My Coupon Experiment - Favorite Deals this Week

I have started a post about how this couponing experiment is affecting our space and our budget, but it just is not ready, yet.  I think it may be good to wait a little longer anyway because it will give me more time to really observe our budget for a few months.  Instead, I thought I would share a blog I found today and some of my favorite deals of the week.

First, my favorite deals:

CVS - Total Paid: $6.97, Extra Care Bucks to use Later:  $7

I liked my CVS deal this week because it was an example of the "best sale" not being the "best deal" for me.  I had two $5 CVS coupons, a $5 ECB and a $5 off $25 purchase that I received when scanning my card at the front of the store the week before.  Here is what I did:

Buy 2 Vicks Nature Fusion Cold Medicines $12
Use (2) $3/1 Vicks Nature Fusion coupons (1/29 P&G insert)
Buy 3 General Mills Cereals $10
Use $1/3 GM Cereals coupons (GM insert)
Buy 1 Blistex Lip Care Product
Use 1 $0.25/1 coupon (1/22 SS insert)
Total:  $24.89
Use $5/25 CVS Coupon (they waived the $0.11 difference)
Use $5 Extra Care Buck from last week
Pay $6.97 OOP
Receive $3, $3 and $1 ECB
Final Price: $0

The "better sale" was a better price on Cereal, and I would never have bought cereal at CVS before.  However, because of all the coupons and Extra Care Bucks my cereal was basically free.

Walgreens - Total Paid:  0,  Register Rewards to use later:  $4

At Walgreens, I did the same type of thing - using Register Rewards from a previous week to pay for this week.

Buy (3) Chocolate Marshmallow Hearts - $1.59
Buy (2) Colgate Toothpaste $6
Use $1/2 Colgate Coupon
Use $6 in Register Rewards from previous week
Pay $.53 OOP
Receive: $4 in Register Rewards for later

Rite Aid - Total Paid:  $4.25, +UP reward to use later $4

At Rite Aid, I did have to pay more out of pocket, but it was offset again by the +UPs I received.

Buy (2) Stayfree $6
Use (2) $1/1 Stayfree Coupons
Pay $4.25 OOP
Receive: $4 in Register Rewards for later

I also thought I would share with you something I found today that might help you get more information on getting started in couponing, if you are interested.  I stumbled upon a YouTube video called "Extreme Couponing for Normal People" and I thought that was a great title.  So, I watched it.  Other than it being a home video, which is harder to hear and such, it was a great introduction to what my shopping trips have looked like.  So, I hopped over to her blog and found the original post that she recorded the video for because it had pictures of everything she bought and her totals.  I also found a video on this post where she explains how she puts together her shopping trips each week that I thought might be helpful.  It was from "Black Friday Week" when there are a lot of deals to be had, so a normal week is more like the first video.  The blog is called Living Well Spending Less.  I learned a few tricks while watching the first video, so I will likely check out more on her blog as well.  I hope it helps others, too!

My Coupon Experiment - The First Month

As I stated in this post, I have started a coupon experiment.  I know there are some of you out there that want to know how this whole coupon experiment is going. So, I thought I would share some lessons I have learned and some of the savings I have tracked.

So, How Much Have I Saved?

I am about two months into this learning process. I have not tracked the sale prices of everything I have purchased. I wanted to start by tracking how much the coupons themselves were actually saving me. So, the amounts I have tracked are JUST the COUPONS, not counting how much I have saved in sales I never would have known about or taken advantage of. Also, I am not counting coupons until I actually use them. Just because I earned a $3 coupon on my next order does not mean I have actually saved that; I have to use it first. So, with that in mind, what I have actually saved so far:

The first month = $228
The second month = $148

I saved more the first month because I bought coupons on ebay to get good deals. After reading this article, I am not sure of how ethical it is to use ebay for this purpose. So, I will not be doing that again. My savings will probably be slower, but I think I will still be able to do "extreme couponing done right" - slow and steady, a little at a time.

Lessons Learned?

Savings Percentage -

When you go to Couponmom.com, you can look to see what deals there are in your area and they are listed by percentage saved. However, a higher percentage saved does not mean you are really saving the most money. You really have to look at the prices and know how much you are spending per item.  For instance, there were wipes on sale this week - one for 41% off, the other for 39% off.  However, if you calculated the price per wipe, the 39% off one was a lower price per wipe.  This brings me to...

Sale Price? -

You need to know your prices. A "sale price" is only a deal if it really saves me money. For instance, one store had Nabisco crackers on sale this week 2/$5 or $2.50 each; but WalMart has that as the normal price for the same crackers. I have started keeping a list of what my real base price is. Orange Juice is cheapest at Wal-Mart, Milk is cheapest at the warehouse store, Spices are cheapest at one of the regular grocery stores I shop at.  To start, just track the prices of the top ten things you buy (what is always on your shopping list?)  Then, see what the best prices are over a 6-8 week period.

Drugstores Can Be Your Best Friend -

Drugstores have "reward" programs.  Extra Care Bucks (ECB) at CVS, Register Rewards (RR) at Walgreens, +UPs at Rite Aid - these can all save you money.  Each one works slightly differently.  If you click on any of those store names above, it will take you to an overview of how that store works on the fabulesslyfrugal.com website, if you want to learn more.
 

"Extreme Couponing" on TLC -

Wow!  This show is not reality.  Yes, there are people that shop like that, but there are reasons it does not work like that in real life.

• Some of the practices used by some of the couponers on the show are fraudulent.
• They show the savings based on retail prices, not sale prices.  Do you ever scan your customer card at the end of a transaction?  Of course it is going to look like they saved a load of money if the total is before sale prices!
• Some of the stores overlooked their normal policies to make it look better for TV.

This doesn't mean you can't save money.  Here are some of my favorite deals from this week:

Kikkoman Marinade $0.39 each, Chapstick $0.50 each

(Note:  I do not track my savings until I actually use the coupon, so I do not track my savings by listing the prices the way I am about to. But it does illustrate how the coupons that print at the end of a purchase can make a difference.  Below is how they would list this deal on the coupon sites I have been following.)

Buy 2 Kikkoman Marinades - $2.09 each
Buy 2 Chapstick - $1.00 each
Use 2 $1 Kikkoman marinade coupons
Use 2 $0.25 Chapstick coupons (will be doubled)
Pay: $3.18 OOP (Out of Pocket expense)
Get: $1.50 Catalina coupon for next order
Final Price - Chapstick $0.50 each
Kikkoman $0.39 each

The reason I liked the deal above was that it was the first time I knew about a "Catalina" (a coupon that is offered when you buy specific products) before I went to the store.  I wanted to test if I would get the $1.50 coupon when I bought 2 Kikkoman products.  I was going to buy them anyway, as they were on sale and I had a coupon.  Finding that the Catalina worked was just icing on the cake.

Total cost $6.02

This example shows more how I have been tracking my savings.  I earned a $10 +UP last week at Rite Aid and used it on this transaction.  Here is what I did:

Transaction 1
Buy Schick Quattro Razor $8.99
Buy Schick Intuition Razor $8.99
Use $2 coupon for Schick Quattro Razor (1/15/2012 SS)
Use $2 coupon for Schick Intuition Razor (1/15/2012 SS)
Use $10 coupon earned last week
Pay: $4.23 OOP
Receive 2 $3 +UPs from purchase of Razors
Final Price:  About  $2.12 each

Transaction 2
Buy Edge Shave Gel $2.50
Buy Skintimate Shave Gel $2.50
Use $1 coupon on Edge Gel (1/15/2012 SS)
Use $1 coupon on Skintimate Gel (1/15/2012 SS)
Use $3 +UP from Transaction 1
Pay: $0
Receive $1 +UP from purchase of Shave Gels
Final Price:  FREE

Transaction 3
Buy Nivea Shave Gel $3.69
Buy Nivea Shave Gel $3.99
Use $2/2 Coupon (Online, but may no longer be available, as I couldn't find it.)
Use $3 +UP from transaction 1
Use $1 +UP from Transaction 2
Pay: $1.79 OOP
Final Price:  About $0.90 each.
 
Next time, I will talk a little more about how that "stocking up" mentality is affecting our budget and our pantry.  In the meantime, I hope you will check out some of these really great resources:

Jill Cataldo - Super Couponing
jillcataldo.com

CouponMom.com

My Coupon Experiment

I have started a six month coupon experiment. I don't know how I stumbled on the couponing website I started reading a few weeks ago, but it changed my attitude about couponing quickly. Some friends asked me where I was learning about coupons, so I wrote an email to compile the information I was using to help them explore the world of couponing. I thought I would put that information on my blog, too, in case anyone else might like to check it out.

Here is the Fabulessly Frugal website I have been checking out. It is a little crazy right now, because they are posting a whole lot of deals for Christmas presents and sales that only happen at this time of the year. So, there are more entries per day than normal. Here are some of the articles that got me thinking:

Getting Started - http://fabulesslyfrugal.com/get-started
If you want to understand the acronyms, you need to read this - http://fabulesslyfrugal.com/lingo
FAQ’s - http://fabulesslyfrugal.com/2008/11/coupon-tip-tuesday.html
Stock up Prices - http://fabulesslyfrugal.com/2009/12/coupon-tip-tuesday-stock-up-prices.html
Sample Store Match-Up - http://fabulesslyfrugal.com/category/walgreens
Example of Multiple-Transaction Shopping Trip - http://fabulesslyfrugal.com/2011/11/rite-aid-shopping.html

There are a few other sites that made me want to try this out. Check out the videos on this page: http://www.jillcataldo.com/learn_to_supercoupon.
Extreme couponing TV show vs. Reality - http://www.jillcataldo.com/extremecouponingreality

Both Fabulessly Frugal and Jill Cataldo have DVD "classes" that teach couponing.   I bought the Fabulessly Frugal one, and I felt it was good for getting started with organization.  I think, just based on the videos above, that the Jill Cataldo one might be more in depth on the couponing transactions themselves. They also both have information on saving money in other areas.  So, if you decide not to coupon, you can still see great deals on everything from jeans to camera lenses to household appliances.

So, here is what I have been doing the last two weeks.

1 – Organize my Coupons - I use the organization system described here, with one difference. The coupon lists they put out on their site are not always directly related to the coupons in our paper. We will have the same companies, but the amounts or conditions are different. So, I have tried writing in the corrections, typing up my own list, and next I am going to try downloading their spreadsheet and making changes to that.
2 – Visit Fabulessly Frugal and check out the “Stores” section – This section has the sales at Rite Aid (sign up for the wellness+ card online), Walgreens, Target and WalMart. They also have a “More Stores” section that includes CVS (get the Extra Care Card) and Giant (Same as Stop & Shop). Each page will have the top sales and coupon match ups for that week. These first few weeks, I have not had all the coupons for the deals as they were in the paper before I started saving coupons. I still look at them, though, because it is helping me to get an idea of what prices people are paying for different items. I think this is good because I don’t have pressure to do all the deals. I just do the few I can and see how it goes.
3 – Check out CouponMom.com for other match-ups. – You have to create a login to look at the matchups, but it is free. I like this site because I can see the sales for the local stores more easily. So, even if it doesn’t end up on the “Pink Star” stock up price list for the Fabulessly Frugal website, I know how the sales in the area compare to each other for the things I need. I noticed something new when I signed in now, as opposed to a year ago when I signed up – they have a “Deals over 50% off” link for both national drugstores and national grocery chains so you can see the best deals across stores more easily. They also have a spot to choose your state and see the match ups locally.
4 – Make my Master Shopping List – This is the part I am still working on. I built a database a while back that makes my shopping list for me, but you could make the list on paper. I have a list for each store with the prices advertised and what coupons I will be using and can expect back on my receipt. This helps me to know where I am going while I am out and which things I am getting from each store.
5 – Get my List & Coupons together – I paper clip together the coupons for each store so that I can just grab the pile I need when I go in. I think I am going to bring my coupon binder in the stores with me in the future, though. I missed out on some sales last week because they were unadvertised and I didn’t have my binder with me.

I also just tried some things this week that you may have never done, either. I just did my first “Multiple Transaction” trip to CVS this last week and I was really nervous that the cashier would hate me! However, she was very sweet and seemed to be used to people using the coupons that printed on the first transaction receipt toward their next transaction. In all, I did three transactions and it went fine. Hopefully, it will always go that smoothly! I also just purchased my first coupons on ebay this week, so I will let you know how that goes. (After reading this article tonight, I may not do it again. I will have to look into it more.)

This is still a learning process for me, but last week I saved $50 in coupons alone - not counting that I grouped them together with good sales.  I will be keeping track to see how worthwhile it is to spend the time doing this.  Right now, I feel like I spend a LOT of time because I am on a learning curve.  I will have to update to let you all know how it goes over time.  I think it will take much less time as I get used to it.  Hopefully, I will be able to say that I saved a ton of money by the end of this six months!

Marriage - What I am Reading

Well, my computer has been having issues...my wonderful husband has been trying to help me, and I think everything is good, but we will just have to wait and see.  So, since I have not been able to get in here, I have not been able to schedule my posts for this week, as I did last week.  (I know...you were wondering how I was so good about writing last week, huh?  I love this scheduling thing!)

So, for today, I thought I would share a few posts I have read recently because I love what they had to say about marriage.  I have been thinking of writing some posts on marriage, but I have read two really good ones this week.  These women have had very different experiences than I have, but I thought it would be good to share their thoughts as I get some of mine worked out.  I learned a thing or two from each of them.  I hope you read them!

From Courtney over at Storing Up Treasures:
Talking about the M Word - Part 2

From mckmama at My Charming Kids.net:
Faking It