Ingles+Publix+CVS= savings of 80%

This was my shopping trips from last week. I'm not going to take the time to type out everything I got. I haven't had time until now to post this. I spent $59.80 on $301.87 worth of stuff for a savings of 80%. I don't go to Ingles very often but they had some things on sale that I really wanted. I also had a Publix giftcard that I had gotten through Swag Bucks. I had enough Swag Bucks to request a prize and I got a $25 giftcard from Publix. I was so excited. Then, I went to CVS and made $.92. I still have $7.99 left over for this weekend. I hope to learn how to use Walgreens this weekend so I will let you know how that goes.

My tip for this week is to use every outlet possible to get coupons. If you print coupons from Swag Bucks, you get a swag buck for redeeming it. There are other programs similar to this one but that's the only one I participate in at the moment. Also, contact all makers of your favorite products to get coupons from them. Just tell them how much you love their products and they will send your coupons.

I have been helping a few people personally get started couponing. If you want me to help you, email me your address. Email me at bagwell123@gmail.com.

CVS+Publix= Savings of 84%

I'm very excited (well, semi-excited) about my shopping trips this weekend. Publix was out of A LOT of stuff I was going to get. I got rainchecks for everything and hopefully can use them before the coupons expire.

Other than that, it was a good weekend.

This is my trip to Publix. I got:

1 Box of Welchs Fruit Snacks
6 Bags of Pretzel Crisps
1 Box of Scotties Tissue
2 Boxes of Entenman's snack cakes
2 Bags of Goldfish Grahams
4 Boxes of JollyTime popcorn

I paid $11.86 for $45.97. While this is not an incredible trip, I did get some things that I would not buy if they were not on sale and I had a coupon. This was a savings of 74% which is the lowest I have gotten in a while. But, they were out of the free stuff so I will get that later.

I also went to CVS this week:

I got:

2 Right Guard Body Wash
2 Gum Eez toothpicks things
2 Oral B toothbrushes (plus free little toothpastes)
2 Crest Pro Rinses
2 John Freida Products
1 Complete Multipurpose contact solution
3 Febreeze products
2 Colgate Toothpastes




Without any sales or coupons: $ 77.75
Out of pocket cost $ 8.49
Extra Bucks Left Over $15.99
Coupon Amount Used: 
Manufacturer: $ 22.99
CVS Coupons: $ 30.99
Savings of 89%
Savings counting ECB left over: over 100%
# of Transactions: 3

CVS paid me again this week to buy stuff in their store.  My out of pocket cost was $8.49. I got back $15.99 in ECBs. I made $7.50. Not too bad. Again, I bought stuff I did not need but I do know people who will need it. Just buying the stuff I did not need was worth it just to get the Febreeze. I love Febreeze but it's expensive. I also wanted some new shampoo to try. I was excited to get an "expensive" shampoo for really inexpensive. I mean, I got an $8 bottle of shampoo for nothing. So exciting.

I guess my tip for the week, since I do it so much myself, is to buy stuff that you know someone else will use, even if you won't. I have gotten toilet paper, paper towels, Febreeze, can drinks, and various other products just because I bought stuff I didn't need. The ECB system is set up to help you. Use it for your advantage and buy the stuff you actually need (when on sale and also getting ECBs back). Use the ECB system wisely and you will end up with all kinds of hygiene and household care stuff you need.

Publix+CVS= $481.89 for $67.12

Can I just say that I heart CVS and Publix? I AGAIN had great trips at both of these places. It was dog food week at Publix:

 

This is 61 bags of dog food and they were $.49 each. That is 244 pounds of dog food for $29.89 (before tax). I was very excited. I have two big boys. This will last us around 14-20 weeks depending on what they eat. I also got:

I spent a total of $59.41 at Publix on $405.84 worth of stuff. (Mostly dog food). That was a savings of 85%

4 boxes of Ritz Munchables

4 boxes of Betty Crocker fruit snacks

4 bags of cheese

4 blocks of cheese

4 bags of Starburts

2 bags of Skittles

4 Weight Watchers Ice Creams

4 Beech Nut baby meals

At CVS: 

I got:

2 Colgate Toothbrushes

1 Halls Cough Drops

2 Axe Body Washes

2 Dove Men's Deodorant

3 boxes of Band Aids

4 Glade candle oil refills

Without any sales or coupons: $ $76.05
Out of pocket cost $$8.93
Extra Bucks Left Over $10.00 (I actually MADE $1.07)
Coupon Amount Used: 
Savings of 88%
Savings counting ECB left over: 100%
# of Transactions: 2

I had a pretty good weekend. My tip this week is to monitor Southern Savers for any great deals that are coming up. She can't tell you exactly what the deal will be but can tell you what coupons you need to print. However, for the dog food deal, she did say how much this would be because it was such a great deal. Also, she wanted everyone to have time to order the coupons. Not all coupons that are published come in the local newspaper. I bought the $2/1 coupons. I bought 100 of them for $15. So, if you add the $15 in to my total of dog food, it still makes each bag $.73..which is not bad. I haven't ever bought coupons until now. If I find really good ones, I will buy again if they make the price worth it.

Hope everyone has a great week!

Publix+Bilo+Ingles+CVS=A savings of 75%

This weekend was not great for my family. Michael's grandfather died on Thursday so this weekend was spent with his family. However, couponing is a form of therapy for me so I did find some time to go to the grocery store.

Ingles shopping trip

I paid out of pocket of $21.30. This is $56.46 worth of stuff. This is the best I have done at Ingles. I generally stay away from Ingles because they are simply too expensive and not coupon friendly. However, there was some pretty awesome deals there this week. I got:

2 packs of Chinet plates
2 Gain laundry detergent
3 cans of Hormel chili
2 boxes of New York Texas Toast
2 containers of Chobani greek yogurt
6 jars of Bertoli pasta sauce
2 cans of cream of chicken soup
1 container of Clorox washing machine cleaner

All for $21.30. This IS the best I have ever done at Ingles.

I also went to my two favorite places: Bilo and Publix.

This is $173.10 worth of stuff for $53.97. WOW. Again, I LOVE Publix and Bilo when I am couponing. I am going to try to list everything that I got but I might miss something. If I do, the picture is there. I got:

1 Bag of Purina dog food
4 packs of Lance crackers
4 Bags of Pepperidge Farm cracker chips
4 boxes of Cheez Its
6 containers of Country Crock butter
4 loaves of Pepperidge Farm Raisin bread
2 bottles of Dawn Dish Detergent
1 box of Gain dryer sheets (cashed in my last coupon and raincheck)
7 boxes of Mueller's noodles
2 packs of Borden Cheese
8 packs of Springer Mountain Farms each a pound or more a piece
1 Jar of Duke Mayo
1 box of Decaf tea
4 packs of Yoplait kids yogurt (love this stuff)
1 jar of Philidelphia Cooking Creme
4 packs of Vigo saffron Rice

And that's it. But, I think that's enough. I was crazy excited!

And finally, I had my best CVS visit EVER! I look forward to more of these.

I spent $ 27.93 out of pocket on $139.82 worth of stuff. And I got:

1 Bottle of Head and Shoulders
3 bottles of Suave body wash
6 Suave deodorants
3-3packs of Listerine pocket packs
2 packs of Reach floss
2 bags of Easter candy
2 Cadbury Eggs
1 Zantac
1 Allegra
1 Lysol no touch handsoap system
3-12 packs of Coke products
2 boxes of Triscuits
4 boxes of Robin Eggs Whopper candy
1 Cobroxin pain relief spray

Without any sales or coupons: $ 139.82
Out of pocket cost $ 27.93
Extra Bucks Left Over $12.99
Coupon Amount Used: 
Manufacturer: $ 21.50
Extra Bucks:   $ 52.43
Savings of 80%
Savings counting ECB left over: 89%
# of Transactions: 4

This CVS visit is the best I have ever done I think.

I am very excited that I have finally gotten the hang of this process. My coupon tip for this week is to take advantage of any sales or specials the store has going on. If they are out, get a raincheck. Sometimes store specials will be better than what is actually on sale from the manufacturer.

Total before sales and coupons:  $369.38
Total saved after sales and coupons:  $279.17
Total Spent (minus leftover ECB):  $90.21
Savings Percentage: 75%

A Savings of 85%

I had a great weekend at CVS this week. I didn't go to the grocery store but I did go to CVS. 

I bought
1 Charmin 16 count
1 Bounty 12 count
2 Gain Dish Detergent
1 Charmin Freshmates
2 Dentek Picks
1 Purex Complete 3 in 1
2 Herbal Essence products
1 Tena Adult Pads
1 Irish Spring Deodorant
1 Dial Nutri lotion
2 Crest Pro Rinse

Without any sales or coupons: $ 85.95
Out of pocket cost $ 22.42
Extra Bucks Left Over $10
Coupon Amount Used: 
Manufacturer: $ 19.73
Extra Bucks:   $ 31.46
Actual Cost $12.42
Savings of 85%
# of Transactions: 5

I believe this is the best I have ever done at CVS. I am ecstatic about this trip. No, I don't need adult pads but my grandmother does. I also don't need Crest Pro Rinse or the lotion. However, these items were free with coupons and gave me extra bucks. With those extra bucks, I bought stuff I needed: toilet paper, paper towels, and the rest of it.  Plus, I still have $10 Extra Bucks left. I am stoked.

I do my CVS trips in separate transactions. If there are other customers behind me, I will let them go before me out of common courtesy. Just because I am crazy, doesn't mean others have to watch!

Anyway, hope you guys all have a good week.

Finding the BEST price

I am going to refer a lot to Southern Savers. In my opinion, it's one of the best couponing sites out there. It's well organized, easy to follow, and the tutorials Jenny has posted are awesome. One of the best ones I can show you is this one:

This explains what this whole post will be about in video form. Some people do better when they watch a video and some people learn better in print.

One of the first things to realize is that you need to save your coupons for the BEST price of an item. For example, one week Cheerios might be on sale for 2/$6.00. While this is a sale price, a better sale price is is B1G1Free at 3.99 a box. This makes each box of cereal roughly $1.99. If you have a coupon for $1.00 off of one box of Cheerios, that will make that box that normally costs $3.99, cost $.99. WOW. That's a cheap box of cereal.

Jenny does a great job at showing what is a good price and how it can be better. On her website you will see a list of stores at the top. If you click on one store, you will see all the posts having to do with that store. What you primarily want is the weekly ad. On the weekly ad, she adds an acorn next to the BEST deals. Plus, if something is under a dollar or at a low price, she will tell you how much it is after the coupons. She illustrates this concept here.

There are tons of videos there to listen to and learn from. If you have a question,email me...godandxanax@gmail.com

How I Learned to Coupon

A friend of mine (who I adore) asked me earlier this week to do a post about how I started couponing. I know that a site like Southern Savers (found here) can be overwhelming if you don't have the time to sit and read. However, she really does lay it all out there. She tells the easiest way to organize, she explains how it all works, and she explains how best to use her site. She has several tutorials. I am in no way going to claim that I came up with any of these methods. Jenny, from Southern Savers, taught me these couponing tricks. However, what I am going to do is explain what works best for me personally and how I use her site. These posts will probably be a series because there is SO MUCH that one post just will not do it.

Getting Started

This first and most important thing is to stay patient. I got started doing this thinking I was immediately going to get $100 for $25. It doesn't work that way. It took about four weeks to really start collecting coupons for me to see the "fruits of my labor." It will seem difficult at first. It will seem like you are unable to buy ANYTHING that is on sale. There's a reason for that and we will go into at later date.

The second and second most important thing I can tell you is to get organized and stay organized. There are many different "schools" of thought about organizing your coupons. For me personally, I DO NOT clip coupons. I use a 13 pocket accordion file folder to organize the inserts themselves.

And I also write the dates of the insert on the front of the insert. The date is the date of the paper you got the coupons out of. You can also find the date on the spine of the inserts. Sometimes I will get loose coupons and I organize these in a index card box.

 

You can put them in categories or you can just stuff them in a box as I have done here. I also use a plain folder (like the ones that have three brackets in them). I use this folder for all print outs and coupon "booklets" I get in the stores.

You can see Jenny explaining her system here. I have taken her system and tweaked it to meet what I want it to do.

The last thing I can tell you about couponing is USE SOUTHERN SAVERS. Jenny spells out each store, each sale, what's good, what's not, what to buy, what to wait on etc. If you still have questions, email me godandxanax@gmail.com. I will be happy to answer any questions you have. I hope to post a tip or something every Saturday. This post will take the place of the one on Saturday this week.

Happy Couponing!

$232.85 Worth of stuff...for $72.69...savings of 68%

I really had a great weekend at the stores this weekend. I enjoyed myself immensely. I am going to begin with my tip for the week instead of putting it at the bottom.....Try Drug Store shopping...but go slow. I think I have finally got the hang of "CVSing." I did really well this week. I started small a few weeks ago and have worked my way up. The Southern Savers CVS weekly ad gives scenarios that you can try. She lists simple transactions to start with then list the bigger transactions. I started small and have learned her way to do this. The key for drugstore shopping is to make the Extra Care Bucks (or whatever your store gives out) work for you. The beauty of CVS is you can use the ECBs to purchase more stuff to get more ECBs. Here is what I got this week:

You are seeing here $79.19 worth of stuff for a total of (after sales and coupons and ECB) $20.49 and I still have some ECBs left over. I saved 74%.  CVS was out of the FREE Oral B power toothbrushes today so I got a raincheck. I don't make special trips to a store. I will just get it next time I am there.

I also went to BiLo this week...twice. Once by myself and once with my mom. I purchased a few things each time.

This is the first visit. I spent $22.65 and got $52.99 worth of stuff. 

This is my visit #2. This is $35.91 worth of stuff for $15.37. Yes, I got more dog treats. Dog treats are generally pretty expensive (to be dog treats). Sometimes they range from $2.00-$10 for some bags. So, I get them when on sale and get enough to last for a while. Plus, my doggies love them. 

BiLo totals: $38.02 spent after coupons and sales, $88.90 before sales and coupons, savings of 61% 

And again Publix takes the prize for the most coupon friendly place. I LOVE PUBLIX. I got $65.12 worth of stuff for $14.18. WOW. That's a savings of 78%. Take advantage of those Publix coupons stacked with manufacturer coupons.

I hope everyone had a good week shopping. We are pretty stocked up on cereal, toothpaste, and dog treats. I will not be getting any of those things for a while unless they are free or a few cents short of free. 

Weekend Shopping Trips

I was going to post this weekend but Michael and I spent a lot of time just enjoying each other's company so I never got around to it.

I had awesome shopping trips this weekend. See below:

This is from a place I mentioned in my last coupon post. The place is called Bargain Foods. They get overstock and damaged items from stores and sell it at a reduced cost. What you see here is $72.27 worth of groceries for $40.32. I LOVE THAT PLACE. The only thing is they don't accept coupons. But it's okay. I save enough there anyway. 

I loved my Publix shopping trip. As you know, I have two dogs. We need lots of dog treats. So, I spent $11.39 on $58.01 worth of stuff. WOW. Now, of course these were dog treats, ice cream, taco shells, and Maalox, nothing to make a meal with (except for the Taco shells). However, these were things we need.

 This is my shopping trip from Bilo. It's not the best I have done at BiLo but it was good. I got some meat that was on sale. Plus, I got some cleaning stuff. And more Maalox. I spent $36.41 on $60.95 worth of stuff. Like I said, it wasn't the best I have done but I didn't have any coupons for the meat. 

And this is my shopping trip to CVS. I am still working on perfecting my CVS shopping but I'm getting better. I spent $35.76 on $84.58 worth of stuff. I am really happy. I got free toothpaste, toothbrushes, and Listerine. I was excited. Plus, I got some Valentine Day stuff for my valentine.

So in total this weekend, I spent $123.88 on $275.81 worth of stuff. That's a savings of 56%. I'm pretty stoked about that. So what is my tip for the week?

Get rainchecks. That's how I rocked it out at Publix. I had awesome coupons but the week I needed the dog stuff, they didn't have it. I got a raincheck and went back when I had other stuff to get and got the dog stuff. GET RAIN CHECKS when the store is out of the product you want and go get it before your coupons expires.

No Shopping Trip This Week

One thing that I have learned while couponing is that you don't ALWAYS HAVE to shop every week. I always look at the sales on Southern Savers and if there is nothing I know that we will use or just simply no good prices, I will not go. That's one of the biggest things I will say about doing this. Look once, if there's nothing there, don't try to find something. Know what you have in your kitchen and know what you need. Don't buy to be buying and don't buy it if you aren't going to use it (unless you are donating). Going one weekend a month without going to the store, is not going to deplete your stockpile. Use what you have and check back next week. You'll be surprised by how much you will save.

My Trip to Publix and Bilo

 

This is a picture of my trip to Publix and Bilo. I also went to a place called Bargain Foods. Bargain Foods is a place around where I live that sells overstock, damaged, or out of date stuff. I really love that place but you have to be really careful about what you get. Most of the stuff is good stuff, just marked down for whatever reason. I generally have a good idea what is a good price and what is not when I go there. Most of the time I can get some great prices there. Sometimes I have found that couponing is cheaper. At Bargain Foods today I spent $48.70 for around $70.00 worth of food. I'm not going to go into great detail about everything I got because I forgot to take a picture of it. Needless to say, I bought a whole host of stuff, mainly snack stuff. 

At Publix today, I paid $12.12 for $48.18. While that's not the best I have done, I got some stuff we needed along with some free stuff. 

My List: 

4 Marie Callendar Steamfresh meals

2 A-1 Steak Sauces

2 Gorton Shrimp Scampis

2 French's Mustard (Free)

2 Tasteful Selections Potatoes

I was also going to get some dog treats they had on sale but they were out. I got a rain-check for those.

At Bi-Lo, I paid $21.91 for $41.48 worth of stuff. I had to get some stuff that wasn't on sale so that kind of did me in here. 

My List: 

4 Lucky Charms

Drano (not on sale)

Paper Plates (on sale but no coupon)

2 Breakstone's Sour Cream

3 Borden Cheese

1 Sirloin Tip Steak (on sale, no coupon, dinner tonight)

I have done better at both of these places before. However, these trips aren't bad for the coupons I had and the fact that I haven't done this in a while. I'm happy with what I got and the price I paid. 

My Coupon Tip: 

Until you become accustomed to couponing, use the websites found in this post. These women who run these sites are "professionals" at this. Their coupon matchups and sales are on average 98% correct. They are also very detailed and specific about what to get. They also have tutorials and other "get you started" tools that first time couponers might find helpful. If you are like me, you appreciate the work being taken out of it. There are hundreds of these savings sites so just Google "coupon sites," "coupon savings," or something along those lines to find them. A lot of the times if you find one, there will be links to other ones. Look for one that you can relate to, you understand, and is easy for you. This isn't meant to be hard. 

Hope everyone had a good weekend.

Learning to Coupon

Michael and I were married October 17, 2009. At the time, I was a caseworker making a poverty level salary. (I worked for one of the poorest state agencies). Michael was working as a mechanic and he was making around the same amount I was. I started couponing as a way to save us money. You can't do a lot about the house payment or student loans payments but I figured the one thing I could control is how much we would spend on groceries.

While I was trying to figure this whole thing out, I found Southern Savers. TA-DA! It took all the work out of it for me. Jenny, the webmistress of Southern Savers, would list all sales with the coupons on her website. The only responsibility I had was organizing my coupons. She also has tutorials to teach you how to do that.

I go to the grocery store once a week, specifically to get what is on sale. Don't get me wrong. Do I buy stuff not on sale? Absolutely. There was a long period of time after I got my present job that I didn't coupon. I started making around $10,000 more a year than I was making and Michael got a new job making significantly more as well. I just didn't bother with the coupons. However, after a few months of this, I have realized how much money I am spending by not couponing and I am back at it.

If I do go to the store during the week, I plan on posting a picture of what I bought and telling you how much it all cost. Some weeks I do really well. I have spent $75 at Publix before and only paid $20. But I have also had to buy stuff that wasn't on sale and I didn't have coupons.

The website I use is really only good for the southern states, specifically SC because Jenny is from SC. However, there is also Coupon Mom. That site is free to use as well. It's just a little more commercialized. Both are excellent sites and give excellent information.

Not only will I be posting my coupon successes (or failures), I will be posting my personal tips and sometimes opinions about couponing. If any of my information comes from another site, I will quote them so you can go there to read more.

Happy Couponing!