So, it’s been ages since I wrote here. I wasn’t even sure if my blog still existed, but so far it lives on. My latest hobby has not been knitting or gardening or even avoiding housework (It’s true, this new hobby has even encouraged me to be tidier, it’s a revelation). Let me explain.
It’s couponing. I know what you’re thinking, “Are you ‘Extreme Couponing’ like on those shows?” Well, no and yes. I’ve seen the shows and honestly they were certainly the motivating factor, but frankly my family doesn’t need 40 boxes of cereal, 100 candy bars and 30 packages of hot cocoa mix even if they’re freakishly cheap!
It all started with attending a “couponing class” put on by the SacBee a few weeks ago, which honestly was really just a big push for subscribing to the SacBee (yes, I subscribed to two copies every Sunday lol at $.77 an issue, though), but it did give us a heads up to an awesome website they sponsor – sacbee.grocerysmarts.com. It’s our local go-to for price matchup-ups for our local stores (Safeway, Save-mart, Raley’s and Wal-Mart) and a few pharmacies (Walgreens, CVS, Rite-Aide and Target).
Here’s how it works. Basically when you get the Sunday paper there are coupons in one of three different coupon inserts – Smartsource (SS), Red Plub (RP) and Proctor & Gamble (PG). The grocerysmarts website literally takes the local ad prices for the week and matches whatever current coupons are available in these coupon inserts (and some other sources, I’ll explain later) to alert you to the best prices around (3-star, 4-star, 5-star, Free and better than free – you get paid to buy it!). Technically, you don’t even have to clip the coupons until you’re ready to use them. You just see what the best deal for the week is from their list and you go back to your coupon inserts and clip them then. Also there’s a coupon database at hotcouponworld.com so if there’s a killer price at the store (close-out or clearance or something) on an item you don’t see a coupon match-up for and isn’t listed in the local ad, you might be able to find a coupon for it on their website and print a coupon from the source it mentions. A smart phone is useful for this, so you’re not searching through all your inserts forever while standing in the store!
I don’t want to overwhelm you with all the other great little tips for now. Let me just tell you about my two shopping trips this week.
At CVS
Finish Power Dishwasher Detergent
Reg. Price $6.39
Sale Price $2.99
Plus $.75 coupon
Final price $2.24
Carnation Evaporated Milk
Reg. Price $1.79
Sale Price $.88
Plus $.50/2 coupon
Final price $.63 per can
I had three coupons so I bought six cans!
At Rite Aide
Halls 25-30 Count Cough Drops
Reg. Price $2.69
Sale Price $1.50
Plus $1/2 coupon
Plus Rite Aid +Up $1/2
Final price $.50 per package
I had three coupons so I bought six packages! I would have bought eight since there was the availability for a maximum of 4 +up rewards, but I only had three manufacturer coupons. (BTW, I had three coupons since I found a Sunday paper in my local starbucks and snagged the inserts that week).
Wrigley’s Gum
Reg. Price $1.29
Sale Price $1
Plus Rite Aid +Up $1
Final price Free!
(I’ll explain how this works later)
Orbit Gum
Reg. Price $1.29
Sale Price $1
Plus $.25 coupon
Plus Rite Aid +Up $1
Final price $.25 money maker!
(I’ll explain how this works later)
So there are two morals to my first post about couponing.
One, if you only subscribe to or get one newspaper (one set of coupons), you will only be able to buy one (or maybe two) items for that killer price match-up, but if you subscribe to more or can get your hands on additional papers or set of coupon inserts, you’ll have better buying power to “stockpile” for when your family needs the items you would normally have to buy at full price when they need them.
Moral two, couponing is going to take a lot of patience. The killer rock-bottom prices don’t happen on everything all at once. Like right now lots of baking things are on rock-bottom sale and there are plenty of coupons floating around. In summer, lots of condiments and those types of things will be on rock-bottom sale. The key is to buy enough to last your family for the time until the items go on rock-bottom sale again. Most things if you aren’t brand-biased (choosey about the brands you use), go on rock-bottom sale every three months. For example, I have never bought Finish detergent (over 6 bucks, no way!), but since it was on such a sale and I had a coupon, it was way cheaper than my normally cheaper Cascade! Same goes for Halls cough drops. I used to always buy the store brand or go to the dollar store, which seemed cheaper. I doubt the Rite Aide store brand or the ones at the dollar store are ever going to be 50 cents a bag!
So for now, part of my weekly grocery budget is going towards normal sale stuff like meats and produce and a small portion is being devoted to stockpiling just one or two things a week. It may not sound like much savings, but you gotta start somewhere. Not as exciting as “Extreme Couponing” but life is never like it is on TV, right?
