Hey y'all, long time no Blog!
I can't believe it's actually been almost a month since I posted on here, but life has been crazy for the last few weeks.
I had a great time in New York and found some great stuff in thrift stores there, then as soon as I got back it was time to move into the apartment!
Pretty much everything is unpacked and put together now, but I'm still trying to get all of my ebay and stockpile stuff organized in my old room at my Dad's.
Today I'm taking a sick day to get some couponing stuff together and do some online applications.
Yep, you read that right- I'm looking for a second job!
Things have been kind of a mess at my current job, and hours are slim.
When I was hired, I was told it was "A 20 hour a week job, usually a little bit more, very rarely a little bit less", but this week for the second time in 5 weeks (not counting the week I was in NY) I have only 12 hours scheduled at work. I haven't actually reached 20 hours in over 6 weeks now (I've been clocking between 15-18 on average)
I really wanted to avoid working two jobs, and if I was working 20 hours, doing consistent business on ebay, and with the help I get from my dad, I'd be able to pay my bills and have some cash to put away every month.
I don't have many bills right now, and as I said I do get help from my Dad, but my goal is to take over all of my expenses gradually and on 12 hours a week, that ain't happening.
I am a planner and a saver by nature, so I'm hoping to find another 15-20 hour job and shift my work at the theater that I work at to weekends only by the time the holidays come around.
I'll update you guys on that as things progress:)
I've been doing a LOT of couponing lately, and Rite Aid has become one of my favorite places to score some great freebies.
Today I wanted to share one of my craziest couponing experiences yet with you!
For those of you who are unfamiliar with Rite Aid's loyalty program, it's called Wellness Plus, and it's probably the most beneficial rewards program that I use.
Here's how it works:
You get points for every dollar you spend at Rite Aid, and once you reach Tiers of 250, 500, and 1000 points, you unlock different rewards for the next year.
Right now I'm a bronze level member (you earn this recognition at 250 points) and the major benefit of this tier is that you get 10% off all Rite Aid brand products.
All Wellness+ members also have the ability to earn +Up rewards, rewards that print after the purchase of specified items and are applicable on any in store purchase, so long as the dollar amount of the purchase is equal to or greater than the price of the purchase pre-tax.
Up rewards can often mean getting products for free-or even better- if you play your cards (coupons) right!
I've gotten everything from laundry baskets to panty hose free thanks to "rolling" my +Up rewards from one transaction to the next, and thanks to the 10% discount even the cost of tax is neutralized when I buy Rite Aid exclusive items.
(rolling refers to using your +Up rewards to buy items that will earn you more +Up rewards so that the only cash you fork over is for tax or a small portion of the purchase)
This week however, I had by far my craziest +Up transaction to date.
There is a deal going this month that gives you a $3 +Up reward whenever you buy two MVP brand incense or home fragrance item, and both incense and fragrance sachets by Florasense $1.49 apiece, making them free after you receive your +Up rewards.
Apparently, FloraSense is a Rite Aid exclusive brand, so with my 10% discount they cost me $1.34 apiece, so with the $1.50 I was getting back per product when I bought two, I was making $0.16 overage with each item purchased.
While most +Up deals have a limit to how many rewards they will produce per Wellness+ account, this deal initially did not have a limit- awesome!
I bought a handful of the sachets last week, and went back yesterday to pick up a few more, along with some Rock brand deodorant in order to "Grow" my +Ups by purchasing items that produced more +Ups than they cost.
Apparently, the lack of a limit was a boo-boo on Rite Aid's part and this Sunday they sent out an email to all store management advising them that the deals were now limited to two per account and instructing them to post a note on the displays to inform customers of the change.
My Rite Aid, however, did not post a notice, so when I got to the register, I got a nasty surprise when my receipt printed out with four less rewards than I was expecting (I purchased 12 items, so I would have gotten 6 rewards before the change).
After I talked to the associate who was helping me, he called the store's GM and she explained to him that she had gotten the memo but had forgotten to post a notice to patrons.
Since I had no way of knowing I wouldn't receive my rewards and I had paid in +Ups, which could not be refunded, the GM was sympathetic and instructed the associate (via phone) to pay out my rewards in CASH (they have no way of printing additional +Ups)
In the end, thanks to the help of the store I ended up with $1.26 MORE than I paid, even after tax! Ca-ching!
Here are some pics of my receipt and of the loot I scored for free!
This is everything I took home on Monday.
2x Rock Deodorant in Crystal Scent,
8x Florasense Incense,
4x Florasense Scent Sachets
This is what I walked away from the register with-
$8 in +Ups and $12 in cash
The coupons and currency I used
2x 2.00 off of Rock Deodorant
$17 in +Up rewards
$1.74 in cash
My current Wellness+ balance-only 24 points until I get to silver and 10% off of the ENTIRE STORE
Needless to say, I was incredibly impressed with the way that the store handled the +Ups problem.
They could have easily turned me away without the $12 in +Ups, and the most I could have expected or asked for was a $12 store credit.
I will definitely be pouring that $12 right back into RA to reach my Silver status!
This store is already my favorite RA by far because it's off the beaten path, so they usually have everything in stock that I want to coupon, and it's close to my Dad's place where I keep my mini-stockpile, but now they have definitely set themselves apart from the pack as the best staff I have dealt with (this is also the location where Kat, who I mentioned in a previous post, works)
A special thanks to the staff of the Copper Ave RA!
Here are the deals I used for anyone who is interested in some free goodies:
Florasense Incense or Sachets, $1.49 Ea
Earn $3 +Ups when you buy two (Limit two)
=Free!
Buy 2 Crystal Rock Deodorant $4.98 Reg Price, 50% off w/o 9/16-9/22
Buy 1 Crystal Rock deodorant, get back $1 +Up for the month of September.
4.98 for two
-$4 (coupons)
-$2 +Up rewards=
$1.02 money maker!
Hope you all enjoy the freebies and have a blessed week!
-Madeline
Twotip: DON'T BE A SHELF CLEARER! These days everybody needs to be a little thrifty, and it really stinks to go out seeking a great freebie only to find the shelves stripped bare. Luckily a lot of stores will issue you a rain check if they're out of stock on a sale-priced item, but it's a lot of hassle to go through to make multiple trips, especially for people who have kids or full time jobs. While it totally happens that a great sale price will end up clearing stock quickly, sometimes the culprits of tumbleweeds in the sale aisle are just one or two shelf clearers- you know, the type featured on Extreme Couponing who will literally take a store for all they have when the price is right. Whenever possible, try to leave at least a few steals and deals behind for others who need them, and hopefully couponing Karma will be in your favor next time you're a few days late to the sale.
