I laid down some ground rules for myself:
1: I would only shop at Publix, CVS and Target.
Publix is my grocery store of choice, as is Target for 'house stuff', like soap and toothpaste, and since they just built a new CVS closer to my house, it's now worth my while to make a special trip there to take advantage of their sales and Extra Care Bucks. I have no desire to spend hours in Wal-Mart just on the hope I could save $5. At some point, my time and dignity are worth more than money. And while there is a Winn-Dixie fairly close to me, I really don't want to spend a whole driving around town to all the other grocery stores. So the BIG THREE it is.
B: In spite of the size of my arse, I really do try and limit the amount of processed foods I buy. You can stop laughing now. As I scanned the couponing blogs, it seemed to me a lot of people were buying a lot of (in my opinion) junk food, just because it only cost 25 cents. Some people have the willpower to limit themselves to just one small treat a day. I don't. My husband doesn't. My children don't. If it's in the house, we'll eat it, and probably pretty quickly, too. (An open bag of M&Ms lasts approximately 5.6 minutes.)
To combat this I decided that I would only buy "treats" if they were on sale AND I had a coupon AND it would be something that I would possibly buy anyway. (For example, Chips Ahoy cookies are pretty good, but not as good as a homemade chocolate chip cookie. So I don't buy them ever because they will always be a disappointment. Oreos, on the other hand...)
Thirdly: I would ignore what seems to be a cardinal rule of couponing- forget brand loyalty.
Here's the dealio: I like the stuff I like. Some stuff just doesn't work as good as other stuff. There are two kinds of deodorant that work for me; Degree Powder Fresh and Arm & Hammer Baby Powder scent. I spend my mornings wrestling preschoolers. It's hot outside 8 months out of the year. These are the ONLY two deodorants I've found that keep me from sweating like excessively AND keep me from smelling like a bum who lives under a highway overpass.
Along those lines, I have a *very* sensitive nose. VERY. Ask Jaws. He will confirm. So there are some things I just won't use because, to me, they stink. Also, Bella has sensitive skin and allergies. You know what makes her break out in a rash and itchy eyes? Most lotions. You know what doesn't? The not cheap (read: expensive)bottle of lotion I order from Basa Body. I also refuse to use cheap (not inexpensive, mind you, but cheap) toilet paper. I just don't want to fool around, ya know? So, I'm not stressing about brand loyalty. I'll just do the best I can.
Soooooooo, with all that in mind, I set out to start couponing.
So far I've done three trips with couponing in mind. I went online to Southern Savers, matched up the sales with my coupons and made my shopping lists. I've been twice to Publix and once to CVS.
I typically do "major" grocery shopping every two weeks and spend anywhere from $125-$200 for our family of four. I probably spend another $75-$100 a month on health and beauty stuff and household-y items. I typically watch for the sales and only by that kind of stuff when it's on sale, but if you're out of tampons you're out of tampons, right? Mother Nature doesn't wait for a sale! ;D But I know that since I'm keeping track of what I'm buying with couponing, I'll be able to do better at REALLY stocking up when something is at a great price without robbing the budget in other places.
My first Publix trip was a big one. I went last Thursday afternoon. It had been at least three weeks since I had done 'major' shopping, and we were out of a lot of our basics. I also bought a lot of stuff I would typically have bought at Target, but because it was on sale at Publix *and* I had coupons, I spent the money there.
I know you aren't a REAL COUPONER unless you unpack everything on your kitchen table and take a picture of it all, but there was so much stuff (not to mentio I didn't get around to unpacking it all until two days later) that you'll have to take my word for it.
I got $283.68 worth of products. After coupons and store sales, I spent 182.19 out of pocket. That includes produce, deli items, dairy, meat, etc. No joke, my receipt was FOUR FEET LONG! Bar soap was on CRAZY sale, so I now have 36 bars of soap. We should be good for a month or two. LOL If I didn't go grocery shopping (for food) for the rest of the month, I'd only need to replace bread, milk and some fresh produce. For me, not too bad.
Next I went to CVS, where I DID take a picture!! LOL
Got $101.70 worth of product, spent $25.38 out of pocket, plus I got $18.50 in Extra Care Bucks to spend next time. Some people like to do multiple transactions in order to roll their ECBs into their purchases and walk out spending only a few dollars (or even just a few cents!) out of pocket. I'm not one of those people. ;D I'll just save it for next time, thanks very much! Even at their sale prices, the toilet paper and the Tide came to almost $25 before coupons by themselves, so this trip was DEFINTELY a money saver!!
My second Publix trip was today. It was much smaller, but I still did pretty well.
I got $104.54 worth of product, but only spent 52.57 out of pocket. I have to 'fess up, though. I bought a lot more processed stuff that I would have had it not been on sale+coupon. See those Milano cookies? 75 cents each. The Jello puddings were $1.50 each. But the girls have some major testing at school this month, so I figured they deserved a little something special for their lunches.
So to wrap it up in a more concise fashion, so far I have saved money. I imagine now that I've got a decent coupon supply going I will continue to save money as long as I match up the coupons with the sales. My biggest hope is that I will get really good at this and save money over the summer.
