (NO Shipping)! I love Cardstore.com - and would have normally only used them to order Christmas or Birthday Cards - but a little thinking outside the box and it was the perfect solution for me!

Bank of Amerideals = Cash in your Wallet!!!

For any of you who bank with Bank of America, this is a total no-brainer! Bank of America offers cash-back deals on various places, when you make purchases with the debit card connected to your checking account! All you do is register through your online banking portal, click the deals you think you might use (I always just click all of them) - and sit back and wait for the savings to roll in! It really is that simple!

When you log-in to your online banking portal - look on the far right-hand side of the tool bar for the "Cash Back Deals" tab.

So far I've earned cash back on places like Redbox, Staples, The Roasting Company, City Tavern, and FedEx Office! The deals available rotate, so you just need to check it every now and then to see if you need to load new ones.

The thing I love about this is that I don't even have to think about it after I've loaded it. It takes about 30 seconds - you can access it from the mobile app - and at the end of the month you get a deposit in your account for your rewards cash back!

Staples - My Favorite Office Supply Store

Staples has a particularly good deal on paper going on right now. Here's what I did:

Returned 4 ink cartridges. I will get $2/cartridge in Staples Rewards added to my account at the end of the month. I did this when I first entered the store - because most of the time - the cashier will give me a coupon that it immediately spits out. And it did: $5 off of a $25 purchase.

Equipped with my coupon, I bought a 5-pack of 8 1/2 x 11 multi-purpose paper on sale for $24.99. What's awesome about this paper - is that I will get $20 back in Staples Rewards at the end of the month.

Then I picked up a package of dry-erase markers on sale for $3.00. Not such a great deal, but I needed them - and I needed to get my total up over $25 in order to use my coupon. So here's how it all worked out:

5 Reams of paper - $24.99

Dry Erase Markers - $3.00

Total $27.99

Used $5 coupon to bring it down to $22.99

Staples Reward Membership Discount 5% - $1.14

Grand Total: $21.85 + Tax

At the end of the month I'll get $20 Staples Rewards cash back (money that I can use there at Staples). 

Net Spent: $1.85 

Oh yeah - plus I'll get $8.00 back for those cartridges I brought in! :-)

Things to keep in mind:

• You do have to spend a little to save sometimes. 
• Even though I'll be getting back $20 - it is money I have to spend at Staples. So it is still $20 spent when it all shakes out. However, I can make that $20 stretch pretty far with subsequent coupons and deals. 
• Really and truly, you never need to spend more than $1/ream for paper. EVER! Most of the time you can get it for next to nothing - like in this deal! 

A little Stacking at Target

One of the most cost-saving and effective ways to save is "stacking" coupon savings. That's when you have several deals or coupons that you can use in one transaction. While you can't use multiple manufacturer coupons on the same item, you can use several different types of coupons/deals on one item. I love Downy Fabric Softener, so this deal at Target right now is pretty appealing to me:

Buy two 150-load Downy Fabric Softener for $9.99 each

(this is the huge bottle, roughly equal to what you may find at Sam's) 

Use the $3.00/2 coupon from the P&G Coupon Insert from the Sunday paper
Use $.50/1 Target Coupon (from the Target Coupon Booklet)

Use your Target Redcard for an additional 5% off 

Pay $15.65

Receive a $5 Target Gift Card

Net Spent: $10.65 (for TWO bottles - 300 loads - $.035/load)

This is a really good price for these big bottles. And it makes total sense to stock-up, because it's not going to go bad before you can use it!

If you live in the Charlotte area and are an eVIC member at Harris Teeter (which you NEED to be) - there is a pretty good deal on Downy there as well.

60-Load Bottle of Downy - $6.38

Buy 2 for $12.86

Use the $3/2 Manufacturer Coupon

Load the $3/2 eVIC coupon onto your account (will automatically come off at the register)

Pay $6.38 for two bottles (120 loads - $.057/load)

The major benefit to buying it at Harris Teeter as opposed to Target, is that you don't have to buy such large bottles (easier to store) - and the savings is immediate (rather than getting a $5 gift card back that you'll use on a future purchase). Both are fantastic deals on Downy - which is rare!

Another good Target Stack Opportunity is with the Venus Embrace Razor!

Buy 2 on sale for $8.99 each 

Use (2) $2/1 Manufacturer Coupons

Use your Redcard for an additional 5% off

Total: $13.28 

Receive a $5.00 Target Gift Card

Net Spent: $8.28 for the equivalent of 4 razor cartridges - or $2.07 each 

(my target price range is normally $2.50/cartridge or less)

New Start

Welcome friends and fellow-savers! I'm excited about this re-vamping and re-purposing of my blog, formerly know as Save-Simply. As I've progressed (matured) in my savings and couponing career, I think I've figured out what my niche is. And it should be no surprise - it's what I've been doing for the last 15 years as a profession: teach. There are dozens, if not hundreds of thousands, of blogs and web sites out there that will keep you up to date on all the deals and specials available to you as a consumer. What I hope to be able to do for you is not just tell you where they are, but how to use them most effectively. Yes, some of the content of this blog will simply be to alert you to a great deal that you need to run out and take advantage of. But I've realized over the last year and half that I've been teaching coupon classes, that most of the frustration in couponing doesn't come in not being aware of the deals - but not being organized, and therefore not able to utilize them to the greatest extent. Also, as my title shows, my focus is going to be local - here in Charlotte, NC. This is where I live, shop, and can really help people. Some of my posts will apply on a national level (to places like Target, Walgreens, CVS, and Rite Aid) - but a lot of my posts will have to do with places like Harris Teeter, Earth Fare, Whole Foods - and even local gas prices. So please subscribe to my blog - so I know who you are (not for some creepy reason - but just because I like to know who's out there) and so that you don't have to remember to check back every day or so for the latest post; it will be delivered straight to your email inbox! Also, I don't pretend to be "in-the-know" for every deal out there. If you stumble across something that you think my readers will find helpful, please email me at charlottecouponcoach@gmail.com! Thanks for visiting and I hope to see you back here often! :-)