Sorry that I'm blogging about this again but I have had tons of questions about how I'm able to do all the coupon shopping. I really suggest you take a class if you are interested. I took mine from the Tori at www.sheshopssmart.blogspot.com. It's been a learning process with some trial and error but here are a few things that I want to point out, based on some of the questions I have been asked.
1) It takes time. It really does take an hour or so per week going through the coupons, organizing them and then coming up with my game plan of what I want and where I need to go. Even with my hectic schedule I don't think it's a huge deal to make the time. On Sunday morning I go through the paper while I'm eating my breakfast. Later that afternoon I will plan out the drugstores I want to go to because their sales run Sunday through Saturday. Because grocery store sales run Wednesday through Tuesday I sit down on Tuesday nights and do this again. Then, as I mentioned in my previous post I have found some amazing websites that are constantly posting great deals so I am now looking online about once a day at the end of the night to see what good deals are out there that I haven't seen on my own and print any coupons that spark my interest.
2) I go shopping twice a week. I go to my drugstores on Monday night because I've found that by the end of the week that a lot of the good deals are gone. However, I've also found out the Walgreens re-stocks on Friday afternoons so if I did miss something I'll quickly stop in if there were any items I wasn't able to get on my first try. I hit all of my grocery stores on Wednesday, again, the first day of the new sale. It's taken a while but I've just found times that work with my schedule that coincide with the ads and I usually have no trouble getting the things I had planned on.
3) I only buy things I will actually use. This one I have worked out over time as well. At first I was buying all sorts of things just because I got such a good deal on them. However, I quickly discovered there is no point buying something that I'm not really going to use and therefore it's just wasteful, no matter how much money I saved on the product. So, for the most part I truly do stick with products that I normally use. If something does look interesting to me I will still buy it to see if it is a new product I will enjoy. If it's not, I won't buy it again.
4) I really do cook meals with what I have purchased. I have most of my basic items in my pantry. I'd say that at least 80% of my ingredients are from my pantry. Because I am now past my "stock-up" phase (as far as food goes) and have most items in my pantry I am now able to shop purely for items that I am either replenishing or stocking up my home and personal care items. For example, here this week's menu:
Sunday: Lasagna, Peas, Garlic Bread
Purchased: Nothing
Monday: Chicken Alfredo, Green Beans, Grands Biscuits
Purchased: Nothing
Tuesday: Taco Pie
Purchased: Lettuce and tomatoes
Wednesday: Whatever Wednesday (This night my kids can eat whatever they want as long as it is food, not junk...leftovers, soup, cereal, sandwiches, etc.)
Purchased: Nothing
Thursday: My girls are at their dad's house so I just eat whatever I want
Friday: Pizza and movie night (Sometimes I order pizza but most of the time we make it from scratch.)
Purchased: Nothing (when made at home)
Saturday: Pork Chops, Broccoli, Tater Tots
Purchased: Nothing
5) I don't do this all on my own. I do not have enough time to walk through stores and spot good deals and scour each ad. There are so many great websites and people who are so much better at this than I am that I use all their tips on the websites I have linked here on my blog. If I ever do find a great score on my own I'll probably be so excited that I'd let everyone know. If I'm not braggining that means I got the idea somewhere else and I'm not ashamed to use their advice...that's why they're posting it online!
This week I shopped at Walgreens, Rite-Aid, Smith's, Macey's and Walmart. I spent $54.39. So, yes I went over my budget by a little but I think it's worth it. The best deal of the week? I bought 3 Johnson's and Johnson's Buddy Bars, 2 packages Kotex liners and 1 Monopoly card game for a grand total of........0.84 cents!!! If you don't believe me I am putting up a picture of my receipt!
Isn't it amazing?