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Coupon & Clearance Shopping Mamas!

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frugality
5K views 19 replies 10 participants last post by  avnishgautam 
#1 ·
I know I'm not the only couponer and clearance shopper here! Let's share our tips, tricks and awesome shopping trips.

One thing I always do is keep my eyes peeled for items I can get for free - even if it's not something we eat/use, I always get as many of the free items as I can and donate them to our local food pantry.

I'm huge on cruising the clearance at Target as well - never pay full price!
 
#3 ·
I always shop the clearance section at target for my sons clothes. I also use cartwheel and coupons whenever I shop there. I never pay full price. I've already gotten my sons bday presents for under $30. And his bday isn't until July, I got him three marvel 12" action figures and a nerf gun. Love using coupons!!
 
#4 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sdelgadillo389 View Post

I always shop the clearance section at target for my sons clothes. I also use cartwheel and coupons whenever I shop there. I never pay full price. I've already gotten my sons bday presents for under $30. And his bday isn't until July, I got him three marvel 12" action figures and a nerf gun. Love using coupons!!
That's excellent. Off season shopping is one of the best kept secrets out there!
 
#5 ·
Some nice scores at Target for me tonight -

- Laundry basket at 50% off for $4 (we've needed one for months since our old one is beyond busted).

- Hand-crank flashlight and am/fm radio at 70% off for $5.98 (for our emergency kit/camping supplies).

- 4 packages of juice boxes on clearance and with coupons for $0.68 each.

- Free shampoo with coupon.
 
#6 ·
Anybody else getting any deals? I know you're out there!

I got the Starbucks coffee deal at Target tonight - they had 20 ounce bags marked down to $3.49 (I kid you not), plus I had a coupon for $2.00 off two, so I got the big bags of coffee for $2.50 each - they usually sell for $13!

Thomas toys were also buy one get one 50% off so I picked up two to sock away as birthday and Christmas presents for Little Man.
 
#7 ·
I find the best savings by staying home and not spending. Sure today I got soap, buy one, get one 50% off and I had a coupon and earned 2000 Walgreens points but I would have done better by staying home and not shopping at all.

Sometimes you just really need soap but I try to limit my spending by not shopping.

Obviously I fail at this a lot!
 
#8 ·
I normally shop thrift stores/Target (incl. clearance) first, but recently needed to get some nicer clothes for a trip, so I shopped online yesterday. Maybe this is obvious, but my tip is to always do a Google search for "store" + "coupon code" or "promo code" before checking out (besides looking at the deals available on the store's site). Retailmenot is a good site for this. I was able to save more than $20 at one store plus free shipping this way by stacking a couple deals on items already marked down (and got a $10 coupon to use later) & at the other store got a BOGO deal. I used the same approach to get $7 off on some flowers I sent my aunt for Easter today. Of course, it's only a deal if you're buying things you need/are going to buy anyway & this is a cheaper price than you could get elsewhere.
 
#9 ·
I look at the sales flyers for every store we might feasibly visit during the week. If a store is having a particularly good sale, I'm more likely to go to (or send my partner to) that one that week. We maintain a separate shopping list for each store to list the things we're low on that are typically best-priced at that store, but we don't buy ONLY what's on the list but keep our eyes peeled for unadvertised specials, clearance, etc.

We save a lot of money (and packaging) by buying bulk food in reused containers. This is an especially good deal for spices and dried fruit.

For a lot of things, we're able to buy bulk in the sense of buying a big package. Sometimes we need to divide it into smaller containers and freeze some.

If I'm planning to go to Target, I first look at coupons.target.com for printable coupons. I find that the register coupons from Target often give really good deals, too. I have a Target Visa card, which gives me 5% off everything I buy there.

I also have a Costco American Express. (Both cards can be used as standard Visa/AmEx for purchases anywhere.) Every purchase earns points toward an annual Costco gift certificate. We usually get $100-$200 back each year, so it's basically a free grocery stock-up or a free appliance--we are planning to replace our TV with it this year.

My third credit card is a Discover that I do not carry with me (just in case my purse is lost/stolen, I'll still have a card I won't have to cancel) but use for my iTunes/App Store account. I found out by chance that if my total charges in a billing cycle are below a certain level (I think it's $2) they just forgive the charge and send me a statement saying I don't have to pay!! So I get a free song or low-priced app every so often. I haven't gone to the effort of consciously timing my purchases for this; it just works out in a month when I only buy one thing on that account.
 
#10 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ragana View Post

Retailmenot is a good site for this.
I love Retailmenot! All of the Hobby Lobby and Michaels coupons are use are from there (nothing to clip!) and that's also where I find all my free product codes on Shutterfly.

Quote:
Originally Posted by EnviroBecca View Post

I look at the sales flyers for every store we might feasibly visit during the week. If a store is having a particularly good sale, I'm more likely to go to (or send my partner to) that one that week. We maintain a separate shopping list for each store to list the things we're low on that are typically best-priced at that store, but we don't buy ONLY what's on the list but keep our eyes peeled for unadvertised specials, clearance, etc.

We save a lot of money (and packaging) by buying bulk food in reused containers. This is an especially good deal for spices and dried fruit.

For a lot of things, we're able to buy bulk in the sense of buying a big package. Sometimes we need to divide it into smaller containers and freeze some.

If I'm planning to go to Target, I first look at coupons.target.com for printable coupons. I find that the register coupons from Target often give really good deals, too.
I do all of this stuff to, and it really works. I spend less money now and get more stuff, then before I started shopping this way. It's enabled us to donate a significant amount to our local food pantry each month as well. That's win-win. Just takes a little advance planning, and I never go shopping without my coupon binder. You've got to be able to move on the deal if something hits clearance, because it probably won't be there when you go back.

Last night I got a huge deal on coffee and now we won't need to buy it for literally a year. My Target had the 20 ounce bags marked down to just $3.50 each (from $13!!!), plus I had coupons for $2 off 2, so I picked them up for $2.50 each. I got 6 bags - so $78 worth of coffee for $15. That's an 80% savings!

And we rounded out our supply of Tom's of Maine toothpaste - Jewel had them on special 2 for $7, plus I had $1 off coupons, making them $2.50 each. They're usually $4 a tube here, so that was a pretty nice deal too!
 
#12 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by orangemomma View Post

I try to stay out of retail shops and look first at thrift stores. This idea by kitchensqueen intrigues me though- to get free items and donate them to the food pantry. I had never really thought of that and it is such a great idea. Thanks!
Glad you like the idea!

Today I used coupons and sales to pick up some random things at deep discount at Target -

- 4 bags of frozen peas, free with coupons

- 2 Benedryl anti-itch sticks for $0.39 each with coupons (we like to have these on hand when camping)

- carton of eggs for $0.49 after sale and with coupon (for Easter eggs tomorrow)

I also looked for the GE Reveal light bulbs that would be free with coupons, but they were sold out.
 
#14 ·
I shop after Christmas to buy bath sets, etc that i can put in my gift section of my closet so that when a bday comes around I can "shop" from my closet. This saves a lot of money rather than running out and buying something in a hurry!
 
#15 ·
Hit up Michaels today for 4th of July clearance, and got some things at 70% off. For $14, I got red/white/blue paper streamers, mini pinwheels, bendable red/white/blue burlap ribbon, a metallic star garland, a 5-pack of flag print stars with silver cord hangers, a star/jingle bell door hanger, and six packages of red/white hamburger trays (which I plan to use instead of paper plates for Little Man's birthday this fall).
 
#18 ·
There is a 30% Cartwheel on One Spot through Saturday 9/20, so if you're looking for affordable Halloween/fall decor or stucking stuffers for Christmas, now is a great time to go! $3 items are only $2.10 and $1 items are just $0.70 right now.

I picked up the following for just $25.20. Saved $11.80!

- 2 rectangular chicken wire baskets
- 2 spiderweb rugs
- 3 Halloween throw pillows
- 1 spiderweb table runner
- 2 metal tea light lanterns
- 2 glittered fabric spiderweb garlands

For stocking stuffers, there are Hello Kitty, Ninja Turtle, Lightening McQueen, Sesame Street, Crayola, etc. Lots to choose from.
 
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