Week 3 was my best week of savings so far. I made one trip to Target and one quick trip to the Dollar Tree. Dollar Tree started accepting coupons a few months ago. But it can be a bit tricky because most coupons have a size restriction (usually only works on bigger sizes) and a lot of what Dollar Tree carries are smaller sizes of items. But, I had read on a facebook post that there was a new kind of peanut butter from Planters that a coupon worked for, so I ran to the local Dollar Tree to pick up a jar. I found the same size jar at Target for $3.59. At the Dollar Tree it's...a dollar! And I had a 75 cents off coupon. So I got a $3.59 jar of peanut butter for $.25. That's a 93% savings! Score.
My trip to Target saved me 46%! I bought 14 items. I got seven of those items both on sale and with a coupon. Highlight: Recently I discovered a Kraft product of a bread crumb and cheese mix to use on chicken. There are a few varieties and we really like them. The are $3.74 full price. They were on sale for $2.09 and I had a $1.00 off coupon. I got two packets for $1.09 each! That's a $2.65 savings per mix.
Highlight 2: I got three yogurts. Full price they were $1.29 each, but they were on sale and I had a coupon so I got three for $.68 a piece. That's almost 50% savings. Highlight 3: Pepperoni (which I love to put on salads) was $2.99 full price. It was on sale for $2.84 and I had a $1.00 off per package. I got two packages for only $1.84 a piece.
A little couponing tip to make the process as smooth as possible: I organize my coupons. I lump my coupons together in 3 categories; food, health, and beauty products. I bet you that you know the layout of the stores you frequently shop fairly well. Put your coupons in order of the layout of your store. That will make it faster to look through them as you shop. When I go to Target, I know that the health section is first, followed by grocery, and I do beauty products last.
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| This is what 44% savings looks like. My week 4 shopping trip to Target. I got all of this for $47.99. I saved $38.14. |
Week 4 had only one shopping trip all week and it was back to Target! My savings were close to week 3. As I shop with coupons more, I'm refining my system and my savings are increasing. Highlight 1: I use a lot of Lubiderm lotion in the winter. Man can that Wisconsin winter air dry me out! Full price the lotion was $6.29. It was on sale for $5.66. I also had a coupon for $2.00 off so I got the bottle of my favorite lotion for just $3.66. Happy day!
Highlight 2: There was a coupon in the paper for buy two Digiornio pizzas, get one free. Target also had a sale AND a special. The pizzas were on sale for $4.50 a piece (regularly $5.49 each). Plus, if you bought two pizzas you got a free 2 liter of pop. So I got 3 pizzas and a 2 liter for just $8.50...full price would've been $16.47. So I saved $9.76! Whoop!
Highlight 3: I had a coupon that was expiring the same day of buy one, get one free on razors. They were on sale for $4.99, instead of full price of $5.74. The coupon took off the "maximum" allowed price, which was $7.99. So I got 2 packs of razors for a total of $3.49. And I am set on razors for a loooooong time. (I had a stash going already so now I have plenty stored up.)
Part of my savings on this shopping trip were from a $15 rebate I got in the form of a "credit card" when I ordered my contacts last spring. I forgot for a long time that it was in my wallet, but remembered it on this shopping trip. So that shaved $15 off the top of my total.
Savings of week three: $24.67
Savings of week four: $38.41
Total 2013 savings: $186.99
