At the beginning of February, my cousin and I attended this couponing class. I've heard of these women who faithfully clip coupons and save an insane amount of money doing so. My sister-in-law first introduced me to the idea, but I never really attempted it. So, Jamie and I went to the "Extreme Couponing 101" class hosted by southernsavers.com. I listened intently and left feeling very overwhelmed and a little uncertain that I could actually make this "work." Most of you reading this know me very well, so you know that I am usually very shy, a bit nervous at times and do not like confrontations. I think deep down, I didn't coupon because I was afraid the cashier would get aggravated with me or worse, tell me that I couldn't use them for some reason. So even after this class, I let about 3 more weeks slip by, doing my regular grocery shopping which consisted of going to Wal-Mart or Food Lion, spending anywhere from $90-$150 and having NOTHING to show for it. So frustrating! So finally, I told Eric, "Ok that's it. I am going to give this couponing thing a try." That next week, we picked up the state newspaper for the coupon inserts, I made out my grocery list, printed my coupons I needed to go with items I didn't have them for, and off we went to Publix. (I made Eric go with me that first time for support!) No joke, we spent an HOUR AND A HALF in the grocery store!!! I was so nervous and wanted to make sure I was buying the right things and had the right coupons for it. So by the end, the kids were getting very tired of being in the store, and rightfully so. So, we went to the checkout line, he scanned our items, and I nervously handed him my coupons, waiting for rejection. To my surprise, he was very courteous and willingly accepted my coupon wad. The final total should have been around $120 dollars. Then, he started scanning my coupons, and the price just kept falling, and my smile just kept getting bigger. Once he was done, he said, "Okay, that will be $60!" WHAT???? I just cut my bill in half?! I look over at Eric whose smile is probably bigger than mine, and he says, "Wow, I am a believer now! Great job; I love you!" We haven't looked back since.
I am getting better each trip I make out and learning more and more about it. It's been such a blessing to our family; already we've saved about $400 in a month! I am happily helping my mom and mother-in-law with it; they are so excited! Just the other day, my mom made a quick trip out, saved a ton, and called me so overjoyed! It was so fun to hear the excitement in her voice. Anyway we can save money for our families is a true blessing.
I wanted to post some of my recent trips:
Publix:
4 boxes of Kellogg's cereal (Normally $3.98 each)
2 jars of Ragu sauce (Normally $3.19 each)
2 International Delight coffee creamers (Normally $2 each)
1 loaf Pepperidge Farm Cinnamon Swirl Raisin Bread (Normally around $3)
1 3 pack Publix Paper Towels (Normally around $3.50)
My bill should have been over $30. So what did I out of pocket? $5.60!!!!
The trick is to knowing what stores will "stack" coupons, meaning they will accept a store coupon AND a manufacturer's coupon on the same item. You also should wait, if you can, until the items are on sale. For example, the Kellogg's cereal I bought was Buy 1 Get 1 Free that week, and I used coupons on top of that for extra savings. I have since then been able to get 1 pack of diapers for FREE, and 3 more packs for a few dollars each. Today, I bought 2 jumbo packs of Huggies diapers (normally 12 dollars each), 1 loaf of raisin bread, 3 boxes of Hamburger Helper, and 2 things of Right Guard deodorant. My totally out of pocket should have been around $36, and I only spent $8! And I used to think I didn't have time for this....
It's so funny to me. I never thought I'd see the day when I was clipping coupons and wishing for a minivan. HaHa, I guess it's called motherhood.
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