My Secret Saving Weapon

 One of the best things you can do when living on a budget is to coupon. If you are still following my posts, you are a lucky one, because I'm going to share with you my biggest secret (not so secret) saving weapon, that we can use to look and feel fabulous. 

Saving money on expensive products becomes more and more necessary the older I get, because I learn to have a taste for the finer things in life. You know, you may get invited to a fancy party and you walk through a crowd and smell a gorgeous perfume, and the lady is like, "I wear The One by Dolce and Gabbana". Then you are like, "Well shoot, I could never afford a $50-$100 perfume. But now all my perfumes smell like child's play." At the same party, you notice everyone has their nails nicely manicured, their makeup is on point. And beyond the hypothetical party, there are certain things you try along the way and you realize that you just can't go back to what you had before. The country girl is in a dilemma in this urban situation. At least, I was and still am. 

I grew up in a family where looks didn't matter - God made you beautiful. While I still hold this to be true, it's just unavoidable in a place like Miami to want to look your best. Everyone here is beautiful and they are in every size and shape. God surely shines bright in them, but they really are vain...and it's attractive. I want to look as good as they do, without spending thousands of dollars. This is where my trick comes in - CVS. What a miracle shop. You know how they are famous for their mile-long receipts? That's because their receipts are their most obvious advertisement that this is the place where you can save. 

It all began when I entered the store because it was conveniently just downstairs from where I lived. I needed a few shower things. Hmmm, $10 for shampoo...super expensive. But, if I had a CareCard I could save an extra $3. Sign me up! I bought the shampoo because I needed it. I checked out, and received my first mile-long receipt. The trick is getting that % off. It started with 15% off. Not too shabby, considering Target credit cards only get you 5% off. I went in again because I needed shower gel, and I was able to use my 15% off. The following week, I started receiving email notifications from CVS. They sent me a 30% off coupon plus a few ExtraBucks rewards because I spent so much money already on Personal Products. This is where it started to get exciting. Now I could afford that Revlon eyeliner, so instead of paying $9, I would pay $6 with the 30% off, and then take another $2 off with the ExtraBucks, so I only paid $4 for the eyeliner. The next deal...40% off. My God, how high could this go?! (Turns out so far that's as high as I've seen them go.) I also noticed in my list of receipts that I had $12 off a fragrance of $40 or more. You bet, I went to CVS, I bought that Dolce and Gabbana originally $60. Took the $12 off coupon and then the 40%, and I only spent $28.80. YAS QUEEN! 

Some things to keep in mind:

1) You have to visit the store repeatedly

2) You have to purchase non-sale items only for the % off deals

3) You should save your % off deals for the most expensive things you want to buy, which turn out to be things like fragrances, makeup, healthcare. 

4) You can't use % off coupons on dairy or alcohol. 

5) Watch out for the quick expiration dates

6) No one else can use your coupons unless they use your Extra Care Card.  

7) Some coupons, like the ExtraBucks, are only available by physical coupon. Most other coupons you can save digitally, but look out for the printed extrabucks. 

I normally don't do grocery shopping at CVS. They do have good deals every now and then that you can look out for. Sometimes they have good deals on eggs (but rarely). Their wine isn't so expensive. Their cereal ALWAYS has a $1.99 deal somewhere. I wouldn't recommend on using this coupon system for food, but if you find a trick please comment below!

Another tip I have for you is to sign up for their Beauty Club. Every $30 you spend you get $3, so you can imagine after saving all that money over time, you are eventually going to spend $30 and then get those rewards. 

It's a cascading effect. The savings just get better and better the more times you go into that store. Sometimes I go into that store and I buy something for free. Sometimes I go in, buy three normally expensive items, and walk out paying $4-$8. 

What do I get out of these trips? First of all, I'm a top 6% saver in Florida. So that is WINNING. 

I also get to take care of myself better. I can pick out the more expensive skin and hair care options. I can buy nail kits for do-it-yourself manicures. I can smell like a celebrity. These are little things, but they become so important for self-confidence, which is important to have in a city. I find that people treat me better when I am wearing makeup and look put-together. This is important for city living because it's about survival, but it's also about community, and we all want that positivity and encouragement that comes with community. I definitely have my days where I don't care and I walk out with bags under my eyes, but you know what happens? The men that usually say, "Hi, how are you?" start to say, "What's the matter? You look tired." And we can say how sexist and inappropriate that is, but at the end of the day, it's communication, a sense of worth, and care. These are important things to establish and to have in your urban life. And you don't have to be rich to do it! 

The more you save, the more money you have in your pocket, the less stressed you are, the better you feel, the better you look, the better you interact with your community.