My First Couponing Adventure

I have recently realized that I need to start seriously thinking about how to pare down our expenses. In the short term, we are trying to save enough $$$ to be able to buy a truck for Eddie debt-free. In the long term, we are realizing that if we have kid #2, we'd be pretty close to that tipping point where the cost of day care for two kids would take up so much of my paycheck that it would not make much financial sense for me to continue to work, especially considering the non-monetary benefits of being a stay-at-home mom. So, I turned to couponing. By request (thanks, Christy!), I am writing about what I'm learning & how its going.

First off, I have to send a shout-out to Al Gore for inventing the internet, because it is a great way to get coupons & save money. You can still do the old tried & true coupon clipping out of the Sunday paper, but there are also really good Internet coupons. I used them almost exclusively this week (only one wasn't a 'net find - I stumbled across it in a magazine I was reading). Here is the site I used, but there are others if you Google : http://www.afullcup.com

It appears that I picked the best week ever to get serious about this, since there were a TON of great coupons & sales available (Memorial Day weekend, maybe? If I figure out the rhythms of this, I'll let you know). Whatever the reason, it was a good time to learn lesson #1 of couponing - always combine coupons with in-store sales to maximize your savings. An example: let's say I have a coupon for $1 off salad dressing. If the regular store price is $2.59, I can use my coupon & pay $1.59 - a good deal (39% off original price). BUT, if the item is on sale for $2.19 and I use my coupon & pay $1.19, I've gotten a great deal (55% off original price). Here's where it gets good - if I have a $1 coupon, and the item is on sale AND I shop at a store that doubles coupons, I can get that salad dressing for 19 cents - an AWESOME deal (93% off original price).

So, does it work? Here's what I purchased this week:
3 boxes of Jello
2 18 oz. bottles of Kraft BBQ sauce
4 16 oz. bottles of Kraft salad dressing
2 1 lb. jars of Planters dry roasted peanuts
1 14.5 oz. box Ronzoni whole wheat spaghetti
1 8 oz. bag Ritz Toasted Chips
2 Hillshire Farms Deli Select sandwiches
6 12 pkgs. Kraft American cheese singles
2 8 oz. bags Kraft shredded cheese
2 8 oz. bricks Kraft Philadelphia cream cheese
2 boxes Cheez-It 100 calorie snacks (6 bags per box)
1 Hershey Bliss candy bar
2 boxes Kraft Deluxe mac n cheese
2 boxes of Bagelfuls (mmm... Bagelfuls!)
1 box Premium saltine crackers
1 box Ritz crackers
1 32 oz. jar Kraft mayo
1 32 oz. jar Miracle Whip (gross - giving to my mother-in-law)
2 containers of Cool Whip
1 bag Baked Lays
1 4-pack of Dole tropical fruit cups (this was my non-net coupon)
2 pkgs Oscar Meyer all-beef hot dogs
2 40 count canisters of Wet Ones anti-bacterial wipes
1 box of Blue Bunny root beer float ice cream bars
1 box of Blue Bunny strawberry yogurt ice cream bars

Total value of groceries: $165
Total amount I paid (including tax): $43
Percentage savings: 74 freaking percent!!!!! It works, people! [and, I'll admit - I even screwed up a couple of times! I could have saved about $3.50 more!!!]

Obviously, there is lots more to say about this, but I'll post again soon. But I am already so excited about this I can hardly stand it!