Coupon Convert

So, I've always been pretty skeptical of couponing.  Fifty cents off of peanut butter? One dollar off detergent? It seems like a trivial amount, doesn't it? So maybe you buy three things on your shopping trip that have coupons and you save a whopping two dollars... oh how wrong I was.

Thanks to some great advice from an awesome friend from church, I learned what this couponing business is all about.  I clipped, sorted, and organized my coupons, toting them along to Harris Teeter today for my first attempt at being a savvy shopper. It took me an hour in the grocery store, but at the end of my little adventure, I saved $47.60 (40% total savings)!!!

I was absolutely shocked (and so was the man in line behind me). And now, I'm a believer! Couponing works. Not only did I save a TON of money, but I was also able to purchase many things that I would have gone without because I could get them for a great deal. It took planning, organization, and more thinking than I'm used to doing in a grocery store, but it was well worth it!

Here are the tips that were given to me by my friend. She also pointed me to The Intentional Home, a great blog with tons of resources about couponing and other domestic endeavors (she also offers local classes on couponing that I'd LOVE to check out if anyone is interested). Try these tips out and let me know how it goes!

1.)  Get the Sunday paper.
[I bought the News and Observer] -There are tons of coupons in the middle of the Sunday paper. Cut them out!

2.) Look for other coupons. 
You know that annoying paper thing that comes to your mailbox every week? I always thought it was junk mail, so I trashed it without looking. Wrong. It's not junk mail. It's a coupon treasure trove. Look through it! You'll start to see coupons other places as well... keep an eye out and you'll accumulate quite a few!

3.) Only cut the coupons that you actually need. 
Less paper to deal with, less temptation to buy things "just because I can save money".

4.) Sort and organize the coupons. 
You don't want to be "that girl" in the grocery store who has coupons trailing behind her shopping cart. The more you organize on the front end, the easier it is to find what you are looking for in the store.

5.) Check out Southern Savers. 
They have great tips, specials, and information about the weekly specials and applicable coupons for each major grocery store, drug store, and big box store (like Wal-Mart).  They also have links to websites with printable coupons so you can find even more than you collected from your Sunday paper!

6.) Pick a grocery store to focus on. 
I like Harris Teeter because they DOUBLE your manufacturer's coupons (up to face value of $0.99) every day! Here is their coupon policy. They also offer e-Vic discounts and e-coupons that you load straight onto your Vic card. [Story: I bought yogurt today. It was originally $2.00. I had a $1.00 manufacturer's coupon in addition to a $0.50 e-coupon from e-Vic... so I paid $0.50 for my four-pack of yogurt. And we're talking fancy-shmancy-not-store-brand yogurt!].

Pay attention to the weekly specials (I found their website super helpful!).  This week happens to be a big "buy one get one free" week, so those things were already half off ("buy one get one" at Harris Teeter is the equivalent of "one for half price"!).  Then, I used a coupon on top of that price. Or, if something was on sale for "2 for $5.00" and I had a $1.00 coupon, that means I payed $2.00 for each item! Especially for your coupons that are less than $0.99, you can really save a good bit of money because they double (So, if you have a $.75 coupon, you are actually going to save $1.25!)! I didn't buy much that wasn't on a special of some sort or that I didn't have a coupon for, and if I did, it was one of my items deemed "necessity". I was also willing to try new brands in order to get the best deal.

7. Get a plan of attack! 
Do your research ahead of time. Know what is on special, what coupons you have, and what you need to buy. Make a game plan!

I'm a coupon convert.

Yes, it takes time.  Yes, it takes work. Yes, you have to be super organized. Yes, it's easier if you are Type A. Yes, I was the girl with the stack of coupons at the check out.

But, I saved 40% off my grocery bill on my first try.  That's a big deal! And, it was a fun challenge. It was a game to see how much I could save versus how much I spent. And I like to shop. Ok, that's an understatement. I LOVE to shop. It's a gift. And, I love to save money. (Who doesn't!?!)

Three great things: fun, shopping, and saving money. That's a win, win, win in my book.

Happy shopping!