Pick Another Checkout Lane, Honey

Joanie Demer and Heather Wheeler have written an entertaining book that will delight you and educate you all at the same time.

You'll love the hand drawn illustrations that are included and surely be able to relate to these experiences.

In under 200 pages, you'll find all the secrets of going from a total non-couponer to a total expert with all the secrets of how to save up to 75% on a regular basis without doubling a single coupon!

Get more information on the book here.

If you aren't interested in buying the book, but want to glean all you can about couponing, go to the site that has the best printable coupon list anywhere: The blog is called The Krazy Coupon Lady!

Go here!

Boy, you'd think I didn't shop, as little as I write on here!

Fact is, truth couldn't be farther away! I have been shopping so much lately that my cupboards are bursting and, in fact, I'm resorting to giving things away.

Well, I thought you'd enjoy this story.

I recently (well, during the month of October, early on) was able to find some Publix only store coupons for Huggies baby wipes for $1.50 off each package. Thankfully, they happened to be on sale for only $2.50. (Regular price is $3.49 there). I had gotten a bunch of these particular coupons in the go-round at Publix and saw that others weren't as interested as I am.

So, right near the end, when the sale was going off and the coupons were going to expire, I went out and spent all that I could handle getting. (I figured that $1 per package was 1990's prices, which is what I used to pay 20 years ago when I was hatching out kids!)

When I was taking this picture, my hubby walked by and said, "Are you trying to tell me something?"

My youngest son is 13 years old and I'm 46. If I were trying to tell him something, I don't think I'd do it by stacking up baby wipes in the back end of the van along with my VERY inexpensive Hamburger Helper (not sure if anyone will eat it, but it was only about $.50 per package)... and I took this picture. I assured him that I was only trying to take a creative picture and didn't want to haul them all into the house and then back out again, since I was just going to give them away.

I gave most of the wipes to my youngest sister in Atlanta, who does, indeed, have a toddler in diapers. So, the wipes are going to great use.

And no, I'm not trying to "tell anyone" anything. In fact, the cashiers and bag boys all made comments, but hey, MONK uses wipes galore and he's not even female!

--RW

So what's a girl to do? Shop, of course!

...The dilemma...

It’s Saturday afternoon and I had worked my fingers to the bone all week long. I needed a break, but wanted to do something that was profitable, as well as didn’t break the bank!

“Go shopping!” my husband has stated in the past when facing this dilemma. “You always enjoy that.”

Therefore, with the echo of my husband’s words ringing in my ears, I climbed into my trusty vehicle to “shop til I drop.” Only this kind of shopping was vastly different from what 99% of American women today do when “out for recreation.” I was out coupon shopping!

I was looking at an open space of about 4 hours and I had on my horizons the goal of coming home with some free shampoo, several batches of Atkins shakes and some other groceries that I had read about on the good deal alerts, and noticed in the ads myself.

Heading 12 miles down the road, I decided to check out the Dollar General store in Ridge Manor. On my radar were several items that I had been informed were inexpensive or free, if you could locate them. (Not all stores have all the products all the time.) Unfortunately, the only thing I could find was the Excedrin Back and Body, 2 packs for $3. I could have used my $2 coupon, making two boxes equal $1, but I have about 40 boxes of Excedrin waiting for an onslaught of headaches already. So, I left the store, quite disappointed, empty-handed, and headed down the shopping center to the Winn Dixie.

Just the thought of invading Winn Dixie and seeing how well I could do, however, gave me an adrenalin rush. I parked quickly, gathered my coupon organizer and purse and headed inside.

At 1:36 p.m., after scouring all the markdown bins, deciding that the Tidy Cat that was on sale was the same price as Walmart everyday, I checked out. I was thrilled. I walked out of the store paying a mere $12.85 for $71.10 worth of stuff. I’ve put pictures up of most of what I was able to capture.

As I was checking out the “young clerk kept saying, ‘I really need to start using coupons.’”

I chuckled all the way out to the van. “I wonder if she thinks this ‘just happened,’” I thought to myself, then added, “It really does, only with some careful planning and coupon clipping.”

Success breeds confidence. It was only 1:36 in the afternoon. Other things crowded my mind that I could be doing, but I decided to try the other Winn Dixie in Brooksville. So, I drove another 10 miles or so to the next one, and there I paid 10.34 for $28.72 worth of stuff. I didn’t do as well, but it’s hot outside, and I splurged on a Diet Dew for myself, adding a ridiculous $1.39 to my bill. Other things I wanted didn’t seem to be on sale, so I passed, not wishing to create a scene at the register. I was done there at 2:13 p.m.

Calling me from across the street was Publix, one of my absolute favorite stores at which to shop. So, I gathered up all my coupons, including a $5 off $40 which I had picked up at a different time, and was waiting to use it in a Publix. I invaded the store, armed with confidence, a coupon organizer and a shopping cart. I proceeded to check on everything I’d read about, from the Revlon nail clippers to the Nabisco cookies, Atkins shakes and other deals.

I decided to try out the Revlon nail clippers deal. It was all over www.afullcup.com that these were FREE this week with the in-store coupon. They were $1.49 and the Revlon coupon was $2 off ANY product. My sister had emailed me from Poland that she’d love to have 100 sets for her teenagers’ orphans’ gift bags at Christmas time. So, “for free,” I decided to “go for it.” I picked up one nail clippers and two packages of Nabisco cookies, for which I had $1/1 coupons. When it was time to check out, the clerk totaled me up to be $7.49. I handed her my coupons and the savings came off from the store sales as well. Total paid: A mere $.49. I dug around in my purse to find actual money. I didn’t think I should make Publix pay a $.30 debit card fee when I was just basically given 2 packages of cookies and a set of nail clippers. I left there at 2:35.

Now fully charged with “shoppers’ high” (which, by the way, if you’ve never done this before, has GOT to be better than drugs any day of the week, as there are ZERO negative repercussions as a result of this HIGH)… I decided to run into the Spring Hill Drive Publix since I was going to go home via Powell Road. According to Beatrice, my trusty GPS, she tells me it’s only about 3.5 miles to that particular Publix once I turn onto Powell Road.

Furthermore, there I decided to hit hard. I opted to just go ahead and “go for it”. Shop. Fill the cart. I had several things I needed to purchase, so I put it all in my cart, along with more cookies and some more Revlon nail clippers, among other things. I dug out my $5 off coupon, which I had decided NOT to use at the last store, as I had simply wanted to test the Revlon deal.

At 3:16 p.m., I was done legally robbing that store, as well, leaving behind a mere $12.97 for $68.90 worth of goods.

I talked myself into a quick trip to the Mariner Commons Publix, because as any good coupon junkie knows, “you can’t resist a good deal.” So, I drove the 5 or 6 miles more to the next Publix and finished wiping that one out at 3:51 p.m. I paid $15.98 (had to have another Mt. Dew, as it was terrifically hot in the car, adding an extra $1.39 plus tax to my bill) for $68.60 worth of stuff.

While I was there, I wanted to check out SweetBay, as I’ve been avoiding that store lately, not really following the sales there, as there’s not as much national attention given to it on the boards. I figure if there are any good deals there, I’d have to find them on my own, but I certainly needed to check it out. And since I was only across the street, I’d give it a try. So, at 4:17 p.m., I left there, armed with a Glade wisp candle, paying $2.99 for a $7.99 candle. I’d been wanting to try that for months.

I figured I’d better GO HOME, resisting the urge to hit the Winn Dixie on Spring Hill Drive on my way home, as that would put me home well after 5 p.m., if I did that.

So, I headed back to Powell Road and back to little ‘ole Dade City, armed with a van load of food and goodies for me, for my sister in Poland’s ministry and for my kids as well as a boatload of confidence. I had just spent $55.62 for $252.80 worth of goodies, paying only $.22 on the dollar, racking up a huge 78% savings.

If I factored in 4 gallons of gas, which is about what it took for this trip, I could add $16 to the cost of the groceries, and still have a 72% savings.

Yes, I’ve done better. But what good does it do to buy things that you don’t need? I know of people who are petless, who go in redeeming all the free pet food coupons they can, so as to rack up a better percentage and make the bill look lower. However, this seems senseless to me, unless, of course, you’re needing to get the bill up to a certain dollar value, so you can bring it down with a $5 coupon off $30 or $40.

Most people, when needing a break, would end up costing their family money. They’d either go to a movie (at $5 to $8 per ticket), go out to lunch $5 to $15 per person), go a Rays’ Game $8 and up for tickets plus gas to get there), or some other expensive diversion. However, for me, it’s “GO SHOPPING.”

The difference? I pay with little pieces of paper called coupons, instead of my hard earned cash. Try it. You’ll find that you love it! No coupons? Order them from www.TheCouponClippers.com. We make it as easy as we can for you.

--Rachael

COMMENTS about the items I bought:

Perrier water is FREE for anyone as long as your store has the red blinky shelf machines. However, we got it home and realized it was mineral water. I’m glad I only bought two and that they were FREE.

You’ll notice on the PERT, that there are TRY ME FREE stickers on some of the bottles. I can fill this out, turn in my receipts, if I am feeling so led, and get $3.69 back, as that’s what the shampoo rang up as on the receipt. I probably will NOT do it, preferring to save my receipts for a while, as proof that we do NOT need to double coupon in order to get the good deals! However, the product was FREE to begin with, after sale price and coupons, so I’m not really losing anything, just not MAKING money. (Which you can do using these little pieces of colored paper called coupons.)

The Glade Wisp Flameless Candle has been the best air freshener system I’ve bought in ages! This wisp of air has smelled like vanilla for hours upon end. I love it and it was well worth my $2.99 investment to try a new product.

Johnson and Johnson stuff.. an addiction

Ok. I admit it. My sister has a sickness.

She's over here visiting from Poland and I made the mistake of telling her about some superb coupons ($3 off 2 items) which we've had... the Johnson and Johnson FIRST AID coupons.. Well, along with the aid of http://www.afullcup.com/ and our coupons and simply pointing her in the right direction, she has now accumulated over 100 small first aid kids from Walgreens and CVS.

Here you can see the first aid kits, which regularly priced are $1.99 (at the top of the picture). She's combined those with some $.79 smaller packages of first aid butterfly closures and added in a few larger items (below)...

and she's got FREE first aid "stuff." So, as long as your total value of your coupons doesn't exceed the total cost of the Johnson and Johnson first aid stuff, then the coupons work, as long as your total number of items is alright as well.

In other words, if you use 4 $3/2 coupons, you should buy $12 worth of "stuff" in a total of 8 items.. But, they do not have to be $1.50 items each. You can use a 4 $1 items and 4 items that total $8.00.. .

Shown here is the $10 first aid kit that she got with some of the $3/2 coupons.

It was pretty neat. She's gotten over 100 of the smaller first aid kits. I don't know how many of the butterfly closures, but a lot of places have those 10 pieces of bandages for only $.79.

Below here is a much smaller first aid kit with the smaller first aid kits which are selling for $1 packaged right in with the first aid kit.

The small one doesn't really have much, but it's handy to carry in your car and has a nice plastic carrying case to keep the ketchup and mayo off of our bandages!

She's going to use these kits in her Christmas packages for the teens in Poland this coming Christmas!

Thank you, Johnson and Johnson! Your generosity is greatly appreciated!

--Rachael

HELP!
I've got "SHOPPER'S HIGH"
It seems to be a bad case!

Does it ever go away? Oh my..
I 've been itchin' at the bit to go shopping for 7 days now, but to no avail.

So, tonight, after packing up supper, I headed out to 3 Winn Dixie's and a Publix, armed with my coupons and a list of what to buy where!

NOW I UNDERSTAND YOU ALL!

I didn't dare try to stay in town, since too many of my fellow "smart shoppers" live here, so I headed to the neighboring Winn Dixie, about 12 miles away.

There, I did my best: I got my bill from $112.47 to $9.10!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Then, I went to the CVS, to try to get some of that fabulous candy, which is on sale for $.99. Alas, I got a rain check... Two, in fact, one for Cadbury's and one for Hershey's kisses. BUT, while I was there, I noticed that they had a cordless razor and it was 50% off. I opted to buy it. However, it was 75% off, not 50% off, so I got my 14 year old son his first razor. I told the clerk that if he ruins it, it was only $2.66, so we'll be ok... (I didn't tell her I had just saved $103!)

NEXT STORE: Winn Dixie was just across the street. So, for the second WD, I got my bill from $90.21 to $24.75. Not as great, but I opted to buy only the "very most" needed items at this particular "dinky" Winn Dixie. And I had already used my $10/$50 "one shot" coupon at the first store.

Then, I went across the street from that store and went to PUBLIX, where I even bought a couple of things regular price with NO COUPONS.. (gasp). However, I needed them and I was there, and they were there, and with gas at $3.19/gallon, I didn't feel like driving 3 more miles out of the way to save $.50... (esp. since my total savings for the past hour and a half had been in the neighborhood of $150 so far..)

At PUBLIX, I got my bill from $70.60 to $28.27. I was rolling along, pretty happy about then, because I was buying one supper meal setup (main dishes, etc.) after another... preparing my freezer for upcoming meals and easy dinner preps.

However, I had noticed at the second WD that I could get Valley Fresh canned chicken for $.33/ can (regular price $1.67) if ONLY I'd stop back by the Office and pick up some $1/2 coupons. So, I did. I grabbed a handful and then went to my OWN local, yokel Winn Dixie.

There I ran my bill skyhigh up to $209.38. Now, I was pretty nervous about that since I've never spent $209 at one shot at any grocery store EVER in my life.. Maybe $100, but NOT $200!

But, DRUM ROLL, please.. I got it down to $47.80.

By the time the clerk was done with me, she had the other 2 teenagers surrounded around here saying things like, "That's crazy." "Insane." "Wow, you beat out my dad shopping" and "Boy, is Chelsea going to hate you for having to count out all these coupons." I said, "Oh, Chelsea will be fine with it. She knows me." (She used to go to our church and was Sarah's best friend for about 3 years...)

I got home and had a whole back end of my van full of goodies. Do you think I had ANY trouble getting my boys to unload the van for me? NO WAY! As soon as they saw that it was all stuff that they had either specifically requested or that they knew that we needed or that they liked, they started helping me put it away, even! (I have them bring it in and then I put it away, is my usual drill.)

So, from 6:10 p.m. until 9:50 p.m, I bought groceries that retailed at a ridiculous $482.66 for only $109.92. That represents a 77% savings.

And that was NO DOUBLES! I'm DEAD SERIOUS!

And I wasn't buying a lot of fluff that we won't use or didn't need just to run it up, so it'd look good for you all!

YOU CAN DO IT TOO!
GET THOSE FLYERS OUT... and ORDER THOSE COUPONS!

More Groceries For Cheap!

You're probably tired of hearing my savings at Publix, but this time I got a savings of 75%.

Please realize that we are not able to double any coupons at all here in Central Florida, so we do regard this kind of savings to be fabulous! I was, indeed, very pleased with this kind of dealings.

I bought:
10 Mott's apple juice minis.
10 Juicy Juice bottles
6 Kraft Live Active Cheese
2 Meow Mix..

Retail price: $75.40.

Coupons and sales totalled $56.28 in savings.

I paid $19.12. I left smiling, of course.

The clerk was, too.

--A great stop for a Saturday afternoon!!

Savings at Publix abound even in NO DOUBLING LAND

I just wanted to drop a quick line and let you know that at times you simply can't take time to dig up all the coupons that you really want and need. However, if you watch your store's sales, you can take advantage of the store sales and make a huge dent in your bills. I wanted you to see what I stumbled across, achieving a whopping 65% savings with VERY few coupons and just by watching the store sales.

I bought 14 bottles of Mott's Apple Juice, 2 Gorton's shrimp and 8 bags of Ore-Ida potatoes, and 2 bags of red potatoes. The only things I had coupons for were the Mott's.

However, I got my bill down from 82.34 to 28.64, for a savings of $53.70, which amounts to a 65% savings. This is not bad for a basically "unplanned" splurge on everything except the Mott's. I had gone in the store prepared to get the apple juice, but ended up with some great meal "stuff" for the next couple of weeks. However, with 3 teenage boys, one can never have enough french fries. Honestly, it pays to keep them on hand, as they love the ones from McDonald's or Wendy's, but at $2.50 per serving, this is a real steal. I think they were $2.79, b1g1f, which amounted to $1.40 for the WHOLE BAG... not just one serving. The WHOLE BAG is one meal for all five of us. This amounts to French fries for just UNDER $.30 per serving. NOT BAD for something that everyone loves!

So, get out there. TRY IT. You'll enjoy your savings. The best part is, that with all these fabulous ingredients around the house, you'll WANT to stay home and cook!