Couponing is Addicting!

Hello, my name is Shannon and I may be addicted to couponing. 

Just ask my husband, when he comes home from work I tell him about how much money I've saved. He's such a sweetheart, he's never asked me once why we need 20 Digiorno pizzas in our chest freezer, or why there are 10 boxes of cereal in our garage, or why do we have enough laundry detergent to wash 700 loads of laundry. He just nods at me and says, "That's good honey.". He's pretty awesome like that.

Here are my brag worthy purchases this week:

I saved 66% at Walgreens this week. I go on Tuesdays (15% military discount!), combined with coupons I spent a whopping $17.53. With that I purchased almonds, cereal, chex mix, nutrition bars, and toilet paper, 10 items total. 

I go to Farm Fresh on Wednesdays, they double coupons up to $1.00 that day. I usually end up with a few freebies from here, this time I ended up with 2 free boxes of Wheat Thins, a free Digiorno pizza, a free 2 liter of coke, and 2 packages of free chicken breasts.

Target was my favorite this week though. I love their "unadvertised" sales.

So the eyeshadow was discounted for 2 reasons, it was something from the holidays and one of the eyeshadows had broken. I paid $7.50 for 143 different eyeshadow colors, that is about $.05 per e.l.f. eyeshadow! I am having so much fun with this palette, it has so many great colors. It will be a while before I need eyeshadow again!

I found these hot rollers at the end of an aisle, they were the last box. Originally $34.59, on sale for $10.37. No damage at all, I guess Target is no longer carrying them though. I currently have a set of these that I use and I love them. I couldn't pass up such a great deal on a good set of rollers, I haven't decided whether to use them myself or save as a gift! 

I bought enough laundry detergent to wash 440 loads of dirty clothes and paid around $.07 per load! Target was running a deal, you would receive a $5 Target gift card if you bought 2 172 0z All laundry detergent. I had a few coupons to go along with it, here is the math: (Thanks TotallyTarget!)

2 All laundry detergent - $11.99 x 2 = $23.98
-$1/1 All laundry detergent 172 oz., Target website coupon
-$1/1 All laundry detergent 172 oz., Target mobile coupon
-$2/2 any All detergent products, coupons.com
= $19.98
-$5 Target gift card for buying 2 All laundry detergent
= $14.98 for 2, or $7.49 a piece, each bottle does 110 loads which is around .$07 per load!

This trip was my first one using the Target mobile coupons, to get them text GETCOUPONS to 827438. With the Target website coupons, I could only use one of them per transaction (even though I was allowed to print 2 coupons for the All laundry detergent, the coupons specified only one offer per guest). BUT they let me also use the Target mobile coupon which was the exact same as the coupon I printed from the Target website. So today, I went back and did this transaction again (my amazing husband let me subscribe to the Target mobile coupons on his phone, like I said he's pretty awesome). After this weekend I ended up with 4 172oz All laundry detergents, enough to wash 440 loads of laundry.

If you are interested in this whole coupon craze going on, I suggest you check out The Krazy Couponing Lady's Beginners Couponing Guide. They walk you through it all, from how to change the way you shop to how to make your own coupon binder (they have free printables!).

To get my coupons, I have one Sunday paper delivered to my house (I pay $20 for a year subscription). I also follow quite a few couponing pages on Facebook that post online coupons that I will print at the end of each day as well as weekly coupon match-ups. I probably spend an hour or two a week clipping and printing coupons, then preparing my shopping list for match-ups. 

I started out small, I just did my couponing at Walgreens, Target, Farm Fresh, and the Commissary. This week I added in Rite Aid to my list. I will head to Rite Aid on Sunday, Walgreens on Tuesday (15% military discount), Farm Fresh on Wednesday (double coupons up to $1.00), then go to the commissary and Target whenever it fits into my schedule. 

I do find that sometimes I will go to a store twice in a week. Especially if a coupon appears mid-week that makes for a great deal, or an "unadvertised" sale. This week I went to Target twice to take advantage of the laundry detergent deal.

I do not know why I didn't start couponing sooner. I used to think I couldn't eat healthy and coupon, but I've proved myself wrong. I've been able to get the items and brands I like at better prices. I've even been able to try out new stuff! 

I have a few goals with my couponing besides the monthly savings on groceries. I've decided all the gift cards I receive as part of savings deals, like the Target ones this week, I will save until Christmas to cash them all in for gifts. I use the Ibotta app, I will cash that out at Christmas too for gifts. So far, I have $30 set aside! If I could save that much each month, by December I would have $330 to use for Christmas gifts. That would make for some nice gifts for Little Miss!

I have also started couponing for baby shower gifts. I have quite a few friends that are preggers so I have started couponing for baby items like diapers, baby shampoo, & baby lotion. My goal is to collect enough items to make cute baskets full of baby must-haves!

I hope I can keep up with this all year and I can't wait to see how much I save!
 

 

Extreme Couponing?

If you follow me on Facebook, then you know I like to share deals. I was talking with a friend last week and she told us that when she goes to the commissary, she spends about $50 every two weeks by couponing. I am pretty sure my jaw dropped because I could not fathom how she feeds a family of 3 for that little. She started explaining how she coupons, she even had a small audience of other ladies asking questions. She directed us to this blog, The Krazy Coupon Lady, and told us to read the beginners guide. 

Now I have been couponing, but it hasn't been very extreme. I clip coupons from the Sunday paper and print them from the internet, but only for items (and brands) I use. Then I just made sure to use the coupons at the commissary before they expired. I would save as much as $20 a visit, but I was still spending at least $200 for my family of 3. 

Apparently I am doing it wrong. 

So I read through the beginners guide, made my binder, and printed out my shopping lists. My first stop was Walgreens. I went on Monday, I spent $24 but I saved 48%. My mind was blown. Just by using coupons on sale items, I came out with some amazing deals. And it was deals on stuff that I use! I ended up with 3 Digiorno pizzas, 2 creamers, laundry detergent, 2 18 packs of hair ties, 2 containers of almonds, 2 packages of turkey bacon, and 3 12 packs of soda.

Today I ventured out super early to Farm Fresh with my couponing jedi-master because on Wednesdays they double coupons up to $1.00. I had my grocery list of match-ups and my binder in tow. We spent about an hour there, I spent $38 and saved 44%! She did better than I did, she saved over 50%. She even shared a few of her coupons with me :)  I was pretty excited because I walked away with a few free items, I had no clue you could actually legitimately get groceries for free! 

I don't plan on becoming one of those extreme couponers. I don't have room in this rental to have a massive stockpile. I am specific on certain items I will use. For example, I will not compromise on my toilet paper or cat litter. I am brand loyal on those. Also certain cleaning supplies. But I am also having a more open mind about certain items. I still want to eat healthy, but having frozen pizzas or hamburger helper around for those nights when you get home and have like no time to make dinner. So instead of spending the money on fast food, I have options at home. 

One of the things I have learned is you have to shop at different stores to get the most out of your coupon matchups. I am lucky, I am a stay at home mother and my daughter has no problem hopping in & out of the car at 3 different stores. I have the time to shop at 2 or 3 different places in a week. All the stores are in close proximity so its not like I'm spending that much extra money on gas. I know alot of people don't have the opportunity to go to multiple stores each week. They have jobs, a busy schedule with their kids, etc. Since I am in the position to shop around, I owe it to my savings account to do it!

My plan for the money we save is......umm well, save it. We will be getting out of the military in 1 year, 3 months, and 8 days (not that I'm counting at all) and who knows where we will be. While we do have some money put away, it would be nice to keep adding to that fund. I am going to keep a spreadsheet throughout the year so I can see how much I've saved!

If you are interested in couponing, definitely check out the beginners guide over at The Krazy Coupon Lady. She has lots of tips, videos, and free downloads to make your own binder.