Author Topic: Help me spend these BB+B gift cards!  (Read 7772 times)

somecobwebs

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Help me spend these BB+B gift cards!
« on: July 29, 2014, 10:00:28 PM »
My roommate and I just moved, and my family gave us some Bed Bath and Beyond gift cards. Hooray!!! Not the place we'd imagined for furnishing our apartment (she says, while sitting at the beautiful wood table she scavenged from the side of the road), but I won't turn them down.

So now the question is.... what is the most Mustachian thing to buy?

I was thinking maybe a crockpot for slow-cooked meals and yogurt-making. Roomie wants baking pans. We've been hoarding plastic tupperware but with takeout meals so rare, we could ABSOLUTELY use some glass ones for freezing extra food.

We already have a hand-me down blender, some basic pots and pans (nonstick, though), silverware....

Thoughts?

dragoncar

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Re: Help me spend these BB+B gift cards!
« Reply #1 on: July 30, 2014, 12:48:43 AM »
I don't thin BB&B is terrible if you use their always-available 20% off coupons and only get stuff you actually, you know, need.

That said, if there's nothing you actually need, or the price isn't good, you can probably sell the cards on a site (I dunno just google gift card sales) for a few percent off.

kimmarg

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Re: Help me spend these BB+B gift cards!
« Reply #2 on: July 30, 2014, 04:32:57 AM »
Definitely use those 20% off coupons.  We got a knife set there with gift cards from our wedding. it was around $200 retail.... and I have used it every day for over 5 years! Some of the stuff there is cheap quality. Spend the extra for high quality so you don't have to re-buy it later. At least if you're a huge cook like me.  Top picks for  'glad I bought it'

- FoodSaver vaccum sealer
- crockpot
- good knives
- enamal coated cast iron (Le Cruset knock off)
- Kitchen Aid mixer

FrugalZony

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Re: Help me spend these BB+B gift cards!
« Reply #3 on: July 30, 2014, 11:41:15 AM »
I would check their markdown sections and see if you find something usable

And certainly use a 20% coupon, those are available everywhere, and therefore the use is priced in already
I never ever shop there, but my friend says, they will accept their own EXPIRED coupons, she always saves them
as they have different brand exceptions, so the trick is to find one that does not exclude whichever brand you are looking for

I'd probably look for bedding and sheets in case you are already set in the kitchen department

Or try to sell on Plastic Jungle for a discount, so you can get cash

Or try to trade value for value with someone who has a GC to another place you want
A lot of folks have gc's sitting around

snshijuptr

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Re: Help me spend these BB+B gift cards!
« Reply #4 on: July 30, 2014, 12:07:50 PM »
My recommendation is to spend a couple weeks scrounging at thrift stores. Crockpots are usually available in the ones near me. Buy anything that you are not seeing at thrift stores/garage sales. Make sure you get good knives as kimmarg said and take care of them! Glass food storage is awesome, and it is worth your sanity to get a matched set that can stack into one another. Don't buy scratched teflon. Try to get stainless steel and cast iron. Once you learn to cook on them, you will never go back. So after you check all of your thrift stores, craigslist, and a couple weeks of garage sales, make a list and don't get lost in the Beyond section.

Also remember that the big BB&B stores carry toiletries. These are a really great way to spend some of your gift card and buy necessities.


TrulyStashin

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Re: Help me spend these BB+B gift cards!
« Reply #5 on: July 30, 2014, 12:11:18 PM »
Fun story about BB & B...... I was there on July 19th to buy a wedding gift.  From the bride's registry, I'd picked out a pepper grinder for $39  (ridiculous price, but whatev.  She wanted it and someone already bought her the salt grinder).

I got to the checkout with my 20% off coupon and my ONE item.  The cashier looked at me like I had wings and said "The coupon is good for your whole purchase....."   As if, SURELY, I wasn't just buying ONE item.  I said, "I know.  This is my whole purchase."   He wrung it up, shaking his head the whole time.

Angie55

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Re: Help me spend these BB+B gift cards!
« Reply #6 on: July 30, 2014, 12:14:06 PM »
The gift cards never lose value or expire. My mom gives them to me every few years or so. I usually just keep them until money is tight at the end of the month (mine carries general HBA stuff like makeup and shampoo). Or I keep them until there is something that breaks that could use replacing. Every time I say I should go and get an extra gadget just because I have the card I usually decide its not worth the drive.

Actually the last one I used it to buy a baby shower gift for a friend.

dragoncar

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Re: Help me spend these BB+B gift cards!
« Reply #7 on: July 30, 2014, 01:33:05 PM »
Fun story about BB & B...... I was there on July 19th to buy a wedding gift.  From the bride's registry, I'd picked out a pepper grinder for $39  (ridiculous price, but whatev.  She wanted it and someone already bought her the salt grinder).

I got to the checkout with my 20% off coupon and my ONE item.  The cashier looked at me like I had wings and said "The coupon is good for your whole purchase....."   As if, SURELY, I wasn't just buying ONE item.  I said, "I know.  This is my whole purchase."   He wrung it up, shaking his head the whole time.

I can't believe you wasted that coupon on a single item.  It will take them literally HOURS to send you a new one.  What will you do in the meantime?

NCGal

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Re: Help me spend these BB+B gift cards!
« Reply #8 on: July 30, 2014, 04:34:07 PM »
What about those OXO food canisters? The ones you just push at the top to open and close. They`re great for sugar, pasta, etc and last a long time. Occasionally a set may be on sale but it`s hard to find them cheap.

somecobwebs

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Re: Help me spend these BB+B gift cards!
« Reply #9 on: July 30, 2014, 11:41:59 PM »
Thank you so much, everyone!! Some very good ideas, here. I will spend some time this weekend researching other ways to get a crockpot/tupperware (craigslist and thrift stores), and if I'm not having any luck, I'll head over there. And that's excellent to know about the coupon! I got one from my mom, who had a spare. Awesome tips!

FoodSaver is an interesting thought. Is it really so much better than freezable tupperware??

Goldielocks

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Re: Help me spend these BB+B gift cards!
« Reply #10 on: July 31, 2014, 02:53:23 AM »
Thank you so much, everyone!! Some very good ideas, here. I will spend some time this weekend researching other ways to get a crockpot/tupperware (craigslist and thrift stores), and if I'm not having any luck, I'll head over there. And that's excellent to know about the coupon! I got one from my mom, who had a spare. Awesome tips!

FoodSaver is an interesting thought. Is it really so much better than freezable tupperware??

The oxo ones look awesome, and are for your dry food stuffs.  I really wanted some,too,but my MMM alarm bells were going off,and I haven't missed not having them in the past year.

Our store sells coffee (grounds). 

These items are sometimes harder to find in great condition at second hand store, or are similar quality and not much cheaper elsewhere..
Check out IKEA to compare for some of these too..

three good pots a frypan, and two great knives. 
Shower curtain that you like and towels if you don't now have them.  Garbage can, nice lamp, tea towels (second hand are OK tho). Measuring cups.
Mattress pad.  Sheet set.  New pillow?
Baking pans are usuallycheaper at the large discount  grocery stores. FYI.

snickers

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Re: Help me spend these BB+B gift cards!
« Reply #11 on: July 31, 2014, 04:28:54 AM »

Beric01

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Re: Help me spend these BB+B gift cards!
« Reply #12 on: July 31, 2014, 12:39:49 PM »
I wouldn't try to buy something you don't need. That's not very Mustachian.

Instead, sell the gift cards and invest the cash! Looks like BB&B gift cards will sell for 80% of face value - not bad, so that you don't need to buy something you don't need. Amazon and other sites should be far cheaper anyway.

somecobwebs

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Re: Help me spend these BB+B gift cards!
« Reply #13 on: August 11, 2014, 09:45:48 PM »
Thank you everyone!! After a bunch of research and shopping around, we went to BB+B today and bought:

1 crockpot (research showed that the cheaper one had WAY higher reviews!) - time to make some yogurt ourselves, yum yum! Plus now my busy roomie can help make dinner for us and it won't always fall to me :)

26 pack of stackable tupperware that is both freezer and dishwasher safe - for freezing all that extra food we make in bulk, so that on lazy nights we can eat in instead of going out!

A laundry rack - no more dryers for us!

Mixing bowls and a muffin tin - by using the 20% off coupons that we'd been hoarding at your advice, we ended up with a bunch of extra money, and were able to use it to get our missing baking supplies! Though they might be listed for less money elsewhere, it's hard to beat a price tag of "free" ;)

And we even had money left over!! Since our kitchen is now fully stocked with the essentials, we're saving the rest for later in case it turns out there is something we need frequently that we don't have.

Hooray! Thanks for your help, everyone!

geekette

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Re: Help me spend these BB+B gift cards!
« Reply #14 on: August 11, 2014, 11:18:54 PM »
FoodSaver is an interesting thought. Is it really so much better than freezable tupperware??

I can't say enough about my vacuum sealer.  NO freezer burn. 

I freeze meats in smaller portions (1/4 patties, individual chicken parts, pork chops) then slide them in a bigger bag to seal (I'll stack the patties with plastic wrap between them).  I can pull out just what I need and just seal the bag back up.  You do lose an inch or so for each seal, so plan ahead.  I also wash and reuse the bags until they're too short.

For larger pieces, you can thaw in the bag in cold water pretty quickly.

I'll freeze a casserole in the dish, run warm water over the bottom, pop it out, and freeze the whole casserole without the dish.  Then when I'm ready to use it, I can thaw in the dish and reheat.  Same with cooking a large amount of veggies.  I'll freeze them in dinner portions in small bowls, then they go in a freezer bag.

Great for fruit.  I had blueberries that were just fine after two years.  I froze them on a cookie sheet then into the bag.  Same with peaches, and because I can thaw them quickly in the bag (and there's no air), they don't brown (I do use a bit of Fruit Fresh, but I had problems with browning until I used the bag).

The mason jar attachment is great for dry goods, nuts, and even crackers, and there's no waste there.  You just need the regular canning lids and the attachment.

I'll stop now...

4alpacas

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Re: Help me spend these BB+B gift cards!
« Reply #15 on: August 12, 2014, 10:09:05 AM »
I wouldn't try to buy something you don't need. That's not very Mustachian.

Instead, sell the gift cards and invest the cash! Looks like BB&B gift cards will sell for 80% of face value - not bad, so that you don't need to buy something you don't need. Amazon and other sites should be far cheaper anyway.
+1

I've sold a few gift cards that were tossed in drawers around our apartment.  I was surprised at how easy it was and the high percentage we received back.