Got No Dough - Saving Money in Slim Times

I guess it happened in several places across the U.S. but last Thursday, our local radio station (99.1 KGGI) gave away free gas paid for by Verizon Yellowpages. The first 200 people got $40 in free gas.

Well, as it turned out, it was in the same city that my husband works. So, he dropped me off for work and after playing with the kids for awhile, he ventured off for some free gas. He got there at about 8:30 am.

The Redlands Police Department kept things in great order from what I hear. Each car got a piece of paper with a number on it that went in the windshield. My husband was number 38. Then, when they got to number 200, the line was cut off with a police car.

My husband only waited 2 1/2 hours to get his gas and it exactly filled our tank. The only other thing he would have been doing during this time was practicing an instrument, so there was really no time lost. While he waited he got to meet the morning DJ Jeff Pope. We love to listen to him and Evelyn every morning during our commute.

On the other hand, there are some people who taking frugality to a new level and lack a little common sense. Rumor has it that there was someone at this event that drove about 75 miles to come and get free gas. If I do a little calculating and say they get 25 miles per gallon, that means they spent 6 gallons to drive there and back (assuming no traffic). And again, for the sake of simplicity, we’ll say gas is $4 a gallon (I think it was a little over at the time). That means that it cost $24 for this trip, leaving them with only $16 in free gas. I guess that’s still not a bad deal. Oh wait, I forgot to mention one thing. THEY WERE HOLDING THE SAME EVENT IN THE CITY THIS PERSON CAME FROM!

So please, while it is WONDERFUL to be frugal and get free gas, please think it through before you take part in an event like this. Please don’t wait 12 hours in line (like someone else did) and please don’t drive half way across creation and waste your time and free gas.

I’ve got to just say this up front - I kicked butt this week. Ok, now that I got that out of my system, let me tell you all about it.

I started off at my “normal” CVS with an awesome list. I was terribly disappointed when they had NOTHING on my list except the Adidas deodorant (yes, I went and got another All You magazine).

My Purchases:
Adidas deoderant - $4.99

Coupons
Free deodorant - $4.99

Total OOP - .39¢ for tax
ECBs Earned - $4.99

So, I found out there is another CVS near where I work, so on the way home I decided to stop by. I was beyond excited to see that they had EVERYTHING on my list!

My Purchases:
2 Hawaiian Tropic Lip Balms - $3.98
4 Colgate Advanced Toothpastes - $11.96
1 Aquafresh Extreme Clean - $2.99

Coupons:
$3 off $15 purchase
$1 Colgate
$1.50 Colgate x 3
$1.50 Aquafresh

ECBs Used: $7.99
Total OOP: $1.56
Total ECBs Earned: $20.99

Can you say, CHA-CHING!

Want to see more CVS Savings? Visit the Centsible Sawyer’s CVS Superstars!

Last week I made a second trip, but I got so flustered with my 3 year old that I made a couple of mistakes.  I’m going to skip sharing that trip because it was a disappointment, but I’m a lot happier with what I did this week.

My Purchases
(4) Small bags of M&Ms - .50¢ each
Charmin Ultra 12 Big Rolls - $5.99
Venus Breeze Razor - $9.99
Aquafresh - $2.99
Adidas Deoderant - $4.99
(2) Gold Emblem Peanuts BOGO - $3.69
Absolutely Divine Cookies - $3.19

Coupons
.25¢ - Charmin
$4.00 - Venus Breeze
$1.50 - Aquafresh
$4.99 - Adidas Deoderant
$1.00 - Absolutely Divine Cookies
$16.99 - Extra Care Bucks
$3/$15 - CVS Coupon

Total Out of Pocket - $1.34
Extra Care Bucks Received - $12.98

Want to see more CVS savings?  Visit the Centsible Sawyer’s CVS Superstars!

You know, I’ve had some really great people go up to bat for me in my journey to create a miracle for my husband.  I just wanted to give you all an update on what’s going on.

For the past year or so, my husband worked in a studio owned by someone else.  We paid them rent for the space and always dreamed of having our own studio one day.  Well, fast forward to a couple of months ago and the person who owned the studio decided to close up shop.  We saw our opportunity and seized it and we now own the studio and in turn rent out space to other teachers.   In essence, it pays for itself.

Why am I telling you this?  Well, you see, one of the requirements in our lease was that we had insurance for the office and part of that coverage included my husband’s equipment.  When I read through the policy, it said that they are only covered while in the business or in the vehicle within 2000 feet of the business - neither of which were true.  My husband is relentless, so he called the insurance agent anyhow and we were quite surprised to hear that quote, unquote “they should cover it.”

We finally heard back from the adjuster a couple of days ago and sure enough, our agent had added a “floating” policy to cover the instruments in any location.  It was an incredible relief at first, but then we realized two things.  One, we have a $500 deductible.  Two, he had only insured it for $1100, which was the price he originally paid for it several years ago, not the replacement cost.  With a replacement cost of $1799, that put a slight damper on things.

So yesterday we find out that our deductible for the instruments is only $250, which made things a little better.  He talked to the adjuster again and explained the situation and so she told him to send her a copy of the police report and a copy of the list price and she would speak to her supervisor.  He faxed both of them to her yesterday and they did something amazing.  They waived the deductible for us and are going to send us a check for $1100.  It should have been mailed today and we should receive it in a couple of days.

So, once we have the check in our hands, we’ll go back to Guitar Center and talk to one of the managers there that we know really well.  He’s going to try to talk them down to $1500 which means we’ll only have to come up with $400.  I’ve received a little over $200 in donations/scratchbacks so we’ll only have to come up with $200 on our own.  With our stimulus check coming on Friday, I can do this.

It’s been a crazy turn of events, but between the kindness of strangers and prayers, a miracle has definitely happened!  My husband should have a new guitar by Monday as long as all goes well.  He works so hard and I’m so incredibly happy that this is working out the way it is.

A huge thank you to everyone who made this possible.  I had fallen into such a deep depression over this and now the light at the end of the tunnel is in sight!

I’ve always been one of those people who thought that finding coupons, cutting them out and then actually remembering to use them was a huge hassle. And for some people, that is probably still true. However, when I started getting addicted to CVS bargains, I realized that I would have to deal with those dreadful coupons after all. It’s been a couple of weeks now and I have to say that they aren’t as bad as I had made them out to be.

Before I tell you any more information on coupons, let me sell you on the idea first. Just yesterday I got some fantastic deals that even amazed my husband. His response was, “there’s just no stopping you is there?” I had two coupons that were $2 off of any two Johnson Buddies products. I also had a coupon for $2 off the new Honey Bunches of Oats with Chocolate Clusters. So I swung by Walmart after depositing my paycheck in the bank (as to not waste gas), and picked up a box of the cereal and two of the Buddies soaps that my son loves and needs. I also picked up a copy of All You magazine which not only is my favorite magazine, but it’s cheap and full of COUPONS (including one that will make me money this coming week).

So, let’s see:

• $1.98 for the cereal

• .94¢ for each of the soaps

• $1.77 for the magazine

Grand total = $5.91
Minus coupons -$4.00

Total Out of Pocket = $1.91

So, if you want to get started with using coupons, you first have to know where to get them. The most obvious place is your Sunday newspaper. My Mom saves her newspaper for me and it costs me nothing that way. Otherwise, I’d have to spend $1 on the Sunday edition. It takes me less than 10 minutes and I typically cut out anything that I could possibly use - whether or not it’s the current brand I use. For example, I’ll cut out all shampoo coupons despite the fact that I use Dove shampoo right now. The reason is because when that certain brand goes on sale at CVS, I will get it either super cheap or perhaps even free.

You can also get coupons online. Check the manufacturers website, do a search for the exact product or visit one of the following sites: www.smartsource.com, www.coupons.com, www.mycoupons.com. There are actually a TON of websites, but I don’t want to give out an overwhelming list for someone who may just be getting started. I also like to get my coupons through MyPoints because then I earn points for the coupons I print and use.

In the next few days I’ll explain how I keep my coupons organized, how I choose which products to buy and how to get GREAT super cheap deals.

A couple of days ago, I asked for your ideas on how I could create a miracle for my husband in order to get a new guitar for him. I received several comments and emails full of great ideas and I thank you all for taking them time to send them to me. So, now is the time to put them into action.

1. I now have a scratchback widget on my sidebar and “tips” aka links are $5.00.
2. I have added a donation button exclusively for the guitar fund. You can find a link to it at the top of any of my pages or here:
   
   The donate button has been removed.  Thank you all for donating!!
   
3. I have dug up some items to sell. First is a silver coin collection of 20 American Silver Eagles. Second is my Canon Rebel G 35mm camera. I also have a used black Razr and a used pink Razr. I’ll have to dig a few more things out, but I know I also have some scrapbooking items and some beading items. I’ll probably list these on eBay as soon as I can get the pictures uploaded, but if you’re interested in them before I post them, please contact me and make me an offer!
4. I’ve been dumpster diving and pulling recycling out of the dumpsters in our apartment complex.
5. If you’re in the US and you like Avon, you can shop from my website and I’ll receive a percentage of your sales. To get FREE SHIPPING, use code: REPFS
6. I’ve started approaching family and friends about any kind of odd jobs that I can do for them. I am fortunate to have a variety of talents from computer work to fixing plumbing, so this will work if someone will just say YES!

This is still a work in progress so I’m coming up with new ideas all the time. I’ll be incredibly grateful for more ideas as the days go by. I’d really love to earn the money rather than ask for handouts, but I’m open to any help I can get! I can’t do this alone, so I ask….no, I BEG of you to please help me spread the word.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I’m looking forward to paying this forward someday.