Friday, April 22, 2011

Couponing... do you?

With the new show on TLC Extreme Couponing now airing , the coupon nuts have been exposed!


I am one of them!
*Mauahahahaha = evil laugh*


Ok, I'm not as bad and "into it" as they are but I am a coupon clipping maniac. I usually save 20% to 30 % off our weekly bill with couponing and that is with little effort. I just clip my Sunday coupons while watching Desperate Housewives on Sunday nights.


With this show, Extreme Couponing, coming out I realized I could really step it up and make a HUGE difference by looking up coupons online too. I printed a mound of coupons for THINGS WE USE already and today off I went to the store with my matchups.

Here's what happened at Meijer...

I filled this cart with $263.00 worth of groceries.



I had prepared VERY well for this trip. I didn't add up for my end price because I really wanted it to be a surprise but I knew I was gonna mop the floor with them.

My secret? Buy only things that were on SALE that I also had a coupon for.

Each item was already on sale in store AND I had a coupon.

There were 2 exceptions. Easter dinner necessities. Ham and wine. Neither were on sale but both were necessary purchases this week.

So when the cart was full I headed to the check out.

And this is what I spent...

Total ring before coupons but after in store sales $262.78

Total I paid  $100.71

Woo Hoo! Saved 62%

BUT... you have to take into account my two major purchases were the ham and wine and neither were on sale.

Remove them from the equation and I saved 70% !!!
(Wish I would have rung them separately anyway since they weren't on sale.)

That's right, I bought all this (minus ham and wine) for $77.00 dollars!!!!




You can see I got an amazing amount of food for $77.00! I'm pretty proud of this weeks trip. :) 70% off is nothing to scoff at! I gave a very minimal effort that saved me $160.00.

So do you coupon? How do you save at the store?

And you ask what I'm going to do with my $160 savings? Well I'm headed to the Simple Goods Show tomorrow with Mom! Hope to see you there!

 
Until next time...


Carmen and the Primcats

15 comments:

Sunny Simple Life said...

I love to coupon. I keep a binder and everything. Cheap or free is for me.

Farmhouse prims said...

Wow, I am impressed, I need to go shopping with you. I love saving money and groceries are sooo expensive. You go girl, thanks for sharing. Hugs, Lecia

Brenda said...

I absolutely love couponing!! I use the internet. The worse the economy - the better coupons you find at the big name brand sites. I register my name and email, and they will send you monthly reminders of all their good deals plus recipes, too. Yay! :)

renee said...

I do coupon Carmen, have for years. I don't go to their lengths, but I do admit, like you, I thought, I can do better!
So, I will be doing some investigating further. I typically save anywhere from 20-30% on average. There are times I do better, but it depends.
Good for you though~ that was an impressive savings!
HAPPY EASTER! HE'S ALIVE!
Blessings,
Renee

Rachel said...

Great job Carmen! I've been clipping coupons here & there -trying to work up to "greatness" but haven't gotten that far! Your trip was awesome!

nancy huggins said...

You are absolutely right on couponing and my friend told me about the show but I always forget on Sunday night. I definately am going to do more couponing and will even make the 7 mile trip one way to buy the Sunday paper.
You did great..thanks for inspiring me and others

My Primitive Creations by Tonya said...

I think it is so cool to see my now grown up daughter couponing to the extreme.. back when she was a kid & her mom had 3 to 8 kids to feed I was a coupon freak & the kids really had no clue how much I saved or how important it was to cut out all those coupons so they had great meals..Its make a mom proud to know that lesson was passed on and working nicely for her kids!!
Bet she can't wait to see what she can buy tomorrow at the Simple goods Show with all that savings... Should be fun to see..

Hungs
Mom

Firecracker Kid said...

Bravo! Good for you Carmen:) I need to get hubby to use coupons. Mom taught you well.
Hugs~Carol

Carmen S. said...

WOW Carmen, that's awesome!!! I've watched that show a few times and it is just amazing, there was one guy who had like 1,000 tubes of toothpaste in his stockpile, LOL, you have to wonder if he can use them up in one lifetime! I guess I need to start using them and save some money:D Have a wonderful Easter!

dee begg said...

Carmen,

Fantastic job on the savings. Last time I tried to use internet coupons the one store told me they didn't accept them, but that was awhile ago.

I cook a lot from scratch due to my hubby's food allergies, so I've never been able to save lots on my food bill but can save on the snacks and cleaning products part of it.

TFS your shopping trip. Have fun at the craft show shopping! Now if they only had coupons for the prim offerings there, that would be amazing.

D

Tonya said...

We're couponers too! We have a big three ring binder divided into sections just like the aisles at the grocery store. We get three newspapers and clip just about every coupon. Our favorite stores are Giant Eagle, CVS and Rite Aid. We've gotten so many tubes of toothpaste, razors, and soap for free or next to nothing. We donate those things to our church who in turn makes up bags to give to the homeless and those living in shelters. The food we buy in bulk also goes to our church for the needy. We've been doing this for about a year now and I can't imagine paying full price for anything.

Have fun at the Simple Goods Show. I'm looking forward to seeing what you bring home!

michelle said...

Great job sweetie!that leaves you more moola to shop with!Yah!big hugs michelle

Michelle said...

Hi Carmen Happy Easter,
I used to coupon a lot. Now I shop at Aldi's and I save more there than with coupons elsewhere. I tried CVS deals but found I was buying more stuff than I needed just to get the deals. Tricky business that couponing.
xoxo
Michelle

Earlene said...

Wow! Good job! I always have good intentions to use coupons but never seems to work for me.
I am dying to here how Simple Goods Show was this Spring. I am bummed I had to miss it.
What did you buy?
Happy Easter

The Prim Colonial said...

Wow, great job Carmen! I have started using the coupons more now and have saved $100 at least each week for the last three weeks. Our stores don't double coupons but they do have buy one get one free a lot. I learned from the show how to make the most of those purchases and now spend a few minutes before shopping working thru the ad and my coupons to see how I can best maximize it all. It is a challenge and fun to see the savings. I wish I had more time to devote to it, and knew more, but alas, this is working for me right now....Keep up the good work! Beth