Yes, I’ve said that this isn’t a deals blog, and yes, I’m posting yet another deal. No excuses other than to say that I’m making my dollars stretch as far as possible and want to help you to do the same. That said!
Toy Story and Toy Story 2 are coming out on Blu-ray this week, and they’ll make a great addition to my son’s Christmas gift box. You know I’m not going to pay the full price – $29.99 each! You know I’m going to stack coupons and sales, right?
I was excited to find $5 coupons for each movie. (The coupons are for either USA or Canada, so be sure you print the right one.) If you already have the DVD or VHS, you can get $10 off coupons!
Then I found a scenario at My Frugal Adventures laying out how buy the movies at Toys R Us for $23.99 for both movies and an extra DVD by pre-ordering.
Transaction 1: (This is the preorder)
Pay deposit for Toy Story 1 $5
Pay deposit for Toy Story 2 $5
Buy a 3rd DVD for $19.99
Subtotal: $29.99
Get $15 off instantly on a 3rd DVD for pre-ordering both movies
Get $4.99 off instantly for buying a Disney movie
Final Price: $10Transaction #2:
Buy Toy Story 1 Blu Ray at $16.99
Buy Toy Story 2 Blu Ray at $16.99 (ONLY this price if you order both 1 and 2!)
Subtotal: $33.98
Minus $10 -which is your deposit from above
Use (2) $5/1 coupons
Final Price: $13.98So your total is $23.98 for the DVD you select, Toy Story 1 and Toy Story 2!
IMPORTANT NOTE: If you have an old Toy Story VHS or DVD you can log into your Disney Movie Rewards account HERE and enter the UPC and get $10 off coupons rather than $5 off! That makes your total $13.98 instead of $23.98 for all 3 movies!! (there is a $10 off coupon for Toy Story 1 and another one for Toy Story 2)
Also I did not expect that extra $4.99 discount to come off and I did not see any signage in the store about it. I can not promise that you will get the same discount I did! So if you decide to try this deal you might pay $4.99 more than I did!!
Let’s make the deal sweeter, shall we?
I bought The Princess and the Frog DVD as the 3rd movie, using a $5 coupon. My final price on transaction #1 was $5.55, including tax, and I got a free jewelry box. I’ll sell the movie and jewelry box on E-bay. Currently, the movie alone is selling for about $12. Selling it and using the coupon will take $17.00 or so off the total price – and I got the movie for free because I pre-ordered the two Toy Story movies!
Next, get a free movie ticket to see Toy Story 3 in theaters with each purchase of a Toy Story or Toy Story 2 Blu-ray and DVD combo pack. That saves us $14.99, the cost of two tickets at Costco. A fun, free Mama-Kiddo date is in our future!
You can also hold onto your tickets and the codes inside your Blu-Ray/DVD combos to enter into Disney Movie Rewards. I haven’t signed up yet, but apparently you get free stuff for entering your movie codes.
Altogether, I’ll get two Blu-ray/DVD combos, and two movie tickets for a mere $6.98 (after selling The Princess and the Frog DVD and jewelry box.) That is more than a 90% savings off the original price!!
The movies will join a Toy Story Lego set that I bought with a coupon last week ($14.99 – the coupons are no longer available), and inexpensive Christmas gift for Peanut is in the works. I’m expecting to spend under $50 per kid this year.
I’m making him an art bag with lots of pockets – he loves bags and pockets – and a crayon and marker roll-up, using a pattern I bought for $.99 on Black Friday, sturdy orange freebie fabric that was left over from a paid sewing project in December, and some really cute rocket fabric from my stash. Adorable, right?
We do four gifts per kid each Christmas, plus one gift from Santa, a stocking, and gifts from the family. It’s more than enough every year! Peanut’s gift is already shaping up:
- Something you want (Legos and movies inside the art pouch,stocked with art supplies bought for next to nothing at Back-to-School time and a box of Toy Story Band-Aids, $.32 after coupon.)
- Something you need (To be determined)
- Something to wear (An outfit and shoes, likely a Gymboree deal later in the year)
- Something to read (Stone Soup – using Swagbucks – with seeds for next spring’s garden and possibly a little gardening kit – he loves digging and I’m sure gardening will be well received)
And Sweet Pea’s plan is similar:
- Something you want (Princess and the Frog Blu-Ray/DVD, a fairy princess dress made out of my wedding dress – I’ve mentioned her love of all things pretty, right? – more to be determined)
- Something you need (To be determined)
- Something to wear (An outfit and shoes from the last Gymboree sale – cute snowflake patterns on jeans, two long sleeve shirts, and a sweater)
- Something to read (Books using Swagbucks, titles not yet determined, but something like Do Princesses Scrape Their Knees or Paper Bag Princess or Cinder Edna, to counteract the Disney-fication of little girl toddlerhood and princess adoration.)
The Saved Quarter 