I'm somewhat embarrassed to admit that I spend almost an entire evening watching TLC's "Extreme Couponing." I probably shouldn't be embarrassed as doing so provided me the impetus to go out and save some cash on groceries. $78.90 to be exact. Chris and I both have doctoral degrees to pay off and we'd like to be able to be debt free relatively soon. This means that we have to save where we can.
This was my first venture into the world of what I once considered to be the crazy coupon ladies but I must admit that I now know what it is to feel that rush, that high when I checked out and realized that I just saved almost $80 and spent only $110 for two months of veggies, soups, bread, fruit juice, Aleve, cookie dough, rice, milk, etc including a ton of stuff for Chris, my favorite vegan.
I spent about three hours on a Saturday clipping coupons from the circulars I once threw out and printing out manufacturers' coupons from the web. I found out that my local grocery chain, Giant Eagle, will double coupons valued $0.99 or less. What follows next is how I approached things and what I learned to do better next time.
- I made an excel spreadsheet with the items on sale at Giant Eagle (i.e. soups 8 for $10) and what I needed to buy (i.e. a big juicy steak!). This was column 1 of spreadsheet.
|
| Item |
| Aleve |
| Progresso soup |
| Scope mouthwash |
| Nabisco Ritz crackers |
- Column 4 listed the value of the manufacturer's coupons
|
| Item | Quantity | Giant eagle price | Man coupon |
| Aleve | 4 | $19.96 | $8.00 |
| Progresso soup | 8 | $10.00 | $2.00 |
| Scope mouthwash | 2 | $7.00 | $1.50 |
| Nabisco Ritz crackers | 2 | $5.00 | $1.00 |
- Column 5: additional coupon value if doubled
| Item | Quantity | Giant eagle price | Man coupon | Manu doubled |
| Aleve | 4 | $19.96 | $8.00 | $4.00 |
| Progresso soup | 8 | $10.00 | $2.00 | $2.00 |
| Scope mouthwash | 2 | $7.00 | $1.50 | $1.50 |
| Nabisco Ritz crackers | 2 | $5.00 | $1.00 | $1.00 |
- Column 6: Total price (= Column 3 - Column 4 - Column 5)
|
| Item | Quantity | Giant eagle price | Man coupon | Manu doubled | Total Price |
| Aleve | 4 | $19.96 | $8.00 | $4.00 | $7.96 |
| Progresso soup | 8 | $10.00 | $2.00 | $2.00 | $6.00 |
| Scope mouthwash | 2 | $7.00 | $1.50 | $1.50 | $4.00 |
| Nabisco Ritz crackers | 2 | $5.00 | $1.00 | $1.00 | $3.00 |
- Column 7: Individual price (= Column 5 / Column 2)
|
| Item | Quantity | Giant eagle price | Man coupon | Manu doubled | Total Price | Indiv price | Coupns needed |
| Aleve | 4 | $19.96 | $8.00 | $4.00 | $7.96 | $1.99 | need 4 coupons |
| Progresso soup | 8 | $10.00 | $2.00 | $2.00 | $6.00 | $0.75 | need 2 coupons |
| Scope mouthwash | 2 | $7.00 | $1.50 | $1.50 | $4.00 | $2.00 | need 2 coupons |
| Nabisco Ritz crackers | 2 | $5.00 | $1.00 | $1.00 | $3.00 | $1.50 | needs 1 coupon |
- Column 8: How many coupons I needed for that quantity (i.e. if Progresso soup on sale 8 for $10 and I have a coupon for an addition $0.99 off every 4, I need 2 coupons to maximize the savings)
|
| Item | Quantity | Giant eagle price | Man coupon | Manu doubled | Total Price | Indiv price | Coupns needed |
| Aleve | 4 | $19.96 | $8.00 | $4.00 | $7.96 | $1.99 | need 4 coupons |
| Progresso soup | 8 | $10.00 | $2.00 | $2.00 | $6.00 | $0.75 | need 2 coupons |
| Scope mouthwash | 2 | $7.00 | $1.50 | $1.50 | $4.00 | $2.00 | need 2 coupons |
| Nabisco Ritz crackers | 2 | $5.00 | $1.00 | $1.00 | $3.00 | $1.50 | needs 1 coupon |
- Column 9: Any additional notes=
This is what my final matrix looked like:
| Item | Quantity | Giant eagle price | Man coupon | Manu doubled | Total Price | Indiv price | Coupns needed | Notes |
| Aleve | 4 | $19.96 | $8.00 | $4.00 | $7.96 | $1.99 | need 4 coupons | |
| Progresso soup | 8 | $10.00 | $2.00 | $2.00 | $6.00 | $0.75 | need 2 coupons | |
| Scope mouthwash | 2 | $7.00 | $1.50 | $1.50 | $4.00 | $2.00 | need 2 coupons | |
| Nabisco Ritz crackers | 2 | $5.00 | $1.00 | $1.00 | $3.00 | $1.50 | needs 1 coupon | |
And so, with this matrix and my flimsy purple paper folder filled with coupons, I walked into Giant Eagle. Let's just say that couponing for the first time on a Sunday mid-afternoon is not the most relaxing thing ever. I grabbed a big cart, hoping my haul would fill at least half. I decided that I'd try to find the items I had coupons for first and put them at one end of my cart and the items for which I didn't have coupons at the other end. I found the soups first and loaded up eight, some for me and some for the vegan. I then went to find the Aleve which was 4 aisles over.
Tip: Go through the store aisle by aisle, finding everything you have on your list in each aisle at the same time. I wasted so much time going down the same aisle four or five different times for different items.
Tip: Ask at the start of shopping what the store's policies are for coupons. For example, Giant Eagle will accept a manufacturer's coupon over $2 if it is from a circular (i.e. clipped from the papers) but will only accept coupons printed from the internet for up to $2. They will only double coupons valued $0.99 or less so if you have a coupon for $1 or more, it won't be doubled. Also, if your item, after coupons, is free, the coupon isn't accepted and thus the item isn't free. I was glad I asked at the beginning of my trip. It would have sucked to have to put stuff back.
Tip: Organize coupons as you shop: I carried an extra paper clip and as I put items in my cart, I put the applicable coupons aside in their own pile thus I had one pile of unused coupons and a second stack of coupons to give to the cashier. This allowed me to make sure I didn't put stuff in my cart for which I didn't have the appropriate type or number of coupons.
Tip: Spend $5 and buy an accordion-style folder to organize your coupons: I wish I had lots of folders and that my coupons were secure. My flimsy purple folder, while somewhat helpful, left me constantly in fear that my valued coupons would spill all over the floor and heaven-forbid be lost forever.
Tip: Buy in bulk when reasonable: For instance, Chris and I love soup so I knew we'd eat a ton of Progresso soup. When not on sale, it's about $2.69 a can. This week, I got it for about $0.75 a can. That's 72% off the original price. I intend to go back tomorrow or Wednesday and buy more.
Tip: Watch out for aggressive 'coupon crazies': I was picking out Pillsbury biscuits on sale when I felt a bump from my left. I looked up and some crazy lady had hip-checked me so she could grab the last few packages. I was a little shocked. It reminded me of the one and only time I ever went to a Black Friday Sale (@ Target). I left that horrible event with three things taken out of my cart and gashes on the backs of my heels from where people just drove their carts into me...
Tip: Stick to your list: It's easy to say "Ooooh, 10 for $10!" but if you don't really need it or ever use it, why spend the money? For instance, there was some yogurt on sale and I knew I had a coupon but truth be told, I don't eat yogurt so why would I spend the money on something I know I will throw out in a week?
All in all, this was not too shabby for this first time out...
Some of what I picked up:
- 4 boxes of 50ct aleve
- 2 bottles of 750mL Scope mouthrinse
- 4 large boxes of Ritz crackers
- 2 36oz bottles V6 smoothies
- 8 cans Progresso soup
- 6 bags Birdseye Steamfresh veggies
- 12 packages of Pillsbury rolls or crescents
- 2 Lean Cuisine Spinach & Artichoke dips
- 4 packages of Pillsbury cookie dough (sorry guys, cookies won't be from scratch as long as this holds up)
- 1 16oz bottle Parmesan cheese
- 2 1L bottles gatorade
- 1 lb Butterball sliced turkey
- 1 16oz bottle Hot Sauce (for Chris)
- 2 Glade candles
- 1 Large Juicy Steak (dinner for tomorrow!!!!)
- 1 lb ground chicken
- 1 box hamburger helper Stroganoff
- 1/2 gallon fat-free milk
- 1 package of sliced Sargento Colby Jack Cheese (for the famous melts to be written about in the future)
- 2 bags cat litter
- 1 box 24 cans of diet coke
- 3 packages of Knorr Sides
- Suave conditioner
This was about 1/2 of the loot. I had to make 3 trips to the car with my trusty little granny cart to bring it all up!
Well, I think that's enough for my first post about my adventures in couponing. Don't worry though,
there will be more to follow including where I find my coupons online...
*My sister, a CPA and wonderful mother to Maggie, is notorious for her matrices. She can create a spreadsheet and algorithm for just about anything! I learned, and am still learning, from the best.
