I promise that every blog post I write from here on out will not be about couponing. But this blog post will, in fact, be about couponing!
A few months ago, I made the decision to start using coupons. And not like I'd used them in the past... This time I was going to seriously make an effort to save money using coupons. I had no idea at the time just how quickly I would become hooked! I was so excited about the deals I was getting, that I started posting them on Facebook. I had several people start to ask me how I as getting such great deals. So, I wrote this blog post about couponing. But still, even after I wrote that, I had several people ask me if I thought that couponing was worth the effort. I mean, do I really think that clipping a few coupons is worth the time and effort I have to put into it?
Well, last month I got around $700 worth of items for free. And last week, I saved $102 by using coupons on my weekly grocery shopping trip. That was a personal best for me. To me, that's huge! So, I guess the answer is yes, to me it's worth the time and effort.
This month is only halfway over, and so far I have gotten all of these items for free:
3 magazine subscriptions:
1 bottle of Listerine mouthwash
2 bottles of contact cleaning solution
1 sample (by mail) of Tide Pods laundry detergent
1 sample (by mail) of Simple face wash
2 (3 packs) of bar soap
1 sample (by mail) of Tums
2 tubs of Country Crock
2 bottles of Revlon nail polish
2 bottles of Purex laundry detergent
6 Glade air fresheners
2 sticks of Irish Spring deodorant
2 sticks of Gillette deodorant
16 boxes of Paseo tissues
4 Gillette razors (only 2 are pictured because we're already using the other 2!)
3 bottles of Garnier Nutriesse shampoo (not pictured because I honestly just forgot to put them on the table!)
1 sample (by mail) of Nature Made fish oil
1 pouch Bumble Bee tuna
2 tubes Maybeline mascara
2 (5 packs) Zyrtec
AND...
1 FREE Old Navy t-shirt (that's right, it was completely free! One of the couponing blogs that I follow told me how to get a coupon for a completely free t-shirt.)
A few months ago, I made the decision to start using coupons. And not like I'd used them in the past... This time I was going to seriously make an effort to save money using coupons. I had no idea at the time just how quickly I would become hooked! I was so excited about the deals I was getting, that I started posting them on Facebook. I had several people start to ask me how I as getting such great deals. So, I wrote this blog post about couponing. But still, even after I wrote that, I had several people ask me if I thought that couponing was worth the effort. I mean, do I really think that clipping a few coupons is worth the time and effort I have to put into it?
Well, last month I got around $700 worth of items for free. And last week, I saved $102 by using coupons on my weekly grocery shopping trip. That was a personal best for me. To me, that's huge! So, I guess the answer is yes, to me it's worth the time and effort.
This month is only halfway over, and so far I have gotten all of these items for free:
3 magazine subscriptions:
1 bottle of Listerine mouthwash
2 bottles of contact cleaning solution
1 sample (by mail) of Tide Pods laundry detergent
1 sample (by mail) of Simple face wash
2 (3 packs) of bar soap
1 sample (by mail) of Tums
2 tubs of Country Crock
2 bottles of Revlon nail polish
2 bottles of Purex laundry detergent
6 Glade air fresheners
2 sticks of Irish Spring deodorant
2 sticks of Gillette deodorant
16 boxes of Paseo tissues
4 Gillette razors (only 2 are pictured because we're already using the other 2!)
3 bottles of Garnier Nutriesse shampoo (not pictured because I honestly just forgot to put them on the table!)
1 sample (by mail) of Nature Made fish oil
1 pouch Bumble Bee tuna
2 tubes Maybeline mascara
2 (5 packs) Zyrtec
AND...
1 FREE Old Navy t-shirt (that's right, it was completely free! One of the couponing blogs that I follow told me how to get a coupon for a completely free t-shirt.)
I also got 2 cases of drinking water for free, but I didn't feel like lugging them onto the table for the picture! I also got my daughter a pair of flip flops, a pair of earrings, and 2 pairs of leggings, all completely free. This month, I've gotten over $160 worth of items for free, and I've saved over $208 on other items, simply by using coupons. This is just one example of the savings I'm getting by using coupons:
Mighty Dog canned dog food is normally $0.70/can. Dollar General had the cans on sale for $0.55/can. I had coupons to get $2.00 off 8 cans. After the sale and the coupons, I paid $0.30/can. I bought 48 cans (I had 6 coupons that my couponing friend gave me, thank you AS!!!). So, instead of paying $33.60 for those 48 cans, I paid $14.40, for a total savings of $19.20. OR, it's like I got 27 cans for free. My Maggie dog IS a Mighty, Mighty Dog!
A couple of months ago, I also read a post on one of my favorite couponing blogs about all of the birthday freebies you can get. So, I registered with a few of my local favorite restaurants. And for my birthday (which was earlier this week), I got:
A $30 gift certificate to Benihana
Free breakfast at Ihop
Free scoop of ice cream at Baskin Robbins
Free hamburger at Fuddruckers
Free entree at Houlihans
Free entree at Applebees
Free slush at Sonic
Free platter and free dessert at Taco Bueno
Free ice cream creation at Cold Stone Creamery
Free appetizer or dessert at On The Border
Free appetizer at Joe's Crab Shack
Free appetizer or dessert at Chili's
AND...
A $10 gift certificate to Maggianos
The best part about all my birthday freebies is that I don't have to use them all on my birthday. Most of them are good for the entire month.
Still not convinced that couponing is for you? Well, let me give you one quick and easy way to save money, without ever clipping a single coupon. Start taking advantage of CVS deals that earn you Extra Care Bucks. Look in their weekly sales paper. Make an initial purchase that will earn you Extra Care Bucks back, then turn around and use those Extra Care Bucks to make another purchase the following week that will earn you even more Extra Care Bucks. Keep your Extra Care Bucks in a constant rotation, and you can get freebies every week!
Here's an example of what I'm talking about:
I had $10 in Extra Care Bucks from last week. I got a 5 pack of Zyrtec for $5.99, and the Gillette deodorant was Buy 1 Get 1 Free for a total of $4.59. I had a $1.00/2 Gillette deodorants coupon. I also had a coupon to get $0.50 cents off a pack of gum that was $0.99 cents. That brought my total to $10.07. I used my $10 in Extra Care Bucks which brought my total due to $0.07 cents, which I paid in cash (or in coins, as the case would be!). For that purchase, I earned $5.99 back in Extra Care Bucks, which I then turned around and used to get the laundry detergent and air fresheners for free... and so on, and so on.
Have more questions? Feel free to ask...
That's it for today. Happy Couponing!
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