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This site is a member of WebRing. To browse visit here. Sunday, July 06, 2008 And then it spit out another coupon! My middle daughter, Shelley, is into coupons and rebates in a big way. Every few days she calls me to tell me the newest bargain she found. I'm not surprised--this is the gal who financed a trip to Tasmania with frequent flyer miles from Kellogg cereal products. She went around to the many "salvage" grocery stores in Virginia and purchased the cereal and snack bars for a fraction of the retail price. She cut the proof of purchase panel off each box, re-sold the products at flea markets for a substantial discount off the retail price, and still made 100 percent profit on her original purchase. She accumulated enough frequent flyer miles for the round trip flight, and made enough money to have a really good time while she was there. So I wasn't at all surprised to hear that she was not only getting products for free (or only a few cents), but was often getting rebates or store credits to boot.She called the other day to tell me about the contact lens fluid she had found on sale. "I had a half-price coupon," she said, "and this store doubles the coupons. So I got the lens fluid for free. But the cash register printed another half-price coupon, so I went back and got a second one. And it printed another coupon, so I went back and got a third one, and that time it gave me a $3.00 store credit! So I got three bottles of name brand contact lens fluid for free, and they basically paid me $3.00 to carry it out of the store!"She gave me six $1.00-off coupons for Dawn dish detergent in the 11 oz. bottle, and told me that the CVS drugstore was selling it two for $2.00. A dollar a bottle, and a dollar-off coupon, in other words. So I got a bit more than a gallon of Dawn for just the 30 cent sales tax. But I also got a $3.00 credit against future purchases. Seeing the credit, I went back to the first aid section where I had seen a "Buy one, get one free" coupon for a 60-count box of assorted-size bandaids. That, and a 70-cent candy bar (to bring the purchase up to $3.00), allowed me to walk out of the store with 6 bottles of dish detergent, two large boxes of bandaids and a candy bar for fifty cents. I just had to call Shelley to tell her how smart I'd been.She sighed. "Mom. You shouldn't have bought the bandaids. You could have gotten them free last week! Save your store credits and only buy things with them that give you more store credits! That way they build up."I promised in the future to only buy the things she told me to buy. To be good at this, you have to spend a lot of time on it, and I have neither the time nor the patience to do it. So I'll benefit once in a while from her expertise, and praise her lavishly the rest of the time for her amazing bargains. posted by Liz @ 7:42 PM | The template is set to display 10 posts. To see all the posts for this month, click on the month name in the Archive section RSS Feed PERSONAL Send email toliz at life-as-a-spectator-sport.com Home I'm a mother, grandmother, a computer professional, Democrat, Christian. I welcome politely worded comments and email, my spam filter throws the rest away, so don't bother to flame me WHY 'LIFE AS A SPECTATOR SPORT' "If you're lucky not to live in the gutters of a slum, but still can't afford to take vacations in the Alps, you're part of that enormous middle class who lives life through the medium of the television, further separated from "real" life by air conditioner, by automobile, by dishwasher, microwave and ice-in-the-door refrigerator, by automatic washer and dryer, and all the other appliances and conveniences that make it possible for America to live life at second hand. I'm not sure why Americans decided that televised drama was better than the real thing, that cardboard microwave food containers were an adequate substitute for real dishes, and their contents for real food, or that cooking, dishwashing and face-to-face conversation wasn't worth the effort and time it required. Someone fed this nation a plastic crate of out-of-season tomatoes and told us it was life and we took them at their word, and we're so much the poorer for it that it's hard to know where to start to list the shortcomings." I wrote this a couple of years ago, but I have to admit it's much less amusing than I thought it would be to see the artifical construct falling apart. THE NON-ELECTRIC HOME Cleaning, 1 Cleaning, 2 Cleaning, 3 KNITTING BLOGS Extravayarnza Knitting Heretic Mind of Winter Pie Knits Persistent Illusion See Eunny Knit The Keyboard Biologist Taleweaver's Ramblings TECHnitting Wendy Knits FINISHED PROJECTS -------FINISHED IN 2006------- Peruvian Cap Tutti-Frutti Socks Shelley's Socks Carol's Socks -------FINISHED IN 2007------- Chain Link Socks Baby Surprise Jacket Valerie & Friend Baby Bonnet Rainbow Baby Socks Girls Pixie Hood Mitred Square Heart Red & White Socks Coffee Cup Pot Holder Nubbins Dishcloth Garterlac Dishcloth Suede Booties Kate's Socks Norwegian Sweet Baby Cap Half Thumbless Mittens Red Mittens for Akkol -------FINISHED IN 2008------- SELF-RELIANCE AND THE FUTURE -- Blogs and websites -- Causubon's Book Club Orlov Food Storage Made Easy From the Wilderness In the Wake Listening to Katrina Survival Topics The Modern Homestead The Oil Drum Notes from a Hillside Farm -- Mailing Lists -- 12vdc Power Living on the Land Rainwater Refrigeration Alternatives Old Ways of Living POLITICAL BLOGS and SITES The political sites have moved BOOKS I'M READING How to Grow More Vegetables, etc. Small Scale Grain Raising ARCHIVES February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 August 2008 July 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 September 2003 August 2003 July 2003 June 2003 May 2003 April 2003 March 2003 February 2003 January 2003 December 2002 November 2002 October 2002 September 2002 August 2002 July 2002 June 2002 May 2002 April 2002 March 2002 February 2002 Feedjit Live Blog Stats
My middle daughter, Shelley, is into coupons and rebates in a big way. Every few days she calls me to tell me the newest bargain she found. I'm not surprised--this is the gal who financed a trip to Tasmania with frequent flyer miles from Kellogg cereal products. She went around to the many "salvage" grocery stores in Virginia and purchased the cereal and snack bars for a fraction of the retail price. She cut the proof of purchase panel off each box, re-sold the products at flea markets for a substantial discount off the retail price, and still made 100 percent profit on her original purchase. She accumulated enough frequent flyer miles for the round trip flight, and made enough money to have a really good time while she was there. So I wasn't at all surprised to hear that she was not only getting products for free (or only a few cents), but was often getting rebates or store credits to boot.She called the other day to tell me about the contact lens fluid she had found on sale. "I had a half-price coupon," she said, "and this store doubles the coupons. So I got the lens fluid for free. But the cash register printed another half-price coupon, so I went back and got a second one. And it printed another coupon, so I went back and got a third one, and that time it gave me a $3.00 store credit! So I got three bottles of name brand contact lens fluid for free, and they basically paid me $3.00 to carry it out of the store!"She gave me six $1.00-off coupons for Dawn dish detergent in the 11 oz. bottle, and told me that the CVS drugstore was selling it two for $2.00. A dollar a bottle, and a dollar-off coupon, in other words. So I got a bit more than a gallon of Dawn for just the 30 cent sales tax. But I also got a $3.00 credit against future purchases. Seeing the credit, I went back to the first aid section where I had seen a "Buy one, get one free" coupon for a 60-count box of assorted-size bandaids. That, and a 70-cent candy bar (to bring the purchase up to $3.00), allowed me to walk out of the store with 6 bottles of dish detergent, two large boxes of bandaids and a candy bar for fifty cents. I just had to call Shelley to tell her how smart I'd been.She sighed. "Mom. You shouldn't have bought the bandaids. You could have gotten them free last week! Save your store credits and only buy things with them that give you more store credits! That way they build up."I promised in the future to only buy the things she told me to buy. To be good at this, you have to spend a lot of time on it, and I have neither the time nor the patience to do it. So I'll benefit once in a while from her expertise, and praise her lavishly the rest of the time for her amazing bargains.
The template is set to display 10 posts. To see all the posts for this month, click on the month name in the Archive section
RSS Feed
PERSONAL
WHY 'LIFE AS A SPECTATOR SPORT'
"If you're lucky not to live in the gutters of a slum, but still can't afford to take vacations in the Alps, you're part of that enormous middle class who lives life through the medium of the television, further separated from "real" life by air conditioner, by automobile, by dishwasher, microwave and ice-in-the-door refrigerator, by automatic washer and dryer, and all the other appliances and conveniences that make it possible for America to live life at second hand. I'm not sure why Americans decided that televised drama was better than the real thing, that cardboard microwave food containers were an adequate substitute for real dishes, and their contents for real food, or that cooking, dishwashing and face-to-face conversation wasn't worth the effort and time it required. Someone fed this nation a plastic crate of out-of-season tomatoes and told us it was life and we took them at their word, and we're so much the poorer for it that it's hard to know where to start to list the shortcomings." I wrote this a couple of years ago, but I have to admit it's much less amusing than I thought it would be to see the artifical construct falling apart.
THE NON-ELECTRIC HOME
Cleaning, 1 Cleaning, 2 Cleaning, 3
KNITTING BLOGS
Extravayarnza Knitting Heretic Mind of Winter Pie Knits Persistent Illusion See Eunny Knit The Keyboard Biologist Taleweaver's Ramblings TECHnitting Wendy Knits
FINISHED PROJECTS
SELF-RELIANCE AND THE FUTURE
POLITICAL BLOGS and SITES
BOOKS I'M READING
How to Grow More Vegetables, etc. Small Scale Grain Raising
ARCHIVES
February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 August 2008 July 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 September 2003 August 2003 July 2003 June 2003 May 2003 April 2003 March 2003 February 2003 January 2003 December 2002 November 2002 October 2002 September 2002 August 2002 July 2002 June 2002 May 2002 April 2002 March 2002 February 2002
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