The Coupons:
I started my journey by ordering the Sunday paper (which I
found with a coupon for $ .47 versus the $2.00 you would normally pay). It arrived early that morning and the fun
really began! I started laying it our
while my dilated eyes took in the glossy coupons. I’ve always enjoyed arts and crafts so clipping
coupons is right up my alley.
The Binder:
I transferred them into my HUGE coupon binder
I pieced together using www.krazycouponlady.com
as a reference. I already owned the
binder and the 8 ½ x 11 page protectors.
All that I had to purchase were the baseball card page protectors ($5.00
for 35 sheets at Target), the divider tabs ($3.00 for 24 tabs at Fred Meyer),
and the pencil pouch ($2.50 at Fred Meyer).
That totals $10.50 that I need to earn back to start seeing some
savings.
The Clipping:
I received my paper on Sunday and started tearing into
it. I also used the grocery store
circulars that come out each Monday in the mail, along with any straggling ‘catalinas’
left in my wallet from prior purchases.
The Organizing:
Once my coupons were clipped and organized I started sliding
them into their appropriate slots in the binder so I was ready to head out.
I asked my husband if he would watch my cherubs so I would
able to process what I was doing while shopping. So, off I went with my unwashed hair, my mug
of Twinings tea, and my BIG binder of coupons.
As I stepped out of the car, I found myself giving a once
over to the parking lot. Would anyone
notice that I was carrying a binder in the place of a child? As I walked toward the door at 7:45am the
store looked relatively empty. I grabbed
a cart and laid the binder in the seat reserved for my toddlers. As I made my way toward the cosmetic aisle I
looked down at my binder and smile came over me. Not the, oh I am so glad I am shopping with
coupons smile, no, the I cannot believe I have a three inch binder in my cart
and am going to actually open it up and let people look at me with it,
smile. [Pause for appropriate giggle at
my expense] So I squashed that grin down
and got to business. It took me awhile
to actually read the coupons and find the products I needed. I walked away stocking up on some lotions,
popsicles, and macaroni and cheese.
Being a ‘coupon virgin’ I did by things with a coupon and that were on
sale but, I had to be realistic...I still needed to buy things on my meal plan as
well. All said and done my pre-coupon
total was...$303.86 and after coupons my total was…(wait for it)…$278.98!! That
is a savings of $24.88 on my very first trip.
I know my coupons will build over time and I will figure out the rock
bottom deals of my favorite stores but for day one…I think I did okay.
No comments:
Post a Comment