So this is my most rewarding trip to date... I am on alot of FB groups for couponing , I mostly lurk, I participate some and love to show my hauls (however minor they are). I had heard of a coupon coming out this week for gas-x how weird to stock up on that but it is what it is .. I will spread the love ... haha... there was also a good deal on razors and I needed toilet paper (again family is brand specific so this was not an awesome deal but it worked in the end!) I went to walmart with all my gas -x q's , noxema razor 2/1 q's , and my 1/1 cottonelle. I wiped the shelves clear of gas x . To be honest I was slightly embarassed to be buying 12 packs of gas x but hey nobody blinked an eye as I passed so I guess they either a) didn't care or b) figured they ought to not bother me or I could have an acute bowel attack on them! either way I made it to the register to check out the gas x was 2.44 for each the q was 10 dollars off three so this is what they call a money maker q.... some stores give the overage back some don't walmarts policy states they do. The cashier rang up my items then the q's then she looked at the machine and said oh my god I owe YOU money ... I tried really tried not to laugh and said you haven't seen that before huh? She said gotta love when your q's pay you! Yes , yes you do ! walmart paid me 2.10 to buy my items today... not too shabby huh?
Another tid bit of info before you go into a store know their policy on q's what they take , how many a transaction and if they give overage you don't want to count on it if they don't! Also go alone! bringing the kids makes it way more time consuming and frustrating , even if shopping from a list!
I promise to stay updated on my shopping adventures now that I am caught up from the start. I hope you enjoy my blog and stick around to see where I end up!
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
Shampoo shampoo shampoo coming out my ears!
so I'll be honest I went crazy with shampoo you know I just got 2 shampoo/ 2 conditioners last week if you read my first post... well today I got 3 more shampoo/ 3 more conditioner (used same q's as first bogo's and 3/2) 4 mens bodywash (dove CVS sale 2/7 man. q for 2 off 1... total for body wash 6 dollars for 4!). also picked up an edge shave gel with only a dollar off coupon, CVS had coke 12 packs 2/9 with 2 ecbs so of course I grabbed 2 of them.
Total out of pocket 9.93 yes you read that right nine dollars and ninety three cents woohoo I am on adrenaline high at this time ... giggling the entire way home trying to call to share my story with EVERYONE... of course they didn't really care but I SAVED 62.54 or 90%
Total out of pocket 9.93 yes you read that right nine dollars and ninety three cents woohoo I am on adrenaline high at this time ... giggling the entire way home trying to call to share my story with EVERYONE... of course they didn't really care but I SAVED 62.54 or 90%
trip 3 - how to tackle the grocery store!
Today I left my littles at home! That saved me about 2 % right there!
To say I shopped only the paper or only what I have coupons for would be telling a lie. I shop 90 % percent that way but my family is pretty brand specific. So I do have to buy things that are not on sale and I have no coupon for but hey I am STILL saving money in the long run. Today my stock up was barilla pasta sauce , since all kids eat pasta and sauce right?! we go through a lot in our house so this was a no brainer for me. Shaws has barilla sauce bogo and there is a man. q for 75 (which doubles) and it is only 2.49 to start with so yeah .. 1.00 for 2 pasta sauces YES PLEASE! I also stocked up on soup (store sale bogo, coupon for .50 off one) and vitamin water store sale of buy 15 get them for .67 cents each!
This was a minor stock up for me most weeks are not like this!
Todays total savings 87.78 or 39 % my grocery store skills are improving!
To say I shopped only the paper or only what I have coupons for would be telling a lie. I shop 90 % percent that way but my family is pretty brand specific. So I do have to buy things that are not on sale and I have no coupon for but hey I am STILL saving money in the long run. Today my stock up was barilla pasta sauce , since all kids eat pasta and sauce right?! we go through a lot in our house so this was a no brainer for me. Shaws has barilla sauce bogo and there is a man. q for 75 (which doubles) and it is only 2.49 to start with so yeah .. 1.00 for 2 pasta sauces YES PLEASE! I also stocked up on soup (store sale bogo, coupon for .50 off one) and vitamin water store sale of buy 15 get them for .67 cents each!
This was a minor stock up for me most weeks are not like this!
Todays total savings 87.78 or 39 % my grocery store skills are improving!
trip 2-CVS
I made a trip for halloween candy and shampoo kinda cooky right? the halloween candy was on sale 2/5 and I had a 1.50 off coupon so made it worth picking up a few bags. NOW the big trip winner PANTENE there is a coupon out NOW buy one get one and then coupons for 3/2 or 2/2 I strongly suggest you look them up print them out or even purchase them from a clipper... I got 3 bags of candy, 2 pantene shampoo , 2 conditioners and 2 snacks for my littles ( with helpers I never save as much) for 17.36 . I saved 34.81 or 59 % .
this was the only trip I made today , I planned it out, watched the papers and then went. I only went in for what I wanted/had listed and tried not to look at the other sales. If you don't have coupons the sale usually isn't that great and you can get it for better price.
If you shop CVS make sure to put in your card when you enter to see if there is more coupons you can use and get your extra care bucks! Oh ya that reminds me if in the sale paper you see ECBS offered and its on sale and you have a coupon I say go for it the ECBs make it worth it!
this was the only trip I made today , I planned it out, watched the papers and then went. I only went in for what I wanted/had listed and tried not to look at the other sales. If you don't have coupons the sale usually isn't that great and you can get it for better price.
If you shop CVS make sure to put in your card when you enter to see if there is more coupons you can use and get your extra care bucks! Oh ya that reminds me if in the sale paper you see ECBS offered and its on sale and you have a coupon I say go for it the ECBs make it worth it!
intro and first shopping day
Ok so as promised heres a little more detail about my goal and what you can expect. I am in no way an expert. Nor do I have information on how you can make your grocery bill shrink to mere cents. What I can help you with is scoping out some awesome buys, reducing your ever growing grocery bill and maintaining your sanity at the same time. I do not nor will I ever have a garage full of toilet paper, a closet full of shampoo or drawers stuffed full of toothpaste. Although I get the idea behind a stockpile mine is limited to daily use items, mainly because my husband looks at me like I have fifty heads for suggesting a closet to store our "extras" can you imagine the look if I told him I wanted a room OR the garage! gasp , lol. So here it is the beginning for me.
My first actual coupon trip was Oct. 6 ... I made THREE, yes THREE trips to the store that day .. mainly because I couldn't believe how awesome I was doing (or so I thought ) !
The first trip was to my local grocery store, and you can guess I picked a good week to start! General Mills cereal was on sale for 1.88! ya baby!! I went in prepared I had a list , all from the sale flyer, my stack of q's (some printed some clipped) and two overtired tots... to go grocery shopping ,,aghhhh what was I thinking???? anyways we proceeded... got my stuff and headed to check out...
the q's in hand you might ask.. printed off General Mills cereal qs for lucky charms, trix, cheerios. The clipped coupon for 1 off three and they were on sale so this was a major score, this mama stocked up ! I also went back later with the same q's for a second transaction! I also had a few random q's nothing of "stock up value" but it did save me money. The one thing I need to remember is that q's double at my grocery if under 1.00! Total savings this trip 51.78 or 29%... not bad for a first trip!
Second trip : went to the same grocery store ONLY for cereal this go round I brought in all my manufacturer q's for specific cereal then the the one for 1.00 of three... I bought 3 boxes of cereal for 6.34 saved 8.04 or 56%, I feel if you save more then you spend that qualifies as excellent trip!
Third trip that day was to the pharmacy for diapers and paper towels! again I shopped the paper saw where the best deal was they happened to have it . I will save my fav. pharmacy the one in this post is CVS. I love the extra care bucks they give! coupons I had weren't that great but they had the best price so it was worth it to save a little.. saved 17.55 of 32 %
Now don't go thinking great I thought you were doing this for busy moms/dads how the heck do we get in three shopping trips?!? I am one of those addictive personality types... I saw savings and had to continue... not every day/ every trip is like this in fact I usually go days between trips.. see trip 2 for more savings and shinannigans!
My first actual coupon trip was Oct. 6 ... I made THREE, yes THREE trips to the store that day .. mainly because I couldn't believe how awesome I was doing (or so I thought ) !
The first trip was to my local grocery store, and you can guess I picked a good week to start! General Mills cereal was on sale for 1.88! ya baby!! I went in prepared I had a list , all from the sale flyer, my stack of q's (some printed some clipped) and two overtired tots... to go grocery shopping ,,aghhhh what was I thinking???? anyways we proceeded... got my stuff and headed to check out...
the q's in hand you might ask.. printed off General Mills cereal qs for lucky charms, trix, cheerios. The clipped coupon for 1 off three and they were on sale so this was a major score, this mama stocked up ! I also went back later with the same q's for a second transaction! I also had a few random q's nothing of "stock up value" but it did save me money. The one thing I need to remember is that q's double at my grocery if under 1.00! Total savings this trip 51.78 or 29%... not bad for a first trip!
Second trip : went to the same grocery store ONLY for cereal this go round I brought in all my manufacturer q's for specific cereal then the the one for 1.00 of three... I bought 3 boxes of cereal for 6.34 saved 8.04 or 56%, I feel if you save more then you spend that qualifies as excellent trip!
Third trip that day was to the pharmacy for diapers and paper towels! again I shopped the paper saw where the best deal was they happened to have it . I will save my fav. pharmacy the one in this post is CVS. I love the extra care bucks they give! coupons I had weren't that great but they had the best price so it was worth it to save a little.. saved 17.55 of 32 %
Now don't go thinking great I thought you were doing this for busy moms/dads how the heck do we get in three shopping trips?!? I am one of those addictive personality types... I saw savings and had to continue... not every day/ every trip is like this in fact I usually go days between trips.. see trip 2 for more savings and shinannigans!
Welcome
Hi! and WELCOME to my sometimes funny, sometimes emotional , always real coupon blog for moms (and dads) ! I aim to give you coupon advice for couponing when it is NOT your full time job. Do you work outside of the home? do you want to still score great deals on food and other family items? Is your aim not to have a HUGE stockpile you will never in a million years go through? well this blog is for you! I will post more of my recent scores (I am a 3 week new couponer and finally have some awesome tips and deals to share with you all!) once my kiddos are all settled for the night ... I know I know its afternoon right now however being a mom I only had a few moments to steal away on the computer... before nap and lunch :) I promise to make this exciting for you!
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