AuburnChick's Adventures

Anyone who knows me personally will tell you that whenever I set my mind on something, I don’t mess around.

I devote myself to learning as much as I can about whatever that “something” is.

When the Mr. and I first got married, I was the breadwinner of the family, working my way up the clerical ladder and eventually shifting over to a technical position (computer helpdesk) in my company.

When I decided to take up knitting, I did my homework and quickly jumped into more complicated projects.

When I started writing my blog, I was one term short of finishing my college degree…after a twenty year absence from school.  I studied hard and graduated with a 3.8 GPA, graduating Magna Cum Laude.  During my return to college, I made A’s in every class.

Why am I saying all of this?  It’s certainly not to toot my own horn.

I’m telling you because when I tell people how much I’ve been saving at the grocery store, they always say, “I wish I could do that.”  I also have heard, “That seems so hard.”

Well folks, any time you learn something new, it’s certainly not easy at first.  You have to do your homework, get organized, and stay on top of things so you don’t get behind.

I know life is busy.  I often feel like I’m on a merry-go-round that is being spun by some unseen hand.

But in the end, the payoff is well worth it.

Take, for instance, my recent shopping trips.

During the last couple of days, I made a few trips to Target…

I originally posted that I paid $.78 for the above, but after checking the receipt, I see that I paid only $.37.

I recently stumbled across Attention Target Shoppers, a blog devoted primarily to Target deals.  What an amazing site!!

My “research” taught me that if a coupon says “Any Size,” you can use it on travel sized items and save mucho bucko’s.

Did you hear a bell go off in your head?

I sure did after reading that!

Then I read about a Target coupon on General Mills cereal.  It expired today, but it was for $1 off of any General Mills cereal.  This week, Target has General Mills cereal bowls on sale for $.95.

Did you notice something?  You make $.05 on every bowl!!

Cha Ching!

Then, the deal got even sweeter.

There is another Target coupon for $1 off of any 2 Market Pantry cheese products.

Folks…Target sells individual cheese sticks.  My Target has them for $.40.  The cash register does adjust the coupon when it scans, so you don’t get the overage.  Who cares!  Free is free.

Rooster was thrilled with my first purchase.  He LOVES Cinnamon Toast Crunch.

So, I decided to go back for more.  He’s a growing boy and eats constantly.  He’s so skinny that I don’t know where his food is settling.

My second purchase didn’t cost anything…

Paid NOTHING for this second trip!!

Now, being a good student also involves the skill of observation.

You have to pay attention to prices, and you need to be aware that there might be a better deal than what you read about on the internet!

After reading someone’s blog post about some unadvertised savings at Publix, I headed back over today…

Spent $6.61 and saved $25.51

While filing coupons this morning, I found another $.60/2 Dinner Kits, and we eat a lot of tacos (think cheap meals here).  We also eat a lot of rice, which was a great deal, and I love mustard and cook with honey mustard (which was free with the purchase of the regular mustard).

Publix also has All detergent (32 loads) as B1G1, and I had two $1 coupons, which made them $2 per bottle.  A steal.  Detergent is pricey (unless you make your own)!

The real deal here, though, was the candle purchase.

See, I had read that the 2oz candles were on sale for $3.19.  The All You Magazine had a $3 coupon on any Glad Fragrance Collection candle.  I also had two $2 coupons that I had printed from the internet some time ago.

When I got to the candle section, I noticed that the 4.9 oz Glade soy candles (notice that they are the bigger ones) were marked from $5.99 to $2.99.  Less money for a better candle.

Guess what I did?  I bought one candle and made a penny.  I used the other two coupons and paid only $.99 for each, saving over 80% in the process.

But folks, the story doesn’t end here.

As I was checking out, my mother-in-law called to tell me about a new coupon booklet she had just found…

Her call reminded me that I had somehow missed a lady who was passing out coupons in the store.  So, before heading out to my car, I made a beeline for her.

Guess what she had?

Yep…the above booklets.

So, I got four and headed to my car.

I sat there, talking to my mother-in-law, while flipping through the booklet.

Guess what I found?

$3 coupons on Glade candles.

There were also $1 All laundry detergent coupons in that thing!

Guess what I did?

Yep.

I went back in the store and got four more candles and two more bottles of detergent.

I spent $5.03 and saved $31.99 for a savings of 86%.

Oh yeah, Baby!

When I got home, I admired my candles…

See, I have this thing for air fresheners.  I love them!  With three dogs and two stinky teenagers in the house, we need all the help we can get!!

You know…as a college student, I never tired of making my A’s.  I knew I had worked hard for them and savored every one of them.

The same goes for the other areas of my life…knitting, shopping…whatever it is.

It’s a feeling of accomplishment…having done a good job.

I think I did good today.

Filed under: Saving Money | Tagged: couponing, glade candles, grocery shopping, publix, Saving Money | 5 Comments »