I am back now though. That's what matters! And, what better way to come back then by showing off my new little hobby.
COUPONING!! Click the jump :)
Now, let's preface this by saying I am so not ready for the Extreme Couponing TLC show. I don't have any desire to buy 1000 bottles of Nesquik. I have been stocking up on cheap stuff however and creating little mini stockpiles. I've also cut down my monthly grocery bill by 25% + in the mean time. Not too shabby. AND I HAVE PICTURES!!!
Now, the retail value of this bunch of stuff normally is: $81.17
I paid $45.49 which is only 56% of the original cost.
Add to that the fact that I got $20 off my next purchase.
My adjusted cost $25.49 which is 31% the original cost.
Not too shabby I say! I did it all by buying the stuff when the store already had it on sale and there was a coupon for it as well. In fact the toothbrushes were free.
As I've been doing this I've started my stockpile. I only stockpile things we will use before they expire and things that we have room for. I buy things at dirt cheap prices or free. All the toothbrushes and toothpaste were free, for example.
Yes, it does take a little bit of time to get the coupons, but the time is SOO worth the savings. Especially since we're saving up to buy a house and have a baby.
And here are some pictures for ya!
We have enough cereal and oatmeal to last quite awhile. All of it will be consumed by the expiration date since they are far enough out. A lot of pasta that we got cheap as well. I won't need either of those for a number of months.
Snack drawer! Right now I'm avoiding it like the plague since I'm still staying strong with that whole no sweets thing. Don't worry, I plan to break that on Easter Day since the restaurant we're having brunch at, has the best cake in the ENTIRE world.
The sodas inside the house.
And the sodas inside the garage. We don't drink all that much soda so this will last us quite some time :)
So that's our stockpile and my couponing stash thus far. I'm loving the money we're saving. And trust me anyone can do it. If anyone is interested in how I learned, let me know, and I'll be happy to share that as well.
It is about darn time for you next post...SHEESH, I on't check it EVERY DAY! And yes, I would love to learn about the websites you use etc... I might not be able to do a lot of that now since I am just one person, but it would be great to know once I am out of grad school, in a crap load of debt, and living with Austin. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm always so interested in how coupons work. While we have coupons here in Canada, it's nothing like what you seem to have in the States. We'll just get 40 cents off, or (on a pricier item) maybe a dollar. Really not even worth the time of cutting the coupon out, to be honest.
ReplyDelete@ Brenda, check out thekrazycouponlady.com I get most of my deals from just following what she posts. And yes you could do it too. Not necessarily the food stuff as much, but you could get toiletries and what you don't use you can donate or give some to Austin.
ReplyDelete@ Stephanie, most of our coupons are pretty low too. Coupons by themselves aren't worth much at all, it's all about pairing them with good deals and when stuff is already on sale. I know there are a few sites that to deals for Canada, if I have some time I'll try to find them for you.