Walgreens Rocks My World!!!

In today's Walgreens store ad, you can buy 3 Sunsilk products (shampoo, conditioner, etc) at the sale price of 3/$10. Then you send in for the $5 rebate in the Walgreens EasySaver Catalog. That brings the total for 3 bottles of Sunsilk down to 3/$5. Plus, at the time you purchase the Sunsilk, you also use the manufacturer's coupon from today's Sunday Paper insert, which is a buy 1, get 1 free coupon. That brings the grand total down to $1.67 for THREE BOTTLES of Sunsilk shampoo/conditioner, etc. or in other words, a final price of 56 cents apiece. These are regular size 12 oz. bottles, people!!

Now, if you have TWO of the EasySaver Catalogs going at once, like some of us do.....then you are getting this deal TIMES TWO. Assuming, of course, you have multiple buy1/get1 manufacturer coupons. AND, if you are getting your EasySaver Catalog rebates in the form of a Walgreens giftcard, or the money added to your already existing Walgreens giftcard, then you also get a 10% bonus.

SO, that brings the price of my bottles of shampoo down to 39 cents each. Yeah!!!!! They might as well just give it to me for free, right???

Plus, you are paying less sales tax on the total, so really, there is even more savings we haven't even figured up yet.

Even if you don't use Sunsilk hair products......this is how I implement the stewardship part of my savings philosophy.....I can turn around and donate every single one of those bottles of hair soap to the St. Gabriel's Mission at the Basilica. Personal hygiene items is the most wanted thing there. I am able to donate valuable stuff for literally nickels and dimes. And, if I care to add this to my non-cash charitable contributions on my Schedule A on my federal income tax form, I take the retail value of the shampoo ($3.33 ea.), not how much I paid for it (56 cents). See how this works?

Yeah.....love Walgreens.

Books, and other Media

I have to admit....I like books. I like owning books. But since I really internalized a more simple lifestyle mindset a few years ago, I have learned to curb my desire to buy books. The absolute BEST thing I did was to get a Des Moines Public Library Card. I live in Newton, which is roughly 45 miles away and frankly, the Newton library sucks compared to Des Moines. I can order books through the Des Moines library computer system right in the comfort of my home. I can browse their catalog and pick out what books, movies, CDs I want, and they are ready for me to pick up when I get there. I can even go through the drive-through window to get them. Newton has an online system too, but what good does it do me when they nearly NEVER have the books I am looking for? Oh sure, you could request they buy them, but I want to read the book NOW, not in six months. Anyway, the Des Moines library has everything I could ever dream of wanting. We are in Des Moines at least once a week to go to Church, so it is no bother to go to an out-of-town library. And the fact that there is free wireless internet makes the library a good place for us to have a school day on Sundays while we are killing time while my daughter waits for choir, and is in choir, right next door.

Now, the real reason for this entry is to encourage you to always check to see if your library has a "For Sale" shelf. I have bought some amazing books, movies, CDs, and computer software on the sale shelf. For literally dimes and nickels. I just got a good upper body work-out DVD for $2. Sometimes the stuff is brand new, not even opened. I don't know how or why they sell new stuff, but I don't care. And there have been a couple times I knew I could sell a particular item online for a nice profit. It is usually always a win-win situation. I always take a peek at what's for sale when I run in to the Des Moines library. One last thing....the fact that they have an underground parking garage is awesome too. No getting my hair rained on. LOVE THAT.

The motto of this entry is.....don't buy books and other media unless they are used and unless you REALLY feel you must have it (as a reference tool). And be sure to check out your library sale shelf. You never know what you might find there.