A Dedication to Stacey and Zoey

MY FIRST EXPERIENCE COUPONING

dedicated to Stacey and Zoey

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The last couple of months I have been filled with jealousy. That's right, you heard me. I have just been plain jealous. Stacey and Zoey and their witty couponing ways have just eaten me up inside. The frustration and anger of paying too much for necessities and not having enough money for fun stuff, has driven me to the other side. The clever and frugal couponing side.

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While Stace was here visiting, I picked her brain about couponing, for seven days straight! And when she got on the plane I knew I was in big trouble. I clipped and printed and clipped some more until my fingers were bloody....then I forced my four year old to clip and clip (he really enjoyed it!). I got a binder, and organized and printed labels. Still I was lost. I searched the internet for any Texas help. Blog after blog after blog, reading and searching. Finally, a glimmer of hope. I had stores, printable coupons, what to use when and where! It was perfect!

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My first mission was CVS/Pharmacy. I had a list, $20 worth of stuff, all for about $1. Monday morning came, the kids and I were up and out by 9:00 (very rare for this family). Got to CVS and all the Freebies were gone. The sale ran Sun. Mon. Tues. and women were in there at 12:01 a.m. on Sunday. I got my few items that were available. And then headed to Walgreens. Here are my results:

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2 4-pks of AA batteries

1 pk pantiliners

2 pk gel pens

1 small tylenol

Total: $3.99 (which should have been last then that, kids distracted me and completely forgot to use a coupon.) The original price of the tylenol.

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So, after a little disappointment. I decided to prepare myself for Wednesday (when the Albertson's ad comes out). I searched blogs again, this time for about 2 hours (my husband isn't liking this single father business). I had it all laid out, I was going to save big bucks. Then I got thinking, "was this a Texas blogger or Idaho blogger". And sure enough all that time was wasted on an Idaho website. So, back to the drawing board.

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This morning the kids and I set out. We got to Albertson's right around 8:10. It was pleasant, not crowded at all. And these are my results:

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6 Hamburger Helpers

4 Fruit By The Foot

2 Scooby Doo Snacks

3 Boxes of Trix

3 Boxes of Cocoa Puffs

3 Betty Crocker Cookie Mixes

2 Large Planters Peanuts (byw Stace I need that yummy chocolate/peanut truffle recipe)

20 Dannon Yogurts

4 Tony's Pizzas

6 Peanut Butter M&M's

Total $37.27 (for 55 items!)

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But, we ended up paying more than we should have. I broke the #1 rule in couponing, I took my kids...I didn't have a choice. So, what happens when you take your kids, you ask? You pay more attention trying to keep the yogurts safe while your kids throw them into the basket, and less attention to what brands they were throwing in, hence 9 yogurts that were $0.66 instead of 0.21. I figure that was almost $6.00 paid that didn't need to be paid, if you knew what I mean! They managed not to break one at the store, but it wasn't 3 mins after we walked in the door Gracie dropped one. What do you do, but smile.

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I know it isn't the best deal, but let's look at it this way.

$94.97 (what I would have paid)

-57.70 (in savings)

-5.94 (opportunity I missed out on for breaking rule #1)

"My" Potential Total $31.33 (almost a 66% discount!) Ah, I feel much better.

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I know you two really could have kicked some butt on this one, but it was my first time doing the grocery mission. Wish me luck for next time!