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Weekly Savings and Deals: One Fail and Two Wins

Dollar General Online Fail:

Through Ebates: 4% off(get later) and $5.00 off and free shipping.

Description: Maxwell House Coffee 
Quantity: 3 @ 5.02

Description: Bausch & Lomb Multi-Purpose 4 ounce(for trips)
Quantity: 3 @ 3.97

Description: Clorox Disinfecting Wipes Citrus 35 count (for pets)
Quantity: 6 @ 1.83

Description: Comet Cleaner Orig w/Bleach 
Quantity: 6 @ 0.91

Description: Stationery Tissue Paper White(15 sheets)
Quantity: 10 @ 0.46

Description: DG Health Ibuprofen soft gel 40
Quantity: 1 @ 4.43

Sub-Total: $52.40
Shipping: $0.00
Sales Tax: $2.35
--------------------------
Order Total: $54.75

Minus my Ebates rebate of $2.60

$52.15
 

The only good deals that I got was the coffee and the Comet. The other deals could be found for the same or slightly less elsewhere. I needed a smaller size of contact lens solution for travel, so I ended up paying more per ounce for the smaller size. Around $4.00 is probably about right for 4 ounces at a discount store. A 12-ounce bottle can be found for about $8.00. The wipes ended up being .05 cents per count, a little more than Amazon with Subscribe and Save at 15%,  or Sam's Club which  prices them at .04 cents a count. The tissue is about the same per sheet at the Dollar Tree. The Ibuprofen is less expensive in pill form and in bottles of 75 to 100, but I don't think I'd use that before it expires, so I'd end up paying more after throwing half of it out. The gel form is easier on the stomach.

You think you're getting a real deal until you look at the numbers closely. I ended up paying a little over $2.00 more for the Clorox wipes. The ibuprofen gelcaps are 10 for $1.00 at the Dolar Tree, so I lost around .30 cents.

I saved a trip to two stores, so that's something. Big Lots sometimes has powder cleanser for less than a dollar. I think I've seen Old Dutch cleanser there for .75 cents or less, but that was a few years ago. I should take a trip there again to see the prices. I had stopped going because the prices were no longer competitive. It's over 6 miles away, another reason I don't go often.

Discounted Gift Card Sucess:

A much better deal was had after I visited Gift Card Granny where I saved $86.00 purchasing discounted gift cards to places where I shop for food and medicine, and restaurants that we frequent as a treat once every few months. Gift Card Granny compares savings across a good number of card discounters. Two of the card discounters are under Swagbucks, so you can get an additional discount by clicking through a Swagbucks link.

Search and Earn Sucess:

Earned a $5.00 gift card from regular searches via Swagbucks when I added them as a browser extension. Today I watched a few videos for Swagbucks points and signed up for something free, and I'm half way to another gift card! Easy.

Clip art source here.

Inexpensive Travel Lodging

Airbnb provides a reliable marketplace for people to advertise their short-term, or sometimes long-term,  home or room rentals. Airbnb maintains certain standards and funds are exchanged through them.  I've seen camping places with just a tent advertised as well. You can sign up to rent your extra space and/or use Airbnb to find places to stay. 

We've been using Airbnb for the last three trips, and so far they have been pleasant frugal experiences. The first time we used Airbnb was for a trip to Philadelphia. We found a private room and bath in the art museum district within walking distance of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Franklin Institute, Museum of Natural History, Fairmount Park, and the Eastern State Penitentiary Museum. The room was only $65 a night which was a great rate for the area.

The second Airbnb rental was a short trip to West Virginia  where we stayed in a newly remodeled vintage camp house for $35 a night. It was within walking distance of a river park and the old logging town of Cass where they have steam engine trains that travel up the mountain.

This last trip was to New York City. We usually stay at clean bargain hotel in the Chinatown area of Manhattan, but they were booked, so I found an inexpensive tiny apartment in the Lower East Side. It was a comparatively good deal at $150 a night. I would have liked to have found a lower rate, but there was nothing for a family of four (other than hostels) that I could find in Manhattan in September for less. This place was very basic and while clean, a little run down on the inside. Still, the location was excellent for inexpensive food and fun. We were able to walk as far as the Hudson River and up to Greenwich. We ate at all the places marked with one $ on Yelp.com. Our rental car was only $17 a day through Kayak.com! If you use it to travel to New York City from your home and back, you can drop it off and pick it up at the airport and hire a shuttle to get to your rental. I found a shuttle online.

We plan to use Airbnb for future trips as long as the price is right. 

Read the reviews carefully at Airbnb and check the pictures. Ask questions of the host before you book a place. I'd also check the area on Google to make sure it is well situated and safe. Some places have minimal contact with the host, and others have more interaction and extra services.

Check it out here. If you sign up with my link, you get $35 off your first rental. I also get some travel credit. This is not an affiliate link. Anyone who signs up can refer friends for travel credit.