Simple Coupon Deals

When I became pregnant, I started to think about ways that I could save money, since I knew that having a baby cost a lot of money and I knew that I was going to take a 3-month maternity leave from my job with no pay. Not only did I have to start saving money for those 3-months to pay for regular bills, which included a house, two cars, insurance, utilities, phone and internet, student loans, credit cards, and groceries (not to mention, clothing and makeup!) but I had to start saving for the little baby who was growing in my belly!

My husband is a very supportive person in general, but he was getting tired of my shopping sprees and couldn’t understand why I would spend so much (on myself). I realized that I had a shopping addiction (which I still do!) and this caused me to spend in excessive amounts. Although it was a great way to distress, in the long run it made me more stressful when I would bring home bags of stuff and had no where to put them. I definitely did not want to raise a child looking like a hoarder! I wanted my baby to have her own space and like all parents, I wanted my baby to have the best of everything. Suddenly, my needs and wants shifted from “all about me” to “all about my family”.

I decided to cut costs by shopping less for myself (no more weekly trips to Sephora and Victoria’s Secret!) and finding ways to spend less overall. All of those unopened packages I had of “stuff” were returned for store credit and bags of clothing sent to consignment stores. In the process, I was feeling much better about myself. At the same time, I started to get in the habit of using the coupons that I collected (from the Sunday newspaper, mailers, magazine inserts) when I’d go shopping, instead of shelling out money, I decided to keep coupons in my purse for things that I really wanted or needed and use those at the checkout line. Prior to this, I occasionally used coupons but did not really make it a habit and sometimes I’d forget that I had them in my purse only to realize that they had expired when I’d look for them. I bought myself a $1 accordion envelope sorter and started to save my coupons in it. After a few months, I learned how to save and get baby infant formula for FREE!

So how do you get free (or almost free) baby infant formula?

Keep in mind, this is only based on my personal experiences. Your situation may differ. I hope that my experience will help you save on your baby infant formula purchases. Like many things, you will need to invest a little to get a lot. Eventually, you will be able to get it for less than the retail price. If you know you will need to buy formula for your growing baby, then you will have already need to invest at least $15-$26 for a can or tub of formula depending on which brand you purchase. For me it was combining sales, coupons and checks to get free infant formula, or nearly free, while walking away with rewards, cashback and store credit. To date, I have been able to get dozens of tubs of brand new baby infant formula for practically free or for pennies on the dollar.

Some of the stores that I shop for baby formula include: CVS, Target, and Babies R Us. These are all stores you’re probably already familiar with. To be honest with you, before I became pregnant, I never really shopped at any of these stores. I live close to Meijer, which has everything, so I often shopped there because it was convenient. However, as I started to use coupons more and more, I realized that the stores I often overlooked held a trove of savings for things that I actually needed and used!

Here is how I simply saved on buying baby infant formula, getting it for free, or for almost free. As I mentioned previously, if you are just getting started or trying to learn how to save, you will need to invest a little bit at the beginning. This is a general step-by-step and doesn’t go into full detail (you will need to do some work too!) however, I hope you will find this information useful:

1. Sign up to Receive Free Coupons & Infant Formula Checks – First, make sure you go to every available manufacturer’s website to sign up for their email newsletters, programs, or request samples. If all you find is a contact form, make sure to use it to request them too! It never hurts to ask. These are the three most popular manufacturer’s to get you started:
   • Enfamil
   • Similac
   • Gerber

   Click here to sign up and get free samples mailed to you, including free coupons, checks (redeemable for infant formula from Similac, Enfamil and Gerber) and more!

2. Sign Up for a Free Baby Registry – Sign up for the Best Baby Registry from Amazon. When you sign up for the Baby Registry, you’ll get a coupon to save on your items and a welcome gift pack (while supplies last).
   
3. Keep your Checks to Trade – Even if you don’t use a particular brand such as those listed above, it’s still a great idea to sign up for these programs to receive their checks. These checks that you will receive are high value, and so others may want or need them even if you don’t. This is when you can trade or barter the checks in return for the ones that you may actually need.
4. Follow up with Companies – After a month or so, you should start to receive a check or two from these manufacturers. If you can’t wait a month, or if you’ve waited for more than a month, find the 800 phone number and CALL THEM! Ask them to send you a sample of their formula or whatever they recommend from their line of products. Mention that you have already signed up but have not received anything. They should be able to give you a confirmation of when you will receive these items. Often times, they send them with checks and coupons for their products as well.
5. Go to the Customer Service Desk and Sign up for a Loyalty Card – If you haven’t already, go to your local drugstore, CVS, Walgreens or RiteAid, and request a loyalty card. Make sure to sign up for their emails so that you also receive their coupons in the mail. Be conscious of the sales that they have every week. Once you receive a coupon by email or by snailmail, use it, along with the checks and coupons to buy formula.
6. Repeat or “Roll” your Rewards – Many of the rewards programs from stores like CVS, RiteAid and Kroger offer store cash/credit that you can use to buy even more formula. You can either wait for a sale, or wait to receive a percentage off discount coupon to use along with your checks to buy more.
   If you know that you have to spend $27 (retail price for a tub of formula) on formula, then you should consider buying other items you need that might be on sale that week. Often times these items offer cash back, in the form of store credit that you can then spend on formula. In the end you’ll end up with more products for the price that you’ve paid!
   To help you understand this concept further, I would recommend looking at specific deals from the various stores that I have done in the past. These are the best example that I can share with you. Although these are past deals that you may no longer get right now, the concept for buying these for a low price or getting them for free is the same. The sales will always come back, and so you will still be able to get a similar deal if you use my concept. If you plan ahead, you won’t have the sudden impulse or need to run out to buy formula when you run out of it. With this concept, I have not had to run out at the very last minute to buy it because I have plenty stored on my shelf to last me several months.

Click here to see my very first deal scenario on getting free infant formula.