Thursday, January 28, 2010

Extreme Couponing!





How much did I pay for this entire grocery cart full of loot?
A) $53.09 B) $84.93 C) $136.94 D) does this have a point?

Back in September, I was volunteering in our church nursery with a friend of mine. We chatted about this and that and at a point during our conversation she asked if I clipped coupons. I told her I would glance at them and if I saw a product that we used, I would cut out the coupon. She proceeded to tell me about this great website she was recently introduced to called Southern Savers that showed her how to coupon--used as verb here--and she had cut her grocery bill by 50% or more. I thought she had to be joking me, but Paula just wouldn't mislead anyone like that! I decided to give it a try b/c I had nothing to lose and at least 50% money savings to gain, and y'all, IT REALLY WORKED!!!

We would spend on average about $350-$400 a month on groceries. Now we spend maybe $200-$250 and that is if I buy things that are not on sale and/or do not have coupons and we have more food than we ever did! It does take a little time, but not much and well worth the savings you get for the amount of food you leave with. Does mean that you might not be able to get Cape Cod chips and you get the Lay's that are on sale, you pick up the Keebler buy 1 get 1 free special on cookies this week instead of Oreo's, or you get split chicken breasts instead of boneless skinless---yes, but it never has really mattered to me thus far! I tailor what we are going to eat based on the specials that week and it is much easier than I thought it would be. Now, do not allow me to mislead you. If we decide that we are going to have company over and grilling steaks is what we have decided to do, then we go get steak. However, I must tell you once you know what a good price is, it does ring in the back of your head "I just paid this for that" when it was on sale last week!! You have to do that though to prevent burnout and stay sane b/c this can be addictive!!

Back to my question from above:

A) $53.09 is what I paid for the entire contents of that grocery cart
B) $84.93 is what I saved
C) $136.94 is what I would have paid for the groceries without matching coupons/sales
D) Do you get the point??!!

Click HERE to read how/why this whole gig works---you won't be disappointed! You should also look at how to "CVS".....I likely will never pay over $.32 for a tube of toothpaste again!



Now the only question is what should you do with that extra money.....donate to your favorite charity, tithe more, put in savings, pay off some debt, college fund, nice dinner out or, even better, maybe a weekend getaway!





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4 comments:

Kelly said...

AWESOME savings and post! Thanks for sharing it! I can't wait to move from Canada back to Washington, DC so that I can "coupon". I'll probably need to hit you up for your advice and secrets!

Jo Leigh said...

That's so funny! I'm a huge Southern Savers fan, too. I have actually been to one of her workshops; she is great! Congrats on getting started with a bang, & you are SO right it is definitely addictive! My favorite trips are those that I spent like 33% of what I "should have" which has happened a few times or when I get dirt cheap diapers! Good luck & happy couponing to you!

Katy said...

Love the idea, definitely hav eto consider that method...Publix is definitely getting too much of my $. BTW, did anyone look at you funny when you were taking pics of your cart? LOL :) Also, thank you for the shirt!

Kerry said...

i am so impressed! You have inspired me and I signed up for one of her seminars here in Atlanta! Can't wait to learn how to save more on our groceries! Thanks Jennifer!