Best Deals on Diapers 11/28/2011

Here's a little exercise on coupon stacking, and an actual deal you can work on Pampers at CVS this week.

Coupon Stacking is combining various deals to your best advantage. Generally couponers -- extreme or not -- want to stack coupons on top of a sale price on top of another store coupon, or promotion such as Earned bucks or gift cards (GCs). These in-store promos are hot right now; I suspect retailers are hoping people will hoard the GCs and roll them together on some big holiday gift, hopefully after they misplace a few. These promos are like cash and should be used immediately, across several transactions at the same visit/check-out. Be sure to tell the teller how many transactions you have planned when you arrive at the check-out.

Coupon
______
Sale Price
______
Store Promo

I have coupons for $2 off of 2 Jumbo packs (20 -23 per pack at size 6) of Pampers which expire 11/30, so I want to use them. Now. The best price I can find is at Diapers.com, where with coupons I can get them for 39 cents a diaper.*

At CVS, they are offering a free $10 GC for a $30 purchase of listed items, limit 5 GCs this week. They advertise Pampers at 2 for $19. They even generously advertise the MCP (manufacturer's coupon) offered by P&G in this week's paper ($1/2 jumbo packs Pampers). The effective advertised price is $18/2, or $9 ea. Which was their sale price two weeks ago before my coupons (45 cents a diaper at size 6).

BUT... I have -$2/2 packs coupons from a few weeks ago, bringing the effective price to $17/2. That's $8.50 a pack.

REMEMBER... They're also offering a GC if you buy $30 worth. Or two $10 GCs if you buy $60 worth after discounts and coupons.

AND you get a pack free if you buy at least 6 (B6GO).

What's a twins' mom to do? Math!

I have to buy in even numbers to use the coupons, and I want to use coupons on all the packs.I have $2/2 coupons from the 10/30 P&G coupon insert, which is double the savings of the coupon in the 11/28 P&G.

How to work the deal
Do two identical transactions:
Scan your Bonus Card
Scan 8 bags of diapers = $ 72 minus one free = $63 (over the $30 threshold twice)
Use Four ($2/2) in coupons = $55 paid

Repeat, using the first $20 on the second transaction

Total Effective Cost for 16 packs of diapers (factoring in the $40 in rewards) $110 -40 = $70
Price per diaper at size 6 = ($70/16 packs)/20 diapers per pack = 22 cents each.
Leave with two free packs and $20 in gift cards.

You can repeat this deal three times, get 23 packs of diapers (3 free; three transactions 8 packs/8 packs/7 packs), and max out the $50 limit in gift cards. You leave with one $10 GC.

Check your total before you pay; the register failed to give the free pack on the first transactions at two different CVS's.

Is it a good deal?
This is 16 cents cheaper than Diapers.com's regular price of 38 cents a diaper (my go-to best deal with a coupon and the Take Five off loyalty price).

Doesn't sound like much?

The Twoddlers use at least 16 diapers a day. A 16-cent savings per diaper is worth $935 a year. Also note that retail these diapers are usually around $11 a pack at CVS, or 55 cents a diaper. Compared to full price, we're saving $1927 a year at 22 cents a diaper. That's about the cheapest I've found the twins' current size.

What about the advertised deal?
Well, it's almost as good. It's 25 cents a diaper if you do it the way they illustrate, have at least four $1/2 coupons, and buy 8 at once. You'll need the coupons in multiples of 4, and diapers in multiples of 8. You leave with a free pack of diapers and a $20 GC to use later, but which you'll count as part of your "winnings" now. Try the math.

If you don't like math, just buy 8 diapers with 4 coupons, and take the $20GC and one pack free for 25 cents a diaper.

Even if you don't have any coupons, this deal will get you 27 cents a diaper if you buy 8 packs, take the $20GC and one pack free.

Don't forget to nab your free pack of diapers!

If only I had 2,920 more coupons, I could get a year's supply.... nah. They'll be another deal along shortly.

I do wonder why all the diaper deals lately; I can only figure retailers are helping people stock up on absolute necessities before the hoped-for holiday splurge. I'm sure they're also hoping I won't show up again tomorrow.

But I might.


* I exclusively use the size 6-- 20 diapers a jumbo pack-- to do the math here.
Smaller sizes will be cheaper by the diaper, because the packs are bigger. But the ratio of savings remains about the same, 15 or 16 cents each.