With my EPI courses nearly finished, I have found myself somewhat ready to resume my grocery shopping duties.
You might remember that I have, in the past, saved a dollar or two through my creative use of coupons.
During the last six months, the Mr. has tried to pick up the slack. His mom, Coupon Queen, has sent him care packages full of coupons. The Mr. even cleaned out my coupon binder. Nearly all of my coupons had expired during my hiatus.
Everyone was eager for me to start trolling the couponing blogs again.
So, today, I did.
I checked out the sales for my local stores: Walgreens, CVS, Publix, and Target. I pulled a few coupons out of my pathetic stash and made my lists.
Chicky went with me.
My trip to CVS was somewhat fruitful, although not quite as much as in days past. I have to return in a few days to see if the razors I can get for $.50 (after coupons and ECBs) have been restocked.
Then, we headed to Publix.
We shopped and shopped, and we completely filled up our grocery cart…
Now, a few things have changed since I last seriously couponed way back in July (before I started teaching). My local Publix no longer accepts competitor coupons from Target, CVS, and Walgreens. Thus, a lot of opportunities for saving money have been done away with.
Regardless, I still managed to stock up on a few things…
I bought twelve boxes of cereal for about $.80 each…down from over $4.
Another great deal involved cake mixes…
I had a B2G1 coupon, and these babies were already on sale for B1G1.
Now, here’s where my natural couponing abilities came into play. The average shopper would have probably picked up three boxes per deal, right?
Well, the wheels in my brain started turning. Basically, for every box of mix you buy, you get one free. So, that third box…the one you’re getting free with a coupon…well, it rings up at regular price on the register. Naturally, you should pick up a second box to accompany the first one since they are B1G1. So, if you’re following me, you’re getting two extra boxes for each deal, and both are free. So, in essence you’ve only paid for two of the eight boxes.
Whew. That’s a lot of brain work, and let me tell you…my brain was tired after that deal.
My last “big” deal was on tomatoes…
These cans were B1G1, and I had $1/2 coupons. I made out like a bandit! I’ll use all of them…fairly quickly…because of the vegan diet that I’m on. A lot of my recipes call for tomatoes, so this was a great sale for me to partake of.
The rest of my groceries really aren’t picture-worthy. By the end, I only saved 49%; however, I’m not mad about it. I saved $96 — no small feat. I consider this a very good start for someone who’s been out of the game for almost a year.
I think that my year off was good for several reasons:
- I learned that I don’t have to drive myself crazy to get the absolute lowest deal. Life really does go on.
- The Mr. learned that couponing is very hard work. He always went to the store with good intentions, and almost without fail, he came home having made at least one mistake. He did learn how to combine deals and got a good pair of binoculars at Sports Authority for only a few dollars.
- Couponing makes a HUGE difference in our lives. Not only does my pantry stay stocked, but there’s more money in the checking account to pay for such bills as college expenses and band dues. Thus, I have to make more time in the future to keep up with the sales.
It feels good being back in the saddle again. I have always taken pride in my house management skills. I’ve always worked hard at my various household tasks. Today, I felt like I was slipping back into my old skin.
Yee Haw!
Filed under: Saving Money | Tagged: couponing, Saving Money | 2 Comments »
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