$HAMELESS $AVINGS

I have been a faithful subscriber of the Sunday edition of the Houston Chronicle for over 5 years now... Not because of their talented writing or page turning stories, but because of the weekly coupons (and the adds, when I'm in the mood for looking at them). I have not calculated my savings over the years, but I know I have literally saved hundreds if not thousands of dollars using coupons. And I've gotten so good at using coupons that my Walmart trips have literally turned into me not putting a single thing into my car without using a coupon to go with it. With that being said, I have been able to justify the cost of paper delivery with the savings I receive by clipping and using coupons.
However, what started out as a good deal at $1 per week 5 years ago, has blossomed into a $2 per week addiction. And to be honest, I was pretty ticked at the Chronicle for inflating their prices to double the cost over only 5 years. And basically there wasn't a thing I could do about it, other than just pay more and more every time I renewed my subscription. I mean, yeah I get it, more people are opting out of the paper delivery thing, choosing to receive their news online, which makes the prices of newspapers go up. And I know, I know.... I could get those valuable coupons online as well. And I could even do the load 'em and use 'em thing that Kroger and some other stores are doing now. But it's just not the same. I like the have the tangible feeling of the snip and store method, which I blogged about a few months back.
So imagine my delight when I saw this!

$1 per week!!!!???  Happy deals dance!!

And the frown on my face when I saw this.



Not valid if used home delivery services in the past 30 days?? Oh No... I do NOT think so. While I threw myself a short pity party, in true Lauren fashion, I was thinking of a way I could get out of this little exception.  After doing some mental time math, I concluded I could cancel my current subscription (which was to be over in a month anyway), wait 30 days (according to the Groupon rules), and the renew my subscription before 7/31 (paying for it with the Groupon).
Boo Ya, I WIN!!!  YAY ME!!!
And to make matters even better, I was going to be out of town 3 out of the next 4 weeks, so I wouldn't even miss my Sunday paper anyways!
So on Thursday 7/28, just 3 days before the Groupon expired and a little more than 30 days after I had received my last Sunday paper, I  successfully renewed my subscription, using my pre-paid Groupon. And today I received my first Sunday paper at $1 per week.  
So tell me, do you have any shameless savings stories in which you worked the system to catch a deal? I sure do, and this is the first addition telling these types of stories. Can't wait to share them!

Peace, Love and Reusable Baggies,
Frugal Girl