I have been couponing for over a year now. I have really enjoyed it... I can't believe that all of these years that I never really used them much before... I missed a lot of deals by not using them. I've gotten several great deals for really cheap and even some for free. I think that the best deal that I was able to snag this week was a 4-pack and a 6-pack of toilet paper for $1.10 using a coupon on each package. I used the coupons at Walmart and Kroger. Kroger is one of favorite stores, because they have the shopper's card to help maximize your savings using your coupons. I love the fact that they double coupons as well... which helps out so much more. Yesterday, my total prior to my coupons was well over $48. I used 7 coupons and got $11.32 in manufacturer coupon savings, $3.10 in bonus coupons savings, and $16.49 in Kroger plus savings. I was able to score a 46% in total savings and only pay $38.50 for everything that we needed, plus was able to get 3 free bottles of Country Bob's sauce.
I know that some may say, that's not a lot, but considering that most of the items that I got were on sale and some were not, I had coupons for most of what was not on sale. I even used coupons on some of the sale items to make things even cheaper. When I went by Walmart yesterday afternoon, I purchased 7 items and had a coupon to go with each item that I bought. I paid only $12.18 after my coupons, and considering that Walmart doesn't double coupons... I thought that this was a nice deal, since we needed these items. I plan to start price matching when using coupons at Walmart.. to get the most out of shopping there. I most often use Food Giant, since they double coupons everyday up to $0.50 and plus... it's closer to us. I go once or twice a month to Kroger, but will certainly be trying to go more often, since they have some amazing deals on most of their items.
Since I clean a lot and need to keep plenty of cleaning products on hand, I use Fred's on Saturdays when they double coupons up to $0.70. Of course I use coupons every time I shop... I just try to plan everything according to what store has certain things on sale, so that I can group and sort my coupons to use at each store. It's especially helpful to my coupon sorting this way, because things can get really tricky really fast, when you're shopping with a 2 and 4 year old... lol I used to bring my binder with me, but since I have made a system of sorting according to store and sales ads, I just use the large binder clips and clip everything together and stick all of my lists and coupons inside a zip-up money bag.
Looking back, I think that the best shopping trip that I ever took was right before Thanksgiving 2011, my total was $85.50 and using my coupons I only paid $25.35. My husband was astonished at what all that I was able to get using coupons and watching the sales. So now, with the economy crumbling and the future of jobs uncertain, I find it more important to use coupons. I think that it is also very important to be good stewards of what we have. I've never been one who liked to waste anything..... so nothing is ever wasted around here. I once took a very nice shopping trip at Walmart last summer using remainder balances of some gift cards and lots of coupons. The total balance prior to coupons and gift cards was $65.85. The total after the gift cards and coupons were used was only $16.25. I think that was my favorite trip to Walmart, after over 20 years of shopping there.
I have been lucky enough to convince a few family members to give coupons a try and so far, they love using them. They easy to use, and don't require alot of time either. In just a few minutes, I can have what coupons I need and use clipped out of the inserts and sorted into my binder. I also print some online and in about 15-20 minutes.. tops... I have printed out what coupons I need for the items that i use the most. It doesn't take long to have those cut out either... I'd say that I spend 1-2 hrs a week total, planning, clipping, and sorting. I just work along the week on the coupons that I use... because it's hard to have 1-2 hours at one time to sit and work on anything much since the boys are into everything and tons of house work to be done each day. For me, the time that I work on coupons, is quite stress relieving. I work on them most of the time at night after the boys have gone to bed.
What I have found during my past experiences of using coupons... if you buy something that you don't normally use or need, it will in the end cost you more. I will only use coupons for things that we need or use a lot. Aside from food, I would say that laundry detergent, toilet paper, dish soap, dishwasher detergent, and cleaning products would be items that we tend to use the most of. I also only buy things that are on clearance or on sale, so that when I use coupons for those items.. I can get them for practically dirt cheap. I love that Walmart accepts coupons, but the only thing that irks me is that the receipts don't tell what your savings and percentage of savings were. I know that this may sound crazy, but I like to know what I saved so that I can make the next shopping trip that much better, by spending less.
I always have a certain amount in my head that I anticipate on spending and I usually spend way below what I had hoped to spend. Using coupons helps me with that even more. I have rarely went over the price that I had in my head, after over 20 years of shopping. I've always been a really thrifty person, but these days it pays to be thrifty.
I know that this blog has been a bit long, I'm sorry to have ranted on so, but I have found that blogging is very enjoyable and maybe one of these days.. I can get better at blogging. From what you can tell, I love to write about a wide range of topics, so most of my blog posts will be different. Hoping that someone out there will enjoy reading my blogs as much as I have enjoyed writing them. I hope to also blog about upcoming plans for homeschooling so stay tuned... lol Take care and have a great remainder of your afternoon!! Until my next blog post.. May God bless!!
No comments:
Post a Comment