Just when I thought the golden age of couponing was over for good, I get a brand new entry for the Haul of Fame! That’s right – I walked into a store in 2025, got a cart full of merchandise, and then paid with two single dollars – and still got change back!!! I got 121 items total: All but one item were one cent each. The exception was a set of Easter bunny paper plates that were on 70% clearance for .30 cents – this category of seasonal item tends to completely sell out before they reduce to a penny, and this was the last set of Easter paper plates left, so I figured I’d go ahead and get it because .30 cents is a good price, and they will be cute for my bunny birthday parties. 😄 So here’s the haul:
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Note: The “original price” listed for each item below is the sum total. So if I got 4 of the same flower duffel bags that were originally $5 each, I then listed the “Original price” as $20, because that’s what you would have paid for all four before they were marked down. Most of the items had the original price on the tag, but I had to look up a few online – I couldn’t find a purchase link for these Hot Shot lighters, but Google said their average retail price is $6.99 each, so I just went with that.
1 pink flower backpack – original price: $10
1 black vinyl backpack – original price: $8
4 blue flower duffel bags – original price: $20
4 slippers – original price: $20
8 purple & white backpacks – original price: $80
35 monster pens – original price: $35
3 knit hats – original price: $15
8 wristlets – original price: $24
7 baseball hats – original price: $35
1 set of paper plates – original price: $1
1 pink glitter cat duffel bag – original price: $12.50
2 ArmorAll Complete Car Care kits – original price: $29.94
5 water bottles – original price: $15
3 clear cross body bags – original price: $24
4 lighters – original price: $27.96
2 black Cee Klein purses – original price: $25
2 pink unicorn purses – original price: $20
13 HotHands hand warmers – original price: $13
15 HotHands Super Warmers – original price: $22.50
1 keychain – original price: $1
So that’s $438.90 worth of items for $1.50!!! If you notice that long piece of paper on top of the Car Care kits in the photo of my haul, that is my extremely long receipt. It’s so long that I had to fold it in order to take a picture of it!
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When I started my shopping trip, I had a mental map of exactly where I wanted to go in the store, and I brought Jai with me because on a previous trip, I had spotted some items that were on the upcoming penny list up on a skyshelf, and I knew if they were still there, I’d need someone taller than me to reach them!😂 Indeed, it was invaluable having him there as the items I had noticed previously were in fact still up on the same shelf, along with some additional penny items I spotted on a skyshelf in a different aisle. I always think of the advice from Craz-e Coupons, who always says in her videos: “Look high, look low, look everywhere you go!”
As we first walked into the store, I swooped through the aisles picking up penny items like I was a contestant on Supermarket Sweep, putting entire cardboard display boxes full of slippers in my cart and loading it to the brim with backpacks and bags. Jai asked me how I knew these items were the right ones, and it’s because I’ve developed what Kristie’s Connections calls “Pennyvision”: I’ve now seen these items so many times during previous trips, and I watch the visual videos from creators like Kristie’s Connections and Craz-e Coupons over and over. Huge shoutout to Kristie’s Connections, who has such comprehensive visuals both in her videos and on her website here; this is my #1 resource for learning about penny items! And I also want to shoutout Craz-e Coupons, because she showed a visual for a blue dot item in this video I haven’t seen listed anywhere else, which are the kid’s water bottles that I got. I recognized them right away when I saw her video, especially since I’ve been spending so much time in the NCI section this past week, so I was able to pick these up for a penny as well.
I’m so excited about this haul – there’s so many fun things here! I’m so happy to have extra slippers, and I love the fun accessories like the sequined baseball caps! I’m also really excited about all the HotHands – I have chronic illnesses and use a heating pad religiously to make myself more comfortable, and I find these little warmers are fantastic to use while I’m out and about!
So I’ll be keeping some of these goodies for myself, and the rest will make great gifts and donations. (In case you were wondering what in the world I was going to do with 35 monster pens.😉) My BFF is a teacher, and some of these things will be perfect for her classroom. Remember the Oregon Ducks youth t-shirts I found for a penny recently? I gave her a big bag of those for the students, and apparently the school was excited to receive them; teachers spend a lot of their own money on school supplies, and are often funding food/hygiene pantries for children in the school as well. So if you also hit the blue dot jackpot today and are wondering where to donate your extras, check with your school or a teacher!
Did you go out penny shopping today?
