Mall Trip Savings!

I got to escape for a few hours yesterday to pump out a few small gift purchases.  I won't go into extreme detail, but here are some highlights:

-  Victoria Secrets.  Got a $10 off any purchase coupon in the mail.  Found an item for exactly $10 and paid NOTHING out of pocket.  Free gift!

-  JC Penney's.  Got a $10 off any purchase coupon in the mail.  Found a higher end shirt on sale.  Paid about $10 for a shirt that was originally $45.

-  Old Navy.  Had a $15/$50 from the mail (I have an Old Navy charge so they are always sending coupons).  Got my total to just over $50 and dropped $36 on what should have cost over $70.  (P.S.  I didn't take advantage of their BOGO Sweater sale because honestly, the sweaters were all kind of cheaply feeling.  Blah.  Moral:  Don't waste money if you don't like the product - no matter how good the deal.)  Gave 2 $10/$50 coupons I also had to unsuspecting customers and made their day.

-  Bath & Body Works.  Had a $10/$30.  Took advantage of their Signature Collection Sale going on (Buy 3, get 2 free or Buy 2, Get 1 free).  Got a new $10/$30 coupon - anyone local want it?

-  Yankee Candle - Printed off a $10/$25 coupon but didn't need it.  Saw a young couple buying 2 jars in line (those are Buy 1, Get 1 50% off).  Handed them the coupon they were very appreciative. 

-  The Children's Place.  Had a 20% off your total purchase coupon from the mail.  Their Clearance is now an extra 40% off ticket prices and they are having a pretty decent sweater/fleece sale for $7. 

-  A.C. Moore.  Snagged the 50% off any one item coupon off their webpage.  Sadly, everything I bought was on sale except for a bottle of Almond Extract.  Buy hey, that $1.99 bottle of extract became .99!  Saved a buck! 

-  Walmart.  Even though people are going crazy over the "Free" travel version of Hungry Hungry Hippos at Target with the $5 off coupon at Coupons.com, I wanted to get my kids the real Hungry Hungry Hippo game for Christmas anyways.  On sale at Walmart for $15 (reg. 19.99) - so $10 for HHH. 

-  Halmark vs. A.C. Moore.  I wanted to jump on the "Elf on the Shelf" phenomenom.  Halmark sells really cute "Elf on the Shelf" kits with the "real" elf.  It's $29.99.  Sorry - I'm not spending $30 for a little stuffed creature.  I walked over to A.C. Moore again and found a little plush elf on sale for $1.20.  Guess what?  This morning my kids were very excited and surprised over said ghetto, generic elf.  They have zero idea that he's not the "real" Elf on the Shelf. 

-  Macy's.  Had 2 $15/$50 coupons from the newspaper.  Didn't need/want anything from Macy's.  Passed coupons on to other customers. 

Lately, for Christmas (I really don't do all that much retail shopping throughout the year.  I'm too cheap for that), I've been checking Your Retail Helper for good deals.  Honestly, I'm kind of old fashioned with my couponing ways because I usually almost use coupons from the mail and newspaper.  I only print off coupons if it's a product I really love or if the sale is just too good to pass up.  If you go to Your Retail Helper and see "HOT deals" on the right, you'll see a link for Printable Retail Coupons.   She just posted this on the 2nd so a lot of them are still good (some did expire on the 5th though).  She also does a daily Target deal blog post if Target is your store.  You should never go to the mall armed with zero coupons!  There are so many to easily print out there!  If you have an extra 10 minutes to print off the ones you'll use, you can save a lot.

Also - if you do have coupons that you aren't going to use - it is so fun to approach random strangers and give them away.  I know that sounds really cheezy and partially stalker like - but hey, if you can't afford to do make charitable donations or whatnot, it's just a small way to pay it forward to someone else - and really, didn't cost you anything.  Because really, that unused coupon of yours is just going to end up in the garbage can.  Why not spread the love?

Hope everyone's holiday season is glorious!