Dollar Tree Early Sunday Edition Saves Money

January 3, 2009 by Chelsea
Filed under Frugality, Piggy Bank

A few months ago I started a simple experiment. I wanted to see how much money I would save by using coupons. My local newspaper was running a special promotion where I got three months of the Thursday and Sunday paper for $10, or about $3/month.

By taking the price of the paper into account I estimated that based on my normal shopping habits I saved about $10-$12/month on groceries and household items using coupons. Since I was only receiving one paper I didn’t have access to multiple coupons to combine with store sales and stock up on rock bottom prices.

I could easily justify spending $3/month on a paper when I saved $10-$12/month using the coupons. However when the promotion ended and I would pay around $10/month for the subscription I couldn’t justify keeping the subscription. So I started looking into other options.

First I called the paper to ask for an extension of the discount, which they weren’t able to do. I then asked if I could only order the Sunday paper or just buy the ads. They said that service wasn’t available in my zip code.

So I then went on a local discussion board where someone mentioned buying the early Saturday edition of the Sunday paper for $1.00 at the Dollar Tree. I decided to give that a try and have been very happy. For less than the price I was paying for a subscription I am able to buy two newspapers and get twice the amount of coupons. If I know that a certain week doesn’t have great coupons I will buy only one paper. Hint: This Sunday’s paper has 5 coupon inserts now that the holidays are over.

The only hang-up with this arrangement is making sure that I make it to the Dollar Tree on Saturday before the papers are gone. Most weeks this shouldn’t be a problem unless we are traveling or have other engagements.

If you are hesitant to try coupons I would give yourself a few months to see if it’s worth the time and energy needed for clipping coupons. Call around and find the best deal on the paper in your area. If you’re intimidated by matching coupons with sales there are many great online resources and blogs like couponmom.com, mypennypile, dealseekingmom, and moneysavingmom that match out the store deals and coupons each week to make clipping coupons a little easier.