Thursday, August 12, 2010

My Latest Obsession

COUPONS!! I have always been an off and on coupon clipper but over the past couple of months it has become almost an addiction. I went from the typical small file folder full of coupons to this -

From My Little Sunbeams


a 3-ring binder full of baseball card sleeves full of coupons! Most I get from the Sunday paper and the midweek mailer and others I either print myself or receive in the mail such as Target store coupons and diaper coupons. I was amazed at how quickly they add up. I used to see other women in stores with their coupon binders and never understood where they got all of those coupons and how they could stand to carry such a big binder into stores shopping. But as my little file folder began to fill up and become more difficult to close and as I was running out of room and pockets for new categories I decided I would give the binder a try. And I love it! When I see how much I'm saving at the register and how much easier it is to find the coupons I want to use, I'm not even embarrassed carrying around such a big binder.

Some of the deals I catch I find on Southern Savers but recently it has become almost a challenge to see if I can find my own deals that were not mentioned on the blog.

Just for fun I thought I'd post my deals this week. It is super doubles at Harris Teeter. I love super doubles!! The photo below is everything I bought during my trip yesterday -

From My Little Sunbeams


I hit quite a few VIC specials but before coupons the total was $63 - and after coupons.....$21.06!!! Woohoo! I saved over $40 in coupons. Some of the best deals I managed to get were:
  • Ragu pasta sauce, 45 oz. jar - 3 jars for $2.52, just 84 cent each!
  • Chips Ahoy cookies with Reese's - free!
  • Danonino yogurt - free!
  • Danimals smoothies - 2 for free!
I had a couple of other items on my list that would have been awesome deals but apparently a lot of other people thought the same and they were out of stock.

At CVS I was able to get two packs of Huggies baby wipes, 216 count, for only $2.18 out of pocket plus $3.00 in Extra Care Bucks I can use at my next shopping trip.

I had a fairly decent week at Target as well. I saved $24.03 in coupons. My best deals there were:
  • Pampers Cruizers diapers, 64 count & Pampers wipes, 72 count - both for $13.49 (saved $6.39)
  • Kellogg's cereal - 3 boxes for $3.39 total!
  • Dora the Explorer Foaming Soft Soap (Gabrielle has been begging for this soap) - just 99 cent
  • Hormel pork tenderloin - $4.99
I am definitely still learning though and becoming a more efficient shopper. For instance, during Harris Teeter's last super doubles special I overbought on yogurt. Just because I can get 20 containers of yogurt for $2.00 doesn't mean I should. I ended up throwing away a few containers and I really dislike wasting food. So I'm learning to only buy what my family can and will actually use unless it is an item I can donate to the food pantry. And I am learning to buy first what we absolutely need for meals and then hitting some of the other good deals for snacks or even a special treat.

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