Frugal Fun

I posted a picture earlier this week with the stuff I got free from my first trip to Harris Teeter for Triple Coupon Weekend. This one includes two HT trips and a trip to CVS. Today I took my mom with me to HT to try out the triple coupons for herself. Her original bill was $100 but she only paid $60 after coupons. Not bad for the first time!

Several people have asked about how to get these same deals. The Harris Teeter ones are pretty simple. Triple Coupon Weekends comes approximately every other month. This year it's been in January, March, and May, so start looking for it in the HT ads in mid-July. Then, until then, be sure to save your coupons that don't expire until after July...especially the 75 cent ones b/c they triple up to 99 cents. Then plan your trip. Write down each item and the value of the coupon. Only buy something if it is going to be free, almost free, or it's something you would have bought normally anyway and it's a great price. Sometimes the tripled coupons add up to more than the price of the item, and that is called "overage". Overage is applied toward the cost of other items.

Deals at CVS are more complicated. First things first though...be sure to sign up for their Extra Care savings card so you can be eligible for Extra Care Bucks. These are coupons that print at the register that can be used as cash for purchases later. Also, check the store each month for special deals that are not put out in the newspapers...often free stuff is listed! Then use coupons to "stack" these deals and you end up with even more free stuff.

On the subject of being frugal, tonight after a very long day, I made dinner and we had a date night on our back porch. Notice the flowers...Chuck picked them for me today from our rose bushes. He is a sweetie!