My Part-Time Job

I may be a SAHM, but that doesn't mean that I don't contribute to our income. I have found a way to bring money into our home without going into an office Monday through Friday.

About two years ago I really got into couponing. I started off following the sales at Walgreens and picking up some great deals. Then I started following the sales at Kroger. At that time, I made use of nearly everything that I got for free or nearly free. If it was a really good sale, then oftentimes I would actually get paid to take an item. Unfortunately, a lot of the items that go on sale are things that we can no longer use. It seems like fruit snacks, canned ravioli, and Glade candles go on sale all the time. With our new way of eating though, those items are not useful to us anymore.

Except...

I have discovered that yard sale people get giddy when they see brand new, unexpired products for sale. It doesn't matter if it's boxes of cereal or Listerine mouthwash, they really enjoy getting brand new products at yard sale prices. So, this is what I do:

I will figure out what the great deals are, even if it's for something that we won't use. I will purchase the item using sale and coupons, making certain that my out of pocket expense is considerably less than the price an item will sell for at a yard sale. When I get home, I immediately put the item in my yard sale pile. I have a sheet of paper there where I record the shelf price for the item. That way, when I am pricing items for a yard sale, I can write the regular price on the sticker. My thinking is that then the yard sale shopper can see what an awesome deal they're getting by buying a product at a yard sale versus off the store shelf. So far I have sold things like: mouthwash, deodorant, toothpaste, mascara, eye shadow, diabetes monitors, Visine, GoodNights underpants, hair color, Schick Quattro razors, Kotex pantiliners, KY Jelly, Triaminic Syrup, Children's Tylenol, pantihose, Ecotrin, Vaseline lotion, ChapStick, Theraflu, nail polish, boxed cereal, FiberOne bars, and a W-I-D-E assortment of Glade candles.

Here's an example of one of the great deals I got at Walgreens recently:

Theraflu was on sale for $4.00. When you purchased three of them, you received an $8 Register Reward, which is like store money that you can use on a later purchase at Walgreens. So, the deal was:

Purchase 3 x $4.oo = $12.00
Use 3 internet printable coupons for $2 off (deducts a total of $6)
Use a Walgreens coupon book for $2 off one Theraflu (deducts another $6 since I purchased three) So, after these coupons, I ended up paying absolutely nothing out of pocket for the three Theraflu. Then, I received an $8 Register Reward that I can use later. Basically, I got paid $8 for taking the Theraflu. After selling those items for $2.50 each at my yard sale, I ended up making a total of $15.50 on those three Theraflu products.

We had two yard sales this year. We made $427 at the first one and $585 at the second one. Granted, that was not all from my couponing products, but a fairly large portion of it was.

So, now that you know all this, just promise me that you will not wipe out all the great deals at my local Walgreens and Kroger!!