Total charged = $186.60
Clipped coupons = $25.80
In-store specials = $66.99
Total savings = $92.79 = 50%!!!
Wow! She went to three stores again. Alone. A woman with a mission. She browsed the circulars for the best deals, and then added her clipped coupons on top of that. There were a lot of things buy-one-get-one-free this week. I am seriously impressed with my girl!
Showing posts with label Budget Buster. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Budget Buster. Show all posts
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Good girl
She went to three grocery stores, getting from each what she had seen the best prices on in the circulars. Clipped many many coupons. Total charges, $157.86, total paid $111.36, total savings $46.50 (29%).
I think the trick is shopping without the children. She did all of this plus a stop at Kohl's for a few things (with, of course, another coupon in hand), in about 2 1/2 hours. Let me tell you, she has come a long way. When we first married, she was a brand name only girl. Grabbed whatever looked good, didn't even look at price tags. She was never wasteful, really, but she wasn't exactly frugal. Today, there was a gleam in her eye...
I think the trick is shopping without the children. She did all of this plus a stop at Kohl's for a few things (with, of course, another coupon in hand), in about 2 1/2 hours. Let me tell you, she has come a long way. When we first married, she was a brand name only girl. Grabbed whatever looked good, didn't even look at price tags. She was never wasteful, really, but she wasn't exactly frugal. Today, there was a gleam in her eye...
Monday, May 19, 2008
Another Coupon Installment
A co-worker of Daddio mentioned that the Spanish Paper has great coupon deals... and those come out on Saturdays (and they're free I think). She's been kind enough to pass on her unused coupons for my savings box!
This past week my overall savings percentage dropped slightly, but my actual coupon savings jumped up!
MFG Coupons: $22.74
Plus Card Savings: $14.75
Total Savings: $37.49
Percentage Saved: 22%
I've also had to upgrade my coupon organization system... at the moment I've moved up to a 3"x5" card file with MANY little dividers, instead a 12 pocket coupon holder. I already can see myself wanting a wider box (4x5) or something since many of them have to be folded, but for now (and since I already had one that wasn't being used for anything) I'm happy with it! Plus I love making my own little dividers (and as many as I want) so that, for me, things are easy to find and file.
This past week my overall savings percentage dropped slightly, but my actual coupon savings jumped up!
MFG Coupons: $22.74
Plus Card Savings: $14.75
Total Savings: $37.49
Percentage Saved: 22%
I've also had to upgrade my coupon organization system... at the moment I've moved up to a 3"x5" card file with MANY little dividers, instead a 12 pocket coupon holder. I already can see myself wanting a wider box (4x5) or something since many of them have to be folded, but for now (and since I already had one that wasn't being used for anything) I'm happy with it! Plus I love making my own little dividers (and as many as I want) so that, for me, things are easy to find and file.
Monday, May 5, 2008
Coupon Groove
Okay... I'm starting to feel like I'm hitting somewhat of a coupon groove. I found a store that accepts online coupons!!!! YIPPEEEEE!!!! I've mostly figured out how to plan according to the weekly circulars... it took a while to go off of what was on sale, not what I thought I might be hungry for in the coming week. And overall Friday's shopping went much smoother than the previous week, and saw the biggest percentage of overall savings!
MFG Coupons: $11.50
Plus Card Savings: $27.07
Total Savings: $38.57 (26% savings on total)
Here's a new source of coupons I found... you do have register and get some annoying emails (which I automatically send to 'JUNK'...), but the coupons are pretty good!
http://www.eatbetteramerica.com/coupons/
MFG Coupons: $11.50
Plus Card Savings: $27.07
Total Savings: $38.57 (26% savings on total)
Here's a new source of coupons I found... you do have register and get some annoying emails (which I automatically send to 'JUNK'...), but the coupons are pretty good!
http://www.eatbetteramerica.com/coupons/
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Couponage...
I think this topic will kind of be an on going discussion here... where I discuss, and hopefully you guys will help me :-).
Online coupons are cool! Except when one of the stores in our area (we only have two with in a decent driving distance) won't accept online coupons. That is one of the reasons I'm navigating the newspaper coupon world! All this double/triple coupon talk is also interesting... but there again it isn't quite what it seems. For those few who are also testing the coupon waters and are looking for direction (I don't have much, but what I've found I will share), here are some websites that I've found or been told about.
Online Coupons (these are ones that I've been pretty happy with and don't receive a ton of junk mail from... side note most of the junk can be avoided if you watch the sign up process and uncheck stuff):
Eversave
Smart Source
Helpful Websites (claiming they can teach you to be an expert couponer, results yet to be seen in the Llama Land)
The Coupon Mom - Free (this is where I learned about the circulars in my area, and she has free E-books with advice)
The Grocery Game - Not Free (She does tons of reseach, there's a nominal fee that I'm not quite ready to commit to)
Biblical Womanhood - E-books (She even offers online courses for better coupon usage)
Online coupons are cool! Except when one of the stores in our area (we only have two with in a decent driving distance) won't accept online coupons. That is one of the reasons I'm navigating the newspaper coupon world! All this double/triple coupon talk is also interesting... but there again it isn't quite what it seems. For those few who are also testing the coupon waters and are looking for direction (I don't have much, but what I've found I will share), here are some websites that I've found or been told about.
Online Coupons (these are ones that I've been pretty happy with and don't receive a ton of junk mail from... side note most of the junk can be avoided if you watch the sign up process and uncheck stuff):
Eversave
Smart Source
Helpful Websites (claiming they can teach you to be an expert couponer, results yet to be seen in the Llama Land)
The Coupon Mom - Free (this is where I learned about the circulars in my area, and she has free E-books with advice)
The Grocery Game - Not Free (She does tons of reseach, there's a nominal fee that I'm not quite ready to commit to)
Biblical Womanhood - E-books (She even offers online courses for better coupon usage)
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Llama Clipper Hands
I've recently tried immersing myself into the world of coupons! Why? Well, my budget for weekly groceries is getting blown (big time) every shopping trip and the bleeding out must stop.
Three years ago I was able to get my cash out before entering the store, and when the dust settled I either had a few dollars left to grab some fries for the kids on the way home (or more depending on how well we did)... or grab a few extra coins from my change purse, no big deal. Now I'm never quite sure where the bottom line will be and have had to rely exclusively on my debt card, and there is NEVER money left over... more often than not I look at the total and think I probably consider auctioning off one of my organs!
So now what? Coupons. This is harder than it seems... at least to me. For the most part what I buy, I've worked to find the lowest price already... now I have coupons for different brands, and that takes time to stand at the product and decide if what I usually buy is still cheap (unit price) or if the coupon makes the other item a better deal.
For example, last Friday
-I had $16 worth of coupons
-I had scoured the circular for that store, and had planned my meals accordingly
Savings Summary:
MFG coupons - $5.35
Store Coupons - $6.10 ($5.00 off more than $50.00 in groceries, and then a few others picked up in the isles)
In Store Sales - $37.03
Total Savings - $48.48
(Sadly still way over budget, but working it down)
What have I learned... lots of clipping, but that doesn't always mean savings (for that trip). But I did save, more than justified the cost of a Sunday paper that we usually NEVER buy. Plus I still have several coupons in my in my stash for later purchases.
I want to get better about coupons... some many people out there have figured it out, I want to be one of those people (you know the ones, they hold up the line as they hand over the coupons... except I tend to be quite organized and shouldn't cause too much of a delay), I WANT BIG SAVINGS... so are you one of those people who know how to save at the store... HOW? Teach me! Give me advice!
Three years ago I was able to get my cash out before entering the store, and when the dust settled I either had a few dollars left to grab some fries for the kids on the way home (or more depending on how well we did)... or grab a few extra coins from my change purse, no big deal. Now I'm never quite sure where the bottom line will be and have had to rely exclusively on my debt card, and there is NEVER money left over... more often than not I look at the total and think I probably consider auctioning off one of my organs!
So now what? Coupons. This is harder than it seems... at least to me. For the most part what I buy, I've worked to find the lowest price already... now I have coupons for different brands, and that takes time to stand at the product and decide if what I usually buy is still cheap (unit price) or if the coupon makes the other item a better deal.
For example, last Friday
-I had $16 worth of coupons
-I had scoured the circular for that store, and had planned my meals accordingly
Savings Summary:
MFG coupons - $5.35
Store Coupons - $6.10 ($5.00 off more than $50.00 in groceries, and then a few others picked up in the isles)
In Store Sales - $37.03
Total Savings - $48.48
(Sadly still way over budget, but working it down)
What have I learned... lots of clipping, but that doesn't always mean savings (for that trip). But I did save, more than justified the cost of a Sunday paper that we usually NEVER buy. Plus I still have several coupons in my in my stash for later purchases.
I want to get better about coupons... some many people out there have figured it out, I want to be one of those people (you know the ones, they hold up the line as they hand over the coupons... except I tend to be quite organized and shouldn't cause too much of a delay), I WANT BIG SAVINGS... so are you one of those people who know how to save at the store... HOW? Teach me! Give me advice!
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