my shopping trip

as i told you before, i have started couponing. remember i had mentioned before thanksgiving that i went to a couponing seminar. it's not too difficult for someone to do, but i will say it is time consuming. organizing all the coupons every week, finding/printing coupons, going through the ads, and planning your shopping/couponing strategy. luckily there are a few bloggers out there that help out with some of this stuff. some of the bloggers i use are simplesavingsavvy, deal seeking mom, the frugal girls, and my frugal adventures. they have some great money saving tips on their blog. they usually post new advertised saving very quickly.

people have asked me where i get my coupons. i get them from several different places. i get the sunday paper (sometimes i purchase more than one). i print them off the internet at safe sites like smartsource, redplum, and coupons.com. if there are specific things i would like coupons for i often go to their website to see if they offer any coupons. more often than not they do. i also do a lot of mail-in rebates. i have just under $70 coming back to me in mail-in rebates. i found a lot of my rebates at coupons deals and more.

i have always clipped coupons, but i just got serious about it about a month ago. i have my three-ring binder loaded with the baseball card holders filled with coupons. yes, sometimes i buy something that i personally don't need to roll over the register rewards (walgreens) and extra care bucks (cvs). however, i have only thrown away one thing away i truly didn't think i would need or anyone else. turns out a week after i threw it away someone said they would have used it. one of the things people say about couponing/saving money is you can't be brand loyal. this is true. however, this does not mean you have to buy generic. i don't think i have bought anything generic to date. most of the savings i have had have been in the form of personal care items (shampoo, body wash, medicine, laundry soap, household cleaners, diapers, etc.). i have started the grocery shopping too but i'm not quite as good at that yet.

i still make mistakes. sometime, i don't have enough items in my cart (you have to have the same amount of items as the number of coupons at walgreens). sometimes i don't catch the cashiers mistakes of not ringing up the sale price (i.e. gum and visine last night at walgreens). other times, i read the coupon or ad wrong and either have to put something back (after i've spent all that time in the store) or don't save as much money as i thought i would. i'm still learning it all.

people also say i don't shop at walgreens and cvs because it is so much more expensive. that's true. if you don't use their rewards systems or coupons it is more expensive and i wouldn't shop there either. however, if you can utilize all the things i've talked about you will save a ton of money. walgreens, cvs and target allow you to use their store specific coupons and a manufacturing coupons at the same time. so you get extra savings.

i have also figured out you do have to have a little bit of disposable income. you do have to have a little to start out. if you don't keep the coupons, register rewards, or extra care bucks rolling, you will lose a little money. you can just set how much you want to spend on these things, but the saving can be great.

here's a picture of the things i got last night from walgreens and cvs.

there are:

3 gillette shampoos
2 johnson & johnson baby wash (with free lotions attached)
3 colgate max white toothpaste
1 ponds wet towel cleanse cloths
7 pencils
2 bags of skittles
2 20 ct. electrosol dishwashing powerballs
1 nexxus hair product
1 big pack (35 ct) of orbit gum
1 package (2 bars) of irish spring soap
1 ge fluorescent bulb
1 aquafina package (12 bottles)
1 children's tylenol
1 children's benedryl
_____________________________
TOTAL: $48.55

after using over $29 in coupons, register rewards, and extra care bucks.

i paid just over $18 and got $12 back in register rewards and extra care bucks.

so it was like getting all that stuff for $6.

once i started this couponing, the fun began when i was able to give this stuff away to someone who can use it. the officer loves all the saving i'm doing and i'm getting better at not going to the store every day. :) at the couponing seminar i mentioned earlier, the lady said we need to be a good steward of what God has given us. not to coupon to be greedy but to be a good steward of what God has blessed us with. that hit home with me and gave me a new perspective. she has a verse on her blog that says:

Malachi 3:10
"Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the Lord Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it."

i love it. if you have any great savings while shopping, share and leave a comment.