Walgreens for $4.23!

1 - Charmin 6 Big Rolls- In ad Q making it $3.49 (-$1 MQ)
2 - Reynold's Foil - In ad Q making it $.89 (-$1 MQ reduced to $.89)
1 - Fiber Choice - clearance for $5.29 (-$3 IVC & $2 MQ)
1 - Orajel Training Toothpaste - Clearance for $1.79 (-$.55 MQ)
1 - 6pk Kids Toothbrushes $2
2 - Glade Scented Oil Refills (2/$5) ($1 ea MIR)
2 - Glade Lasting Impressions Warmers (Free Warmer WYB Refill up to $7.99) ($3 ea MIR)
1 - Excedrin $1.99 (-$1 MQ) ($1 RR)
1 - Revlon Lip Gloss $9.99 (-$2 MQ) ($9.99 MIR)

I used a $6 RR & $10.xx on GC making my OOP $4.23. If you're doing the math and it doesn't add up it's because the cashier made a mistake of $2 in my favor and I don't really know where the tax went with that. I didn't realize what had happened until it was too late. (one of the hazards of shopping with a 3yo)

I also got a $1 RR & will get $17.99 back in WAGS MIR along with a 10% bonus.

Thanks to ZM for alerting me to the Warmer Q. I didn't even think about that being a warmer! LOL! That's a better deal at $1 each than the BOGO Q's you can print from the Glade site.

And on another note: I LOVE these toothbrushes. They have the little suction thingies on the bottom so they just stick to the sink. They are the PERFECT size for Little Man and they are CHEAP, lol. The heads seem to be a tad bigger than the name brand kiddie toothbrushes which is great.

The Randall's Trip

That Randall's trip on Sat...this is what I ended up with. I had to do this over 5 transactions since their policy is to only dbl/trpl one like coupon in a transaction. I had 5 Chef Boyardee Coupons to use. What a royal pain! But we had a system. I did the "shopping" while my mom (since DH refused to be of any help) went through the line one transaction at a time. We then tied the bag shut with the receipt inside and put it on the bottom of the basket and she'd take another one up to the front. Doing it this way we weren't holding up any lines.

I live VERY far away from civilization and I don't have the option to just run up to the store, I have to plan and if that means multiple transactions then that's what I have to do.

At the end of everything here is what I had:

15 Cans Chef Boyardee
6 McCormick Taco Seasoning
6 cans Hunt's Tomatoes
5 boxes Granola Bars
4 boxes Rice Krispies
4 bags Marshmallows
4 Rosarita Refried Beans
2 Progresso Soup Bowls
1 box Fruit Loops
1 box Honey Nut Cheerios
1 Duncan Hines Cake Mix


Total OOP: $28.83
Saved: $69.16. (according to the receipts which does include the difference of sale prices)

The OOP would have been lower but DH insisted that I buy the cheerios & cake mix.

I did really well over at Kroger that afternoon as well, with the Mega Deal.

The Coupon Stigma

I really don't fully understand why there is such a stigma surrounding coupon usage. When you go to the dealership, do you pay the sticker price? Haggling is a cruder practice than coupons in my book. I guess there are 3 main reasons I can think of that help give coupon usage such a horrible rep. ONE: If you are using coupons the person on the other end is probably assuming you cannot afford things or are poor (which, btw: doesn't make you a lesser person) TWO: The whole argument that the person using the coupons is, "Looking for something for nothing." THREE: People who abuse coupons. People who try to use them for things they didn't buy, expired coupons, etc. They ruin it for all of us!

Number two is not entirely untrue. I am looking for something but not for nothing...the store isn't giving me anything for free. I am just wise enough to figure out how to get the manufacturers to put groceries & other things in my house at their expense. I guess it's nothing out of my pocket, but it's not that the item is Free to the store. If people could wrap their little heads around the fact that coupons are just another form of payment (i.e. cash, food stamps, credit card, coupon) it might help their attitudes some.

I admit that when I started using coupons last summer, I was DESPERATE. I had a baby that had been home from his 29 day NICU stay for only a few weeks and I just knew those bills were about to start rolling in. I had also just discovered that my then 2 yr old was going to need some combination of physical, occupational & speech therapy outside of ECI and I knew that wasn't going to be cheap either. Oh and let's not forget Formula. Since he wasn't able to breastfeed WE had to figure out how to supply the formula. No WIC here. Since going and getting a "real" job that would actually help with bills wasn't an option with all of my children's appointments I knew I needed to cut back significantly in other areas.

Thanks to seeing Erin on our local ABC station, I realized I needed to REALLY learn how to coupon. Not casual couponing. Not just clipping a few coupons at a time. No, I needed to figure out how to stock up at rock bottom prices and not just keep buying things as we needed them without regards to pricing. Granted I don't keep a year's supply of anything on hand but I think I'm doing pretty well for being so new to the game. I don't have anywhere to store a year's supply of anything, lol. This house needs more storage! :)

So back to my original point. I had my first dose of the 'crap' you can get when you use coupons on Sat. I was at Randall's. I've had the experience there that nobody fully knows the coupon policy but never had such blatant disrespect before.

The store director just flat out didn't want to be bothered with me & for some reason the register wouldn't take the last 4 coupons ($1ea) and he wasn't even willing to discuss it with me. He fed me a line about why the coupon didn't work, which was completely untrue since one of the exact same coupons had already worked! Even when I informed of that, the man walked away from where we were at, hopped on another register and didn't even give an answer to anything. The poor cashier (who agreed there was no reason for the coupons not to work, she agreed I was following the 'rules' on the coupon but didn't know how to work her register.) The assistant store director was behind her, caught wind of what was going on and told her how to override it.

I don't appreciate the attitude I was given by the store director who clearly didn't like his job, walked away AND talked crap to another employee about me. I didn't like him trying to make me feel like I am a lesser person or doing something wrong by legitimately using coupons.

Our circumstances have changed some since last June. If I really wanted to I could go without using coupons. However, I don't understand why anyone would WANT to pay full price when there is another option out there. I'm sure the same people that think it's horrible to use coupons still shop off of sales racks for clothing & other items. Most of them probably buy the store brand thinking it's a better deal. And it might be that day, but I will almost guarantee the name brand will be cheaper at some point, esp with a coupon!

For me couponing is now about the thrill of the hunt. I enjoy finding and learning through other people (TY HCW) about the great deals to be had. It's a great feeling knowing I can now donate food, etc to other people & causes. I am happy that we can save the money and put it towards other necessities...like paying down the rest of those 2008 medical bills and my 3 year olds continued therapies. In 2009, thanks to setting a realistic budget and couponing, we will get to finally climb OUT of the hole!

2009 - With a budget!

I'm getting back into the swing of things. I sort of felt like I had December off because there were only a few very specific sales I targeted. January is here and I'm jumping back in with 2 feet. We are on a very strict cash budget for 2009 and couponing is how I plan to make that money stretch just a little (or a lot) further. We're planning on paying off the rest of 2008's medical expenses this year and paying off a few other things as well.

I was going to bore you with pictures from my Walgreens shopping trips this week but changed my mind. I see no reason to repeat all of the information that is already out there. I'm doing the same deals as everyone else and at some point it just becomes redundant. Oh I'm sure there will be more pictures, just not from this week.

I will however, keep a running total of what I spend and save. Let me clarify how I am calculating my savings. I am not including our dining out in the budget here. If you only knew what a bad habit that is that we are attempting to break. Don't get me started. So the point is that we have a separate budget for "dining out."

When I tally the savings I am including the savings for the sale price if it is automatically included in the receipt that way. I know it's inconsistent but it's just easier. Also...my theory is that if I weren't shopping sales and stocking up with coupons and I needed something immediately, that is the price I'd pay. Shoot, up until I started couponing that probably was the price I paid. I, like most Americans, bought what we needed when we needed it without giving much attention to sales, etc. My budget/savings total will include diapers, wipes & formula.

Don't be shocked when you see my first savings total here: It includes 2 glucose meters which is probably an equivalent to $180 saved since I got them both for free.

My Budget

We are a family of 4. Two adults, one day-time potty trained toddler, & an infant. This is my budget.
$10/week for diapers
$17.50/week for formula
$75/week for all food (excluding eating out), toiletries/HBA, paper products, cleaning products, batteries, OTC meds, etc.

$10 a week in diapers is from when both were in diapers. I probably have 6-7 months worth of pull-ups here so I should probably just adjust the amount we're putting towards it. Huggies are my preferred brand followed by Pampers but if there is a good enough sale I'll use just about anything. Afterall, he's only going to poop in it! :)

Just because we have the budget for it doesn't mean I'm spending it. One example is that I don't actually buy diapers every week, I wait until there is a decent sale on my preferred brands and buy some then. Formula is another example of this. I have done SO well with the formula budget that I still have 20 cans in the top of my pantry and haven't bought any formula since the end of December. I'm setting that money aside every week for when I do need to buy a little more.

That last category doesn't include eating out because we have a bad habit we are trying to break.

How I Calculate My Savings

I am calculating my savings pretty much based on what receipts say I saved. This would include the savings on a sales price versus the regular price in most cases. My opinion is that if I needed an item immediately, that is the price I'd pay so I am still saving it. By stocking up on certain items I am able to wait until another sale comes around and I just buy more at a cheaper price. The amount I pay on a gift card is savings. The amount I get in a RR, Catalina, ECB, GC, etc is not counted as a savings until I spend it. Many people like to talk about the "net cost" of an item AFTER RR or ECBs. An Example:

Buy 2 deodorants for $5 get $2 in RR back. I will only count the $2 as savings when I spend it on a future purchase since that's when it will actually reduce my OOP costs.

Updated Feb 2, 2009