Save Everything

I have been using coupons off-and-on for over 20 years.  I would occasionally pick up a Sunday newspaper (maybe once every 5-6 weeks), set aside the coupon inserts, and clip out the coupons for items that I expected to buy at some point in the following weeks.

About 10 years ago, I noticed that the window timeframe for coupon redemption was becoming smaller and smaller.  I would often notice coupons that had a "shelf life" of only a few weeks.  That was a big turnoff to me.  It was only years later that I discovered that many stores will accept "expired" coupon.  All you have to do is ask.  Many cashiers will refuse them.  Other stores will accept them as long as their register allows it.

Nowadays, I tend to get 3-4 newspapers' worth of inserts each week. Instead of tossing everything out periodically, I generally keep coupons for a few weeks beyond expiration, purging them at some point after a month or so. 

Also, instead of only clipping coupons for the items I expect to buy, I clip nearly all of them, especially if they are "high value amount" or "Buy One Get One" coupons.

My most recent transaction benefited greatly from this.  In the past, I would have ignored the "BOGO" and "$2.50 Off Two" CoverGirl coupons, as I have absolutely no need for these items and no person in my life who could benefit from them.

My ECBs had been dwindling of late and BOOM, surprise, CVS promotes in their weekly ad a "Buy $20 Worth of Any CoverGirl Cosmetics, Get 8ECB" promotion.  I am clueless about cosmetics, but the ad cited that "prices start at $2.99".  So I did some mental math.  At $2.99, I would need to buy seven items to hit $20.93 and earn the 8ECB.  If I were to use three BOGO coupons, my cost drops to just $11.96.  And when I use two "$2.50 Off Two" (for the remaining four non-free items), then my cost drops to just $6.96.   So by using the five coupons (3 BOGO and two "$2.50"), I can have CVS pay me to purchase the items.  And when I added in the CVS Store Coupon "Save $4 on $20+ Skincare", then my cost drops to $2.96.

So I can spend a mere $2.96 of my actual cash (or use some ECB) and generate an 8ECB.  Yes, tax does come into play, but even then, I am ahead by a decent amount.

I usually do not carry coupons for items that I do not intend to purchase, so I sorted through my inventory, found the CoverGirl coupons (which did not expire until the end of March), headed off to the store, and let CVS pay me nearly five dollars (in ECB) to buy a small bagful of cosmetics that I will either donate or give to my nieces to "play with".

Of course, the plan nearly came crashing down when I failed to find any $2.99 CoverGirl items on the limited-inventory rack.  The lowest priced items seemed to be $3.49, which led to a whole series of mental math calculations. At $3.49, you only need six items to buy $20.94 worth or merchandise.  Using three BOGO coupons drops your OOP to just $10.47.  One "$2.50 Off Two" and one "$1 Off One" takes you to $6.97.  Add in the "Save $4 Off $20+ Skincare" store coupon, and your $2.97 investment yields 8ECB.

None of this would have happened had I seen the coupon insert weeks ago, said to myself that I would never buy those items, and tossed the coupons.  Instead, I used the coupons to increase my ECB total substantially and have $20+ of cosmetics to dole out.