It all started w/ me joining a Facebook group called Serious Super Saver. The girl that started the group is someone I went to high school w/ & was good friends w/ her little sister b/c we were both in the same grade. I think this enabled me to "believe" in the whole thing. Don't get me wrong, I have heard of these women that go to the grocery store & walk out only paying pennies for $100+ worth of food, etc but I just didn't think I would be able to accomplish that. Turns out Jen was holding her 2nd seminar so I talked to Todd about it & he said "a penny saved is a penny earned" so I signed up to go. Shoot, the $10 I paid would be worth it all if I saved that much on my 1st trip out, right?
The seminar was very informative. I pretty much understand the concept but now it was time for me to put it to use. I have several obstacles that most don't. One being that I have very limited time to actually get out & do shopping. Ok, I have only one opportunity. Sunday morning. I guess I could go after the kids go to bed but then Todd & I wouldn't have any time together. So Sunday morning it is!
To get started, I got the Sunday paper on Saturday (yeah, like that makes sense but what ever). Then I sat down at the table & put my new skills to use. It took a good 2 hours. That is when I started seeing coupons when I closed my eyes. I made my menu based on what was on sale & put my CVS coupons together w/ that list & then my Kroger's coupons w/ that list.
I embarked on my maiden coupon voyage at 8am. I wanted to get to CVS early. I was on a mission! I loaded up my 4 12-packs of Diet Coke (for Todd of course), my 2 bags of Chex Mix, the Soliel razor, & 2 tubes of Colgate. The total was $41.70 before my coupons. My actual out of pocket was $17.27. I also earned $6 in CVS bucks & a coupon for $4 off a $20 purchase. I didn't buy anything I wouldn't use either.
Then it was time to go Krogering. I had a handful of coupons & don't think I did really well here BUT I know it will et better once I start getting more & more coupons. My total before coupons was $147.31. My total after was $102.44 w/ $44.87 in coupons/store savings, about a 30% savings. Not too shabby for a first-timer. I hope to reach 50%.
I managed to save my family $69.27 between the 2 stores. The seminar has officially paid for itself AND a pedicure for me. Ha. Joking. Ok, maybe not. Even if I were to get a pedi, that is only $20 so I still come out on top by $39.27. Let's just call that $40. All that for 2 hours of time. I think I'll do it again next weekend.
14 comments:
That is great! Care to share what you learned?
Yes, I learned from a friend of mine, Jen. She has a group on Facebook called Serious Super Saver.
You did a great job.
Post a link! post a link! :0)
Yeah, but what happens if you don't get the Sunday paper?
Then you don't get all the good coupons. Shoot, I paid $1.50 for the paper on Sunday, just ONE paper (some buy multiples) & I still got that kind of savings.
As for a link, she has written a 20 page manual that you can purchase for $5 on Ebay. The link is below!
http://www.threecupcakes.com/supersaverorder.html
Hi, I have 13 month old triplets and I found a blog "Tightwads with Triplets" and they have great advice also. Especially with CVS. I have gotten a lot of pointers from there. Its wonderful saving money on everyday things!! Hope this helps some.
Ohhh...off to check out the blog!
so weird...i read your blog yesterday evening and then an hour later i saw a segment on the news about what else?....couponing! crazy... (oh..and we need to get together this week. your cover is ready!!)
That's awesome! Maybe I should have gone with you after all!
Thats good if all the stores are near each other. If they aren't then you might spend more on gas than you actually save.
Why don't you take your kids to the store? Push the stroller and pull the cart. It's easy and good for them to get out of the house.
That's great! If you have Walgreens nearby, I would check them out too...I haven't paid for shampoo, body wash or razors in over a year now thanks to their sales, in store coupons and manufacture coupons. Also check out the forums on hotcouponworld.com if you find time...I love them...other people do the work of finding the deals, which saves me the time of doing it myself, but I still get to take advantage of the savings.
Awesome tips here - Thanks Astrid! I'm going to join the FB group.
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