How has your week been? It is busy around here, just like always! But in spite of the busy, this week still managed to give me quite a few ways to save. I am sure there were more, but the things that I jotted down on my list added up to quite a bit. I like seeing my list grow, because I feel it keeps me more aware of ways I can save for my family, and encourages me to keep looking for additional ways!
With Christmas coming just around the corner--or at least, that is what the merchants would like us to feel--I have definitely seen an increase in coupons and sales that fill my mail box or email box. Since I have a shopping list made up of clothes I am looking for, I am going to try and take advantage of some of these sales and coupons to help fill in some large and some small gaps in my wardrobe. I had several opportunities to do some of this this past week.
*I had $10 in Kohl's cash, plus an additional $5 from Kohl's, and on top of that a code for 20% off my entire purchase. Not one to let the free $15 go to waste, I planned a trip down to the store and walked in with several items in mind to look for. I mostly could use some tops or sweaters for winter, but if I didn't find any of those that would work for me (it is not easy, since I am taller than average and many tops end up being too short for me if not specifically a "Talls" in size) then I would go pick up a new pair of undies and use the $15 to get those free. I am slowly replacing my underwear as I get free coupons. Much to my surprise, I found a sweater in the women's clothes that I had missed the previous shopping trip there, and the style of this sweater was styled long enough! I wished they carried that sweater in more colors, but they did have it in several, and looking at it I knew right away I wanted a navy blue one, because navy blue is one of the key colors in my wardrobe. I didn't used to have any "key color" at all, but when I lost weight and it was enough that I literally did not fit into 99% of my clothes any more, well, I was left with literally three tops that fit me in the summer--a white one, a navy blue one, and a green one. At that point, I picked navy blue as a color that I was going to specifically look for, as I built up my wardrobe once more. It has worked out very well for me, as slowly I picked up a navy blue top here, and a scarf with navy blue there, and soon I was able to mix and match quite a bit which stretched my wardrobe out even further. So now, with the things I have purchased since the beginning of summer, I have several navy blue scarves and things that will coordinate with that color, so a navy blue sweater was a must! I could have just purchased the navy sweater and gotten it basically free, as it started out at $30 but was on sale for $20--then I could apply the 20% off and the free $15 in coupons. . . but I looked over the other colors to see if there were any that I could use since I literally did not have ANY sweaters in my new size. They also had a red, but it was too bright and orangey for my skin color. Then they had black, but I look pasty in black! The last color they had was a gray--I like gray, but usually prefer it to be a bit of a lighter shade than this sweater. But since I was SO much needing some sweaters to keep warm this winter, I decided to purchase a gray one as well, which in the end made my total around $8.50 for each sweater. All things considered, I count this as good!
*Then I had been sent by email a free $10 coupon from Eddie Bauer. I looked on-line for some tops or sweaters, since this company does carry "Tall" sizes, but sadly they didn't have anything that really appealed to me. If they had, I would have applied that coupon to a shirt or a sweater. But not one to let a free $10 off of a $10 purchase go to waste, on the same trip that I went to Kohl's, I stopped into my Eddie Bauer store and picked up two pairs of their socks. These socks are normally $9 each, but were on sale for $6.30 each. So applying my $10 coupon, I ended up paying $1.30 for each pair of socks. For me, this was worth it. I have never tried Eddie Bauer socks before, and I figured this was a good time to try. Not sure I would ever pay $9 for one pair of socks, but so far I like them and time will tell how they hold up. I debated between the navy and the gray, or one pair of each--but since most days I wear blue jeans, I figured the navy would match what I wear more often. If they send me another coupon sometime, I will try a pair of their gray socks then.
*The third clothing item I purchased this week was the best one of all--I got a free coat from LLBean! That's right, a completely free coat! And brand new, not even used from a thrift shop! I do not have picture of it yet, as I am still waiting for it to arrive, but LLBean was having a 25% off sale for a couple of days. They do this every now and then, and if you are wanting something it is a good time to make your purchase! Well, I knew I had a little credit since we have a LLBean credit card. I knew I had at least a $10 coupon, and thought I probably had a couple more, so I was looking at their sweaters. I found several that I loved, but when I called to ask them the length of the sweaters (I know that I need a garmet to be as close to 27 inches in length as possible), every single one ended up being too short for me. One I asked about was only 24 inches in length! Good for a petite person, but not for someone 5 feet 9 inches!!! I was kinda discouraged, and was going to just give up making any purchase at all, when I asked the customer service person if they could tell me how much I had in credit with them from my credit card. They checked my account, and told me I had $86 in Bean Bucks!!! I had no idea I had so much accumulated! We really do not use our credit card for that many purchases, but I guess I haven't been cashing in those Bean Bucks for a long time! Once I knew I had so much available, I thought I should look harder for something to spend it on, because with a 25% off of anything sale my free credit would stretch even further. The sweaters were all out due to length, but I looked at their coats and found one that I liked. It was normally $130, but was already marked down a little bit. Then the 25% off sale took it down even further, to $81, and my Bean Bucks took care of that completely--and since I am a LLBean credit card holder, I even get free shipping. I was pretty happy! I am getting a jacket that is navy blue--what else! But it will coordinate nicely with 99% of my clothes, and it is just a color that I like. If by chance, I do not like the coat when it arrives, I will send it back and my Bean Bucks will be restored to my account.
*I got a free book from LifeWay Christian Book store. They had mailed me a coupon in the mail, and if I brought the coupon in this past week, as long as their supplies lasted they were giving away a free book. Their giveaway was a short devotional book for moms. I stopped in on my same trip to Kohl's and Eddie Bauer, and happily they had not run out of books yet so I got one.
*I received a $25 credit from Terminex because they were scheduled to come out to my house for my yearly inspection, and the person who was scheduled never showed up! I was not super happy about this, because they didn't call or anything, and I had made sure to be home that morning for them to come. But when I called the main office to ask about if they were still coming or not, and the office verified that yes, they had been scheduled to come out, and yes, they should have called me if they were not going to make it--I asked the office if I could have a credit on my account since I had basically been stood up. The office person I was speaking to immediately said they could issue me a $25 credit on my account for my trouble, and I said "Thank you--I accept!" I only asked, because several years ago this same thing happened to me, and at that time the office person brought up and offered me a credit for the missed appointment. So I figured it couldn't hurt to ask for one, and I am glad I did. So the next time my yearly bill is due, I will have a $25 credit on my account.
*I recycled a padded envelope to mail something to my son who lives out of state.
*I regrew green onions inside in a glass of water. This helps me get more onions for my money! If anyone wants to see pictures of what I do, just let me know and I can post some. Hint--it's super easy!
*I bought a biography from a used book store for $2. I love being able to get good books to read for either myself or my daughter, and not pay the regular price of $15 and up for each one!
*I received a free $10 Kindle credit in my e-mail! Did you know that you do not need to have a Kindle device in order to read Kindle books? I read them either on my laptop, or on my iPad, either one works great. I thought about what I wanted to get with it, and found a Instant Pot Vegan cook book for I believe $12. It was worth the $2 that I had to pay out of pocket to get the ebook version of this cook book. I have already made one of the recipes, and it was yummy! I look forward to trying out a few of the other recipes, as I am still fairly new at cooking with the Instant Pot. My husband bought me my iPot last Valentine's Day. Then, in May, I actually won a second iPot!!! A friend of mine who has two Instant Pots advised me to keep them both, and I am so glad that I did. I use both all the time, for cooking rice in one and beans in the other. But I am trying to learn more things to make, so this cook book will come in useful.
Well, that was my week! It was a better week for me than usual in the saving money area! How was your week? Are you seeing more coupons and sales because of the holidays? I would love to hear what you are doing to save money for your family!
Have a wonderful week!
~Susan
