Save of the Week 6/25/11

Or: How I got dinner for 25 cents

Have you ever noticed those survey invitations everyone seems to be putting on their receipts these days? From what I've noticed, there are two categories of these surveys. The first of these is the "you could win!" kind. Today when I bought ink at Best Buy, my receipt screamed, "You could win a $5000 shopping spree!"  These types of surveys are bullcrap.  I never waste my time on these because the odds of winning whatever prize from a national retailer are astronomical.  (And what would I actually spend that on?  312 ink cartridges?)  The second kind are the "here's some free stuff!" category.  These are generally awesome.  Mimi's Cafe gives you a free four-pack of muffins for taking their customer survey, and Subway usually offers a free drink or cookie to survey takers.  Sometimes you can take the survey online, sometimes you have to call, and it usually takes about five minutes, but when you love free stuff like I do, five minutes of your time is a small price to pay to get something for free!

The other day, my Wendy's receipt included a coupon for a free Single with a validation code from the survey.  I was like, "Heck, yes!" because I frequent Wendy's...frequently.  So I called them up and took the survey (you can even do this at night or on a weekend to avoiding using up five cell phone minutes!).  Then they make you wait all the way until the end to give you the code to validate the coupon.  (These people are no fools.  They know I would've otherwise hung up ages ago.)  They make you touch the pound key after every answer so my phone screen looked like this by the end of it:

1#9#7#6#8#5#7#9#6#4#2#8#8#7#5#6#9#7#7#7#7#2#5#7#7#7#7#5#9#5#1#2#7#7#9#6#4#5#1#9#7#6#8#5#7#9#6#4#2#8#8#7#5#1#9#7#6#8#5#7#9#6#4#2#8#8#7#5#1#9#7#6#8#5#7#9#6#4#2#8#8#7#5#1#9#

So then the next time I needed a quick easy dinner on the go (which are about the only times I ever get fast food), I proudly redeemed my hard-earned coupon for a juicy Single, a special treat for me because I usually get the $1 double stack, which is also super-tasty, just not quite as tall.

That alone would be a satisfying and delicious end to the story, but the savings don't even end there!  Yes, there's more!  I also had my special key tag, which I had purchased for $1, that awards me free junior-sized Frostys with any purchase!  Except I used my coupon so I technically didn't buy anything.  So in a moment of true frugal genius, I asked, "How much to add cheese to my Single?"  Twenty-five cents was the reply.  So the cashier rang up my slice of cheese, and I forked over a quarter and spooned delectable bites of Frosty into my face.  I have quite a small appetite so those two Wendy's favorites were enough to totally fill me up!

Single Hamburger
Original Price: $1.99
My Price: $0

Junior Frosty
Original Price: $0.99
My Price: $0

*Splurge of the Day*
Cheese: 25 cents (It seems ridiculous, but to me that's astronomical [second use of that word in one entry] because it's only $1.99 for a whole pack of 24 slices at the grocery store!  But this was a necessary splurge for the save.)

TOTAL
Original Price: $2.98
My Price: 25 cents

OK, so I only saved $2.73, but come on, people!  Twenty-five cents for a whole meal!  Percentage-wise, that's gotta be some kinda record!

EDIT: Oops, my math is terrible.  My mom pointed out I saved waaay more than I miscalculated.  The new total is above.