Couponing

Recently, we were tricked over the phone into signing up for the Sunday paper at a discounted rate. Not a huge purchase, but unnecessary. So I decided to try my hand at some couponing to see if I can make back the $13 we spent on the subscription! I have friends who save hundreds, and I've wanted to be that thrifty, but haven't had any time to devote. Now that I am only working part-time, I am still busy, but have more opportunity to devote time to this potential money-saving hobby. So here are the fruits of my labor!

I spend approx. 3-4 hours prepping for this trip. Seems like a lot, but I'm still learning and there is so much you need to keep in mind when couponing. I cut and gathered coupons, studied ads, and made a plan. My plan looked like this (I put my plan for each store on the front of envelopes and coupons inside):

I hit Target first. This was my first transaction: After sales and coupons I spent $12.52, and earned a $5 gift card and make-up bags for my girls' stockings next Christmas. My second transaction was free because of my $5 gift card. I even had $0.25 left over!

Then I headed to Walgreens! After sales and coupons I spent $8.32, and earned $3 in register rewards. This was my second transaction. After sales, coupons and register rewards, I spent $4.03. I also got 2 catelinas for $10 off of $25 at Fashion Bug. I need a pair of jeans for family pics soon, so I could really use this!

So...total value of my merchandise: $51.70. After sales and coupons...$25.60. That's HALF OFF! Hurray for me! I have earned back more than that $13 we spent on the paper subscription, and can't wait to do it again! Hopefully I will get better and better!