But this time was different! This time I went in with a mission (sort of). I went in with more coupons than I could possibly use. I went in head first. I went in... blind.
First, I printed the coupons. I am part of a group on Facebook called "Chicken Little". It is amazing- full of info on how to get coupons, free stuff, etc. It's a great resource if you need a few tips on saving money. I found several coupon sites through Chicken Little and went to printing... and printing... and printing.
What? Me? Forget to PLAN? Yep. I thought I planned well, but I had no idea how complicated couponing can be! I thought, "I'll use these coupons at this store and get that free and double this here" and what-not, but I failed to put my plan on paper- which meant walking into a store with a purse full of coupons and no clue as to what I was doing.
There's something about shopping with kids in your cart that causes your brain to stop working the moment you walk through those automatic doors...
So the first store: Walgreens. I was epecially excited because I had read through the weekly ad and found the soap I use on sale. Not only was it on sale, but if I got three of them, Walgreens would give me $6 in Register Rewards, which I could use on my next purchase. YES! If I played my cards right I could get my toothpaste and cereal for free! (I had coupons for those, too!) Unfortunately, I was distracted by my three year old begging for suckers and dancing around the shopping cart, so I forgot to purchase my soap first and then use a seperate transaction to pay for the rest of my goodies with the Register Rewards... bummer. But I can use the Register Rewards on another trip- and I still saved a ton! (I'll tell you how much later)
Second store: Target. I had Target-only coupons that I printed off their website. This store was a little tough because I was so distracted by all of the cute summer clothes on sale for kids! (Of course, this had to be the month I told my husband "Don't budget much for clothes- I don't plan on getting anything."- grrr.) Oh well, back to the point: Target is tricky! The coupons were great, but I kept asking myself, "Is this cheaper at Target with a coupon, or at Walmart with no coupon??" For instance: At Target I was able to get a free Jello mix if I bought three- At $1.25 a pop, I spent $3.75 and saved $1.25. At Walmart they're only $0.90 a box, so for four boxes I would have spent $3.60- so I spent $0.15 more at Target with a coupon than I would have at Walmart without a coupon... a learning experience to say the least. However, I did get great deals on BBQ sauce and several other items and ended up saving some money after all!
Third store (yes, I'm crazy like that- and yes, I had both kids with me): Walmart. By this point I was feeling a bit tired and somewhat discouraged. I had saved money, but I wasn't sure how much- and I really wasn't sure if I'd walk into Walmart and discover that I'd spent more than I should have. As I walked through the store I glanced at prices and checked my receipts from the other stores- I really DID save some money! (Aside from the Jello, of course.) I was especially pleased to find that the soap I bought at Walgreens would have cost me $4 more at Walmart- and I wouldn't have received the $6 coupon... so a $10 gain there! Of course, once I hit Walmart I realized that I didn't just need milk and juice after all- so I ended up filling my cart full of things I forgot I needed: baby food, fruit, etc.- alongside all the things I had coupons for... so I spent way more than I originally intended.
The whole way home I kicked myself for spending so much. Not that it was "alot" per se, but since it was May 31, I went over the last bit of our grocery budget. If I had shopped on June 1, when the budget was full, I wouldn't have cared at all- yeah, I'm kind of weird like that. I'm working on it:)
So the coupon conundrum: Is it worth it to spend all of the time and energy on cutting out tiny pieces of paper and shopping at several stores, just to save a few bucks? Let's find out:
At home, I pulled out the receipts and did the math. Overall I used 12 coupons and took advantage of several in-store deals. When I added up my savings, they totalled $30.82! not to mention I got a $6 coupon for my next trip to Walgreens. So, for an hour of coupon printing/sorting I gained $36 in savings... not bad! I did, however learn a few lessons along the way that I'd like to share:
1) If at all possible, leave the kids at home! Need I say more?
2) Go in with a real plan. "Proper prior planning prevents poor performance," Jeannie McGinnis used to say. I agree. Next time I will make a detailed shopping list and put a little * or something by the things I have coupons for.
3) Cut out the coupons BEFORE you go. I thought, "Hey, they're all on a single sheet of paper- easy to carry & sort through- awesome!" But they were such a pain to hold on to and tear apart once I got into the store. Next time I'll definitely cut them out and organize them before I head out.
4) Know what you spend. It would have been such a great help to know how much Jello costs at Walmart before I spent the money at Target just because I had a coupon. From now on I'm going to pay more attention to my costs so I can know for sure if I'm getting a good deal.
5) Have fun! Toward the end, my attitude started turning downhill. I forgot all about how much I was saving because of the stupid Jello. Next time I'll keep a better check on my attitude. Maybe then I won't get so upset when my three year old spills sprite all over the back seat... yep.
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