This lady is my hero. She saved 97% on her grocery bill by using coupons.
I don’t know how she does it, but she has tons of coupons. The only coupons we can find here are for 50¢ off when you buy 5 jars of pickles. We don’t need that many pickles, and certainly spending $20 on pickles just for 50¢ off is ridiculous.
watch and wonder:
Christmas trees are expensive. The average price tops $40-for a tree. A dead tree.
The Ikea in San Diego solves this dilemma by offering trees for $20. You have your choice of heights ranging from 5-7 feet, AND, with the purchase of a tree, you get a $20 coupon to use later at Ikea on a purchase of $50 or more.
Basically, a free tree. (you know you were going to go back and spend $50 at Ikea anyway…)
It starts today, and continues through Friday. Saturday is a maybe, depending on if they have any trees left.
CAUTION:
Not all stores are participating. Supplies are limited, and they go fast! Find a store near you to call and ask about their deal, and if they have any in stock.
UPDATE: Looks like San Diego may be the only one with the tree offer, and the coupons are not being handed out. Nope, no coupons this year, looks like I was misinformed by an Ikea employee. But still, $20 for a tree is awesome.
**cough cough cough**
It’s that time of year my friends, and I’m not talking about mistletoe and Jack Frost nipping at your nose.
I’m talking about NyQuil, boxes of tissues, the taste of menthol cough drops, and that wad of snot in the back of my sinuses that won’t budge.
Yes, it’s that time of the year.
I’ve had allergies for the last few months, and have gotten by with a bit of allergy medication here and there (generic, of course). But when the sniffles became a full-fledged nasty cold, I had to go find some stronger ammunition. In comes NyQuil and it’s drowsy little friend DayQuil, or rather, their generic counterparts from CVS. Saved me $1.50 each! The NyQuil was even on sale, and still way more expensive. And in my delirious “non-drowsy” Generic-Dayquil stupor, that $3 seems like a fortune.
(or enough for a box of tissues and a bag of generic menthol cough drops. SCORE!)
So why do we have generics and brand name drugs, and why do they have a price difference? Let’s see what our friends at the FDA say about generic medication:
When a brand-name drug’s patent protection expires, generic versions of the drug can be approved for sale. The generic version works like the brand-name drug in dosage, strength, performance and use, and must meet the same quality and safety standards. All generic drugs must be reviewed and approved by FDA.
Interesting. So they are the same thing, but cheaper.
…but wait a minute… they kinda look and taste different…
Generic drugs look different because certain inactive ingredients, such as colors and flavorings, may be different. These ingredients do not affect the performance, safety or effectiveness of the generic drug. They look different because trademark laws in the U.S. do not allow a generic drug to look exactly like other drugs already on the market.
And who makes these generics? Some guy in a shack with bottles of chemicals and a big bathtub to mix them in?
FDA won’t permit drugs to be made in substandard facilities. FDA conducts about 3,500 inspections a year to ensure standards are met. Generic firms have facilities comparable to those of brand-name firms. In fact, brand-name firms are linked to an estimated 50 percent of generic drug production. They frequently make copies of their own or other brand-name drugs but sell them without the brand name.
Ah. So we have nothing to worry about, except for where to spend our saved dollars.
Now everyone go take some generic vitamin C and drink lots of water.
My haircut went alright, she seemed a bit worried and spent the good part of an hour blow drying the back of my hair, snipping with scissors, wetting it down, snipping with scissors, blow drying it, etc.
All in all, my hair is shorter, and while it’s not the greatest cut ever, it gives me something to work with.
On a scale from 1 to 10, 1 being cheap and “you get what you pay for” quality, 10 being cheap and “holy cow, I need to do the got-a-good-deal dance,” my rating would be a 6.5. OK cut, cheap price, she did what I asked, and tried really hard to make it perfect, yet, I could tell she was not experienced.
Great Clips: OK-but-cheap Clips.
I need a haircut!
That could cost nearly $100 for some, but for me, $8.88 (plus tip).
Now realize, this is no fancy salon, but Great Clips, one of many family haircut chains, and a decent one at that. Fantastic Sam’s is pretty good too, but I usually walk out of there sans twenty bucks or more, and well, right now that’s not gonna fly. We’re not gonna get into my experience with Supercuts. Let’s just say they have a satisfaction guarantee, and I got my money back, which I then spent at Fantastic Sam’s shaping up my mangled ‘do.
Great Clips usually runs at $12.99 for adults, and coupons are found aplenty. Looks like earlier in the year there was a $5.99 haircut deal, but for now, $8.88 will have to do (plus tip- don’t forget the tip).
The $8.88 haircut at Great Clips is via this coupon for the San Diego region. You can do a google search for Great Clips coupons in your area, though this coupon has no specific city mentioned on it (and besides the unfortunate spelling error, it’s so easy to just print and go!).
Gosh, seems like just yesterday we were getting messy hands clipping coupons from the sunday paper. The internets sure make it easy to save a few dollars.
Stay tuned for a Great Clips followup. (hopefully I won’t be crying and wearing hats for the next month or so)
Well hello, and thank you for joining me on this cheaptastic voyage through the world of finding great deals, limiting consumer purchases, and being proud of being cheap while maintaining some dignity.
And what better time for a blog full of money-saving tips! Many of us have lost our jobs; we are struggling to stay afloat financially, and we are feeling that depressing holiday pressure to buy expensive gifts for everybody we know. The biggest financial companies on Wall Street are crumbling around us, and the American car manufacturers are asking for our help. All this and a head of garlic is now 50¢. Inflation! No longer do we live in a time when garlic is 3 for a dollar. Times like these call for drastic measures.
Yes, I am cheap, but I find myself spending money like never before. It seems impossible not to. Groceries, phone bill, prescriptions, car insurance, gas… It all adds up, and when the usual steady income is interrupted, it can cause some serious freaking out.
So here I am, spreading tips on how I try to keep costs low, without sacrificing my health, without sacrificing too much of my general happiness.
I hope you enjoy this cheap little journey. Please feel free to add in your tips, comments, and views on any of the subjects we cover. You can always email me with suggestions anytime.
Enjoy!