Back in July, Madison received several gift cards for her birthday. Madison is developing into quite the little shopper. A great reward for her is to simply go to Justice, or Claire's, or even Target. She wanders around and lusts after things she wants, usually asking me to take pictures so she can add them to her birthday or Christmas list. She had been desperate for "store money" so she could shop without begging or leaving unsatisfied.
This is one of those moments when I honestly believe she is my clone.
Once those gift cards were in her brand new wallet in her brand new purse, she wanted nothing more than to run out to the mall so she could put them to use. That's when I had to remind her of the other part of being a "savvy shopper". Not just spending what you have, but making those dollars stretch even further. Time for my rookie shopper to learn the fine art of sale + coupon shopping to get the most bang for her buck.
We looked online. We compared prices. We looked at sales alongside coupon dates. We worked during our homeschool math time, figuring out which toy at which store was a better deal. We printed out coupons, and loaded coupons onto my phone, and were quite strategic in our methods.
By the end of the summer, the gift cards were mostly gone. But my little apprentice had nearly doubled the value of her gift cards funds (assuming she would have just gone and purchased whatever she desired at full price) and she never had to settle for anything she didn't actually want. When we pulled out the receipts and did the math, I knew she was hooked. And I love it.
I've recently gotten hooked on Groupon Coupons. I love Groupon (I'm always ready to pounce when they have the $5 for $10 Starbucks card deal). I obviously love coupons. So what could go wrong with combining them? Whether I'm shopping online, or I'm in the store with my phone at the ready, chances are Groupon has something ready to save me money.
I was researching our hotel for next year's Nationals. Hotels.com in on there. I was doing a little eBay shopping. It's there. Barnes and Noble. Kohls. All on there.
If I'm going to preach it, I need to practice it. I've told Madison, time and time again, that a good shopper never pays full price.
