Well, I promised to keep you all updated about the great shopping experiment. I think it is going quite well. I’m not completely up to speed about all the rules and how to use the coupons to my best advantage, but I think I’m starting to figure it out.
Today I went BACK to CVS to do a little more shopping, this time armed with my list and coupons. I ended up adding some rolls of Christmas wrapping paper for next year because they were on sale for 90% off. YEAH!
After all was said and done, I saved 73% on everything I bought. Please keep in mind that nothing on my list was wasteful. Everything I purchased was needed and will get used. Also - I ended up being over-charged $1.99 for something that should have been B1G1 (buy one get one free). Also - please notice that I restocked our medicine cabinets - which is always expensive! OK.. here is what I bought:
- 4 candy bars
- 3 packs of stick-on Christmas tags
- 5 giant rolls of wrapping paper
- dish washing liquid
- toothpaste
- 2 boxes of Bayer pain reliever
- 1 box of aleve pain reliever
- CVS brand children’s fever reducer
- CVS brand Immodium
- CVS brand Nyquil
- CVS brand Pepto
- a cute dog calendar
- 20 double-rolls of Cottonelle
This SHOULD have cost me $75.18. BUT.. after coupons and “extras”, I paid $24.57 AND got $4 in Extra Care Bucks to use next time AND another $2 coupon. WEEEEE!! I am quite happy with my shopping spree! Even if you take out the Christmas wrapping, I still saved over 60% on my purchase.
I can’t do the actually grocery shopping until Monday, as my “list of specials” doesn’t come out until then (to take advantage of all of Sunday’s coupons!). I will try to update again when I hit the big grocery store.
So… what do you think? Did I do good?
[tags]sale shopping, coupon shopping, super savings at cvs[/tags]
[dels]sale shopping, coupon shopping, super savings at cvs[/dels]
I am always amazed at how people save a ton of money using coupons. I must admit that every time I’ve tried, I’ve only saved the face value of the coupon. It never quite seems worth it to me. I read these amazing accounts of people getting an entire cart full of groceries for only $20. I always read up on how they do it, but I can never seem to duplicate their success.
Well, I’m trying again. This time, I may have actually figured part of it out. I think I did OK. I went to CVS and used my Extra Care card. I shopped their specials AND used coupons AND got Extra bucks back to be used at a later date. Here is what I bought:
Garnier Fructise shampoo: $2.99 - .75 coupon and got 2 ExtraCare buck for later
Colgate total toothpaste: $2.99 - $1 coupon and got 2 Extra Care bucks for later
Two boxes of Honey Nut Cheerios $4 for both - $1 coupon
My total was $7.74 (after tax) and I have $4 in ExtraBucks to use next time I shop. So, I really only paid about $3.74 for two boxes of cereal, a tube of toothpaste and a big bottle of shampoo. YEAH!
I’m going to try and recreate my success again. The grocery store specials come out today, and I’ll sit tonight to make my list. I’ll be sure to post here and let you all know how I do.
I am also going to look into the Grocery Game. I’ll report back and let you know how much I saved. I’ve heard that it works in some areas, not in others. Unfortunately, we don’t have ANY stores here that do double or triple coupon days.
Do you have any great tips for saving BIG at the grocery store? It is, at the moment, my biggest monthly expense (after mortgage, of course). I spend between $400 and $600 per month at the grocery store. This includes all my cleaning chemicals (which I buy from Melaleuca… I LOVE THEM!), and also things like paper products and foil. I aim to keep my weekly bill below $100, but it hasn’t been working lately. Prices have gone up SO MUCH! I’m at $120 or $130, especially when I re-stock up on meat (always bought on sale). Please share your favorite tips on saving at the grocery store.
[tags]coupon clipping, using coupons, shopping sales, grocery game, saving money at grocery store[/tags]
[dels]coupon clipping, using coupons, shopping sales, grocery game, saving money at grocery store[/dels]