Open Mic is a post every Thursday that is a mini-version of a discussion board. You can leave a comment with whatever coupon, money-saving or debt reduction tips or questions you have and other readers chime in and answer.
When you leave a comment you’ll be able to choose whether you’d like to be emailed follow-up comments or not. Getting comments via email is a great way to stay connected without having to visit the site a bazillion times (although I don’t mind if you come a bazillion times).
As always, I look forward to hearing the voice of the Pocket Your Dollars community. Read through the Open Mic archives here.
Your turn: Leave a comment with your money-saving, coupon or debt reduction question, thought or suggestion.
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Hi Carrie~ I’ve been a follower of yours since July and I first of all have to say thank you!!
I was wondering if you happen to know the % of shoppers in general that use coupons. I’m guessing that the % of couponers is small, but would be interested in your thoughts!
Also, is there somewhere on your website that you “tell” your story of how you got out of $50thous in debt in 2 1/2 years?
~Sher
Thought you might like to know about this deal: Download the audiobook, Stuff Christians Like for free! http://bit.ly/9XOGYl I’ve heard John speak and read his blog http://stuffchristianslike.net/ and he is SO funny! BEST free audio download yet!
Heads up to those that buy organic romaine hearts. Rainbow’s are $4.99 and Target’s are $2.99–quite the diff! And, Targets were fuller and looked better.
Cubs are also 2.99
6 pack of romaine hearts (not organic) is only 3.49 at Costco. Also, the large tub of organic spring mix (3 or 4 pounds?) is about that same price.
Is anyone using cloth diapers and finding them to be worth the initial investment? Brands you would recommend? Has anyone tried kushies? They look to be my lowest oop. Do you do changes more often than w disposables? Thanks!!
I use cloth diapers…I have used them since January and I love them!!!! I will never go back to disposable diapers. We purchased fuzzi bunz (the old style) we bought 14diapers for $145 and we have not had any major problems with them. She has wet through maybe 2/3times. They are so easy to do my husband even says they are just as easy as disposables. THey do take a little more work as far as washing…i do a load of diapers every day and they have to be washed through twice. I think they are deff worth the investement. Plus if your planning on have more kids (we arent) they are even MORE worth it because you wont have to repurchase them. PLus the fact on how “green” they are really helps!
I cloth diapered all four of my kids and washed the diapers at home. I really loved the high-quality “prefolded” diapers (though why they are called folded I do not know…they are flat rectangles of fabric) and the Prowrap brand wraps with snaps (not velcro). I bought mine a Peapods in St. Paul, a locally owned store.
I used cloth mostly for environmental reasons. I never pencilled out the costs of washing vs. disposable. If you plan to have more than one child, my gut says that you would easily recapture your investment. You will have to change their diapers more frequently than with dispos. It’s important to take good care of the diapers…regular bleaching will cut the life of the diapers quite a lot. (After my first child, I did use disposable diapers at night).
Similar question – has anyone had good luck with the reusable swim diapers? If so, what brand? Any other tips about them?
Lisa – yes, I prefer them to the little swimmers because they do a better job of keeping poo in, if that happens. I have 3 of them for my son, which is plenty for us because we can wash it before he needs to wear it again. I am sorry I don’t know what brand I have – I think I just got them at Target.
I also do cloth diapers – I like fuzzi bunz and have used these for over 2 years and they are still working great for my 2nd son. My favorite are bum genius one size diapers because I could buy 1 diaper and it “grew” with my son. I had him in this diaper as early as 6 weeks old and they still fit when he was 2. If you wash the diapers every day, you can get by with about 6-7, which is what we do. I do disposables at night, on vacation, or if I’m ever “out” of cloth diapers, meaning they’re all dirty and I haven’t done the wash yet. It works for us and I think I’ve saved tons of money on diapers over the past 3 years.
Kirsten – I think it’s “prefold” because they haven’t been folded yet (pre=before). That’s just my guess.
They’re prefolded if they have more thickness down the middle for absorbsion. Back in the day, people would make their own or buy plain flannel diapers, and have to go through a folding process to get more thickness where it counted. Just fyi. *s*
We use cloth diapers and love them. We use a variety of different types. My wife pretty much bought whatever she got the best deal on at various times as we’ve needed different sizes. By far the most cost effective way to do cloth diapers is to buy prefolds and covers. They’re not nearly as big of an inconvenience as people think they would be. You really get used to them fast. We have a lot of all-in-one types as well, which are easier to use, but much more expensive. Bum Genius is a good brand for these. We change our son’s diaper about every 2 hours, so a little more often than with disposables.
I did cloth diapers with both of my daughters for environmental reasons ($ was not an issue for us at the time so did not factor into the decision). I used a diaper service, which was super easy and still seemed to be cheaper than buying disposables. Due to work schedule, etc., I wasn’t even willing to try laundering my own. We lived in Seattle when my oldest was in them and there were a ton of companies and we had moved back to the Twin Cities with my youngest and there weren’t as many companies to choose from, but it still seemed OK with prices. After about 6 months of age, I did start using the night time disposables for various reasons, but kept with the cloth during the day until they were potty trained. I hope you decide to GO GREEN, Aga! Good luck!
Thanks everyone, i’m very ready to be done throwing bags and bags of disposibles but needed some input to help convince the other half :) may have to check out bum g!
I’d recommend the blog http://www.babycheapskate.com/ – they review all sorts of diapers, both cloth and disposable, and include info on pricing as well.
I was a skeptical Dad before our son was born about the whole cloth diaper thing. I guess I had the advantage of not being used to disposable diapers since it was our first child, but it only took a few days of using the cloth diapers to win me over. They maybe take an extra few seconds to put on and it’s a few extra loads of laundry a week, but it’s so much better in nearly every way. It’s better for the environment, it’s better for your baby’s bum, and it’s nicer to your wallet. There’s no way you could convince me to switch to disposables. The one thing I’d say I’m not thrilled with is dropping his poo into the toilet now that he’s eating solid food. Not always a thrill, but it’s not that big of a deal.
We have been using cloth diapers for 7 years now. (4 babies, and #5 due in Dec) We use a service and it costs about $50.00 per month. They are the Chinese pre-folded. We are old-school cloth diaper people, with pins and covers- no fancy snaps or wraps. Our service is 24 hours which is awesome. We have considered buying the diapers and washing them myself, but with the amount of laundry I do now- I see the potential of falling behind, and find the service is just so much easier for our busy household.
We also never buy wipes- I buy bulk white hotel facecloths, and wash and reuse them for wipes.
I’m curious to know how folks carry their coupons/list/advertisement/calculators to the stores in an organized way. I find myself shuffling all of those things and even setting my calulator down in the produce! With two preschoolers along, it becomes very hard to keep track of everything.
Kirsten – I figure all of my lists out at home, then just bring along my coupons and lists (divided by transaction and store). I use an Excel spreadsheet to calculate my double coupons, my out of pocket and my $25 minimum. Works slick. AND this keeps me from impulse buying!!
Could you send me your spreadsheet that you use or post a link? I haven’t been successful with the one I made up.
Thanks!
Kristen,
There are some great You Tube videos on ways to organize your coupons. I have done it and with a 14 months old that is VERY active, it is esential to be organized.
I have a zipper 3 ring binder with lots of pocket. I put baseball card holders inside and it has wored wonderfully.
Good luck!!
Thanks everyone–I will try the baseball card holder. I have been making a spreadsheet in advance, but I get a little stumped when I get to the store and only certain products are included (like on the cereal deals) or they are out of one of the items that I had planned to buy to get to my $25. That’s when I start to pull out extra things and I get kind of flustered. I think the card holder will work very well!
I guess for me it is being REALLY organized before I leave. Make a list and stick to it. Go through the circulars to make your list and have your coupons out and ready to go before you leave home. I also try to organize mine in the order of the store (produce, condiments, pasta etc.). I also clip ONLY the coupons I know I am going to use. I put mine in envelopes of when they expire and I write the brands of the coupons on the envelope, so if I come across something I didn’t THINK i was going to buy but I know it is a good deal, I just look at the list on the envelope and then locate the coupon. However, there are occasions (like yesterday) I annoyed everyone in the store b/c I left unorganized so therefore I was going thru all my coupons…Hope that helps:)
That’s funny – I organize my coupons by the order of the store too. Since I pretty much know where everything is in Rainbow by heart, I just organize my coupons that way. I got two index card boxes (one for food, the other for household ie: diapers, laundry soap, ziploc bags, etc). and put in dividers with the aisle number on top and then on the divider is a list of what is in that aisle – for example aisle 1 has bread, pb, jelly, ketchup, dressings, etc. So I labeled them that way. Then when I clip coupons I file them away according to aisle number. When I’m at Target or Cub I don’t have to worry because if I see a better deal on ice cream there, I know where ice cream is at Rainbow so I just find my coupon in my index card box based on that.
I do like the 3 ring binder idea w/ baseball card holders, too, though! I saw another person in the store with that one day and thought I looked crazy with my two measly index card boxes…. but she had a binder chock full of coupons! :)
I bring a 3-ring binder with all my clipped coupons in plastic baseball holder sheets. I also make a list ahead of time with all the deals at the store…but by bringing all my coupons with me, helps me get great “un-advertised” sales (especially the 50% off deals at Rainbow)
I’m not sure how much time I spend clipping and sortting my coupons into the binder….as I usually do this while watching tv.
I keep everything in my binder, scissors, small calculator, coupons, store ad’s.
Went to CVS last night to buy the 11oz of Folgers coffee for 1.97. I wanted 2 but they only had one on the shelf so the cashier gave me the huge 32oz coffee for the price of 2 smaller ones and let me use two .25 coupons.
Nice buy!!
Anyone know of any free/cheap Easter Egg Hunts/activities this Saturday? I’d love to find one in the north metro to take our 2 year old to, but could possibly travel a short distance. Thanks much! :)
On Saturday Rainbow is having their Easter Egg hunt at 7:30am! Also friday night they have easter activities going on ( i found flyer in store) both are Free!!!
The City of Wyoming has one. It is free. It is at the park behind my house if you know where that is. I just mover there so I don’t know what the name of it is. But if you go to there website it is on there http://www.wyomingmn.org/. It is at Tolzmann Park off of 274th St. I have never been so I don’t know what to expect. I have gone to the City of Centervilles. That one is nice.
There are a few offered through Minneapolis Parks and Rec. There are I think three that are free and some others that are $2.
http://www.minneapoless.com/2010/03/easter-parties-egg-hunts/
This one is on Friday night, not Saturday, but is one of my favorite events.
http://www.minneapoless.com/2010/03/easter-party-at-the-midtown-global-market/
Hope that helps. They might be a little far for you, I’m not sure how far north you are.
Katie
There is a free Easter egg hunt in New Brighton on Saturday — 11:30 AM, Driftwood Park. Annual event sponsored by the local Rotary Club. We’ve been before, it’s fun
I carry a small plastic pendaflex folder (4×6) with different tabs inside that I use for the various stores. (Look for one at a dollar store, Walmart, or Target.) am able to put my coupons and list under each store’s label. I also use Xcel before I go to Rainbow, for example, to add up my purchases. Once I know that I can hit that $25 threshold, I am good to go! I do not carry a calculator to the store as my work is done before I get there. I want to get in and get out as quickly and as efficiently as possible. I love saving, but shopping is not my hobby! Just a necessity and by using PYD I save a ton of money.
that’s how I feel! I love the savings but the investment of time is overwhelming…especially to go to multiple stores in one week. I also hate the thought of the extra driving/carbon emissions. thanks for the tip. I think I saw a bunch of those folders at Goodwill last week!
I agree on the multiple stores and using gas. But I always try to combine trips. There is a Cub by my gym, a Walgreens by my Rainbow, and a Target by work, so I never feel I am going far out of my way to get a good deal – I just plan it into my week. Now I know this varies for those who are not in a “big town.”
I love the Excel idea! How do you know how much the item is before you go? Just from Carrie’s list? Thanks for the ideas!!
In my hometown there is a small Menonite market where they sell bulk flours, nuts, yeast, nooodles, snacks, etc. Many of the items are much much cheaper than in the store! Does anyone know of a market like this in the Twin Cities area? I’d love a closer option!
Thanks!
Rachel – I don’t know how the price would compare to the Mennonite market you mention, but getting bulk things at the various local Coops is usually much cheaper. I like high quality spices and some things are so worthwhile at Costco (not bulk), but many others I purchase at the Coop or my nearby Whole Foods. This is a great way to get small amounts of spices you don’t use very often and don’t want them to get stale. Unfortunately, most of the Coops have discontinued bulk yeast, but if you have any connections to Costco, I can’t recommend their yeast highly enough. It is a huge amount for $3.xx, and I keep it in the freezer. I think it’s one of the best deals Costco offers!
Kirsten-I use a big double 3 ring binder filled with the 9 pocket card holder sheets with 10 divided sections labled, the first part is for the grocery store and the second for beauty,cleaners.meds ect.. then I keep a rebate section and a few zipper pockets for lose coupons and sissors,calculator and pen. I love this system I can just flip through my book as I’m in the isles. I get a few papers so I staple and clip up a few inserts up and file them in my book and I save a few unclipped inserts and file them in a cabnet for later to pair with PYD list. a little tip i learned is plan on your “big book of savings” being 4 times as big as you think,it grows every week:) hope this helps.
Ok, I did a search on here but not sure what key words to put in. I could not find what I was looking for. I am looking for the name and number of the guy that Carrie went thru to purchase her toyota van. I have someone who wants to talk to him who is shopping! Thanks! Oh by the way ,does anyone know when the Swapper’s in Annandale opens?
Kim – Dennis Lemire of LeMire Consulting http://www.lemireconsulting.com/ He’s great!
Spring is here and it is time to fertilizer your grass! Follow this link for a coupon for $5.00 off Scotts Turf Builder 10,000-15,000 sq. ft. bag or $2.50 off a 5,000 sq ft bag. http://www.scotts.com/smg/learn/infoHowToArticle.jsp?detailId=16100020&subNavId=&navId=page900216&parentId=100006
~True Value Hardware has them on sale right now for $22.99 then get a mail in rebate for $4 (5,000 sq ft bag) or $63.99 then a mail in rebate for $9 (15,000 sq. ft. bag)
Just back from spring break — rented a condo & stopped in town to get food for the week. Of course it wasn’t a store that we had in the metro & all of their deals were for card holders. It took me 30sec to become a card holder & get the better prices. It’s not couponing per se, but now I have a card for the Kroger family of stores & it saved about $20.
Also, the condo in & of itself was awesome. We made breakfast every day & all but 1 dinner there, saving oodles of $$$.
Ski season is over, but we bought ourCO tickets on Liftopia.com & picked them up at the regular ticket office in Keystone. The guy working said that was the best possible deal. I still get dizzy over the prices BUT walking up we’d have pd $93 per day & on Liftopia we pd $71 per day & it included a $15 lunch voucher for several onsite restaurants. DH & I put our’s together $30 & could usu make up a lunch (pizzas, shared salads, nacho platter, etc), only ordered water (we needed it any way) & spent about $5 out of pocket.
It was an expensive vacation but we found a few ways to make it less expensive.
I’m flying out of MSP tomorrow morning and was wondering if anyone has advice for eating cheaply on the go? I am bringing an empty water bottle and my own travel mug.
Can I bring my own food through security? Tea bags? And will the flight attendants fill my travel mug with hot water for me so I can brew some tea, or will any food vendors do that for me? Can you tell I’m more concerned about my tea than anything else?!
I’m flying out of Lindburgh, Concourse F if that helps any.
Carrying on non-liquid snacks is perfectly OK. When we travel, we have the equivalent of a picnic bag with us if there is no in-flight meal being served. My kids would each spend $100 on snacks, etc., if I didn’t come prepared! ; ) If you are unable to get hot water for free, I would think the most you would pay with your own cup would be a nickel or dime. Have a nice trip!
I believe at MSP you cannot bring liquids PAST the security check-in, but there are many stores, restaurants, coffee shops inside where you can buy things – and those items can be taken on the plane. So take your cup to Caribou – I’m sure they will give you some hot water :o) I would also pack a small lunch-bag for the flight/airport to save some $$
MSP also has a coupon book available as you walk in (before you go down the escalator). Or, you can view it on line and print the coupons you want.
I just thought it was worth mentioning on here again that CVS in Lakeville (dodd and cedar) has 12 packs of bounty papertowels for $2.99. I found some $1.00 off coupons. $2 for a 12 pack. That is a great deal. I bought 15 packs to stock up!
Sorry if this is a repeat from the CVS weekly board.
Not sure on the hot water thing, but food shouldn’t be a problem as long as it isn’t liquidy. We brought apples, granola bars, chips, string cheese w/o problem. The lady next to me on the plane had a sandwich.
There are plenty of coffee stands & I’m sure (worst case) they’d sell you hot water for a dime or something like that. There may even be microwaves in the snack shops for heating up deli sandwiches that you buy there. You could probably use them too.
Abby Dabby – You should be able to bring your own food through security. The only restrictions I know of is the liquid. The tea bags will be okay and I don’t see any reason why the flight attendants wouldn’t give you hot water. I take food on the plane all the time.
Abby – I flew out of mpls about a month ago and was able to bring food with me in my carry on. The flight attendant was great about giving me hot water for tea. I also found food vendors in the airport very willing to do this for me. I was also concerned about my tea! Have fun!
Does anyone have any coupon codes for Children’s Place? I am hoping to order a few things for my son, but I can’t seem to find any codes in my email.
I have a few coupons for Childrens Place. They are for 15% offApril 8-May 12th. Email me at caarin@hittnergroup.com and I can either give you the web code or mail you the coupon.
has anyone gotten there all you mag yet from the deal carrie hooked us up with? I got the 13 dollars back but no mag yet. also could anyone help me with the company/link so i can email them about it.
Jenny – I asked Campus Fundraising about this as some people have gotten theirs and others haven’t. Alisha responded saying, “Our vendor asks to allow 6-8 weeks for delivery from transmittal date but I have heard that All You themselves can take a little bit longer. Since your orders were transmitted throughout the whole month of February, I would hope that they start receiving their first issues mid April to mid May. However, usually All You can give them an ETA on first issue or if they feel more comfortable they provide me with their info and I can call on their behalf, whatever they feel comfortable with.” You can email Alisha at akilham@campusfundraiser.com if you’d like her to check into it.
carrie–thank you i will email them.
I received my first copy about a week ago. I was very happy with the high value coupons in it.
Has anyone used U Promise e-coupons and do they work?
I have done it, but they don’t work like coupons in terms of taking money off your order. They scan automatically from your store card and add the money to your upromise account. I just sign up for pretty much all of them and then if I happen to buy what the coupon is for the money goes to my account.
Thanks.
I know that at least a couple of people have figured out how to put an avatar pic up by their post…how do you do that? I looked all over, trying to figure it out. It is probably super easy and I just missed something. Can anyone help with this?
Rebecca – What you need is a gravatar. Go to this website (http://en.gravatar.com/) and it will walk you through the process. Basically every time you enter your email address (like you do in the comments here at PYD) on a site that is gravatar-enabled, your picture will show up. Let me know if you have any questions.
Used it– and it works–thanks Laura!
SarahBB – Looks great! I’m glad it worked. :)
Anyone here like to go to Landmark Theatres (The Uptown, Lagoon and Edina)?
They have a discount card that gives 5 admissions for $34. There are restrictions (no Friday, Saturday after 6 but you can use it for the midnight shows at The Uptown, one or two admissions per show and it expires after 6 months) but it makes a $9 show $6.80. PLUS, right now if you buy a giftcard for at least $25, you get a coupon for a free medium popcorn. You can buy a giftcard and immediately use it to buy the discount card, so you save on the cost of the movie and get a free popcorn. I don’t know when the giftcard promo ends, but I do know the Babies movie is opening at The Edina in May…
The Byerly’s ad just came out for the week. if you are on their email list, you got a coupon for Tropicana for 99 cents with a $10 purchase. And you might still (like I do) have the Tropicana BOGO coupon from last week. I wonder what amount they will take off for the free one?
Where is the BOGO Tropicana coupon from?
It was on facebook last week. I know it was posted here as well.
http://www.pocketyourdollars.com/2010/03/tropicana-juice-buy-one-get-one-free-and-other-printable-coupons/
But it had to be done on March 24th. Coupon expires April 7. Sorry.
This question is for Carrie or for anyone who knows this for sure~
I had a coupon for buy a certain kind of deodorant and get body wash free….so I got the free body wash and used a coupon for the deodorant…later I had to go to the customer service desk for something else with my receipt and they noticed that transaction and told me they shouldn’t have done that….they let me keep it but said it was not right….I thought that was fully okay to do that???
Also where in the cities do they double coupons up to $2? I only have a store that doubles up to 50 cent coupons.
Thanks!
Carrie talked about some K-Mart stores doubling $2 coupons next week. You can read the post here and see if it applies to your area: http://www.pocketyourdollars.com/2010/03/kmart-super-doubles-coupon-event-week-of-april-4-10-2010/
Yeah I remember reading that but there are only such a few Kmarts that are doing that; and none even close to me….
but often Carrie mentions double coupons at grocery stores….so I would like to know where those are….two of my kids live in the metro area and they don’t know of stores that do that….I know they would shop there if they knew when and where they were.
Tell them that Rainbow Foods in the cities will double 5 coupons every Wednesday. They are also doubling 5 coupons on Saturdays through July 10. The coupon has to be $1 or less – best to hand them your five highest value coupons first. At the top of this page under “Shopping Lists” click on Rainbow to get more comfortable with the rules. This has saved me hundreds!
Also, not sure where you live or they live but here are a few other stores you can check with that other PYD followers have mentioned in the past:
EconoFoods in Farmington, Northfield and Cannon Falls double coupons that are 50cents or less every day (unlimited)
Bergrens SuperValue in Crystal/South Mpls also doubles unlimited coupons that are 50cents or less every day.
Almsted’s SuperValu in St. Louis Park doubles unlimited coupons every day that are 49cents or less.
You/They may want to call the store ahead of time to make sure they are still participating (unless anyone who shops there wants to chime in to confirm).
I just called the Econo in Northfield and they told me that they didn’t and that they haven’t for a long time. I would have made the 20 min trip if they still did since there isn’t anywhere around here that does.
Hey thanks! I will copy and print this down and let them know…maybe one of those stores is close enough to them,
I just received an invitation from “House Party, Inc.” to host a Kraft open house for friends and family. I know I’ve read something here before about these. Anyone had experience? Are they legit. Am I going to be hassled or bombarded with other offers? Sounds like fun and a great way to get friends together!
Thanks! Mags
I just had a Digiorno house party and it was a lot of fun. They give you coupons for free stuff and also party favors. You don’t get hassled or anything.
I also had the Digiorno house party. It was great! Free pizza and free coupons for pizza.
How are people getting hooked up with Kraft and Digiorno parties? How much oop?
It’s free. You have to sign up on houseparty.com and get chosen to “win” a house party to host for you and friends.
CVS survey again today and another $10 ECB – Carrie maybe post the website to sign up for the CVS advisory panel again. I have answered three surveys this month for $30 in ECB.
I haven’t received any surveys from CVS in ages. :(
I am not sure if the deals get even better as spring goes on or not, but Walgreens is having a RR offer on Hawaiian Tropic. Spend $20 and get $8RR or spend $15 and get $5RR. I found coupons for Hawaiian Tropic at: http://www.hawaiiantropic.com/Promotions/
Find the coupon tab and print your coupons :)
Also, I got an ad for Walgreens in the mail yesterday that looked just like their weekly flyer, but was a mid-week ad (dated March 31st-April 3rd) that seemed to include some offers that were not in the regular Sunday ad. The Hawaiian Tropic was one that I noticed, but Just for Men 2 in 1 Shampoo & Condition is also on sale. It is $4.99 with $4.99RR given, making it FREE!! If you still have a Crest coupon, you might be able to score free or close to free toothpaste too! I checked their website and the ad is available for viewing, just in case you didn’t receive one. Here is the link for the ad: http://walgreens.shoplocal.com/walgreens/default.aspx?action=entry&pretailerid=-99389&siteid=434&storeID=2430950
I have an ethical question. I work in a department that requires me to do a lot of ordering. I am a member of a website that offers points if you order through their website. I use this website to order work related items. I keep the points for myself. My husband thinks that is wrong. I said I would be ordering the stuff anyway so what does it hurt the company if I order the same things from the same vendors just using a website that allows me to earn points?
Does anyone else here have an opinion on this? I don’t want to do anything that could be construed as unethical, especially at work.
I think as long as the price is the same if you go thru your member website vs going direct, it shouldn’t matter. I look at this the same way I would traveling for an organization….if I go on work travel, I get to keep my airline miles. If I use my personal credit card for business related expenses, and my card pays me 1% back, I don’t give it to the company, I keep it. You could ask your supervisor, but I expect they’ll say “as long as the price is the same (or not more), it doesn’t matter”.
It sounds like employees racking up air miles for flights that the company paid for–pretty normal? I suggest you check with your supervisor to see what your company’s take is on the points.
Hey I would…as long as the price is the same and it isn’t costing the company any extra…then heck yeah! I say waste not want not! It is there so people order from there….and that is what you are doing….why let it go.
When Cabela’s started giving points for what you spent/paid with your card our local priest (at that time) who was a huge fishing fan; paid the church fuel bill etc…..with the card and earned fishing gear for himself. Sure he could have bought up all sorts of Cabelas stuff and donated to a cause or something, but I see nothing wrong with what he did….or he could have paid it with a check and had nothing…why not be thinking and take the offers while they are there.
That is a very good question Sheila! I have kind of the same situation at my work, but the free points go toward office supplies and I guess I have never even thought of using the points for myself, I just let my boss know (brownie points) when I am getting stuff for free because I have accumulated the points.
On the other hand, I recently started collecting Coke rewards and take all of the points from the office pop cases to use for myself, but never even thought of accumulating those for the office since they were just being thrown away before I started collecting them for myself. I do the same with the aluminum cans in the office. I collect them and cash them in every once in a while and the $ goes in my kids’ savings account.
So, I guess I don’t have an answer either way, but 2 different situations/perspectives for other people to weigh in on. :o)
I collect coke points from my church and myself, as I use the profit from the coke sales and buy the church’s soda for the soda fridge and turn in money for the profit when there is more than I need to buy more soda. Those coke reward points get split between me and the church. I just use them to get free 20 oz. sodas and give one to pastor, one to my twin who is on council and one to me. (I don’t know of other leaders who drink coke.) So to me, sharing some with the office, if there is something you could share with the office, IE depends on what the prizes are. (20 oz. sodas would not fit in the soda fridge as well, and I would probably need to structure a different pricing scenario for them. We charge $.50 for a 12 oz. can and $.25 for a small water. What to charge for a 20 oz., if I did give them to church?)
I would check with my manager to be sure it is allowed. You wouldn’t want to lose your job over this, and many, many companies do not allow it.
Sheila-
I agree with the person who said to ask your supervisor about it. I wouldn’t feel comfortable doing it because it is like you are getting extra income from buying things with the business’ money. (as small as it may be). I think it is great you are asking others opinions. = )
Something similar – All of my employers have allowed me to keep any #ff milage from airfare/hotels/rental cars. Didn’t affect the price in any way…and was a nice perk for the employees.
If you are concerned, I’d just mention to your supervisor that you are ordering the items at the usual price & the retailer gives you points. I can’t imagine a company would be interested in collecting those points and using them…..
So am I the only one who uses two coupons when using a buy one get one free item? I use the one for the free item and additional one for the item I had to purchase….isn’t that okay to do? Does anyone else do that??
Carrie usually posts her lists with the 2 coupons on a BOGO, but YMMV depending on what store you are at. I have seen many people post on this website about that not working very well. I always give it a try and if it isn’t OK, the store will tell you.
I do it all the time! Back when I first starting using coupons (20+ years ago) it was totally acceptable. If a store refuses (I had happen once a few weeks ago) I ask the cashier to void out the items and give me back my coupons and wait to use them at another store.
Yeah I would too…but I kind of feel cheap and hope that my 17 year old son isnt with me…he gets SO SICK of my penny pinching and my “guess how much I paid for this:” question. But a penny saved is a penny “I” earned; and with couponing like this it is a lot more than pennies! Happy Easter!
No, you aren’t the only one. I go by this rule, if the deal is 3 products I can use up to 3 coupons. If the deal is 2 products, I can use up to 2 coupons. Make sense?
This worked for me today for President’s Brie cheese BOGO deal at Eagan, RB.
For anyone here in the Albertville/Otsego/St Michael area, I have a couple of $25.00 coupons for http://www.infitbody.com (Anytime Fitness & Inspiration Fitness of Albertville). They can be used on group fitness classes, personal training, Anytime Fitness or Kids FitKare. I can mail one or two to whoever asks first (janejensen2@hotmail.com)
Two questions:
First, What is a good dishwasher soap that doesn’t etch glasses?
I need new ones desperately and don’t want to wreck my new set.
Second, what is considered a proper tip for a pizza delivery person?
My husband and I differ on this topic. Do you think it changes if you have to pay a fee for the deliever?
I’d love some opinions on both topics. Thanks!
I think it is important that you use a product like “Jet Dry” in your dishwasher to prevent your glasses from etching. I just bought a new DW and that was their recommendation too. I typically use Electrasol (or whatever else is on sale for DW detergent). I haven’t noticed etching problems in a long time, but I always use a drying agent.
As for the pizza delivery tip, what I’ve been told is that half of the delivery fee goes to the driver and the other half goes to the store. So if you want to tip 15-20% (as “they” say you’re supposed to), include half of the delivery fee.
It would depend on the store. Some do not “split” the delivery fee. The driver gets and hourly wage plus tips, not a per delivery bonus.
Carrie-
I’ve seen on your site a list of your “rock bottom” prices. Do you have a list of things that don’t/or rarely go on sale? Having recently started, I see where I’m needing many things but I’m not sure how long I’ll have to wait for a sale, or if there will be one. Thanks!
Off topic, but I would LOVE to see the regular price on the Rainbow shopping list so I can plan my transactions beforehand. I bring extra coupons for things I know are on sale, in case they are out of something and I have to make a last-minute substitution. I keep ALL receipts for everything, and I’m thinking about reading all of them and noting the regular price of things in a worksheet. A LOT of work, but it would be invaluable in planning the transactions around $25.
I hear a lot of you saying “getting the transactions around $25; what is that for?
Rainbow’s doubling policy requires you to spend $25 before any coupons are doubled. I have found that the $25 is calculated according to the regular shelf price, not the sale price. But it helps to split transactions into groups of just over $25, so you can maximize your savings.
Hi,
In regards to the “regular” price of things- I think it varies all the time, one this week isn’t always the same 2 weeks from now. I’ve noticed on big sale weeks, regular prices of other non-sale items are higher. So I think it would be a HUGE, if not impossible task to get the prices written down. Plus prices may vary from store to store.
I certainly don’t expect Carrie (and associates!) to get that down. I guess I think this site is GREAT to tell me the deals, but I don’t expect Carrie to do all the work for me. I take ownership in figuring out prices based on my needs, even do a recon trip once in a while to get prices or rely on other readers’ reported info.
Julie W
I finally had the courage to base my Rainbow purchase on the shelf prices rather than the register price yesterday. Silly? Perhaps, but it’s usually a non-issue. Yesterday I wanted to get my key items and get out of there without much else since I wasn’t going home for hours. My bigger shopping trip will be Saturday.
$3 DiGiorno Pizza and Breadsticks combo coupon if you go to DiGiorno Pizza on Facebook and click on get coupon. )You do not have to Fan them. They have a corny April fools day story thing but you can bypass that and go to the bottom of the page and click on “Get coupon with out fooling your friends” Last week these Combos were on Sale 2/$10 at Rainbow Foods and on top of that you got a Free Milk Catalina when you purchased 2. Don’t know if that deal is still on.
They are 2/$12 at Rainbow this week.
With the buy one get one free coupons out of common courtesy and store respect I feel the one coupon is all you should be using. That’s why they offer the coupon. Just my opinion.