Not Extreme Couponing

I’m not an Extreme Couponer. I don’t buy clipped coupons from an online website. I don’t stockpile shelves of products in my home. I buy two papers on Sundays, and clip coupons from them. I print coupons from the internet. I study the sales flyers from the grocery stores in my area.

I don’t get my groceries for free, but there are times when I can get $100 worth of groceries for under $50. Yesterday was one of those times. It took me an hour of clipping coupons, and studying the flyers to determine what I was going to buy.

I don’t rely on coupons alone. In-store sales are a big part of saving money, too. I am very brand loyal on a few items I use a lot of. Ragu and Muellers Pasta are two biggies in my household. I won’t use any other brands when it comes to making spaghetti or pasta salads. My store had Ragu on sale for $1 a can, and Muellers Pasta for $1 a box. Muellers Pasta rarely comes on sale, so I stocked up on different varieties. At $1 a box on sale, I saved .55 for each box I bought.

I also am very happy with the Pillsbury biscuits and cinnamon rolls that I bought. With an in-store coupon putting them at 10/$10, I was already saving money. Combined with the manufacturer’s coupons, I was able to get each one for under .90 ea. Pillsbury is another product that I don’t see on sale often. I was very pleased to load my cart up with 10 of them.

I was also able to get two boxes of Cheerios Cinnamon Burst cereal for .50 a box. I would have bought a lot more, but I only had two manufacturer’s coupons. I had two coupons for .75 off one box. My store doubles, so it was $1.50 off each box. An in-store coupon putting the price of the cereal at 2/$4, leaving me at .50 a box.

My Savings for the day:

Reg Coupon Savings $18.25

Double Cpn Savings $5.75

Reward Savings $29.24

Total Savings $53.24

My ending grocery bill balance: $49.05

All in all, not Extreme Couponing, but a great day for me. My pantry and refrigerator are filled with food. Best of all, I didn’t have to break out the credit card to buy groceries. With careful planning, I won’t have to buy groceries again for two weeks.