You Can Keep Your Crack, I’m High on Yankee…

I have learned that I have an unhealthy addition to candles.  At any given time our refrigerator may only contain mayonnaise, a jar of olives, beer, wine, margarita mix and an expired carton of milk but I always make sure that my candle closet is FULL.  ~ oh, you don’t have a candle closet at your house you say? I just assumed that everyone did. ~

I am finally, willing to admit that I am a full-blown candle hoarder. I have never met a Yankee Candle Coupon that I didn’t like.  During the holidays, I will print out the buy 2 get 2 free coupons like it’s my job until I have a minimum of 20 Large Tumblers piled up.  Once I realized that I could use the Yankee Candle coupons at Bed Bath & Beyond on their fragrances of the month (which are already 20% off) things really took a turn for the worse.  BB&B usually has 4-5 of the Christmas Holiday seasonal scents as part of their fragrance of the month so I stock up. I counted last night, and I still have 8 left over from last year’s Christmas Candle Hoard and I am already preparing for my 2014 binge.

It really doesn’t help that Shawn also seems to like the candle hoard and doesn’t seem to get too pissed when I come home with bags full of them.  In the past couple of years I have stumbled upon the candles at Bath and Body Works. These usually retail for $20 each but a few times a year they offer them 2 for $22 (this sale is presently going on NOW) and they will allow you to use your 20% off your total purchase coupons which brings the cost down to $8.80 per candle! Their smells are amazing. But unlike Yankee, Bath and Body Works tends to retire their scents too quickly. Case in point, my absolute FAVORITE of their scents is “London Calling”, a delightful mix of black tea with lemon.  I love this smell, I can’t stress that enough.  Well, true to form it has been discontinued.  So what is a girl to do? Move on and find another scent because it is only a candle for crap’s sake.  Go online and buy 10 of course!  In my defense, they were 50% off, and I had a 20% off coupon, AND they were offering free shipping on any order over $50. So really I was just being a savvy shopper.   

Which brings me to my next frugal tip:  

Heather’s Frugal Tip #2:

On black Friday, my local Bed Bath & Beyond store will let me use the Yankee Candle Buy 2 Get 2 Free Coupons in addition to their Black Friday sale coupon (if they say no I ask to speak to a manager and that usually does the trick).  PLUS, for the past few years they have also offered a special where if you purchase a specified dollar amount of Yankee Candles or a specific large jar fragrance they throw in a free small jar, usually one of the newer holiday scents.  When all is said and done, I usually score $115 worth of candles for only around $40.  This haul will include 4 large jar candles that retail for $25 each in addition to the free small jar candle. Not bad! (plus I keep them on hand for last minute gifts, because who doesn’t love a yummy candle?)

So… you may choose to over-indulge in alcohol or chocolate to get your fix (I’m not judging, trust me), I prefer my high come from melty wax with a bouquet of fresh baked cupcakes. Now I am off to Bath and Body Works to score myself some $8.80 3-wick candles.... I can already feel the release of endorphins... Aaaahhhhhh