Most Back-to-School Sales are Over!

Now that school has started all over the country, most office supply stores have stopped offering good deals and steep discounts on back-to-school goods.  Since parents and teachers are now forced to buy the supplies they'd put off buying all summer, there's no need to be kind to us and offer a deal.

Office Max is the exception, as they're still running their Back-to-School for Pennies special this week.  The deals aren't incredible, but there are some good things to pick up if you're already there.  Rulers for $0.10 and 12-packs of Sharpies for $5.99 stand out the most, as do the $0.25 binders (nice, bold colors, too!).  There is also an offer for 50% off lamination for those of us who (for some strange reason!) don't have personal laminators yet.

I hope everyone has had a smooth, exciting back-to-school and promise that I will try to update more frequently.  It was a crazy week and I didn't get online much, but I'll be back with the deals in no time!

New Target Weekly Ad - 8/23 - 8/29

The new Target Weekly Ad is up, and it's not that hot for teachers this time around.  There's only one page of school supplies on sale, and the only good buy I noticed was Crayola colored pencils for 88 cents.  I'm not crazy about colored pencils (they break, the kids spend 6 years sharpening them, they're expensive on full price) but it's always good to have a few.  If I happen to be at a Target, I'll grab 4-6 of these, but I won't be loading up like a maniac and I won't be going out of my way.

That said, Target has adorable shoes for fall.

What I did for Teacher Appreciation Day

Check out what I scored for Teacher Appreciation Day!  You can't see everything in the picture, so of course I'm willing to give a breakdown of the scene (which, for the record, took forever to set up, so I hope you appreciate it!)  

*OD indicates Office Depot free gift for TA Day

*S indicates Staples free gift for TA day (I went to 2 different Staples, so I got doubles of everything)

$OD indicates that I purchased the item at Office Depot.

From left corner, moving down:

Two purple milk crates $OD

4 packs of Ricola Minis $OD

10 "Very Useful" small storage cubes w/ tops (5 packs) $OD

2 Plastic Pencil Boxes *S

5 Steno Pads *S 2 eco-friendly 2-packs / *OD 1 single

Fold Out Ruler *OD

2 Boxes of 12 pencils *S

2 Herbal Essences conditioner samples $OD (hey, they were a quarter each, I couldn't resist!!!)

2 packs 50-ct Push Pins *S

2 packs 100-ct vinyl-coated paperclips *S

Post-It Note dispenser *OD

5 packs of 3M Poster Stickies 4 packs *S / 1 pack *OD

From just left of center, heading down:

2 Staples Tote Bags *S

Sight Words Bingo $OD

Money Tray $OD

4 larger-sized (7 l) Very Useful Containers with lids (2 blue, 2 clear) $OD

5 packs of 4-ct glue sticks $OD

6 packs of 12-ct pencil top erasers technically $OD, except they were FREE.

2 Chapsticks

Center, foreground of photo:

3 packs Expo Dry Erase Markers (2 10-ct with whiteboard eraser / 1 16-ct) $OD

2 highlighters, 2 pencils, 1 pilot Varsity fountain pen, 1 Expo marker, 2 mini-mechanical pencils with squishy grip things *S highlighers and mechanical pencils w/ grippys / *OD pencils, Expo marker and Varsity Pen.

2 folders paper folder *S / plastic folder *OD

DVD-R *OD

From far right, heading down:

Office Depot Tote *OD

White Sentence Strips $OD

Multicolored Sentence Strips $OD

--------------------------

Aaaannndddd for the totals!  Drumroll please:

All Office Depot purchases cost me $79.00 out of pocket.  I got two coupons while I was there (one Register Reward and one tear-off as part of TA day) for $10 off future orders.  If I apply those savings now (as theoretical, since they function like cash-back) I spent $59.00.

Going over my Office Depot receipts, if I had bought this merchandise at full-price without my teacher's discount, I'd have spent $185!  That means that I SAVED $126!!!  If I estimate the costs of the free merchandise from both Staples and Office Depot, I probably saved closer to $150!

Future posts will detail my experiences at both Teacher Appreciation Days (and the Old Navy T-Shirt sale!) and give a little bit more information about where my biggest savings were and what the best (and worst!) parts of each day were.

Appreciate Me!

I'm off to be appreciated this morning!  Don't forget that from 9:00 - 11:00 both Staples and Office Depot are hosting their Teacher Appreciation Days!

Also, just a reminder that today is Old Navy's $3 t-shirt sale.  One day only!

Don't be lazy!  Be  cheap!  :0)

New Office Depot 8/23 - 8/30 Circular with some good deals

I'm new to the Office Depot game, largely because I don't feel compelled to trek into Manhattan from Brooklyn to shop there.  That said, there are some great deals going on at Office Depot next week that might just get my lazy self on the train... especially if I can meet up with someone to have lunch or something.  

But for those of you lucky enough to live near an Office Depot--or those who will be near one this coming week--I wanted to share the highlights from this week's sales.

First off, 10-packs of #2 pencils are $0.10!  Awesome.  While it's not 10 or 12-packs for a penny (why hasn't Staples offered that yet this August?  Is the Office Max sale for real?), it's getting late enough in the season that this deal looks good.

Pencil cases (they look sort of cute) are also on sale for $0.10.  This is a better deal than the previously posted Staples pencil cases for $0.33, but it's hard to tell from the picture what the quality is.  Worth looking into, for sure.  

Wow!  Purell is on sale for $0.25 - well worth getting a whole bunch!  I go through this stuff like crazy with my young students.  These look like travel size bottles in the picture, which is not as big a savings as if they were bigger, but travel Purell still retails at around $0.99 - $1.29, so this is still somewhere in the ballpark of 75-80% off.  

Also a quarter each are 2-packs of scissors and 24-ct crayons, though it's worth noting that these are NOT Crayola crayons.  I usually don't display brand allegiance in the face of deals.  There are three exceptions where I ALWAYS buy my brand:  ketchup (Heinz), tampons (you don't really need to know that!) and Crayola crayons/markers.  I wouldn't buy anything but Crayola because the crayons seem to break/crumble and the markers seem to dry out on every other brand.  Even if they're super cheap, it's not worth it in the long run.

Now, there ARE LIMITS on these items, and Office Depot's position is that they do not waive or extend limits for teachers, so you need to either bring people with you or be willing to make multiple transactions to get what you need.  

They also have some cool FREE items, either with instant or mail-in rebate.  Up to 5 folders and up to 3 protractors are absolutely FREE - no rebate or anything! - in store all week.  Crazy!  While you can do multiple transactions for the sales, I don't think you'll be able to get away with that on the free items.

There are also FREE mail in rebates on Sharp Calculators ($6.99 laid out, given back on a prepaid Visa) and Sharpie 5-packs ($4.49 laid out, given back on a prepaid Visa), which is sort of nifty.

If you go here you can also print a $10 off $40+ purchases coupon, but since you probably need to make 8 million transactions to get enough pencils or whatever, you may not be able to spend that much.

New Staples Weekly Ad!

Usually we have to wait until Sundays to see the new Staples Weekly Ad, but I got an alert to my inbox today about the new sale!  Woot!  I couldn't navigate to it through the mainpage (I still got the current weekly ad) but see if you can see the page by clicking the link they sent me here.  Just don't buy anything - you're logged in as me!  :-)

In case you can't see the ad, or in case you're feeling lazy on this hot-as-Hades August day, here's my brief synopsis of the best of the weekly ad.  This is not a complete listing, but they're the deals that I thought might actually be worth it.

2-Pocket Folders are finally on penny sale!  Yeah!  Usually teacher limits are 25, but that's when in-store limits are 2-5.  Since the normal person limit on these is 20, we'll probably be able to push the envelope on this one, but since I need 100, I'll still need to make multiple trips (or bring friends to help).

Staples 4-pack Dry Erase Markers are $3.99 BOGO - works out to $2 a pack or $0.50 a marker.  Pick from fine or chisel tip.

Expo Dry Erase 12-pack are on sale for $10.00, down from $15.98!  This is a good deal if you like to have assorted colors for your dry-erase boards (I know I do!) and works out to $1.20/marker.  While this is higher by over 100% than the staples Dry-Erase on sale, you may choose Expo for one of several reasons:  Expo are known to be excellent dry erase markers, while I think the Staples brand is new.  You may have a finicky white board that isn't as good with cheaper markers (I'm looking at you, LiquiMark!  You suck!).  Or you may just be into the colors.  I would suggest getting one or two Expo 12-packs (put one away until December) and then using the BOGO above to stock up on everything else you need.

Sharpie Felt-Tip Pens BOGO - $6.99 for a fine-tip 4-pack or $9.99 for the assorted colors 6-pack.  The assorted colors are good for grading (black, blue, green, purple and orange, plus a red that I'm sure you can use for something).  I am OBSESSED with these pens, and this is a really good deal.  Seriously, best. pens. Ever!

24-pack multicolored Sharpies $10.00.

36-pack Staples brand Gel Pens $10.00 (I thought Gel Pens went out in like, 1999!)

Staples Plastic Pencil Cases B1G2 $0.99 (works out to $0.33 each!)

Staples Construction Paper Ream B1G2 $4.99 (works out to $1.66 each!)

20%-50% off backpacks 

HP 4-gig Flash Drive $9.99 

And now here's a deal that might  be worth it and might not be.... I won't do it, but you might be interested, depending on how much money you're willing to lay out.

Staples is offering a BOGO after Rebate on 5-ream Typing Paper Cartons.  These retail at $24.99 each, so paying for 2 requires you to shell out $50.  Yikes!  But then you'll get a $25 instant rebate and have paid $25 - or $2.50 each ream - for the paper.  There are also coupons floating around (I haven't found any, but if I do, I'll post - I'm on it!) that are $20 off orders of $50+, which could get the layout down to $30 and the total cost down to $5.00 - or $0.50 a ream!  I'm not usually a rebate fan, and I wouldn't lay out the $50, but I would be willing to lay out $30 to get 10 reams of paper for $5.00.  I'll post if I find the coupons.

Walgreens Weekly Ad (8/19 - 8/22 - 4 days only! - 2 days left!)

We just got a Walgreens in my area and I'm already in love.  Not only do they carry all sorts of awesome stuff, there are some pretty good deals floating around in their Weekly Ad.  They also have all sorts of cash-back-at-register specials.  

Here is a (very small) copy of the front page of this week's Walgreens weekly ad.  Please note that there are a LOT of deals in this multi-page ad, but I am highlighting the ones that I think make most sense to Cheaper Teachers!

Oxford Binders - BOGO - $3.99 for two after special

Backpacks - 50% off - $4.99 each

Bic Highlighters - $0.39 for a 5-pack!  

Puf's Tissues - $0.89 each (limit 3)

Tylenol Extra Strength - BOGO - $4.49 for two after special

Papermate Pens 10-pack - $0.49 (limit 4)

Papermate Mechanical Pencils 10-Pack - $0.49 (limit 4)

Huggies Wipes - $2.79 each but check in-store Back-to-School coupon book for a $2 off coupon - $0.79 each with coupon (coupon applies to multiples, some limits apply)

Corner Office 5-pack Tab Dividers - $0.49 each (limit 4)

Diet Coke 12-can Pack - 3/$10 (we all need caffeine!  Real Coke and Sprite also work)

5-Star Notebooks - BOGO 50% off - prices vary

GE 10 Megapixel Digital Camera - $79.99 - a good deal for a digital camera if you don't already have one

Plus, if you spend $25 or more, you get a $5 instant refund taken at register.

Remember that if you're using coupons, the $25 total is before coupon discounts, so you don't really need to spend the full $25 to qualify for the discount with coupons. Sale items are counted as they ring up.

Have fun!  Let me know if you spot any more Walgreens deals that I missed! 

Also, check the weekly ad for all sorts of coupons (clippables).  There are a few good ones, but the best I saw was Kleenex Tissues - $0.99 each - limit 3 per coupon

Gift Registries - not just for Marrieds and Mommies anymore!

I'm always jealous of my friends when they do wedding or shower registries.  I want to shop for free, too!

Now I can, with www.supplyourschools.com, which is basically a donation site that works like a gift registry.  I look through their stockpiles (almost everything is really basic stuff like markers, glue, notebooks, etc) and give an expiration date (I chose June 30, 2010 so it's active all school year) and then... that's it!

I don't know if the donors know much about this site, but for the 20 minutes it took to register and create a registry, it's worth a try.  Best part is that unlike Donors Choose, Supply Our Schools will fund in part.  Like a registry, if a donor wants to buy me three notebooks--but nothing else in my hundreds of dollars registry--that's A-OK.  I'll still get my stuff.

The site is pretty low-budget so I couldn't get a good picture of their logo.  I'll update if I'm able to.

Almost Free Baby Wipes

If you're like me, your class goes through Baby Wipes like they're going out of style.  Every time we use clay, paint, the rice bin or sand table, or any other slightly-messy activity, the wipes come out.  We even have a monitor for it.

Even though they're on the supply list at the beginning of the year (and on the Christmas Refill list!), we are always low on Wipeys.  So free samples of wipes are the way to go!

 I've never heard of this company, but they apparently make baby wipes, hand sanitizer, feminine wipes, and adult tush wipes (wtf?!).  They have a section for requesting samples where you write them and send a SASE to request samples.  It's not 100% FREE because it'll cost you two stamps, but I requested adult tush wipes, baby wipes and hand sanitizer in one fell swoop.  In order to excuse the sample greed, I explained that I am a teacher who uses these types of products heavily in the classroom and that I've never encountered their product before.  I'm hoping I get a good response!  You can get their address on the website.

7th Generation makes great baby wipes, but they're pretty expensive.  They're thick, plushy and environmentally friendly, which Cheaper Teachers can't always afford to be.  While they don't appear to offer free samples, they do offer coupons on their website.  Be Careful though, because you can only print command TWICE for each coupon, so make sure your printer is connected and running before you try to print.

While I'm not a big coupon clipper, I want to be.  If you could couple these coupons with a sale on 7th Generation products at Fairway, Target or Rite Aid (they all carry them) you might get an expensive product at an OK price.

(You can also print more than 2 coupons if you use other people's computers, so get your friends to help you and stock up on savings for the year, then wait it out for a sale!)

More Wednesday Freebies to come!

A Love Song to Target

Oh, Target.  How do I love thee?  Let me count the ways:

(1)  You have all sorts of amazing cheap things for my life, home and wardrobe.  Even if I weren't a Cheaper Teacher, we'd be pals.

(2)  Your August School Supply Sales are amazing.  So far I have gotten:

(3)  10-pack wide Crayola markers for $1 each!  This may sound expensive considering that Rose Art goes for about half that on sale, but kids, let me tell you something, Rose Art markers are the WORST.  You'll pay 3X as much if you get that junk.  I got 15 packs of markers and they should last me the year.  Target is also amazing because they have no limits on how many of a sale item you can buy.  <3

(4)  24-count Crayola crayons for 25-cents.  I know I said that I got these cheaper at Staples the last few years, but Staples is holding out on me and I couldn't pass this deal.  Again, with no limits, I got crayons to last the year and then some (32 boxes, if you're wondering - they break and get lost so easily that I'd rather be safe than sorry) for $8.  A steal!

(5)  Target Dollar Bins:  This is the first place I go when I walk into a Target.  They have all sorts of amazing things for teachers.  Just last week I got:

(6)  4-packs of magnetized clips for $1.00 (that's 25 cents a clip, kids!).  While cheaper to buy clothespins for hanging charts, having magnetized clips for your whiteboard or magnetized chalkboard is magical.  They can also put charts on a clothesline in a pinch.

(7)  Happy Birthday / Super Student Certificates:  24 in a set for a dollar.  At the time I bought them I thought my class might be changing to a class of 27 (from my Special Ed 12) but I got my class back, and I've got extras for next year.

(9)  Student Name Plates:  24/$1.  Last year I got red ones with monkeys and bananas.  This year they're blue with stars.  They had all sorts of selections, all cute for different age groups.  Last year when I got these they lasted all year with a strip of clear packing tape over them.  Made of good card stock.  A teacher supply store would easily get $3-5 for a pack of 12 of these babies.

(10)  The Prize Box.  Target's dollar bin keeps me in prize box purchases all year.  They're also great for holiday and year-end gifts for your students if you do that.  My year-end gifts for the kids cost me $40 TOTAL (only a few cents over $3/kid) and were adorable - each child got a pail and shovel set ($1 each), sports bottle (50 cents each), pack of sidewalk chalk ($1 each), bath squirty, bubbles, pencils and bookmarks.  It was insane!  I plan to post lots of prize box finds as I come across them.

(11)  Tupperware!  Both for storage and for lunches!  

There are a million and one other reasons I love Target, but man, I'm tired!  More later.

What's the deal with Recession Penny Sales?

I became a teacher in 2007.  The summer before I started teaching, I found out about Penny Sales and my life was forever changed.  I stocked up!  My first summer I got rulers for either a penny or a nickel (can't remember, but I got about a million), two-packs of scissors for 5 cents, white Elmer's glue for 5 cents a bottle, the coveted paper folders for a penny each, 12-packs of pencils for a penny, individual pencil sharpeners for 5 cents, 24-packs of Crayola crayons for 15 cents, and all sorts of other good stuff.  My second summer, I got the pencils, folders, glue and sharpeners again.  I also got crayons again, but they might have spent 20 cents on them.  I got some other things that I'm not remembering, but I know for a fact that both summers I STOCKED UP.  Remember that even though there are strict limits on these deep discounts, teachers get up to 25 as their limit (instead of like, three).  You can bring friends to hold baskets and get back on line to do several transactions, or you can shop several times over the course of one day or a few days.  Some cashiers will override any limits and let teachers get away with overages (within reason) if you beg and flirt a little.

But what's going on this year?  I have been striking out at Penny Sales this year.  So many of my favored items are either not on sale at all (I'm looking at you, folders!  I get 90 of these every year so I can color code things, and there's a big difference between 90 cents and the $13.50 that they'd cost at 15 cents, which is the full price).  Other items have turned up, but at less of a discount.  These are still awesome deals for parents buying school supplies for children, but are kind of hurting my pocket.  

Here are the deals that are currently running:

STAPLES, who started the penny sales (to my knowledge) are really falling down on their deals.  There are still some good opportunities, and of course I'll take them, but I'm hoping they ratchet things up a notch in the last weeks of August.

-This week they have 25-cent marble notebooks.  This is awesome for parents, but not so good for me.  I have 12 students, so to get them each one book is $3.  My kids need 5 books (school rules) so that's $15.  If half the parents buy their kids books (which is what happened last year) I can get them all notebooks for about $7.50.  I'll do it, but last year it cost me less than half that.

-They're also offering computer/typing paper for $1, which is an AMAZING deal.  I am running out to do this tomorrow, but it's on a rebate.  Rebate limits can't be extended for teachers (not sure why) so I can only get 2 reams of paper.  I'm not sure if I can just keep getting on line, either, since Staples rebates are filed for online.  Maybe I could beg some friends to file for my rebates for me, but that feels so moochy.

-Packs of pens and hilighters are on sale for $1.  This is an OK deal but I'm going to hold off for now in the hope that they or someone else run them cheaper in the next 2 1/2 weeks.

-Other penny sale items I've gotten that have expired include 6-packs of spiral notebooks for 6 cents (I got 2 packs for 12 cents and have to figure out what to use them for, since marbles are preferable... maybe homework notebooks?) and... that's it.  I haven't seen the pencils, so maybe I missed them when I was on vacation, but those usually repeat.  Also... where are the folders?!?!?!

-Remember that Penny Sales Expire on Wednesday of the week they are listed.  New sales will still be released on Sunday.  I like to check staples.com in advance, but I often just walk in.

Office Max started running commercials about a week ago for their "back to school for pennies" sale.  Cute name.  Except that it's so hard to tell from the website what, exactly, is on the sale.  Unlike Staples, they don't seem to list the penny sale on their Weekly Ad, which is frustrating.  Because I haven't gotten to an Office Max to check out what they're offering, I can't complain as hard as I did about Staples, but I know from seeing the commercials that they weren't mentioning anything that made me want to rush out to an Office Max.  Maybe I'm biased because there is a Staples 5 minutes from my house and Office Max is a 20-30 minute train ride away.  I am going to try to get out to an Office Max this week to scope out the sale situation.  Hopefully they won't have been hit by the recession the way Staples has!

In other news, the best deals I have found so far this year have been at Target.  This post is getting unwieldy, so I'll address that in my next entry.  

Teacher Appreciation Days/Weeks/Months

Have I mentioned that I love free stuff?

The month of August means a lot of things to teachers.  We leave town.  We try to cram in as many days at the beach as possible.  We lament the end of vacation.  We start stocking up on supplies.  We maybe get together with other teachers to plan.  We start having those awful back-to-school stress dreams that all teachers seem to get in August.  

Fortunately, several retailers sweeten the dog days of August with Teacher Appreciation celebrations.  Staples is probably the most well-known, but Office Max and Office Depot seem to be getting in on the action, too.  

(1)  Staples has been doing their Teacher Appreciation Day for 6 years and this will be my 3rd Teacher Appreciation Day.  The New York date for this event is August 22 (this Saturday, kids!) starting at 9:00 am (I get there early).  Some states have had their TA Day already, but I had trouble finding out what the swag was online.  It seems there was a reusable shopping bag (so trendy!) filled with notebooks and other supplies.  For the last two years I got plastic expandable file folders, dry erase markers, sharpies, pens, a legal pad and some postits.  It's nothing major, but it's nice to be appreciated, no?

This brings me to an (embarrassing) story from when I was a brand-new teacher.  As a NYC Teaching Fellow I was due to start teaching in September and had (somehow) managed to sign up for a Staples Teacher Rewards card even though I didn't have a DOE ID yet, so I was eligible for Teacher Appreciation '07.  I woke up early and super excited, marched into the store all proud with my Rewards Card, claimed my prize and... went home.  It was a little anti-climactic, but I was so excited.  I picked up a cup of coffee and the newest Brookyn Parents newspaper and went home to bask in my new teacher glory.  August was a wonderful month that year.

(2)  Office Depot Teacher Appreciation Day is - horror of horrors! - the same day as Staples TA Day in New York!  Fortunately, Office Depot is celebrating for a full week, from 8/16 - 8/22.  All week there are 10% discounts storewide for teachers, but the cool stuff is happening on Saturday.

First of all, I love free stuff, but I love free food most of all.  The fact that on Saturday, 8/22, Office Depot is giving away free breakfast AND free giveaways for teachers puts them a notch above Staples in my book (though I'll reevaluate when I get my swag)!  The plan is for me to hit Staples right by my house (and the train station) upon opening at 9:00 and then get right on the train to go to Manhattan to be at Office Depot at 10:00.  It'll be stressful, but I don't think Office Depot will run out of materials because it sounds like they're making a day of things.  Staples, on the other hand, really just gives away a package and some discounts, so I think I'll be able to do both.  For others who need to multi-task, The Office Depot event is from 9:00 - 11:00 am.

 (3) I missed the Office Max Teacher Appreciation Day this year (did any of you get there?) on August 9th.  I didn't know they held one, or I totally would've been there... maybe.  The truth is, this deal was not that exciting to me.  All attending teachers were given a reusable Office Max tote and given 15% off of "everything you can stuff inside."  Okay, first off, I love free anything, but 15% is not that great a discount to make me rush over to Office Max, free bag or none.  I can do much better at Target or Staples Back to School sales, or even at the new Office Max Penny Sale than 15%.  While it might've been nice to get the discount on things I need for myself (does Office Max sell plan books?), this is not a stock-up event, and the giveaway was not enough to get me out of bed and onto a train.  If they were closer to my house, maybe.   

Also, I can imagine the madhouse.  I love sales, but I have trouble with big crowds of people pushing each other to get the best deals on different items.  While I like to think that the Cheaper Teachers out there who went to this event conducted themselves with dignity, I just picture the melee that seems to be attached to the "stuff this bag" discounts I've encountered.

Anyway, that's all for now.  Next post will discuss the Staples and Office Max penny sales, which are OK this year, but not really doing it for me.  Are they worth it?  I'll let you decide.