Know the Comparison Prices!

Today I bought toilet paper.  For those individuals who know me, I know you are laughing right now!  Okay, so I like stockpiling toilet paper!  Hey, at least I have a lot of it, and I am a definite source of entertainment for my friends because of it!  LOL!!

I digress.  :-)  In the past, I would have just driven to Sam's Club and purchased the 36 roll packages of the stuff. That is not always the best way to go, especially if you have a coupon.  I buy Scott bath tissue because I have a septic tank, and that particular kind of toilet paper is septic tank friendly.  With that said, the 36 roll package of Scott bath tissue is currently $21.98 at Sam's, which is $ 0.61 a roll.  At Rite Aid, the price this week for a 12 roll package is $7.99, which amounts to $ 0.66 a roll.  Stopping there, it looks like Sam's has the better price.  By using a manufacturer's $1.00 coupon (which you can find on the Internet), the Rite Aid price drops to $6.99 for those 12 rolls, which makes it $0.58 a roll, a savings of $0.03 cents a roll.  However, by also using a $1.00 Rite Aid Video Value coupon for the Scott bath tissue, the price now goes down to $5.99 for the 12 rolls, making the price per roll about $0.50!  If you want to get down to square feet, the Sam's Club price for 3772.8 square feet is $0.0058/square foot, and the Rite Aid price after the two coupons have been deducted amounts to $0.0047/square foot!  To make the Rite Aid deal even sweeter, the $7.99 price counts toward this week's special of buy $30 dollars of specified products and get back $10 UP, which is the Rite Aid cash equivalent certificate that prints out on the register receipt.

For those who are wondering about the video value coupons, these are coupons that are available on Rite Aid's website.  You watch a video, and after it is over, you have a a very limited time span to key in the given code in order to claim the coupon associated with the video.  If you watch all of the videos in a given series, you get a bonus coupon.

This Week's Purchases (Week of April 10, 2011)

Today, I completed my shopping at CVS, Rite Aid, and Walgreens.  Below is the complete list of the things that I ended up with.  I thought about separating the items according to store, but decided against it since in the whole scheme of things, it only matters that I saved money.  In front of each item is the quantity that I purchased of that particular item.

1 - Gatorade G-Fit Series

4 - Finish Gelpacs (20 count box)

2 - Finish Jet Dry

2 - Lysol Neutra Air Sanitizing Spray

4 - Air Wick Freshmatic  Ultra Automatic Spray Refill

2 - Wet and Wild Lipstick

2 - Garnier Nutrisse Nourishing Color Creme Hair Color

2 - Garnier Fructis Style Body Boost Volumizing Gel

2 - Old Spice Body Wash

1 - L'oreal Vive Pro Shampoo

1 - L'oreal Vive Pro Conditioner

1 - Essence of Beauty Antibacterial Hand Sanitizer

1 - Visine Original (with bonus of 30% more)

3 - Betty Crocker Cornbread and Muffin Mix

6 - Nestle Butterfinger Eggs

1 - Russell Stover Caramel Egg

The total cost of these items were $94.65 (without sales tax), but I did not pay that much.  Based on rebates, coupons, store rewards cards, and cash-equivalent register certificates, I ended up paying only $28.95 (without sales tax).  That is a savings of 69%!  Granted, it is a far cry from the individuals on the Extreme Couponing show, but I am very happy with the savings that I managed to snag this week.  The one thing that I really need to emphasize is that the 69% savings is based on the sale prices of the items.  If I looked at the regular price, the savings would be so very much greater!

One of the other great things about this week's haul is that I am going to put the two containers of Old Spice Body Wash (which ended up being free) into the donate box that will soon go to the local organization that assists area senior citizens.  Always be generous!

Extreme Couponing - The TV Show

Although there have been some Extreme Couponing episodes on recently, last night was the series premiere of TLC's Extreme Couponing.  Although I am definitely one for couponing, the individuals on this show take their couponing mission to - well - the extreme! 

These individuals save tens of thousands of dollars, but they have turned their houses into mini-warehouses.  Am I faulting that?  Absolutely not!  Do I believe in stockpiling?  Yes!  In fact, I tend to be teased by the important people in my life about my stockpiling.  In the case of stockpiling, I firmly believe that you have to go with your comfort level.  With this economy and the strange things that are happening at times, I am thinking that my stockpile is looking a little low, and I need to remedy that situation.  Will I ever become an extreme couponer?  Probably not, even though it gives me a real high to know that I can legally get things for free that I once paid for.

One of the things that I did like about the series is that it shows the power of couponing. I remember my first coupon deal that I did after reading Kathy Spencer's book (see earlier posting).  Colgate Total toothpaste was on sale at Rite Aid.  I also had a coupon from the paper for $1.00 off.  On top of that, I ended up with a $2.00 +UP (For those of you who do not know what that is, it is a printout on the register receipt that can be used in place of cash on your next transaction at Rite Aid.).  As a result of those things, the toothpaste ended up being free, and the $.01 extra ended up being applied to another item that I purchased at the same time.  Since then, I have "purchased" more tubes of Colgate toothpaste for my stockpile, and all of the tubes have ended up being free.  I will never buy another tube of toothpaste!  Since that time, I have managed to get light bulbs, printer paper, snacks, and various other things for free! 

Another thing that I liked about the Extreme Couponing episodes is that some of the individuals share their stash with the less fortunate.  In one of the episodes, a gentleman purchased over 1100 boxes of cereal for a little over $150.  He then gave the cereal to the food bank at his church.  If you can get something for free, and you don't need it, then give it away to a shelter, organization, or to someone you know who will use it.  Be generous.

Couponing - you can do it too!  Just save those coupons and realize that you may not be able to use the coupons immediately, and you have to plan in order to use them efficiently.  If you choose not to coupon, then give your coupons to a friend or relative who does.  Be generous.