Monday, June 28, 2010
Savings???
Sorry I didn't quite know how to name this post LoL I'm blogging today for some advice As many of you might know, couponing has become a real "in" thing these days! I follow a money saving blog as many of you do I'm sure. With the economy the way it is, it just makes sense to try and save where you can. But, here is the question, DO ANY OF YOU FIND IT ALSO STRESSFUL???Because sometimes I just wanna throw things when I go shopping and the 2 big reasons are A: they are ALWAYS out of the deals I went in there to get! Ok maybe always isn't fair, but at least 50% of what I went to get is gone :( and B: making sure I have all my coupons together and to the cash register AND making sure they all worked out and came off just totally frazzles me! If you know me you know I am not Mrs. Organization! Then if you add in the fact that I usually have at least Jaxon with me on a shopping trip if not also Miss Daaelynn HOLY MIND MELT!!!! So does anyone else have this issue or is it just me??? And then also I wonder if I got a good deal??? I always see people saying they got $80 worth of stuff for like $30!!! So here is my shopping total for today and I need your opinion!!! I shop at Smiths- they had a deal where they would make all your under $1 coupons $1 coupons! SO I spent $76.02 but saved $12.95 with coupons, $5.65 with Smith's promotion (buy 10 participating items get $3 off) AND $33.54 in fresh value savings for a total of $52.54 AKA 41% savings!!! But is that way good or kinda good or what??? I DUNNO!!! I mean $52 bucks saved is awesome, but only $12 came from coupons. So what do you all think???? Give me some advice my wise wise friends!! :D
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4 comments:
Alrighty Megan... This may get long, lol. First, to make you feel a little better, you have to look at what you are buying. Couponing takes a lot of practice, and YES its a huge pain at first, especially if you've got kids with you. But over time, it becomes natural and you will end up making trips to the store and not use coupons and it will feel wrong, lol.
I always do my shopping late at night, which sucks, but then I can take my time to wander, look at the prices and make sure I've pulled out every coupon. I usually have a place for the coupons that I am using like a paper clip or their own special pocket in my binder, that way I remember all of them when it comes time to check out. I can't tell you how many times I have messed that part up, and I hate it when that happens! When you look at your receipt, were the items you used the coupon for on sale as well? You kind of have to look at it as its a good deal, not so much as hey, I am getting $1 instead of 20c, right on! Because the reality is that the same item could be cheaper somewhere else, even without the coupon, or it could go on sale and cost less. Its really hard to look at all of that stuff when you have kids with you too Are some of the items necessities (something you have to buy - for instance, in my family is bananas, fruit snacks and string cheese and milk)and are there usually coupons for those items. Milk and produce rarely have coupons, so its a given that I will be spending at least $8-$10 a week on it. So if it is necessary, then its going to be an added cost no matter what. What all did you buy?
Something that always helps with when to purchase something is picking a price point. For me, cereal can't be more than $1.50, fruit snacks no more than $1.50, ground beef no more than $1.50lb for 85/15, string cheese at about 33c a stick, butter $2 package, pasta less than 50c, detergent no more than $3 for 32 loads, Goldfish less than $1, etc etc. I could go on and on. If you find a super sweet deal on something that you can stock up on, do it! I have SO much pasta sauce and pasta just from these great deals, its wonderful. I always worried about having some kind of, ANY kind of food storage, and getting coupon crazy is allowing me to do so.
I really recommend following some other blogs too. My ulitmate fave is hip2save.com, she is AWESOME! And the deals and freebies are always so up to date. The other one I like is thekrazycouponlady.com, they give info on local stores on the west coast (Smiths, Alberstons) as well as Safeway/Vons and other things. I follow several to be sure I capitalize on the deals, because some sites have deals others won't mention. Plus hip2save has awesome giveaways every Friday and on special holidays.
Anyways, I hope this kinda helps. The biggest thing is to not get discouraged. I started back in February and its barely starting to feel normal to me to "coupon" effectively. Just keep working on it and don't feel bad if you don't get a deal, or you make a rookie mistake (still happens to me often), or if you don't save as much as others do right away. It really does take practice, just like any other sport ;) and yes, it is a sport, lol. I think you did awesome on your trip to Smiths! You'll be a pro in no time!
Saving $52 on one trip to Smith's is great! Especially when you are just starting out with the couponing :) I know you work nights, but that is when I do my shopping, when I can go alone :) One thing that I do is I shop from the sale ad. Usually the coupons I cut out of my Sunday paper and for the products that are going to be on sale that week at a certain store. I use the sale ad to make my shopping list. Whatever is on sale that I have a coupon for, that is what we will be having for dinner. This has saved me so much money! Since January, I have saved over $700 at one grocery store. I do not shop at this store exclusively, sometimes I go to Walmart or Aldi (a great store that they really do need in Utah.)
Hopefully that helps? You really are doing great, keep up the good work :)
Good luck girl! I tried this once and thought it was too much for me too! Let me know if you get an easy system down! It sounds complicated to me, but I'm sure worth it!
I hate coupons! I can't juggle it all and I too want to throw things...so I don't use them, ever.
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