I’ve been meaning to write about this for a while now and just haven’t had the time...it takes a little more brain power than just telling you what we did today and by the time I actually get on the computer my brain is usually done for the day!
So my newest craze is over coupons! Yes you heard me correctly…COUPONS! Now let me just start with saying this is not your mother’s old way of cutting coupons. This is planning, strategizing, and waiting! Here is where I came from…I was a Walmart shopper, I bought everything at Walmart because that is where I, like many people thought I could get the best deals. I would only run to the local grocery store if I needed one or two things, I NEVER did my big shopping there and if I did shop there I would buy the store (Publix or Kroger) brand only because…it was always cheaper (at least that’s what I thought).
The past few months we have really been trying hard to save as much money as possible. 2009 was a very expensive year for us and we really would like some more financial stability, who wouldn’t?? So as Jarrod and I were looking over our spending I couldn’t help but just gasp at the amount we were spending on groceries and household items. There are only 3 of us in this family and one of us basically lives on Goldfish and yogurt…it can’t really be that expensive? I’ve always been very good at making my lists and not buying anything that wasn’t on my grocery list. Mondays are usually my grocery days because Bo goes to school so I’m able to go alone, makes it much easier! Sunday nights I always plan out what we are going to eat every night that week, I then make a list of what is needed for each meal, go through my pantry, mark off what I already have, and then head to the store. Still after all of this our bills were so high.
UNTIL…I became interested in coupons. Turns out my good friend, Janice was also discovering this at the same time. She came across two fabulous websites that we now turn to every day to see what good deals are out there…http://www.southernsavers.com/ and http://www.faithfulprovisions.com. Between the two Southern Savers is my favorite. It would take me days to explain it all, but to give you a quick idea of how these work…The lady who has the SS website basically does all of the leg work for you. You can search by your store name, I go to Publix and sometimes depending on the deals I’ll go to Kroger. She lists everything in the weekly ad and then tells you what coupons (some you can print online, some are in your papers such as SmartSource and Redplum, those are the booklets that usually come in your Sunday paper. Now here is what I do, I keep all of my weekly inserts from the paper, if it’s an item I know without a doubt I’m going to buy I go ahead and clip that coupon. I keep the inserts because let’s say there is a coupon for something that I would use, but only if I could get a really good deal on it, I still have it just in case I need it. Also something very important to know, our grocery and many out there will double coupons. Publix will double $.50 and under, this is great when it allows you $1.00 off of something that is on sale for $1.50!
So how do you save all this money is what many people are probably asking…every week Publix has items that go on sale as Buy One Get One Free. You do NOT have to buy two items to get the deal, instead look at this as each item is 50% off. For instance…Ragu Spaghetti Sauce, this week was Buy One Get One which made each jar $1.14 (50% off regular price), I then had a coupon for $.30 off of 1 item, which the store doubles, making it $.60…making my jar of spaghetti sauce $.54. I had two coupons so I was able to get this…
I also got this…
for $.24
AND
this…
for $.54 (total for both)
Then Kroger also had a great deal going so I got all of this…
for $7.00!!!!!
My Kroger bill should have been $83.00 and I walked out paying only $40.00! My Publix bill should have been $150.00 and I paid $96.00! Do you see the savings here!?!?
One of my favorites is from a few weeks back…Excedrin was on sale as Buy One Get One making it $2.50 each, I had a $2.00 off coupon making my Excedrin $.50!!!
Here is what I’ve learned the past few weeks in doing this…Try to save your coupons for when an item is on sale, grocery stores rotate coupons and sales about every 6-8 weeks so you know that things are going to come back around. Do not assume that the store brand is the cheapest…most times you can get a name brand item with a coupon for much cheaper. Don’t assume you have to go to the big Super Centers to get good deals. It takes a little time getting started, but once you get the hang of it, it gets easier and easier. At first I thought oh good grief I don’t have the time or patience for this, but I promise if I can do it anyone can do it. Also a big thing to point out…don’t assume that you have to buy junk to get a good deal. Granted a lot of things you find coupons for are cookies, kids cereals, sugary snacks, BUT there are also healthy items out there…I can assure you Bo isn’t fed kids sugary cereals or cookies. And don’t just buy things to be buying them. I’m not going to spend money just so I can say I saved $2.00. I will admit it takes me a little longer now to get my list together and organized but it’s worth it to be able to save! It’s also a lot of fun having a partner, like my friend Janice, we are constantly calling each other with how much we saved at the grocery or what’s on sale, good deals, etc! Hope this will help someone in save a little cash!
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