Friday, July 31, 2009

Rockin' the shopping!

Today was shopping day for me. I spent a half-hour last night looking over the ads and making my list (checking it twice!). I bought 116.75 worth of groceries (includes a prescription co-pay) and spent only 29.75 out of pocket. That was seriously rocking it!

How did I do it? Well, one store that I rarely go to had a coupon to get a $30 gift card if you transfer a prescription. My son takes a daily medication that I have to get refilled every month, so I keep my eyes open for those deals! Nearly every month I transfer his prescription to a different pharmacy to take advantage of those deals. The same store had another coupon that if you spend $50, you get $10 off your total. Right there, if I get the prescription first, I would be able to combine trips and buy the RX and groceries for a total of $60, minus the two deals for $40, actually spend $20 out of pocket.

Why stop there? I looked at what other deals were available, like 3lb of turkey breast for 5.99, 6.5 lb of bacon for 9.99, frozen juice for a dollar a can, 2lb of shredded cheese for 3.99 each. All of these are great deals all by themselves. This store also doubles four manufactures coupons, meaning I got some hand soap for 35 cents after my coupons (was on sale, plus the coupon doubled) and cat food for just a few dollars.

Folks, it can be done! Yes, it takes time. But if I spend just an hour or so (total time for this trip, including sorting the ads last night, was about two hours), I saved over $80! That is a HUGE return for my time. And shopping like this is how I continue to be a stay at home mom. (Plus, it frees up money for more fun things....dinner out with hubby? Or art supplies!)

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