I just have to share my second couponing experience. First of all, I spent a couple hours yesterday making a coupon binder, with all the coupons sorted alphabetically by brand name. (I bought 20 business card binder-inserts and have basically one insert per letter). I have built up my coupon collection a good bit in the last week, so it's nice that they're all organized now.
So, last night I was looking up some more deals and matching them to my coupons. I went to Publix, CVS, and Kroger, toting along both girls, this morning. Here's what all I got, and I spent a total of $38.63:
All of these items would have been $89.67, so I saved 57%!
So, here's the breakdown:
**At Publix, I stocked up on more noodles and spaghetti sauce, milk, cake mix and icing, Baby Orajel, and 2 Freschetta Pizzas, which were about half of my bill (being $5.00 each on sale and after coupons). I spent $20.90 at Publix. (Oh, and there were 3 or 4 things I could have gotten free- or even gotten credit back for- but they were all sold out!!! I think if you want to take advantage of free things, you need to go on the first day of their weekly sale...)
**At CVS, I actually profited 97 cents!! I got Zyrtec, a Schick Hydro razor with 5 blades, and a diet coke. I went out of pocket $3.03 and have $4.00 Extra Care Bucks to spend next time. The funny thing is... I didn't need the Zyrtec, but it cost $5.99, and if you bought that, you got $5.99 in Extra Care Bucks. Plus, I had a coupon for $4.00 off. So, it was like the Zyrtec was free, and it gave me a -$4 balance. Then, my second transaction, I got the Schick Razor, which was on sale for $8.00. With my $4 balance, it was only $4, and then I had a $4 off coupon! (Plus, it gave me $4 in Extra Care Bucks back!) So, it's like both were free! (though I did have to pay the tax, which was $.62)
Note to self: The dumb thing I did was do them out of order... I should have bought the Schick razor first, and then the Zyrtec. Because, when I got the Zyrtec, I had to pay $2.41 out of pocket ($5.99 cost minus the $4 coupon, plus tax). Then, I got the $5.99 Extra Care Bucks back. Next, when I got the razor, I only owed $4 on it after the coupon, so that left me with $1.99 additional Extra Care Bucks- and once you use part your ECBs, you have to use the whole amount or it goes to waste. So, instead of wasting the $1.99 left over money, I bought a Diet Coke to take it up. If I had done it the other way, I still would be out of pocket $2.41, but I'd have $5.99 ECBs to use next time instead of $4.
So, I guess the best thing to do is do the lowest ECB-back item first, and the largest one last.
**At Kroger, I did really well! I spent $18.70 and got the following:
-6 rolls of Viva Paper Towels
-12 Double Rolls of Cottonelle toilet paper
-2 boxes of Cheez-Its
-Jumbo pack (36 count) of Huggies diapers
-Baby oatmeal cereal
All the items (minus the oatmeal) were part of a "Buy 5 participating items and save $5.00" deal. So, if you bought 5 items, you could save $1.00 on each. I found 5 items we needed or could use in the future, matched them up with coupons, and saved about $19. The paper towels ended up being $3.99 (normally $8.99); the toilet paper was $3.99 (normally $8.29); the Cheez-Its were $1.45 each (normally $2.95 each); the Huggies were $5.99 (normally $9.99) and the oatmeal was $.48 (normally $1.48). All of these things would have been $37.08 total.
Yay!!! I can see how this is addicting. Stephen always laughs at me when I tell him what "great" deals I get on things... he'll be like, "Man, I found this $15,000 item and only paid $8,000 for it!" (he's just trying to say that I buy things because of their cheap price, yet I'm still spending money...) I see his point. I do. :) But, he's actually really happy for me to be doing this, as these are things we will definitely use!
OK, I promise I won't keep doing this... this can't be too exciting to read, but it's really fun to do! :)
Next stop: Walmart, where I can get 2 American Greeting Cards for free, and $1.00 of my beloved People magazine. :) Also, JC Penney's where I can get a free Sephora mascara.
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