Showing posts with label Try It. Show all posts

Thursday, May 30, 2013

28 packs of diapers on the wall....

Went couponing yesterday....cause I am addicted like that. Here's what I scored.

You are seeing 20 packages of diapers, 20 packages of baby wipes, 8 packs of feminine napkins, 60 Big juice pouches, 7 in-wash scent boosters and 6 drink mixes.

For the average Jane, this would cost around $360 before taxes. With all my coupons, price matching and awesomeness.....it cost me around $130

Your dying to know how I did it, aren't you. Well, while I can't give away all of my secrets...I'll give you the basics.

I read, read and re-read my stores coupon policy. If there is something that I am unclear on, I email customer service and get a clear answer on it.

When I walk into my store, I have a list that contains; the items that are on sale, where they are on sale, how many I am going to get, how many coupons I have for use, the value of the coupons, the final price for each item and the final price for each group of items.

I of course, have my all of my coupons, which I have counted several times, to make sure I have exactly what I need (I count them again when I put whatever is on the coupon in my cart, and when I put those items on the counter for check-out.

When I put the items on the counter I try to go in order of my list, so that I can easily find the sale price for price matching. I pay attention to the register!! I watch to make sure that everything is going in for the right price, and that all of the coupons are scanning. I estimate my final price, so that I am sure every price match and every coupon went through.

It's really about paying attention to detail, being VERY organized, and sticking to your plan.

So for instance, the normal price on the diapers, was $9.47. I was able to price match them at $5.33 (which is awesome enough). I also had coupons for $1.50 off of one pack. This made them $3.83 each. AMAZING!!! I bought 20 and paid $76.60. Average Jane would have paid $189.40!!!

It can be done people!!! It's work and you have to be patient, but it totally pays off!!! I LOVE COUPONS......I wonder if I can get that in a bumper sticker?

Friday, May 10, 2013

Confessions of a coupon-acholic.....

Oh boy.....oh my goodness....

Yes, you guessed it. I killed it yesterday. I went to the store with a well laid plan....and came home with a TON of stuff and a huge cheesy smile!!

Check this out...

Your intrigued right? Lemme break it down for ya!

First things first, my bath tissue. I mean, can you really ever have enough?

The tissue is normally priced @ $2.44 a pack. After price matching and coupons, I paid a mere $.50 a pack. I picked up 40 packs which came out to $20. I should have paid $97.60......WOW!!

Now the cat food. Regularly priced @ $.76 a can, I should have paid $104.12 for all 137 ccans But after price matching and coupons, I paid $.06 a can for a total of $8.22......yes $8.22!!!

See those microwave meals? Those are $2.18 each. After price matching and coupons, I paid......NOTHING!!! I got all 24, a $52.32 value, absolutley free!!!

The shave cream?? That was free too!! Regular price is $1.98, times that by 20 and I SHOULD have paid about $40, but I didn't!!

Along with 7 free womens products, I purchased somewhere around $352 worth of merchandise. But I only paid (amazingly) $37 FOR ALL OF IT!!!!

So there ya have it. I am awesome and everyone wants to be me!! Okay, maybe that's a bit much. But your a lil green with envy, its okay to admit it!!!

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Coupons and food....oh yes, you can do it!!!

Yesterday, I packed up my husband, kids and hundreds of coupons and set off for the grocery store. I had my well laid-out plan at the ready too! I have to say, that while I didn't get away with another $20 for 200 purchase.....I did make out pretty well!!!

I spent right around $140 dollars on various food items and payed $64 for it all. That's still paying less than half for everything!!! I am in love with couponing. I can't lie, I am hooked and already finding it hard to pay for things without coupons. I don't care how well off you are, or think you are.....everyone can use some savings these days.

Start small, take a couple of coupons with you to grocery store WITH THE INTENT OF USING THEM, and see if you don't have a teeny tiny orgasm when you see that you saved. What you save depends on the time and effort you put into it!!

So yes, I am working on another trip already. I saw some things on sale that weren't advertised, so I want to go back like...now. Spend a little...get a lot! It just makes sense!

In other news, it has come to my attention that I have been neglecting my blog. I apologize for this, but there is a lot going on in my home right now and I have found that making time for EVERYTHING has been a little more challenging then expected. I'm working it out though! Like any new thing, couponing is taking a lot of my time. But again, like any new thing, it will get easier as I go along.

Okay, so I took some pictures of my latest conquest for you all to enjoy...or envy....whichever. Happy couponing ya'll!!

Payed just $1.87 for these

Payed $5.82 for 6...should have payed almost $12

Campbell's New Skillet Sauces Payed just $.29 for each one!
Should have been $13.86 for all of them

I had BOGO coupons for these so I payed $5.44 for 8 boxes

I LOVE these and payed $1.63 for each box, should have paid $2.50 each box.


FRUIT SNACKS! With 3 kids, I can't have enough of these. Payed just over $6 for 6 boxes when it should have been over $12!!!

Steamed Veggies....need I say more? Payed $.50 a bag!!

I have a child accessible shelf in my pantry just for the kiddies!! Here are some of my happy customers :)

Friday, April 19, 2013

Couponing??? I GOT THIS!!!

I SPANKED the whole couponing thing the other day! Oh yes, yours truly went to Walmart, purchased $200 worth of personal care items and payed...wait for it.....23 DOLLARS!!! Wanna know how I did it? Well here is what I did!

First and foremost is coupon collection. This is obviously the most important aspect of couponing. I get mine from a couple of different sources. The easiest source is online. There are LOTS of site that offer coupons. My favorite are;
coupons.com
couponmom.com
couponnetwork.com

The next source is from Sunday newspapers. Depending upon how much you plan to get, you can purchase Sunday papers which always have inserts with lots of coupons. In those your gonna find inserts from Smart Source, Red Plum and usually once a month, P&G Brand.

Another good source is friends and family. Not many people use coupons. Ask your friends and family if you can have the inserts from their papers!

Finally (though this is NOT for everyone), there is good ole fashioned dumpster diving! Now, I am not suggesting that you climb into the first trash bin you see. This is finding your local recycling center and picking through its contents in search of inserts. I have found that the best times to do this is early Monday morning (a lot of the leftovers from businesses make their way to dumpsters at this time), and anytime Tuesday or Wednesday. Make sure that you check the dates on the inserts, otherwise your just making more work for yourselves.

Okay, so now you have your coupons. My next move is to check the coupon databases. These match-up store sales with available coupons. This is an AWESOME tool for couponers, as it takes out a lot of the guess work. My favorite site for this is coupondivas.com....couponmom.com offers match-ups as well.

So now you have your coupons and you know which ones can be used at which stores for the week. Here is where things get tricky! If you know of a store that doubles the value of your coupons...that may be the spot to shop for you. Not a lot of stores in Michigan and Illinois do this though. There are a number of them in Indiana and of course throughout the nation...so you'll just have to do the research and find out which stores near you offer this. What I do, since I don't have any store that double coupons, is shop at Walmart. Walmart accepts an unlimited amount of coupons and they also price match items, including personal care and grocery items.

Here is where you make your plan. You need to figure out what is on sale, where it is on sale, if you have the coupons for it and how many you have and what your total cost is going to be. Not every sale item is going to be AWESOME or free, keep that in mind! Also, remember that if your going to do this, you cannot be product loyal. That means that if you ONLY use "ALL" laundry detergent, know that most items only go on sale a few times a year, so you may want to consider broadening your product horizons.

So that's pretty much it. This will get you to the store. Once you get there, make sure that you pay very close attention that what you put in your cart matches your coupons. Do the math as you go along too so there are no surprises at the register. Pay VERY close attention at the register! Make sure items are scanning at the correct price and that all your coupons scan for the correct value.

Whew....tough stuff huh? It pay off though. This is what I got for $23 bucks!

Here are a couple of examples of the deals I found!!

Select Tresemme shampoos and conditioners were on sale at Kroger for $2.33. These are normally priced at $4.48 at Walmart. I had coupons that offered $3 off any two. So after price matching and coupons, I payed $.83 per bottle!! Yes, that is awesome.

Select Gillette men and women shave creams were on sale at Kroger for $.99 a can. They are normally priced $1.98 at Walmart. I had coupons that offered $.55 off of any one. So after price matching and coupons, I payed only $.44 per can!!

You can do this people!!! It doesn't matter how well off you are or aren't. EVERYONE should save money if they can! Couponing takes a lot of times and energy, but it pays off in the end. Try it, see if you don't end up just as hooked as I am!

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Them R sum fancy eggs!!

Source: blog.purehome.com viaBubbaBittyMonkey.com on Pinterest

Aren't these lovely? The eggs shown are decorated with scrap fabric, but you can use anything from magazine clippings to pretty tissue paper!!! Give em a try with your bigger kids!