With the mania of September and October I didn’t really have time to do any coupon shopping that leads to super deals and stockpiling. I still clipped coupons and used them on items we would buy anyway and of course went to A Full Cup to get the super target coupons. Now we are down to 2 packs of diapers and I don’t have any conditioner. Oh the horror, right?
So while Nadia was napping yesterday I took some time to clean out my coupon binder, recycle the expired ones and to check out my favorite deal sites to see what was happening this week. I matched up all the coupons out my pile of inserts and later Miss Nadia and I headed out for a coupon adventure. Here is what we ended up with after going to two Walgreen’s, Target and Kroger.
The total retail cost would have been $205.31. The total I paid was $43.97 (including tax). The cost for the 12 jumbo packs of diapers was $32.47 (that’s 2.50 a jumbo pack). So the cost for the balance of the stuff was $11.50!! If you can’t make it out in the photo, here is the list:
- 2 toothpastes
- 4 Almay One coat mascaras
- 1 Loreal Pure Radiance mositurizer
- 3 bottles worchechire sauce
- 1 bottle syrup
- 4 boxes cereal
- 2 bags cookie mix
- 1 bag chocolate chips
- 2 glade Wisp candles
- 2 boxes Celestial Seasonings tea
- 1 Quaker oatmeal
- 1 dial hand soap
Now would I have bought 4 mascaras in one day? No, but they were completely free. I can use one and give the rest away. (PS If you are local and want one, let me know) The Loreal says it’s for “mature skin”, so I will pass that along too, but everything else can and will be used by my family. The regular price of cereal alone would have been at least $10.
My friend Stephanie and I have been talking about this because she is just getting into the whole coupon world. But she is starting to hear some of the same things I have heard in the past about why people choose not to coupon. My personal favorite is that they are just for poor people!! This cracks me up. Do you have a clue how much I contribute to our family income by using coupons? Do you have any idea how many friends, family and charities I am able to help by couponing? A LOT!!!
Less than 1% of the Sunday coupon inserts are ever used in America. That is because they are in every single paper and of course manufacturers look at them as advertising with the hopes that you will be loyal to their product. But do you know how I look at them? As free money! And you don’t have to do all the research on the weekly deals. There are plenty of internet sites where people are more than happy to share their coupon deals.
I know couponing isn’t for everyone, but the number one issue facing the country that people claimed was the reason they voted for Obama was that they were worried about the economy. Doesn’t it make sense to save yourself money on items you would already buy like shampoo, conditioner, tissue, toilet paper, toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap and more? And isn’t it even better to get a lot of them for free and put that money toward something else?
*edit* I will do a future post about all the websites that I use and what I like best about them.