Well, I have always tried to be frugal and a good steward of our money and have pretty much tries to get the best sales and/or prices. It wasn't until we moved to GA and I was excited because of DOUBLE coupons, I have been doing things a little different. I have gone to ALDI's and I love it, but I also love couponning and wanted to do it, but obviously my stacks of coupons were piling up and the daunting taks of going through them was well, sometimes overwhelming. The FIRST thing I did, was to grab a box that allows for hanging folders in it. I grabbed some left over hanging folders, and took address labels and put GENERAL categories on them (like Dairy, Breakfast, Frozen, etc) I then filed the coupons under their genreal category. Also I have folders for the ads of the main stores and then a folder for coupons for those stores. I have been using Coupon Mom and The Grocery Game. The difference is that Coupon mom is Free and helps remind you to take extras to help feed the hungry. The Grocery Game, turns it into a game and helps you realize that there are cycles in sales and when they are at their lowest or free, to stockpile and build your own Grocery Store in your own home. The Grocery Game does cost but it is minimal and you can try it for the first 4 weeks for $1. This week, I was determined to get a handle on things and be a better organizer of my coupons to cut down on my time. This last week, I used both of these and planned my trips.
Here are my totals:
Kroger $119.59 MINUS 60.31 in coupons, store specials and doubled coupons, equals 61.85 after tax, which is a 50% savings.
Walgreens $62.17 MINUS $46.09 in coupons, store coupons and specials, and my total after tax was $16.08 (2.36 was tax).
Publix $45.75 MINUS $32.48 in coupons, double savings and sales, and my total after tax $13.27.
My total shopping trip totals are here:
Total amount in groceries is $228.04
Total amount in savings with stacking, coupons, doubles, sales: $138.88
My total paid between the three is $91.20
While that is all great and I am EXCITED that I saved so much money, the thing that excited me the most, was how much product I got FREE! Here is what sales and coupons will get you:
1 24 ct. Excederin
1 3 oz pkg Sunkist Tuna
13 cans of Purina One dog food
14 boxes of Crest Toothpaste
2 boxes of Quaker Oatmeal granola bars
Not only that but the toothpaste has an extra tube of travel toothpaste and floss which will be put in bags for the homeless this year that we make up. It is worth it to do this and the savings are tremendous!
4 comments:
I'm doing this too! I'm really learning a lot and saving more each week.
You did a great job!
Lisa,
Thanks alot. It is great fun. The biggest thing that has made it SO much easier is to have the file folder going. Also, I have realized that my LOCAL paper will put some of the SAME coupons in the local one. My library carries TONS of copies of these and alot of people will discard the coupons...I pick them up of course. I also have to be bold and ask for rain checks, which I have been doing. Online coupons are GREAT too!
Beth
Wow, you did well!
I wish we had coupons here! Some supermarkets ahve flyers with all their special offers on them, but mostly they are Buy One Get One Free type deals.
What a great review! Thanks for sharing. I really need to look into this more closely. I spend WAY too much money on groceries. This could really help.
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