Entertainment Book - a giveaway

I like to save money, it is no secret. One tool that I have used to help me save money for several years (over 20 years to be sure!) has been the Entertainment Book. I first learned about the book when I was a kid. My parents had the book and I can remember using the coupons. It was when I went off to college and started dating that I became a first-time owner of my own Entertainment Book.

It may seem odd that a college student would own an Entertainment Book, but I got a book with my boyfriend because of all the fine dining offers. The offers in the front of the book, were BOGO offers at local fine dining locations. It allowed us to be 'fancy' in dating while still on a college budget. It was also a benefit for us when we would order pizza or go to the movie.

When I moved to Pittsburgh after college, I got an Entertainment Book for a different reason - to help me explore the area. Being new, I wasn't familiar with the local restaurants and entertainment venues (movies, bowling, sports, and more), but with the Entertainment Book, I was able to flip through by neighborhood and find places that were near to where I lived or where I was. It gave me a chance to try new things and save.

Now that I am married and have kids, we still use the Entertainment Book. There are a number of offers for local movie theaters, local mini-golf and entertainment centers, local sports teams (minor league), and zoos and museums. Since these are things that we would do anyway, it is nice to be able to save while we have fun with the kids. We still, of course, use the restaurant and the dry cleaning coupons too.

The book has gone more high-tech in recent years. Now, when you register your book online, you gain access to additional coupons through their website and now, through your phone too!

We also like giving the Entertainment Book as a gift. They are a great option for those in your life that like to try new restaurants or like to golf or like to check out the arts and culture in their community.

If you haven't checked out the Entertainment book, I highly recommend that you do. Review the discounts and deals in the book for your area. If you can find two or three offers that you know you will use and cover the cost of the book, then any other offers you use will be a good return on your investment. As an example, if you do a lot of dry cleaning, there are coupons in my book for 50% off your dry cleaning order, up to $10, each month. If I used these every month, I could save up to $120. Those coupons alone will pay for my book. If you are a golfer, or someone in your family is, there are a number of local courses that offer a free green fee with green fee, the senior rate to everyone, a free bucket of balls at the driving range, and more. Again, the savings opportunity for the golf alone will cover the cost of the book.

Giveaway!
Courtesy of Entertainment Book, I have the chance to give away to one A Busy Mom of Two reader an Entertainment Book for the community of your choice. Choose one for you or give it to a friend or family member (Christmas gift?!?)

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Giveaway will remain open through December 6th. Giveaway is open to residents of the US only. One winner will be selected through Rafflecopter. The winner will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be selected.

No compensation was received for this post. I received a complimentary Entertainment Book to facilitate my review and one to give away to a reader. All opinions expressed are entirely my own or that of my family.

Walgreens Scenarios - week of 10/31

I had good intentions of getting these posts up earlier this week, but sometimes, there just isn't enough time in a day and so it is. There are a few decent deals at Walgreens. It appears it is another chance to stock up on some medicine as we begin to head into the cold and flu season.

I was disappointed to see the $10 off Entertainment coupon in their ad this week. I had had one of those $5 off coupons from the coupon fliers a few weeks ago and purchased my book already. I would have loved to have saved another $10. My only consolation is that by having purchased my book when I did, we were able to share our extra card with friends when we went to dinner on Saturday so that they could save $14 on their meal - so, in the end, more money was actually saved by purchasing early. I'm not sure when that coupon expired, but I think it was on Sunday. If you haven't checked out the Entertainment book, I highly recommend that you do. Review the discounts and deals in the book. If you can find two or three offers that you know you will use and cover the cost of the book, then any other offers you use will be a good return on your investment. I know that locally, one of our grocery stores offers six, time-phased coupons for $5 off of $50 or more. Those coupons alone will pay for my book. I was glad to see that it is off of $50 this year, in year's past it has been off of $75, which was harder to spend on a single visit.

So, onto the scenario that I am considering:

Transaction #1
1 - Nyquil
1 - Dayquil Sinex

-$1.50 Nyquil Mfg coupon
-$4 Sinex Mfg coupon

Total $4.50, earn $5 RR.

Transaction #2
1 - Zarbees Children's Cough

Total $5.99, pay with $5 RR and $.99 OOP. Earn $5.99 RR.

Transaction #3
2 - Dove Antiperspirant
1 - Domino Confectioner Sugar (w/ in ad coupon)

-$.75 Dove mfg coupon
-$.75 Dove mfg coupon

Total $6.09, pay with $5.99 RR and $.10 OOP. Earn $2 RR.

Transaction #4
2 - Kotex feminine care products
1 - Domino Brown Sugar (w/ in ad coupon)

-$1 Kotex mfg coupon
-$1 Kotex mfg coupon

Total $5.59, pay with $2 RR and $3.59 OOP. Earn $2 RR.

Transaction #5
1 - Glade Sense and Spray Starter
1 - Trident Gum (w/ in ad coupon)

-$3 Glade Sense and Spray Starter

Total $3.68, pay with $2 RR and $1.68 OOP. Earn $1 RR.

Total OOP for the day $10.86 for $37.85 in product with $1 RR to roll, a savings of 72%. Of course, if you have two Sinex coupons, you could make the first transaction a larger money maker and reduce your OOP.

For more deals and scenarios, check out Money Saving Mom and Deal Seeking Mom.

Walgreens $5 Challenge
Transaction #1
1 - Nyquil
1 - Dayquil Sinex

-$1.50 Nyquil Mfg coupon
-$4 Sinex Mfg coupon

Total $4.50, earn $5 RR.

Transaction #2
2 - Kotex feminine care products
1 - Domino Confectioner's Sugar(w/ in ad coupon)

-$1 Kotex mfg coupon
-$1 Kotex mfg coupon

Total $5.59, pay with $5 RR and $.59 OOP. Earn $2 RR.

Total OOP $5.09 for $17.59 in product at sale price with $2 RR to roll, a savings of 74%. Of course, if you happen to have two of the Sinex coupons, then you could make the first transaction more of a money maker and reduce your OOP.

For more $5 Scenarios, check out the Walgreens $5 Challenge.