Candyland
Hi everyone! It’s Kristie again. This week I’ll be outlining how to save money on toys.
When it comes to buying toys for your own kids’ birthdays and holidays or as gifts, the costs can really add up. The best time to buy toys is when they’re on sale AND you can use at least one coupon for each toy. Christmas and your children’s birthdays fall on the same date every year so you should always plan ahead to maximize savings.
If you are lucky enough to have a Target nearby, you can usually find truly amazing deals on toys twice a year. When I see these deals, I make a list of the toys that I will need for the next six months to a year. I check out the toys that are on sale and determine if they are age-appropriate for the kids that I need to buy for and find the best deal.
For example, in March, Target released a ton of toy sales, along with a bunch of printable store coupons online. At the same time, you could print manufacturer coupons from Hasbro’s website. I was able to use two coupons on each toy, saving upwards of 80-90% on each! I picked up great deals on Transformers masks for $1.99, a Candyland board game for $1.79, Disney Princess light up cell phones for $1.87, Playskool Heroes and Star Wars Fighter Pod Packs for $.99 each. Listed below are the matchups for that week to show how I was able to score these deals!
Keep in mind, these specific deals are from March, but I want to teach you my savings strategies so you can use them when you shop for just about anything. Plus, I’m expecting the same sort of deals around November or December so when I see them, I will let you know!
- Regular Price: $7.79
- Store coupon: $3 off 1 Chutes & Ladders, Candyland, Cootie or Memory board game
- Stack with manufacturer coupon: $3 off 1 Candy Land, Chutes & Ladders, Cootie or Memory board game (from Hasbro.com)
- Final Price: $1.79 (Total Savings of $6 or 77%)
Star Wars Fighter Pods 4-Packs
- Regular Price: $5.99
- Store coupon: 50% off any Star Wars toy (from Target ad) or $2 off (from Target.com)
- Stack with manufacturer coupon: $2 off Star Wars Fighter Pods purchase of $5 or more (from Hasbro.com)
- Final Price: $.99 each (Total Savings of $5 or 83%)
Playskool Heroes Figures
- Regular Price: $6.99
- Store coupon: $3 off 1 Playskool Heroes Toy
- Stack with manufacturer coupon: $3 off 1 Playskool Heroes Toy (from Hasbro.com)
- Final Price: $.99 each (Total Savings of $6 or 86%)
Transformers Mask
- Regular Price: $9.99
- Store coupon: $4 off 1 Transformers item
- Stack with manufacturer coupon for $4 off 1 Transformers item (from Hasbro.com)
- Final Price: $1.99 (Total Savings of $8 or 81%)
Disney Princess Cell Phone
- Regular Price: $3.74
- Store coupon: 50% off Disney Princess item
- Final Price: $1.87 (Total Savings of $1.87 or 50%)
Kristie Hamilton is a happily married mother of a three-year-old and two-year-old twins (all girls!) who lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Kristie took to couponing when she left her job to raise her family full-time on one income.After a year of learning and developing her own organizational system, she started teaching her friends how to save money with coupons and eventually even took to teaching classes within her community. Now, her hour-long classes include up to 200 aspiring couponers and savers in her area.She specializes in coupon matching, stacking and “conservative stockpiling.” Her philosophy is practical couponing that takes only 60 minutes per week to save up to 40 – 60 percent on groceries, with annual savings of at least $1,200! Please note that prices and coupon polices differ by region and supermarket.In her blogs on CouponCabin.com, Kristie will be sharing her tips for couponing as well as occasionally sharing her incredible shopping trips, complete with step-by-step instructions for how she saved and even photos of her haul!
