It’s the end of the year and I thought it would be fun to reminisce on the deals I enjoyed during 2008. Partly because it’s good to remember but also because it’ could serve as a good reference for 2009.
2008 was the first full year that saw me using coupons heavily. It was also the first year that I played the drugstore and grocery game. This allowed me to take advantage of rebates, register rewards, extra care bucks, double coupons and other types of promotions, in addition to just plain overage, to help me save money. The results were extremely positive. My family has received more than we could ever imagine and we have also been able to give back more than we ever thought we could.
Here are some of my favorite deals of 2008:
- Olay soap deal at Walgreens. This register rewards promotion earned me about $88 in register rewards that I used to buy paper towels, diapers and other items that usually require a lot of money out of our budget.
- RX Essentials and Viactiv overage deals at Walgreens. Adding food to cover overage is a tactic I use to cut back on food budget.
- Free food deals were plentiful this year. Here are three popular ones: Poptarts at Target, Nutrigrain Bars at Walgreens and Omaha Steak Deal (this one ended up bursting at the end but I still got some cheap burgers out of this one).
- Diaper deals: I particularly had fun with the diaper deals at CVS and who can forget the diaper deal at Walgreens this summer.
- I have saved a lot of money thanks to double coupon promotions at my grocery store’. Even though at the beginning of the year the store canceled the promotion, I helped lobby to bring it back. The store brought it back at the beginning of the summer. Hopefully it will remain for a while longer. I also had a lot of fun the first time Kmart doubled coupons here in Wisconsin.
- We also saved on clothing expenses by taking advantage of these deals: Sears Father’s Day Gift Card promotion and Victoria’s Secret Bra deal.
Those are just some of my favorites. I would love to hear from you. What were your favorite deals of 2008? If you have a blog, I think your readers would love to hear from you. If you decide to write an entry with impressions of your favorite deals feel free to leave a link to it in the Mr. Linky below. Don’t forget to link back so they can come read other favorite deals entries.
Tomorrow’s topic: Favorite Coupon of 2008
Hi! I am Mercedes and this is my blog Common Sense with Money! Helping other people live better, spend less, and save more is something I am very passionate about. I combine simple frugal living tips and smart shopping techniques to help moms across the U.S. become better home economists. Thank you for visiting my blog.
Great topic! It was fun to think back on deals from this year!
Thanks for that! I enjoyed reading those. I started couponing in July..so I didn’t know about some of those.
I have a question though. I noticed in the olay deal that you said that you knew about the olay deal 3 weeks ahead of time….how do you find out about the sales early?
Just curious =)
Leslie
I’ve used the Walgreens transfered prescritpion giftcards (7 so far) for a lot of good uses. I like the one trip at Acme that I snagged 10 boxes of cereal for .50 per box and got 4 tubes of toothpaste free, 3 free cake mixes, 5 free Chex mixes, and milk for a grand total of $8.00 for the trip
Hi Leslie,
You can get ad previews for CVS and Walgreens sometimes weeks in advance at Hotcouponworld.com. I hope that helps,
Mercedes
Thank you!!
I have two favorites – the Dockers Deal at Sears around Father’s Day. It was timely for my family! The second favorite was Walgreen’s $10 deal for a Conair Gel Grips blow dryer with the $10 RR. I had bought one earlier and the manager gave me the price adjustment because they had sold out within 1/2 hour of the store opening! Wow! How’s that for customer service!