Monday, November 7, 2011

Couponing Week 1


Thanks to the help of some friends, I am now on my journey of couponing! I made my handy coupon binder last week thanks to the Krazy Coupon Lady's blog. i ventured out on Sunday afternoon to tackle the first of my purchases at our local Safeway...here's how i did:
-Two pillsbury cinnamon rolls (we love these on Saturday mornings)
$2.49 regular price x 2 = $4.98
-$1.00 off/2 Safeway coupon
-$1.00 off/2 manufacturer coupon
-$.50/2 store coupon
= $2.48 for both
-Betty Crocker Supreme brownie mixes (I like to stock up on these :)
$3.49 regular price x 2 +$7.98
-$1.00 off/2 store coupons
-$1.00 off/2 manufacturer coupon
-$1.00 club card savings off each
-$1.00 additional manufacturer coupon
= $2.98 for both (saved five dollars!)
Herbal Essences Shampoo (Target)
$2.49 regular price x 2 = 4.98
-$1.00 Target beauty bag coupon/each
-$1.00 manufacturer coupon/each
= two for 0.98!!!

Coupons are tricky, you can definitely get caught up getting stuff you didn't need to start with. I found a GREAT deal on bar soap, but we prefer body wash type soap, so it would have been silly to get those. Also, even with coupons, the item can be more expensive than if you just found it on sale or got the off brand. Example: I had a double coupon for Lucky Charms, but the regular price was 6.49! Even with 2.00 off, 4.49 for a box of cereal is absurd. It's also awkward to go to a store for only a few things, but I'm already saving money...I saved 27.00 this weekend alone on things we use and needed. I'm also following the new rule of buying things for next year after the event/season. Here's a few of the deals I've found recently:

-Walmart after-halloween sale:
-Two sets of plastic tumblers (great for having people over!) $0.50
-Harvest themed paper plates $0.20
-"Fall" hand towels $0.75
-Candy for operation christmas child (regular price 5.49) $1.00
-Gift bags in harvest colors (but can be used for anything!)$0.75 for two
Gymboree children's sale (post season)
-18-24 month dress for Emmersyn, regular price $42.50. Sale price: $3.99
-18-24 month jeans and top for Emmersyn, regular price 39.50 sale $3.99
-Size 9 year old dress for my niece, regular price $32.50, sale $3.99
-Newborn size headband, jammies, hat regular price $50.00, sale $3.99
-Size 5 dress for my other niece, regular price $49.50, sale $3.99
I ended up getting 16 items for an amazing $25.00 with the combination of sales and coupons! I got over 375.00 worth of clothes for barely a fraction of the original prices. I love Gymboree too because their quality is great. I stocked up on tons of dresses, sweaters, and jammies for our baby girl too :), and got almost all our nieces and nephews brand new clothes for Christmas!

3 comments:

Rebecca said...

Those are some great deals Grace! :) I love Gymboree sales too!
~Becca

Krystle said...

Your finds at Gymboree...wow! Amazing!!
I lack patience for the couponing thing. I try to do my best with just sticking to what we need and getting generic.
We only buy clothes on sale...bummed I missed out on the Gymboree stuff!! :)
Some of their boy stuff is cheesy, but sometimes it's sooo darn adorable!

Patty said...

I am the absolute biggest "out-of-season" shopper. Which is great... if you can remember where you placed it for storage. :)

Most of the time I forget and so I have a bunch of originally $160 dresses that I bought for $7 stuffed under my bed somewhere. Oh well, it's fun anyway! :)