King Of Coupons?

I’ve been reading a lot lately about saving money. One great way I’ve discovered is by using coupons. While I’ve known of the existence of coupons for most of my life, I didn’t really feel they were worth the hassle and the time. Enter the internet and the age of printable coupons and blogging. There are some people out there they have a better shopping plan laid out than a strategic military operation, and it all centers around using coupons.

I decided to try this out for myself to see if it was worth the effort. I work about a mile away from Wal-Mart and yes I have referred to then in past entries as The Evil Empire. But I have been working until midnight and there are only 2 shopping options that late at night, Kroger and Wal-Mart. I was trying to get the most for my dollar and I decided to try Wal-Mart. Besides, that time of night you miss the big crowds, you only have to contend with the overnight stock crew.

So I found a couple coupons I knew I could use and printed them out. One was a coupon for $1.00 off Vlassic Pickles and if you are a pickle lover you know Vlassic is the best. The other was a $4.00 off coupon for Purina Cat Food. I entered The Evil Empire to let the experiment begin.

First I hit the pickle isle. I found a jar of Vlassic for $1.58. This was the cheapest jar on the self so I picked it up. Second was the cat food. I found a small bag of Purina Cat Food for $3.68. My coupon was for $4.00 so I wasn’t sure they would take it.

I got to the register and sat the coupons on top of their corresponding products. Not only did they accept the $4.00 Cat Food Coupon, the overage applied to the sales tax as well. After tax I got both products for 52¢!

Needless to say the coupon experiment was a success. While I don't think I'll be changing my name anytime soon, I do think coupons will become a big part of my saving money plan.

By the way, the Vlassic Pickle Coupon is good until December. I'm sure I'll be making several more trips between now and then and I'll use one of these about everytime to Stock Shop on these pickles.

It’s Good To Be King

When I purchased a drink mixer a couple weeks ago, I stated that I hoped my dry spell was over. Boy is it ever. Let me tell you about the day I had earlier this week.

First I stopped at Speedway to use my coupon for a free cup of coffee. It pays to be Speedy Rewards Member. While I was there another shopper didn’t have a Speedy Rewards Card so the clerk took mine and scanned it in, getting me even closer to that $100.00 Gift Card.

Next I hit one of my favorite stores, Target. First I finally found some of my favorite signs. That’s right, 75% OFF! And it was on a dining room table and chair set I had been eyeing for a while. I got the table for $49.99 (Regular $199.99) and 2 chairs for $32.49 (Regular $129.99). I was also lucky enough to catch a few remaining seasonal summer items that had been marked down to 95% OFF. I picked up 4 large drinking cups for 9¢ each and 2 plastic drink mixers (not near as nice as the previous one I mentioned) for 29¢ each.

Finally, Target had the 28lb buckets of Fresh Step Cat Litter on sale for $9.99 each. As an added bonus there was a coupon on the front of the bucket for $3.00 off if you purchased 2 or more. I picked up 2 and asked the cashier if I could use the coupon today. She tore it off and scanned it in and said “yeah, it works.” That’s about $17.00 for 2 buckets. This is great for Stock Shopping.

I guess my dry spell is over to say the least. I have a few more deals I’ve been picking up lately that I’ll post about soon. Some involve a money saving experiment I’m conducting and seem to be quite successful at.

Until then, thanks for reading,
The King

$1.00 Deals At Deals

I have not been a big fan of Deals for a while. Deals used to be a great place to shop. Everything was $1.00 (or less). I don't remember when it occurred, but over a year ago Deals changed. While they still have several item for only $1.00, they started offering what they called Big Deals. Items that they charged more than $1.00 for. Most of the Big Deals, in my opinion, are not deals at all. So usually when I shop there, I only look at the $1.00 items.

I made a trip there the other day and was able to find some items I felt were good deals (pardon the pun). The first is Storage Hooks. Only $1.00 for a pack of 3. These are the same hooks Wal-Mart charges 75¢ for 1. Plus I picked up some burgee cords. The entire pack of 6 was $1.00. That's less than they charge for 1 cord at the big hardware stores.

Looks like you don't need to look for Big Deals at Deals. The $1.00 Deals make it worth shopping there.

Thanks For Reading,
The King

$30.00 In Free Gas At Kroger

Kroger started the 10% Bonus on gift cards as a way to entice us to spend our Stimulus Package Checks in their store. Well I have to say that, thanks to rising gas prices and the Kroger Fuel Perks Rewards Program, it worked.

If you don't know how it works, here's a brief rundown of the Kroger Fuel Perks Programs. You spend $100.00 in groceries at Kroger's. That gives us 10¢ off per gallon of gas you buy at your next fill up. This makes Kroger the cheapest place in town to buy gasoline. Even cheaper than Sam's Club. The best part is, the gas pumps except Kroger gift cards as payment.

So, you buy a $300.00 (or $600.00 or $1200.00) gift card at Kroger and get an extra 10%, making your gift card worth $330.00. You use this gift card exclusively at the gas pump. This in turn will give you $30.00 in free gas. That's not including the extra 10¢ per gallon I save as a Fuel Perks customer.

With gas prices at an all time high this summer, the extra extra savings at the pump will help out. I would have liked to get the $1200.00 card, giving me $120.00 in free gas, but it wasn't in the budget for this month.This promotion continues until July 31st so you have plenty of time to take advantage of the Free Gas bonus.

How To Use Your Visa Card At Sam's Club

If you are a Visa Card Holder like myself, you know that Sam's Club hates us. They will not accept that card that is accepted in more places that any other. They do accept Master Card and Discover card. Logically you would think I would just get one of those cards, but I don't need another credit card or an extra bill I have to pay each month so I'm sticking with my trusty Bank Of America Visa Rewards Card.

Usually on my trips to Sam's, I use my bank debit card. There are huge down-sides to this. First, I miss out on all the Rewards Points I get when making purchases with my Visa Card. I cash those in for free flights on even a check. And second, my bank charges me a fee for using the debit card at Sam's Club. While it's not a big fee by any means, my goal in life is to save money, not spend extra. Besides, I pay $35.00/year just to be a members of the So-Called Club, why should I have to pay extra every time I shop there.

Well, no more. I will no longer have to use my debit card to make purchases at Sam's Club as I have found a way to beat the system. And no, it's not using cash. I take the Bank Of America Visa Rewards Card I spoke of earlier into Wal-Mart and I purchase a Wal-Mart Gift Card with it. Then take said Gift Card to Sam's Club and make my purchases using the Gift Card. This way I get my Reward Points from using my Visa Card and I avoid any transaction fees from using my debit card.

I do want to say, don't go into this blindly. Make sure you know about what you want to spend when purchasing the Wal-Mart Gift Card. Also, it's a good idea to bring some extra cash, just in case you see a deal you can't pass up and you have to go over budget. One time at Sam's Club I found Monster Kaos on Clearance for $12.80 a case! I bought 6 of them! I want you to make sure you have a back up plan in place for just such an occasion.

Other than that, the plan is simply. Wal-Mart takes Visa and sells Wal-Mart Gift Cards. Sam's accepts Wal-Mart Gift Cards, no questions asked.

Thanks for reading,
The King

Intro To Stock Shopping

It hard to beat the feeling of buying something at the lowest possible clearance price. In fact, one of the only things that come close to it, in my opinion anyway, is getting a great SALE price on an item. Now, I really don't look for sales on items like clothing or other necessities. If I need a pair of jeans, I buy them even if they are not on sale. My shirts that I wear to work everyday and usually purchased, in bulk, at the end of the season clearance sale or online.

Usually, when I am talking about items On Sale I am referring to the Grocery Store. A place where most of us have to go at least once a week. With the high price of gasoline I have been forced to try to save money in other areas and that why I started what I have been calling Stock Shopping.

Stock Shopping refers to buying non-perishable or freeze-able items in bulk when they are on sale. That way you get more bang for your buck. There are a couple guidelines that need to be considered when Stock Shopping. Since this is the introduction, I will list them below.

1. A few items, like some lunch meats or fresh fruits and vegetables have a short shelf life, so stock shopping for these items are near impossible. You will have to purchase them on a weekly basis.

2. When you first start Stock Shopping your budget will be a little high, but in the course of a month you will see it decrease for the better.

3. Most items go on sale about once every month, so when you stock shop try to buy at least one months worth. If you and your family eat 2 cans of green beans per week, and they are on sale this week, make sure you pick up at least 8 cans.

4. It's a good idea to keep a journal of when the items were on sale so you know the frequency. Just a small flip notebook will do, write down the date, the items you bought that were on sale and the sale price. This will also help when the store put on an even bigger sale on the item, you know to buy at least a couple weeks supply more. It is also a good idea to put down the regular price of the item so you know how much you saved. You can even use this as your grocery list when going into the store.

5. Get the Sunday paper. Go through all the grocery and drug store advertisements to find the best sales.

6. Any coupons you can use on top of the sale price is that much more in your pocket.

So what did I find this week during my Stock Shopping?

I must admit I love spring water. I know it's much cheaper to just drink water from the tap, but I just love the taste of spring water. I usually buy it at Sam's Club because of the bulk prices. I can get a 32 pack for around $4.79 before sales tax. That's 2 cases for $9.58 or about 15¢ per bottle. This week at Food Fresh they had Spring Brand spring water for $3.00 per case of 24 (Advertised as 3 for $9.00). That breaks down to 12.5¢ per bottle. Not a huge saving, but the best price I've seen in a long time. I bought 6 cases.

While I was there I found that they also had Peter Pan No Sugar Added Peanut Butter for $2.00 per jar (Advertised as 2 for $4.00). I usually pay $3.89 a jar for this at Food Lion. I picked up 4 jars and saved close to 50%!

These were the best deals I found this week. More to come next week. The paper comes out tomorrow and we'll see what good sales are going on.

Thanks for reading,
The King

Get Your Drink On - Party Supplies At Target

I guess the dry spell is over. While shopping at Target the other day I found this Drink Mixer marked down. Since I had been wanting one for a while I picked it up.

It was marked down from $17.99 to $4.48, a saving of 75%. I guess that means that Target does still mark stuff down sometimes below 30%. Although I didn't see any of those 75% off sign anywhere in the store. Bargains that good are still very scarce.

Hopefully this will be the start of something good!

Thanks for reading,
The King