Barnes&Noble

We took the kids to Barnes & Noble today to use their Christmas gift cards and what deals we got! All of the children's Christmas/Holiday books are 50% off right now with an additional 10% off if you are a Member. We grabbed a few for book exchanges for next year.

We planned our trip carefully so that each of the kids could get as much as possible. We took this opportunity to teach them about searching for coupons, checking out the website and putting together a plan before shopping.

We found the following coupons that came in handy:

Various In-Store Printable Barnes & Noble Coupons [Exp. 01/24/10] (Members only) is for:
* $5 off $50
* $5 off One DVD with $20 Purchase
* $5 off One Music CD with $10 Purchase
* Free Tall coffee Latte with Purchase of another
* Buy One B&N Classic, Get One Free* Buy One Quamut Chart, Get One Free

We used the DVD coupon and 2 of the $5/$50 coupon. We allowed the kids to shop and then we gathered at the coffee shop to total up our purchases and plan our strategy for the checkout. Here's how we did.

1. 1 order of 1 DVD using the $5 coupon
2. 1 order totaling ~ $55 using a $5/$50 coupon
3. 1 order totaling ~ $50 using $5/$50 coupon

Total Spent: $151.71
Total Save: $29.41
Gift Cards: $82.50
OOP: $39.80
Total Savings: 19%

The kids got a real kick out of seeing how many items they were able to buy vs. how much they spent. They calculated all of the numbers when we got home and were happy with the extra time that we took to find the coupons and plan our trip. I wish I had been taught to shop smart when I was their age. I really encouage you to take some opportunities to walk your kids through this process so that they can see the value in being a savvy consumer!