Be a bargain-shopping champ

Still think it's not worth it? Open your cabinets and add up how much you've spent recently on stuff like Oral B toothbrushes, Bumble Bee Fish-Oil Capsules, Children's Tylenol Cold Medicine, Garnier Fructis Shampoo, Playtex Sport Tampons, Colgate toothpastes, One-A-Day vitamins, Bic Soleil razors, Dove deodorant, Tylenol P.M., Tide laundry soap, Electrasol dishwasher soap.

Bet you spent a LOT more than I did. Not that I'm gloating or anything.

My favorite coupon coup: Glade Scented Oil Candles were $8.99 at Rite Aid with a $2 rebate, and I had a $3-off coupon. Then, since Rite Aid rebates are filed electronically, I used the store receipt to send away for a manufacturer's rebate of $8.99. And then I sold the candles for $5.

It pays because most people don't bother

OK, it's something of a mania with me. You don't have to go to such lengths. (And if you do, friends and family will likely make fun of you.) But apparently the reason coupons and rebates are so generous is that most people don't bother. Buck that trend and save, big time.

Or maybe you're in that majority that never redeems cents-off or rebate offers. You can save in other ways. Thrift-shop items vary in quality, but you may find treasures if you can get past the idea of "used" garments. (What, you think no one has ever tried on -- or bought and later returned -- the clothes in department stores?)

At regular stores, take a minute to browse clearance tables and racks. I just bought a dozen washcloths for the "last chance" price of $1.50 and four dishtowels for $1.25. Recently I picked up several high-quality children's board books for about 50 cents apiece; they'll become birthday and Christmas gifts for my new great-nephew.

Remember, too, that holiday-themed items get marked down, and that the more time passes, the deeper the discounts get. Last February I scooped up a handful of coloring books for 12 cents each; some went to a young relative at Christmas and some to a family that my sister and I adopted for the holidays.

The glow of a cheapskate coup

Dollar stores have sprung up just about everywhere, and if you haven't visited one, you're losing money. Sure, sometimes you get what you pay for -- but why would you pay more than a dollar for a mop bucket?

Some other great deals I've found: a rubber bath mat, petroleum jelly, a fleece scarf, ibuprofen, a floral-themed calendar (another Christmas gift), drain stoppers, hand sanitizer, kitchen sponges, a laundry bag, baby wipes, modeling clay, some really tasty gingersnaps and those word-find books that my grandmother loves.

• Smart Spending blog: Check out more money-saving tips from Donna Freedman

Cheapskate shopping does more than fill my needs. It also lets me give. My 5-year-old nephew, Malachi, doesn't know or care that I spent 12 cents on the coloring books; he only knows that they have Snoopy and Charlie Brown on them. The box of crayons that went with them cost me a whopping 10 cents -- they were back-to-school loss leaders at an office superstore last summer.

A particularly nice cheapskate coup came when Walgreens and Rite Aid offered flavored green tea and fancy coffee free after rebate. These became the basis for gift baskets to which I added homemade cookies and homemade jam (made from free, wild blueberries and blackberries). The baskets, of course, came from the dollar store.

Like I said: mania.

Updated Dec. 5, 2007

< previous |  1 | 2 |