All In A Days Work

I have a new hobby...making money while I shop!

I have officially become a fan of coupons. A friend of mine introduced me to the whole concept. Yes, I knew coupons could save me money and I have tried on several occasions to clip and save. But it wasn't long before I threw up my hands in frustration (and coupons went flying all over the store) and I ventured back to Wal-Mart and the ole faithful generics that I have come to know too well.

But this time is different!
In the past few weeks I have learned some tips and tricks and have begun the crazy task with a new attitude and outlook.

I know this is probably so cheesy to share this with you all...and you may all sigh and say...well, duh, but I have to think that there may be someone out there like me that this might be new and exciting for...so humor me.

The first thing I did in my adventure was meet with my friend Janet and she began to share with me how she does this whole coupon thingy. I fervently took notes and tried to keep up but came out stinkin' overwhelmed and confused.

Determined not to give up before I even started I decided to do as she said.

First I went to several of our local grocery stores and stood in front of those little coupon dispensers and gathered all the coupons I could. Yes, I did get some looks as I stood there waiting for the sensor to shoot out another coupon...but the results were worth it. I came out with a handful of coupon from each store. On the way out I made sure to grab their specials ad for the week.

Then I got a Sunday paper. Of course I knew this was a coupon mine...but usually didn't take the effort to go and buy one. I waited until Monday morning and got it half off. Two of our local drug stores (Walgreens and CVS) have their weekly ads in the paper, too. Plus the ever so loved JoAnns and Michaels. Gotta love it!

So I came home and clipped.

Then I compared the ads.

Then I shopped.

My first endeavor was to Publix. I was pretty proud to walk out 30 minutes later with a shopping cart full of groceries. I spent $53.59 and saved $68.36. My coupon base was pretty small and I had to have several things that were not on sale and I was couponless for. So this total included $10 worth of peanut butter, a bag of apples, a bunch of bananas and two gallons of milk all that were not on sale. My total also included 6 clorox toilet bowl cleaners ($2.64 total after coupons), 6 Arrid XX dry deodorants ($8.97 from BOGO) and 3 bags of dog treats I got absolutley free (with coupons of course).

I also got:
2 bags of Doritoes
2 bottles of coffee international delight coffee creamer
4 cans Progresso soup
2 bottles of Lawry's marinade
1 dozen eggs
2 jars Classico spaghetti sauce
2 boxes of Special K cereal
Lenders bagels
2 8 oz. sargento shredded cheese
2 boxes Rice a Roni

I don't know about you...but lately I can walk out of the grocery store with one bag in tow and have spent this much.

Yesterday, I ventured out again. With more coupons (from the paper...that I subscribed to and now have it delivered for half price, WOO, HOO!) and sales ads in hand I went to CVS first and got 2 packages of candy corn and glow sticks for my kids to use Halloween night for free. I used "extra bucks" from the week before plus I got the full price back in "extra bucks" and can spend them on whatever I want next time I shop there.

Then I went to Walgreens.
I was so proud.
I shopped and came out with quite a few items and money in my pocket.

I spent $22.97 and got:

$13 back from "register rewards"-money I can spend free here on my next visit...which is handy since we usually buy our milk here
$7.99 back in on online rebate
$7 back on mail in rebates for trying 2 new products

Even after my stamps for my mail-in rebates I netted $4.20.


Here is what I walked away with for free:

Theraflu Warming Liquid 8oz.
Malox Total Relief 12 oz.
(2) 13.5 oz. bottles of Pert Plus Shampoo plus conditioner
Benefiber kiwi strwaberry sticks (16 count)
Extra Strength Exederin gelcaps (80 count)
Loreal Facial Cleansers

We will use all these products and I got a head start on stocking my medicine closet for the "sick" season.

My final stop of the day was to Winn-Dixie. (By the way, All of these store are within a mile of my house...much better than driving 20 minutes to our closest Wal-Mart Neighborhood grocery). If you live closer to Wal-Mart, something to consider is using the ads there. I am not sure if they all do this but our supercenter in Huntington WV would honor the prices listed on identical products from all competitors ads.

Anyway, back to Win-Dixie. Several of their cuts of meat were BOGO. I decided to be adventurous and branch out of my ground beef and flash frozen chicken breast rutt. I selected the following:

5 lbs. boneless porkribs
30 oz. adobo seasoned bonelss pork loin
30 oz. southwestern style seasoned boneless pork loin
11 1/2 lbs. chicken breasts
9 1/2 lb. bottom round beef roast

Then I had the butcher there:
grind half of the beef roast into ground beef (very lean)
the other half he divided into beef stew meat and beef steaks

He also divided half of my chicken breast and cut half into strips and cubed the other half.

All for FREE!


Here is a picture of all the meat I bought. The ground beef is already cooked in the picture (in meatballs, taco meat and two more lbs. of cooked ground beef that I will make lasagna and taco rice with tomorrow before I freeze it).

I ended up saving more than I spent on the meat. I bought about 32lbs. of meat for right at $2 a pound. And I have a variety of meat to freeze for meals for at least two months.

I have also started advanced menu planning. This way I can partially prepare meals and freeze them for later use. This is another great thing I have learned lately. I will have to blog about this in a future post.

Thanks for visiting my blog and
HAPPY SHOPPING!