Today is feminine hygiene day, or at least it is if you happen to me. In an experiment to use coupons to save a boat load of moolah, I went to Rite Aid. As luck would have it, I had a $3 off a $15 purchase at Rite Aid, thanks to partaking in an online survey on a prior Rite Aid receipt.
So naturally, my goal was to buy just enough over the $15 mark to get the maximum saving. This week, certain feminine hygiene products are on sale for 2/$5. Thankfully, there is an online coupon for $1 off of 1 Carefree product.
For anyone curious, users are allowed to print 2 online coupons per item per computer. Because I am a tech geek, I have more than one computer. Consequently, I ended up printing 4 Carefree coupons.
I probably could have printed 6 coupons, but buying a quantity of 6 Carefree pads was overkill. Karen and I (although most likely Karen) would have to find some creative uses for that many pads.
As it was, I thought a quantity of 4 seemed like a lot. Consequently, I needed something else to get my order over $15. Enter Veet. Now, I suck at Veet. Naturally, Karen thought I was absolutely bonkers for even thinking about getting the hair removing product. Incidentally, "depilatory" was never in my vocabulary until now.
To me, Veet served as a means to an end. Rite Aid has an in-ad coupon for $2. There also happens to a $3 coupon for any Veet product compliments of Facebook. (I guess that is one of the few benefits of Facebook.) Although the price varies depending on the Veet product, I was able to find the cheapest Veet product: wax strips, which retailed for $4.49. At that price (including tax), and with the two coupons, I actually would get paid to buy that item.
So, throw in a candy bar or two (because the candy bar was buy one get one free this week), and I was able to get my purchase just over $15. When all was said and done, I paid a handful of change for my entire order. The actual final price came to a little over $3, but I had $3 in rewards to use. Hence, change.
And if you are curious, I also made $5 in loyalty rewards from the purchase. So I like to think that the $3 rewards that I put in to purchasing all those items was returned with $2 extra. Not bad if I do say so myself.
The associate at Rite Aid was amazed at my purchase, although she was probably more amazed that I bought the feminine products than the actual savings. She did say that my wife was "one lucky girl", because she said her husband would never have done that. As a side note, I had no idea there were so many types of pads. As well, pads are tax-free in the state of Massachusetts... another interesting note.
Anyway, so now I am a proud owner of Veet wax strips, a product that I will never use. Add that to my growing number of useless items (like the Got2B mousse). I will have my stockpile of useless items in no time. I will need to figure out how to pawn these items off onto my friends... although asking my female friends if they need to wax may be a little difficult...
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Sunday, June 26, 2011
I Suck At Got2B Fat-tastic
During my hiatus from blogging, I decided to get into the seedy underworld known as couponing. My fancy started shortly after watching TLC's Extreme Couponing. Naturally with my curious nature, I wondered how difficult it would be to do something like that here in New England.
For those who have never seen the show, each week Extreme Couponing chronicles a couple of people who are considered "extreme couponers" because they can make purchases of thousands of retail items for over 90% off the price. Watching it being done on the show is simply amazing.
Granted, most of the people on the show seem to be hoarders or have some sort of compulsiveness because they have these stockpiles chock full of items that they themselves claim that they do not or will not use. For example, one woman has thousands of baby diapers in her stockpile, yet does not have a baby. Weird.
Regardless, I wanted to see about the feasibility of getting items for over 90% off the price here in New England. The major grocery stores here in Massachusetts seem to only double coupons under $1 up to a certain number. Once that limit is reached, the coupon is taken for face value.
Now, I'll admit. I am quite lazy. The majority of the extreme couponers featured on the television show find ways to get the weekly insert of coupons in the Sunday paper. To acquire these coupon inserts, they have gone dumpster diving, rummaged through other people's recycle bins, asked other people, etc. Like I said, I'm lazy. I don't want to do any of that. Instead, I'll stick to using the good o' internet for online coupons. (Of course, if someone were to offer me these coupon inserts, I would gladly accept them.)
Consequently, my chances for saving big on items seem pretty bleak. Today, however, I was able to get something close to free. All I had to pay was the state tax on the item. That item: Got2B Fat-tastic Mousse. Now, I suck at Got2B Fat-tastic. I have never used the item, probably because I have very little hair to style. And as luck would have it, Rite Aid was advertising the mousse this week as an item eligible for a full rebate.
Despite the fact that I never used (and probably will never use) the product due to my lack of hair, I decided to get the mousse. That doesn't make sense, right? But, I can now see why extreme couponers buy things they don't need. It seems to me that the act of buying these items are merely a means to an end. In my case, the reason why I purchased something I will never use is because of the fact that I would get a rebate of cold hard cash on the item.
That still doesn't make much sense until you discover that the method I had used to pay for the item in the first place was a coupon. Using a carry over from a previous week, I had accumulated enough Rite Aid +UP rewards (it's version of the store loyalty saving program) to pay for the mousse. So essentially, I was converting these additional rewards/coupons over into money. That was my reasoning.
Anyway, I was quite happy with my couponing excursion! Granted, it's not the greatest deal, but it's a step toward figuring out this whole couponing thing of getting items over 90% off. Baby steps.
By the way, if anyone is interested, they are always welcomed to the mousse.
For those who have never seen the show, each week Extreme Couponing chronicles a couple of people who are considered "extreme couponers" because they can make purchases of thousands of retail items for over 90% off the price. Watching it being done on the show is simply amazing.
Granted, most of the people on the show seem to be hoarders or have some sort of compulsiveness because they have these stockpiles chock full of items that they themselves claim that they do not or will not use. For example, one woman has thousands of baby diapers in her stockpile, yet does not have a baby. Weird.
Regardless, I wanted to see about the feasibility of getting items for over 90% off the price here in New England. The major grocery stores here in Massachusetts seem to only double coupons under $1 up to a certain number. Once that limit is reached, the coupon is taken for face value.
Now, I'll admit. I am quite lazy. The majority of the extreme couponers featured on the television show find ways to get the weekly insert of coupons in the Sunday paper. To acquire these coupon inserts, they have gone dumpster diving, rummaged through other people's recycle bins, asked other people, etc. Like I said, I'm lazy. I don't want to do any of that. Instead, I'll stick to using the good o' internet for online coupons. (Of course, if someone were to offer me these coupon inserts, I would gladly accept them.)
Consequently, my chances for saving big on items seem pretty bleak. Today, however, I was able to get something close to free. All I had to pay was the state tax on the item. That item: Got2B Fat-tastic Mousse. Now, I suck at Got2B Fat-tastic. I have never used the item, probably because I have very little hair to style. And as luck would have it, Rite Aid was advertising the mousse this week as an item eligible for a full rebate.
Despite the fact that I never used (and probably will never use) the product due to my lack of hair, I decided to get the mousse. That doesn't make sense, right? But, I can now see why extreme couponers buy things they don't need. It seems to me that the act of buying these items are merely a means to an end. In my case, the reason why I purchased something I will never use is because of the fact that I would get a rebate of cold hard cash on the item.
That still doesn't make much sense until you discover that the method I had used to pay for the item in the first place was a coupon. Using a carry over from a previous week, I had accumulated enough Rite Aid +UP rewards (it's version of the store loyalty saving program) to pay for the mousse. So essentially, I was converting these additional rewards/coupons over into money. That was my reasoning.
Anyway, I was quite happy with my couponing excursion! Granted, it's not the greatest deal, but it's a step toward figuring out this whole couponing thing of getting items over 90% off. Baby steps.
By the way, if anyone is interested, they are always welcomed to the mousse.
Saturday, June 25, 2011
I Suck At Kimball Farm
It has been a long time, but today I felt like I had to post an entry. In doing so, I actually had to un-delete this blog. There were many reasons as to why I deleted the blog in the first place. The most important was the time commitment. Being the parent of a now fifteen month old, I found that I definitely had a very limited amount of time.
It's true when they say time flies when you have children. Most days, when I'm done doing my fatherly duties, it's already late at night before I can unwind and relax. And the next thing I know, I have to repeat the cycle all over again in a several hours.
In addition to my limited time, I also felt that no one wanted to read my blog because inevitably most of the entries would involve my daughter (Briana). In the past, I have tried to limit my posts involving my daughter, mostly because I feel like no one really wants to hear about what my child is doing. Unfortunately, that gets harder because she has become such a major part of my life now.
Consequently, I got a little burnt out with the entire process and deleted this blog. Interestingly enough, it was not until yesterday in which I actually reconsidered un-deleting the blog. My friend (Aimee) had noticed that my blog was deleted some time ago. After I mentioned my reasons for the deletion (as mentioned above), she noted that the blog would allow me to look back in time and reminisce on certain issues, particularly when it came to my son (Braden).
Sadly, I never gave that part much thought. My son, Braden, was born prematurely and survived for only a week. It was definitely a tough experience to go through. In fact, the entire year of 2009 (the year after Braden passed away) was a complete blur to me as I was simply, for lack of a better word, disconnected from grieving.
Thinking that perhaps it may make sense to read about what I managed to post in the year 2009 during my disconnected grief (as well as all my thoughts during the time I spent with Braden), I reconsidered un-deleting the blog. So thank you, Aimee. And it was not until today that I actually followed through on that thought because I was pleasantly surprised by today's turn of events.
The day started off with a quick shopping excursion to Babies 'R Us. On the shopping list was a new convertible car seat for my daughter. There is currently nothing wrong with the car seat she is using now. Karen and I were just planning ahead for when Briana outgrows it.
Until today, I never knew so much about car seats. I swear... the baby market is a lucrative market. Regardless, we ended up getting Briana a Graco Signature Series Smart Seat... not only because of the safety recommendations... but because it looked cool. And thankfully, it fit in the trunk of the car after we had to take it out of the packaging.
From there, we made a little trip to Milford, New Hampshire. I have never been to Milford, New Hampshire. (I'd say I suck at Milford, New Hampshire.) Karen has gone a few times because her college friend (Michelle) lives there. Michelle was having a birthday party for her twins. I have never met the twins, so what better time than when they turn 4 years old?
Needless to say, it was an interesting party. I think one of the other sets of parents at the party should send me a thank you letter because I probably saved their child's life, or at least his intestinal system. The child was eating a Lego piece while the parents were mingling. Normally, I'm not one to ask other people's children for things, but since this piece of Lego was in the child's mouth I figured it was a good time to start asking. Might I add, a piece of Lego covered in the saliva of some child who you do not know in the palm of your hand... fun.
Afterwards, Karen and I decided to be a little spontaneous on our way home following the party. We decided to take a detour to Kimball Farm in Westford. Unfortunately, I suck at Kimball Farm. Neither Karen nor I knew how to get there. All we knew was that it was located in Westford, which we were passing on the way home. So off the random highway exit we went.
I must say, it was a fun time. Barely into Westford, I stopped at the local gas station to ask for directions. The service attendant did not seem to speak very good English, so he suggested I ask one of the patrons at the pump. Apparently, the woman I asked used to be a French teacher for 35 years in Westford. (My immediate thought was "Parlez vous Francais?") She then mentioned that many of her students at one time or another had worked at Kimball's. And rather than tell me the directions, she offered to escort me there because she thought about getting ice cream too.
So there we were, following this woman as she drove through Westford. The ride took quite a bit of time. We thought either we were way off in picking the correct exit to Kimball's, or this woman was some serial killer leading us to some abandoned area of town to kill us. Luckily for us, it turned out to be the former.
Needless to say, I thought what this woman did was incredibly nice, especially since Karen and I were nowhere near Kimball's at the time. I was going to offer to buy this woman some ice cream for her efforts, but she did not stop at Kimball's like she had originally told me. So thank you, former French teacher... or Merci!
Anyway, from there things got increasingly better because ice cream makes the world a better place. We stayed at Kimball's for quite some time because shortly after Karen's aunt (Denise) and uncle (Paul) met up with us. Denise and Paul happened to be returning from their excursion around the same time and had heard we were at Kimball's. So they decided to meet up with us. It was good to see Denise and Paul.
From there, Karen and I (and a very tired daughter, Briana) headed home. All in all, it was a great day, primarily due to the generosity of this random woman who I will never know... and of course, the ice cream.
It's true when they say time flies when you have children. Most days, when I'm done doing my fatherly duties, it's already late at night before I can unwind and relax. And the next thing I know, I have to repeat the cycle all over again in a several hours.
In addition to my limited time, I also felt that no one wanted to read my blog because inevitably most of the entries would involve my daughter (Briana). In the past, I have tried to limit my posts involving my daughter, mostly because I feel like no one really wants to hear about what my child is doing. Unfortunately, that gets harder because she has become such a major part of my life now.
Consequently, I got a little burnt out with the entire process and deleted this blog. Interestingly enough, it was not until yesterday in which I actually reconsidered un-deleting the blog. My friend (Aimee) had noticed that my blog was deleted some time ago. After I mentioned my reasons for the deletion (as mentioned above), she noted that the blog would allow me to look back in time and reminisce on certain issues, particularly when it came to my son (Braden).
Sadly, I never gave that part much thought. My son, Braden, was born prematurely and survived for only a week. It was definitely a tough experience to go through. In fact, the entire year of 2009 (the year after Braden passed away) was a complete blur to me as I was simply, for lack of a better word, disconnected from grieving.
Thinking that perhaps it may make sense to read about what I managed to post in the year 2009 during my disconnected grief (as well as all my thoughts during the time I spent with Braden), I reconsidered un-deleting the blog. So thank you, Aimee. And it was not until today that I actually followed through on that thought because I was pleasantly surprised by today's turn of events.
The day started off with a quick shopping excursion to Babies 'R Us. On the shopping list was a new convertible car seat for my daughter. There is currently nothing wrong with the car seat she is using now. Karen and I were just planning ahead for when Briana outgrows it.
Until today, I never knew so much about car seats. I swear... the baby market is a lucrative market. Regardless, we ended up getting Briana a Graco Signature Series Smart Seat... not only because of the safety recommendations... but because it looked cool. And thankfully, it fit in the trunk of the car after we had to take it out of the packaging.
From there, we made a little trip to Milford, New Hampshire. I have never been to Milford, New Hampshire. (I'd say I suck at Milford, New Hampshire.) Karen has gone a few times because her college friend (Michelle) lives there. Michelle was having a birthday party for her twins. I have never met the twins, so what better time than when they turn 4 years old?
Needless to say, it was an interesting party. I think one of the other sets of parents at the party should send me a thank you letter because I probably saved their child's life, or at least his intestinal system. The child was eating a Lego piece while the parents were mingling. Normally, I'm not one to ask other people's children for things, but since this piece of Lego was in the child's mouth I figured it was a good time to start asking. Might I add, a piece of Lego covered in the saliva of some child who you do not know in the palm of your hand... fun.
Afterwards, Karen and I decided to be a little spontaneous on our way home following the party. We decided to take a detour to Kimball Farm in Westford. Unfortunately, I suck at Kimball Farm. Neither Karen nor I knew how to get there. All we knew was that it was located in Westford, which we were passing on the way home. So off the random highway exit we went.
I must say, it was a fun time. Barely into Westford, I stopped at the local gas station to ask for directions. The service attendant did not seem to speak very good English, so he suggested I ask one of the patrons at the pump. Apparently, the woman I asked used to be a French teacher for 35 years in Westford. (My immediate thought was "Parlez vous Francais?") She then mentioned that many of her students at one time or another had worked at Kimball's. And rather than tell me the directions, she offered to escort me there because she thought about getting ice cream too.
So there we were, following this woman as she drove through Westford. The ride took quite a bit of time. We thought either we were way off in picking the correct exit to Kimball's, or this woman was some serial killer leading us to some abandoned area of town to kill us. Luckily for us, it turned out to be the former.
Needless to say, I thought what this woman did was incredibly nice, especially since Karen and I were nowhere near Kimball's at the time. I was going to offer to buy this woman some ice cream for her efforts, but she did not stop at Kimball's like she had originally told me. So thank you, former French teacher... or Merci!
Anyway, from there things got increasingly better because ice cream makes the world a better place. We stayed at Kimball's for quite some time because shortly after Karen's aunt (Denise) and uncle (Paul) met up with us. Denise and Paul happened to be returning from their excursion around the same time and had heard we were at Kimball's. So they decided to meet up with us. It was good to see Denise and Paul.
From there, Karen and I (and a very tired daughter, Briana) headed home. All in all, it was a great day, primarily due to the generosity of this random woman who I will never know... and of course, the ice cream.
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