Steve and I have been working for months now to try and watch our spending while accumulating more savings. We have several financial goals for ourselves that we hope to meet over the next several years.
To help us meet these goals, I have putting my "bargain hunting" skills to the test. Each week I scour newspaper ads to find the best coupons and best deals possible. I tailor my weekly lists based on store sales and the coupons I have. Stacking coupons on top of sale prices is a must! I have even started shopping at several different stores in an attempt to maximize my savings.
It all sounds time consuming, but I have developed a pretty decent system that makes it relatively simple. Unless, of course, one of your kids accidentaly dumps out your coupon file folder. But as long as my coupons aren't scattered over the kitchen floor, I only spend about an extra 30-45 minutes each week clipping coupons, organizing, and planning. Not too bad.
Before the craziness of the holidays, I started tracking my spending and how much I was saving each week. I wanted to see if taking the extra time to do this was really worth it or not.
After a month of tracking, I was pleasantly surprised to find that my weekly shopping bills were discounted by about 30-35% each week. Those were savings I could live with.
Then this week occurred...
and now I think my love of couponing (I like to use that as a verb!) has hit an all time high.
This week I only hit up one store, but thanks to doubled coupons, store sales, catalina deals, and some patience on the part of the poor kid who checked me out...
I saved FIFTY percent on my grocery bill today!
I'll hold for the applause. Thanks.
Now, I realize that I still have a lot to learn about couponing (there's that verb again), but I was pretty happy with my shopping trip as a whole.
My original grocery bill: $145.30 (which is WAY more than I usually spend, but there were GREAT deals today on block cheese, frozen veggies, soup, fruit, and yogurt so I did some serious stockpiling....my freezer and pantry are stocked for the next several MONTHS)
My new, improved, couponed (and I can still use it as a verb) bill: $72.59
Grand total in savings: $72.71...almost exactly 50% (although slightly over 50% if you really want to get particular...which I think I will)
PLUS thanks to some careful shopping, I cashed in on some catalina deals that earned me EIGHT dollars off my next shopping trip.
And now the couponing monster has been unleashed...
Sunday, January 17, 2010
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6 comments:
What an awesome savings! You go girl!!
Congratulations on your savings!!
Have a nice week.
Good for you! What exactly is a "catalina" deal, if I may sound so "un-informed"?!
Catalina deals are special deals you can get at the register when you purchase a certain dollar amount of specific products. For example, if you purchase $20 worth of a particular company's products, you might earn a coupon for $4 off your next shopping trip. Often times, you can find catalina deals on items that are part of weekly sales already...and some stores use the retail price (not the sale price, not subtracting your coupons) as the dollar amount they use to get you to the necessary dollar amount ...which helps out a LOT! Some of the catalina deals are listed in the store's weekly flier, while others are listed on the store's website. You just have to keep your eyes out for them and use them to your advantage.
Does that make ANY sense?!?!?
Woah, and I thought I was good!
Nice work, I think my heart rate got up to a dangerous pace when I saw that discount!
You should be proud!
nice job! i can totally relate. sometimes my husband offers to do the shopping, and he's incredulous that i like doing it (minus the kids), because it's like a puzzle:) even just clipping them is like zen relaxation therapy. (weird, i know!)
i go back and forth, tho, because sometimes i spend way more "couponing" by buying discounted convenience foods and snacks, and when i just shop the perimeter for un-packaged foods, i spend way less (and eat healthier!)
do you have an aldi's near you? their prices are amazing--much cheaper than stuff on sale with coupons. but you can't do all your shopping there since they don't carry everything.
i just got a new coupon organizer that i love because my old one was too wide to carry in the diaper bag. now i'm always prepared, and i feel like an idiot for being excited about that;)
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