Scour Your Dollar General Trashcans

Reach into your local Dollar General trashcan? Yecccchhh! Yeah, maybe the more sensitive among you might revolt at that idea. However, if you do reach in and grab the sales receipts you will find some gold in the form of a $5/$25 coupon attached to each receipt that you can use on Friday only.

I don't know about you but I already have scenarios worked out where using this coupon in conjunction with manufacturer's coupons, I'll be getting tons of stuff tomorrow for FREE!!! If you really can't stomach reaching into the trashcans for the valuable sales receipts, then you can buy candy for about 75 cents each. I did that PLUS grabbed the receipts out of the trashcans to net me a total of 27 of the $5 off $25 purchase coupons. I recommend that you turn in your $5/$25 coupon FIRST followed by your manufacturer's coupons.

Over the past year I have noticed Dollar General stores popping up all over the place. With this type of marketing strategy it is no wonder. I just hope they have more such coupons in the future because The Coupon Whisperer will put them to full use.

Happy Couponing!!!

FREE "Personal" Product Week of July 3

Who says they don't have a sense of humor at Walgreens? Here is their DEAL for the week of July 3-9:

Extenze Male Enhancement Formula 2 oz 2 pk $4.99 get $5 RR

So was this deal inspired by the recent news about Anthony Weiner? And I bet 95% of these items will be purchased as gags. Come to think of it, does anybody know Weiner's address? I will soon have a very special gift to send to him.

FREE Dial Body Wash

If your are even just slightly involved in couponing and don't have at least a three month supply of FREE body wash stockpiled then HANG YOUR HEAD IN SHAME! FREE body wash is among the easiest products to obtain with very little effort. This week is an example. Publix has a BOGO sale on Dial Body Wash for both men and women at $3.97. In last Sunday's Red Plum newspaper insert there were Dial coupons for $2. Use a coupon on each of the body washes and you get them both for FREE with a 3 cent overage.

I picked up 4 bottles of my FREE body wash yesterday at the same Coral Springs Publix where I TOLD you that I bought my Combat roach killers with coupons. And who should be my cashier but May the super sales girl. Apparently she is quickly moving up in the world of commerce. She had read this blog and expressed an interest in renting out the BEST movie ever on the subject of selling---"Tin Men" starring Danny DeVito and Richard Dreyfus. I also recommend that everybody else check out that movie as well. It shows what the world of selling is like in a very funny way.

One technique used in this movie is when a couple of aluminum siding salesmen posed as photographers who were working for a Life Magazine story about the benefits of aluminum siding. When the woman who owned the house they were photographing said that they didn't have aluminum siding, one of the "photographers" replied that her house would be the "before" house and that another home would be the "after" house to illustrate the improvement aluminum siding could make on a home. When the woman objected that she wanted her home to be the "after" house, the photographers told her that would be impossible due to her lack of aluminum siding. Then the woman begged to be the "before" house since she wanted to get the aluminum siding and asked the "photographers" where she could get it done. The "photographers" replied that they did know of an aluminum siding salesman who could fix her home up for her Life magazine story. Of course, the salesman was part of their team.

Your humble correspondent laughed at that scene since I had my own technique for closing a sale on high ticket items back when I used to sell 10 foot satellite dishes. My client was a guy named Charlie who lived in the California desert boondocks about halfway between Lancaster and Los Angeles. He was very interested in getting a satellite dish since cable wasn't available where he lived plus broadcast reception stunk. Well, I went over all the details as to the number channels he could receive plus price of the system and the installation cost which was $300. It was at this point where the all important "close" came. The natural inclination of almost everybody was that they wanted to "think about it." However, I had an ace up my sleeve. When Charlie hit me with the inevitable "I want to think about it," I mentioned that if we closed the deal that night I might be able to talk my boss into waiving the $300 installation fee in exchange for him putting one of our company signs in his front yard for 6 weeks. Well, I called the "boss" who was actually anybody who happened to answer the phone at the satellite dish company. When I mentioned the idea about waiving the installation fee in exchange for Charlie putting the sign in his front yard, I heard a chuckle and nothing more as I made like I was arguing my case with the boss. Finally, after "convincing" the boss to waive the installation fee I turned back to Charlie and told him the "good news."

It worked perfectly as it always did. As a finishing touch I told Charlie to PLEASE leave the sign in the front yard for at least six weeks and not take it down before then or I would catch hell from boss. In reality, Charlie could have tossed the sign in a dumpster the minute the installation crew left for all I cared. The sign had already fulfilled its main purpose---to get Charlie to sign on the dotted line. Unfortunately sometimes my sales pitch worked a little too well.

A couple of weeks after the sale, I got a phone call about 3 AM when the Santa Ana winds were blowing hot and furious:

"IT'S NOT MY FAULT!!!" the voice on the phone screeched.

"What," I asked sleepily.

"NOT MY FAULT!!!"

Who is this?

"IT'S CHARLIE AND IT'S NOT MY FAULT!!!"

I had no idea who this Charlie was waking me up so early in the morning.

"Charlie who?" I asked.

"CHARLIE THE GUY WHO BOUGHT THE SATELLITE DISH! THE WIND BLEW AWAY MY SIGN AND I CAN'T FIND IT!"

Suddenly it became clear to me who Charlie was.

"Charlie, don't worry about it. It was an act of nature."

"BUT WHAT ABOUT YOUR BOSS?"

Charlie was actually worried that my boss would become enraged about the loss of a sign that we really didn't give a damn about and would maybe reclaim the satellite dish equipment.

"Don't worry. I'll straighten it out with him so please get back to sleep."

And that wasn't even the strangest of my experiences selling 10 foot satellite dishes. Like there was the time I sold a 10 foot satellite dish to a couple of guys in the Silver Lake area of Los Angeles who bought the satellite dish on the condition that it be painted bright pink. Actually there were three guys there but the third guy was chained half naked to the wall so I guess he didn't count. Hey, it was Silver Lake. Any other place and it would be considered criminal enslavement. In Silver Lake it was just part of the local lifestyle.

Oh and in case you think I sold only high ticket items, I also sold Jesus nightlights for 2 for a buck. But that's another story which perhaps the Coupon Whisperer will someday tell in another story entitled: "Attack of the Jesus Nightlights!"

Combat Roach Killer---$1.19!!!

It's that time of year when the cockroaches come out in force. Fortunately there is a really inexpensive way for you to get Combat Cockroach Killer in the syringe form which dispenses gel pellets that the roaches eat and ultimately kills them.

Here is how to do this deal IF you live in a Publix area: Get the Publix Yellow sheet and clip out the Combat store coupons for $3 off. Then go to the section of your Publix where they sell insecticide and take note of the "Blinkie" which dispenses coupons. Right now the Blinkies are dispensing $1 Combat product coupons. Now be sure you grab the boxes of Combat with a picture of the syringe on the front that look like the one above since it is selling for $5.19 each. Stack the two coupons together and you deduct $4 total leaving you a net cost of only $1.19 per box. A real cheap way of combating (pun intended) your roaches.

In my case, a fringe benefit of buying these boxes of Combat roach killer was meeting the BEST salesperson ever. It happened yesterday afternoon at the Coral Springs Publix on Sample Rd. near State Road 7. I had just entered the store when May the bag girl gave me a big smile and tossed a baguette of bread into my cart and chirped, "You're gonna absolutely LOVE this bread." And that is EXACTLY how great sales people make their sales. They assume the sale is done even before it ever happens. During the course of my checkered career I have sold everything from 10 foot satellite dish systems for $5000 to 50 cent Jesus nightlights and the most important thing about selling is COMPLETE CONFIDENCE in what you are selling. Assume ahead of time that the sale is done and 99% of the battle is done. Anyway, you sort of had to be there to appreciate what a pro May was at selling.

Oh, and if anybody out there wants to see a terrific movie about salesmen, then check out "Tin Men" starring Richard Dreyfus and Danny Devito. Some of the techniques used in that movie were very similar to what I used when selling the satellite dishes. Yes, they were big ticket items but for a certain stretch I was selling one or two of those dishes per day (once I even sold 3 dishes in a day) mainly because I assumed the sales were a done deal.

If you go to that Publix I mentioned, don't be too surprised if you walk out with a baguette that you originally didn't intend to buy. And does Publix know they have a top sales person in one of their stores?

Gillette Fusion Proglide Razor Cartridges---45¢ Each!!!!!

When The Coupon Whisperer last left you, there was some doubt amongst you about his special powers due to the fact that the deal for the 89¢ Gillette Fusion Proglide Power Razor involved a Ping-Pong technique in which you would need to buy a hair product that many of you have no need for. Even though I quickly came back with an UPDATE in which I informed you that no Ping-Ponging was needed since the Gillette deal was rolling. This meant you could use your Gillette Register Rewards immediately on another Gillette and another Register Reward would print out. You could repeat that deal over and over again. With the manufacturer's coupon from the May P&G insert, the total cost for the Gillette Fusion Proglide Power Razor (including the kit which contains shave gel, thermal pack, and coolant) would be only 89¢.

Unfortunately I am sure many of you missed that vital update. On top of that you might also be hit with sticker shock over the cost of the Gillette Fusion Proglide razor cartridges. They can be quite pricey, selling in a pack of 4 for $16.99. Well, I am here to REDEEM myself with the incredible news that you can get those razor cartridges for only 45¢ each!

How to do it? Simple. Just buy the Gillette Fusion Proglide Razor as pictured above. Look carefully and you will see it includes TWO cartridges. The price is the same as the previous Gillette deal I posted but this time you get TWO cartridges. Since after coupons (manufacturer's and RR) the cost is only 89¢ total that means each of the TWO cartridges that come in this pack costs only 45¢ each.

No longer will you be forced to pay buku bucks for cartridges. My advice is that you stock up on these. The Coupon Whisperer himself bought a dozen such packages today for a grand total of TWO dozen razor cartridges. Buy those at straight retail and it would cost you over a HUNDRED BUCKS instead of less than $12. A savings of more than $88.

Be careful to make sure the package reads 2 cartridges when you purchase this because the power razor has only one blade cartridge and the packaging looks almost identical.

Remember, NEVER pay full retail. That's strictly for suckers and idiots.

Ping-Pong Your Way to 89¢ Gillette Fusion Proglide Razors

UPDATE: Great News!!! There is no need to buy the Optimum Care hair relaxer to do this deal. I checked it out today and the Register Rewards on the Gillettes are rolling. Use them over and over again on getting more Gillettes.

Well, it's been at least 6 weeks since I hit Walgreens hard. Yes, a couple of weeks ago they did have Air Wick compact air freshener starter kits on sale but after you've gotten the full sized Air Wicks at Publix for FREE like I did, it was hard to get excited about the Walgreens deal. On top of that, as is typical, all the Walgreens Air Wicks were gone within a couple of days.

However, this week there is a terrific deal on the Gillette Fusion Proglide razors, perhaps the best razors out there. They are on sale (power or manual) for just $9.89 with Register Rewards yielding $5. Use the $4 Gillette coupon in the May Procter & Gamble insert and your net cost will be only 89 cents. The best way to work yourself into this deal is to first buy Optimum Care hair relaxer or coloring kit for $6.99. You can print out unlimited $2 coupons for it HERE because it is a PDF file. Your first OOP on this will be $4.99 and will yield a $5 RR. Then use that RR on the Gillette razor which in turn will yield $5 RR which you can now use on the Optimum Care hair product. PING...PONG! Just go back and forth on this. Oh, and be sure to use fillers in each deal. Candy is on special for just 49 cents this week.

However, there is one glitch in this deal as The Coupon Whisperer found out yesterday. Since Optimum Care hair products were on sale last week, the Walgreens shelves are almost all EMPTY of this product. However, the Coupon Whisperer might have found a way around this problem and will do some experimentation on this later today. So how can I get around this glitch? Hey, that is why I am called the MIGHTY Coupon Whisperer.

This past weekend I was very busy with all sorts of coupon deals. However, my favorite deal came to me unexpectedly on Saturday when I found a J.C. Penney's $10 peelie coupon on the front of a local newspaper good towards any purchase of $25 or greater. Since I really needed a new pair of shoes plus the fact the coupon was good only for that day, I entered a Penney's store for the first time in years that afternoon. I knew I had a chance of scoring big since there was a sign on the door announcing a huge sale. When I got to the shoe department I noticed all LA Gear and Avia shoes marked down from $50 to just $28. I tried on a pair of Avias and, using my $10 peelie coupon, picked it up for only $18. And I must say this is the most comfortable pair of shoes I have ever worn. A real pleasure to wear them and that price can't be beat.

So ALWAYS keep an eye out for the front of newspapers. You will often find valuable peelie coupons on them. And I notice that these coupons tend to be in the higher dollar range.

And now off to my couponing!

A Spectacular Few Weeks

Sorry for the delay in posting to The Coupon Whisperer but I've been incredibly busy for the past few weeks due to a flood of SPECTACULAR deals. During this time I have been able to restock my supply of Ken's Marinade with about 4 dozen bottles. Also I now have enough coffee to last me until well into autumn. Other items which I now have in plentiful supply include olive oil, vegetable oil, dish soap, A/C filters, and TONS of both body wash and Air Wick starter kits including the new odor detectors. Meanwhile, my refrigerator is bursting at the seams with all the stuff I bought including lots of OJ, steaks, hams, beers from Spain, Australia, and Japan as well as wine, and a plethora of other items. Best of all the price was right...namely FREE or better than FREE which means MMs.

So what is the current great deal? Well, until tomorrow, you can get Nivea body wash for either men or women for FREE at Walmart using the $3 coupons found in last Sunday's SmartSource. Since they are on sale at Walmart for $3 that means they are FREE after coupons.

On Sunday I plan to take a break from couponing and then jump right back in next week since the Bic razors are on sale at Publix BOGO which, combined with the $3 coupons makes them FREE with a small MM.

As to the latest episode of "Extreme Couponing," did you see when Missy Eby stated that she collects 5000 coupon inserts per week? As to how she gets so many, she claims she gets them from "God." Well, either from God or from a friend at the local newspaper who gives her the unused inserts.

Right now battling a bit of a cold which I am fighting with my FREE Dayquils/Nyquils. They sure come in handy when you need them. I keep them right next to my stockpile of Advils (FREE at Publix this past week plus a $1.01 MM).

Remember, anybody who is even a half decent couponer should NEVER have to pay for body wash.