A Pennypincher’s Black Friday

Whether you are a pennypincher or a superfluous spender, you are likely aware of Black Friday and the retail competition for your business. As a reformed spendthrift, turned pennypincher, I still enjoy the Black Friday sales. Although our television has been afflicted with splashes of green spots all over the screen at random intervals for the past year, you won’t see me scouting deals for televisions or tablets or even toys. I’m all done with my holiday shopping. Black Friday week for me is a time to stockpile household items and save on items that we would buy despite the Black Friday kerfuffle.

In fact, I have already started! I went to CVS on Sunday and netted a $1 profit while stocking up on enough toothbrushes and children’s Advil for the year, snacks and stocking stuffers, laundry detergent, paper towels, and more. On Monday, I was surprised to find the “moneymaker” items still on the shelves at Walgreens, and netted a $12 profit there. I also have my holiday photo cards ready to print at Staples once I get the husband’s approval. 50 cards for $5 is an amazing price, and I liked a lot of the designs that are available. You can even get 50 double-sided photo cards for $5.

 

We spend Thanksgiving at my sister’s house, where she hosts dinner for seven adults and three children, and hosts my husband, son, and I as houseguests for the week. It is truly a labor of love on her part, and greatly appreciated on our part. There is nothing I’m more thankful for than the sound of our three children playing and laughing together. We are so blessed to have them lighting up our lives.

On Thanksgiving, my sister is master of the kitchen and would prefer that we not mess with her dinner preparation flow. On Thanksgiving morning, I’m her sous chef and then step out to Walgreens, CVS, and Rite Aid while the kids play under the supervision of grandparents and fathers. I usually spend two to three hours at the major drugstores, and I love being able to show off all the freebies to the captive audience awaiting Thanksgiving dinner. By this point, I know what kinds of vitamins and remedies my parents and sister use, so if they’re offered for free I’m sure to get them and hand them out when I get back.

Here is my itinerary for Thanksgiving morning:

• Walgreens:
  • Free Redbox rental with purchase in the morning.
  • Moneymakers on Listerine Pocketpacks, Reach toothbrushes, Crest toothpaste, Schiff Digestive Advantage
  • FREE Herbal Essences and Got2B shampoo and conditioners, Scunci hair elastics, Blistex lip balm, Colgate toothbrush, nasal decongestant spray, pain relieving cream, and restless legs cream (anyone else suffer from this? I’m curious to try this treatment).
  • $0.74 — Lysol Toilet Bowl Cleaner
  • $1 — Ghiradelli chocolate bags
• CVS:
  • FREE — G.U.M. toothbrushes, chocolate bars, and  batteries (I will donate the batteries, because you know I have enough from Staples!) 
  • $0.87 — Multigrain Cheerios
• Rite Aid:
  • $40 for a $50 gift card at home improvement stores. I have gotten this deal every year, using the home improvement gift card for a Christmas tree stand or wire shelving at Lowe’s. This year, we plan to use the gift card towards our live Christmas tree. It’s a 20% savings, and hopefully I can find a coupon to use too.

For more details on these deals, and a great list of other deals to be had at the national drugstores, visit Living Rich With Coupons.

As a pennypincher, I’ll stock up on free office supplies like antivirus software and printer paper at Staples. But I don’t plan on buying any of the awesome doorbusters — the Kindles and Keurigs — so I don’t plan to be there at the 8 pm store opening. Last I checked, Staples was fully stocked up on their cases of paper!

After all that, I plan to spend Black Friday with my family, probably not even spending a penny. What are your Black Friday plans?