Recently, about 6 weeks ago to be exact, I became couponing. My goal is not to buy anything that I will not use just for the sake of buying it, but rather my goal is to save as much money as possible on things my family and I use on a daily basis. This evening, I had one of my best "Couponing" shopping experiences. Thankfully Harris Teeter was having Super Doubles (they double all coupons up to $1.98) and there were a bunch of specials (BOGO or BOGO50%, etc.). Harris Teeter also has electronic coupons that you can clip to your store card and can use a manufacturer's coupon with. The only catch is that you are only allowed 20 coupons per transaction, which is pretty typical among all stores.
Here is the result of my shopping experience:
Without coupons and store specials, this order would have cost $95.42. Completely crazy right?!?! It doesn't look like that much stuff. But, with all my coupons, I was able to save $57.52, bringing my total to $37.90.
Here is a peak at my Coupon Binder. I want/need to get one with a zipper, but before I spent the money, I wanted to test my couponing skills and make sure that I would stick with clipping, organizing and using the coupons. I think I a hooked! 
I organize my binder by general food categories and by the way the stores are set up, so that if I see a good deal while I am shopping, I am able to find the coupon rather quickly. This last trip, I made an excel spreadsheet to keep track of everything (quantity, original price, sale price, coupon value, amount I would pay after coupon) so that I knew going in what my bill should be and sure enough, I was within $1 of what I calculated!
All I do is get the Sunday paper, clip the coupons from the inserts (Smart Source (SS), Red Plum (RP), and Proctor & Gamble (P&G)), organize them and then look at blogs that have my local stores for matchups.
It's hard to save on fresh veggies, but there are some coupons out there and the blogs are really helpful for that. In lieu of saving on veggies, I decided to grow some!
I know, I need to mow... It is on my "to do list" this week :)
I know, I need to mow... It is on my "to do list" this week :)
On Thursday night, I was able to score two free tickets to the local Cajun festival for Friday night, so Ryan and I were able to listen to some great music by Cowboy Mouth for FREE! We also had dinner on Saturday at a local sushi place and used a 20% off coupon that I got in the mail. The sashimi was melt in your mouth delicious! Today I have been making bridal luncheon invitations for my Sarah and I love them and her!!
Much love.
You are a coupon junkie like the rest of us now!! Love it
ReplyDeletehehe! Yes, I am Mel! Today gave me the bug. It took a little longer than anticipated, but now that I understand how those evics work, I am a happy girl!
ReplyDeleteI like your coupon book. Right now I have a drawer dedicated to them, but Andrew keeps getting into them. Sounds like you did great!
ReplyDeleteI use baseball card inserts to organize them. I used to have a coupon divider thing that I would use, but this method has proven to be much more effective. I also donate all expired coupons to troops overseas because they can use coupons up to 6 months after expiration.
ReplyDeleteI am in admiration! I've watched that TLC show and my jaw drops every time. I don't think my brain computes that way, LoL. The one drawback I've seen (on the show anyway) is the lack of coupons for veggies like you said. My hubby and I try to be really conscious about nutrition and we eat a lot of fresh stuff. It seems like the coupons are mostly for stuff we don't eat anyway. Maybe I'm just not looking in the right place.
ReplyDeleteI do try to take advantage of our BOGO deals on chicken etc. and just freeze what we won't use right away. I really would like to learn more about doing this though so feel free to send any tips my way!
We eat a very fresh and protien heavy diet, so a lot of the items that are purchased on that show are now for us either. I go through the Sunday paper inserts, "like" companies online or on facebook, and only buy what I will use in the next two months. There is generally a limit to the number of counpons you can use, so those shows are generally not playing by the rules. BOGO are great! I clip butter, EVOO, paperware, cleaning supplies, dog food, snacks now and then, etc. I'm not sure what region of the country you are in, but if you let me know, I can send you some blogs that help you out.
ReplyDeleteAnd recently I have been noticing lettuce and berry coupons! Pretty exciting!