Burt's Bees

I read a lot of blogs about savings, and just scored a Burt's Bees grab bag! Regularly priced at $50, I got it for $20.
Here's how:
Read my email this morning, which included an email from KeepingtheKingdomFirst Mom.  She posted about the grab bag for half price.

Since I love Burt's Bees and so does my daughter, I clicked on her link and checked out the bag.  While it looks like an amazing value, I wondered if I could do better.

So I went to ebates.com  to see if Burt's Bees was one of their stores that I could save money on...and sure enough it is!  PLUS they have a coupon on Ebates for $5 off a $20 order.  AND 3.5% cash back.

Since I started this blog, I have wanted to be very clear about how much I'm spending out of pocket at that moment.  I have fallen into that trap at other websites, with things for free (after you get a register rewards which you can't use until the next visit....or the next day) without realizing that I had to get some money out of pocket to get the savings.

So, full disclosure:  I paid $26.20 for this grab bag. (Can't wait to see what's in it!).  The grab bag was $25, used the $5 off coupon, paid $5 in basic shipping, and tax.

I will get 70 cents back from Ebates, so Ebates saved me a total of $5.70 today. 

If I'd paid full price, it would've been $45.  That's a $50 grab bag, free shipping for orders over $40, and the $5 coupon. I would've gotten $1.57 back from Ebates also.

So..strictly speaking, this was a 58% savings.  Not bad for checking my email...in my bathrobe.

Now to get dressed and do some shopping in real life.  Happy Savings to you all!

One thing not to overlook as you are couponing, living frugally, and ordering on line, is Ebates.  I have been a member for a while, but have been good about clicking through Ebates.com on my way to ordering on line.  I have gotten checks for $100 total so far with more to come, just for shopping the way I always do.  It's amazing!


Sign up, use me as a referral, and get some money back for you too!  Click here:   ebates

I'm still here

I haven't totally abandoned my frugal resolution and couponing ways, but they did get put aside for the job, the family, the taking my baby to college, and adjusting to an empty nest.

I let things slide.  I did not restart my newspaper subscription, so no more 5 Sunday papers a week.  Actually, I think that's a good thing.  I was getting quite overwhelmed. 

I kept up enough with coupons to mostly meet my goal of not shopping without at least one coupon, but I have not done any really great deals.  I have kept the grocery budget mostly in shape, but mainly because the budget now feeds just two people. 

But hey, it's still something I do.  Not anywhere near the scale of this time last year, but still something that gets done.

I had a year of emotional upheaval, but I am happy to say I always came back to this project.  I didn't get my coupon notebook sorted very well until last month (watching a Fringe marathon and cutting coupons). 

For the most part, I abandoned coupon inserts for printed coupons. 

When I use my coupons, I still routinely am saving about 30%, and regularly save 50% at Albertsons.  Winco, not so much, but the savings are so good there that I still spend less than other stores. 

So my regular grocery shopping takes place at Albertsons, Winco, and Costco.  I like Albertsons because with coupons and sales, you can really save big.  I like Winco because there prices are so low.  And Costco still remains the best place to stock up.

So my resolution for 2013 is to keep working on the savings, and also to routinely buy things for food banks with as many coupons as I can manage.  Just takes a little planning.

My favorite website:  Fabulesslyfrugal.com.  They got the lists, the coupons, the database, and all.  Plus they are really nice people.

Onward!