Occasionally, It Pays Off

I'm really on the fence about loyalty cards. I have them. I use them. But the benefits don't seem to be hugely apparent. I joined Best Buy's loyalty program with I bought my TV and Blu-Ray player last year. I got $5 back. Woo...hoo. I used that, in January, to buy the external storage device. I'll probably not accrue any more loyalty stuff from Best Buy unless I have to buy a major appliance.

Hallmark is another place I have a loyalty card. That does sometimes pay benefits, if I remember to bring the coupon with me when I go into the store. My Panera loyalty program gets me a dollar off on a pastry or a free beverage, on occasion. My Dunkin Donuts "Perks" card is probably the one loyalty card that nets me the most freebies.

I find, at this stage of life, I'm at CVS Pharmacy quite a bit. I haven't managed to get all my prescriptions to be filled at the same time so I can make one run. I have this one at this time and these two at that time, so I find myself in the place quite frequently. I have their loyalty card and it will give me a lot of discounts, most of which I don't need. I've talked about it before, how loyalty cards don't really inconvenience a company. You can give me $15 in coupons, but if I don't NEED batteries, even giving me a buy any size get one free coupon isn't going to entice me into the store. Sometimes, however, I can hit it just right.

Shampoo and two bottles of conditioner. I was out of conditioner and had to pick up a prescription. I also happened to have a $3.00 off on my next purchase, thanks to all the times I'm in the store to pick up medication. VO5 is 99 cents. My final bill was pocket change. The receipt has a coupon for greeting cards; buy 2 and get 1 free. I might use that. I might not. I need to look to see what's upcoming that might need a card to send.

I don't go somewhere because there is a loyalty program. In fact, I could probably weed the key fobs I don't use off the key fob on which I have them. Still, it does pay to check. Every so often, I can score a great deal.

Beverage:  English Breakfast tea

Deb

Scuffling Along

Some years ago, I bought a pair of slippers known as "scuffs" or "slides". You slide your feet into them and they have a covered front and a bottom and that's it. Easy on and easy off.  They have a nice warm upper and a sturdy sole. Those slippers have served me in very good stead, but are getting a little long in the tooth. So, I've been looking, for awhile, for a new pair. I'm picky. I found what I thought was the perfect pair, but they had a cardboard sole which wouldn't keep my feet warm if you heated it. I suppose I should not have expected much for their $5 price tag.

I put slippers on my birthday/Christmas list for a couple of years until I realized that, should someone actually buy me slippers, their idea of what I would like versus my idea of what I actually wanted were two vastly different things. It was then that I decided I should just search myself for what I wanted and not leave it up to chance.

The need to make a birthday/Christmas list meant I had to look for things. In searching a web site called fansedge.com for Iowa Hawkeyes stuff, I stumbled across these.

Using Retailmenot.com (and you are using this site or something like it when you order online, right? Right?), I got them for $11. That is worth it for slippers.

They were a bit uncomfortable on the first couple of wearings, until they conformed to my feet. Technically, there is no left or right to these, but, with repeated wear, the top molds to your feet so you wind up with a left and right pair. I know when I put them on the wrong feet.

Hello gorgeous. These have a hard plastic, non-skid sole that is covered by the black fleece. the top is light weight black fleece and the tiger hawk is embroidered directly onto the top. It's not an applique. Now that I have them broken in, they are warm, so very, very warm. Add fuzzy socks, like I did in the photo and my feet are wonderfully comfortable.

I keep the other scuffs around because their harder sole means I can wear them outside. The new ones are washable but I don't want to get them dirty or wet in going to the recycling bin or the mailbox.

Unfortunately, they didn't bring the Hawkeyes good luck as we won only 1 of the last 4 games since I got the scuffs. I would listen to non-televised games on my computer and watched the last 2 on TV. They may have been bad games, but I had warm feet.

Beverage:  Dr Pepper

Deb

Cut It By Half

Generally, once a month, I head over to CVS Pharmacy for prescription refills. Everything's on automatic refill so I don't even have to call the doctor when I'm due for her authorization. It's all handled automatically.

Lately, you might have heard about CVS agreeing to reduce the length of their receipts. If you don't have a CVS near you or you  never go there, you might not have any idea of the length of these strips of paper. Because I bought additional items when I picked up one prescription and one of the scripts fell at an odd time and could not be filled on the same day as the others, I had 3 receipts over a week's period.

Here's what typical CVS receipts look like.

That's a yard stick in there. The top and bottom receipts are 38 inches long. The middle one is 33 inches. A yard long, a whole yard. The first foot is the actual receipt. That's the part I save for medical files. The rest is coupons. The top and bottom receipts are for my medications. The middle receipt is for 2 bottles of conditioner I purchased because they were a great deal.

I understand the reason for printing the coupon on the receipt. It's immediate. The clerk looked over the just printed receipt for a coupon for hair products. No luck, but it's happened to me in the past that there is a coupon for something I'm buying printed on the medication receipt. Other than the cost of the paper and toner, it doesn't cost CVS much. I'm sure the ratio of received to redeemed coupons is very low. Indeed, I rarely use the coupons on the receipt. Sometimes, it's a simple cost factor. I know, for instance, what VO5 shampoo and conditioner cost at Dominicks. Even with a coupon at CVS, it's usually more. The purchase here was a chance encounter. Sometimes, it's because the product on the coupon is not something I'll use. Most of the time, it's because I'm getting a coupon on the 6th of September with an expiration date of the 8th. I know they are trying to get people back into the store, but that's not the way to do it. Yet, it doesn't cost them much to hand you 3 feet of receipt.

So, I went in on the 6th. I got 25% off your purchase which expired on the 8th. I had to come back for another medication which was not ready. It had to be authorized by insurance so it wouldn't be ready until the 10th. Expiring today are coupons for:  body wash, deodorant, milk, antacid, pain reliever or sleep aid, vitamins, hand and body lotion, self-tanning product, batteries, and snacks. I could also buy 3 greeting cards and get 1 free. Expiring on the 19th are coupons for nasal spray, 2 bottles of hand and body lotion, school or office supplies, and two coupons for snacks. I don't need any of this.

To me and to a lot of people, this is a hugely wasteful use of paper. I don't know of any other retail establishment with a receipt this long unless you actually buy that many items. Even when I spend $150+ at the grocery, the itemized list is not anywhere this long. Last month, CVS responded to this hew and cry by saying they will reduce their receipt length by 25%. That's still too long, in my opinion. I can recycle my receipts but not everyone can. This is a lot of bleached, waxed paper being chucked into the garbage.

Even employees, who have to stand and wait while the print spits out a yard of paper don't look happy about it. Those extra seconds add up and could be used to, oh, I don't know, actually help someone in line.

Beverage:  Dr Pepper

Deb