Hey Everybody!
Thanks, Melissa, for letting me write a little bit about my first experiences as a thrifty coupon-crazed frugalista! Today I left the Smith's parking lot with what can only be described as a pure adrenaline rush. I know. If this is all it takes for me to get an adrenaline rush, I must lead a VERY exciting life. That being said, I wanted to share with you a scenario of sorts.
I'm new to all this stuff. With the new year and all, my husband and I wanted to start keeping closer track of our finances and see if we couldn't shave off some of the unnecessary spending. I'm definitely a tight-wad, and will NEVER pay full-price for ANYTHING. I also know how to spot a great deal. However, it never really clicked in my head that if I had a coupon for an item, and that same item was on sale, the savings were automatically MORE. I never realized how fun/easy it could be to match up sale items with coupons. I also wasn't aware that some stores will take that coupon and double it to equal even MORE savings. (Mind you, I am a beginner, and haven't even entered that realm yet.)
I thought the easiest way to get started without overwhelming myself and giving up entirely was to follow Melissa's advice. Just focus on one store, and try to figure it out. Don't think you have to find EVERY sale going on at EVERY store and clip EVERY coupon. I mean, the whole plan is to SAVE money, right? Some of the best financial advice I ever heard/read was,
"Spending money on anything you don't need, no matter
how good of a sale it is, is overspending."
Well, okay. So I am beginning to believe it's a little different for grocery shopping. For example, I had a coupon for a free half-gallon of chocolate milk if I bought a regular gallon of white milk. Well, I was going to buy milk anyway. Well, that's not a good example because it was free. Um. Okay, here's one-
I don't always buy Goldfish crackers. But they are on sale at Smith's for 1.38. If you buy 10 participating items, you automatically get 5 bucks back. (Which takes 50 cents off each item.) So, if you buy goldfish as part of the "Buy 10 Save 5" deal, then the price drops down to $.88 for the bag of Goldfish.
You following me, Camera Guy?
So, here's the fun part. I found a coupon online for $.75 off one bag of Goldfish. The site will allow the coupon to be printed out twice. SO.... I printed them both. I bought two bags of Goldfish for $.13 a piece! Work it, work it!
Here's another scenario that worked well for me today. I found a coupon online for those Sobe Lifewater drinks. (Another item I don't normally have on my shoppping list, but hear me out...) The coupon was buy one, get one free, (which I learned in "coupon-eze" is BOGO.) So, they are on sale for $.99, but they are also part of the participating items in the "Buy 10 save 5" deal. So, they would be knocked down to $.49 a piece as long as I buy enough other participating items to equal ten. So... I printed two of the BOGO coupons and carried away FOUR Sobe drinks for $.98! That's less than a quarter a piece. (P.S. These great "Buy 10, Save 5" deals are limited to 3 per transaction, so you can only get 30 items at a time that qualify for the savings. I just usually plan to go twice while the sales are going on, so I can save on 60 items in all. Who would want to go to the store more than twice in the week? A braver soul than me.)
Before this turns into a novel, I just wanted to share a little more of the information I've learned about Smith's. Yes, Smith's is my beginner's choice, because I already shop there. I'm well-acqainted with the store layout and workers. (They are less likely to give me krusties when I whip out all my coupons.) So... in a nutshell.
My advice is.....
1. Find a friend who is excited about couponing. You need someone to call when you're pulling out of the parking lot who won't mind you screaming, "Guess how much I saved?????" into the phone. And they will be just as excited as you.
2. Find a good website to keep you updated on coupons, and clip the coupons you receive in the paper. If you don't, your neighbor or your parents get the paper and throw their coupons away. They will be happy to give them to you. Besides this blog, my favorite coupon website so far is thekrazycouponlady.com
She is awesome and lists the various sales at many different stores. Only problem is, she isn't local, so some of her stores don't carry the same coupon policies as our stores in New Mexico. But she has a WONDERFUL coupon database, which makes it super easy to look & see if you're missing out on any great printable coupons. So keep up with Melissa and me and we will keep you tuned in for the local stuff.
3. Just chill out. Don't freak out if you aren't getting all the savings you would like to. It takes time. I'm still learning too. But it's almost like a game. SO FUN! Make it fun!
I just wanted to share a photo of today's savings. I went to Smith's and bought a cart full of stuff. I stocked up on toilet paper and paper towels... you'll see in the photo what I got. Underneath the total on your receipt, it's cool because it shows you the savings. Mine says, "Coupon Savings- $20.73" "Fresh Values Savings- $53.03" and "Total Savings (62%) - $73.76." So instead of paying $119.64, I paid $45.88!! It's a great start, and I'm excited to keep trying to do better and better.
(Side Note- I found my favorite mascara on closeout for $4.44 and I just-so-happened to have a 2.00 coupon. So $2.44 for new mascara! Sweet!!! Also, Post Cereal was part of the "Buy 10 Save 5" deal, coming down to $1.99 a box. I had a coupon for $2.00 off ONE box, and ended up making a penny and getting a free box of cereal. RIGHTEOUS!!)
The following photo is from Monday... I didn't save as much, but I still got some smoking savings. This "batch" was $56.00. Not too shabby!! You can't see all of it in the photo, but I was able to stock up on Kleenex and T.P. here too. Cheese was a killer deal. (Philadelphia Cream Cheese came down to .99 with the buy 10 items, and I had a "save 1.00 on 4", so it brought it down to .74. Not bad!)
So there you have it. I hope I didn't bore you too much with all this blabbing. But PLEASE jump on the bandwagon and let's share information with eachother. It's a great way to get excited and have fun and SAVE MOOLAH all at the same time. Happy Couponing!! Love, Katie
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