A new journey

The first time I read about saving money with manufacturer coupons was over a year ago. At first, the idea was nice but I didn't pay too much attention to it. I don't remember well, but I believe that around November 2013, I finally decided to give it a break. Must say that after around 6 months, I'm totally addicted to using coupons. And don't take it the wrong way, I don't go after every deal published or using every single coupon that I find. That's the magic and the trick of this. If you go insane, buying just because, you are not really saving anything. You become a compulsive buyer if you don't know where to stop.

I'll give you an example. Around March, Walgreens Puerto Rico made a fabulous deal with Pantene hair  products. They had on sale 3 Pantene hair products for $10.00. When buying them, Walgreens gave you $5.00 back in a Register Rewards (a coupon you can use in a next purchase on any qualifying product) and 1,000 points to your card which equals to $1.00. Also P&G, which is the manufacturer, published this coupon of $5.00 off when buying 3 hair products.

So, for every 3 Pantene shampoos or conditioners, I had to pay $10.00. But since I had the $5.00 dollar off coupon, then I paid $5.70 (tax included) for every transaction I did. But remember Walgreens gave me $5.00 dollars back in a coupon and $1.00 back in their Register Rewards Card Program. So at the end I got the Pantenes for free and ended with $.30 money maker in every transaction (that's how is called in the couponing world).

After 10 transaction, and having 30 Pantenes products, I stopped. Why so many you might ask yourself, well P&G also launched a rebate offer of $15.00 back in a prepaid Visa Card, when sending them proof of spending $50.00 dollars or more in their qualifying products. So not only I got my Pantenes for free with a bit earning, they also sent me $15.00 back. I used that Visa Card to buy a new frying pan that was on clearance in K-Mart. So I ended with a stock of 30 Pantenes and a frying pan FOR FREE! The $50.00 I got back in the Register Rewards Coupons were used to buy some food that was on sale at Walgreens and that I had also coupons for them. Also got some body wash for women. Of course my mom got a few of them!

Now comes the part where I say you need to learn where to stop. Since I have shampoo and hair conditioner for probably a year, there's no need for me to go buy anymore. But I have seen people in couponing blogs and Facebook pages, going crazy buying Pantenes just because P&G published again the coupon at the end of April. And I'm asking myself, is really needed to buy more? I mean I try not to judge, but I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one that did this awesome deal in Walgreens on March. Also, the deal wasn't that awesome either this time. 

Well, this is my first time blogging and this is my very first entry. Hope you enjoy it and maybe got you a little interested in couponing. I'll be writing a bit about my experience, but please keep in mind that I don't consider myself an extreme couponer and what I buy is because I really need/use it!