Wow. I think this was my best shopping day yet. I planned everything out, searched the sale flyer and my coupons to find coupon matches for all the best deals. I wrote everything out so I knew how many of each item I needed to buy for the specific specials. I played the game.
John was with me, but we were prepared with a game boy and a snack. He was good the whole time. I searched the store for the EXACT items to meet the sale requirements. I had to refer back to my ad several times to make sure the size was correct, as a 16 ounce box of cereal will not be on sale like the 14 ounce box of the same cereal will be. When they were out of an item on the shelf, I asked if they had any more. Yes, it’s stressful and mentally exhausting, but it can be done.
While my cart full of groceries was by no means free, it does my heart good to read my savings at the end of the receipt.
Total spent (with tax) $94.55
Preferred Savings $104.41
Mfg coupons $41.55
Store coupons $21.01
Today’s total savings $166.97 Awesome!
After the groceries were loaded into the car, John and I went to Old Navy, where I did indeed buy that red coat I’ve been coveting. My sister-in-law sent me a coupon for $10 off a $50 purchase, making the coat only $39.50 instead of nearly $50. While not a screaming deal, it was enough of a discount to justify the purchase in my mind. That and the fact that Ryan told me he would be getting 40 cents a mile from his trip down to Vegas and back. Usually they will only reimburse up to the amount of a plane ticket, but since he HAULED an entire Suburban full of equipment for the company down and back, they are cutting him a little bit of a bonus. That money goes directly into the “red coat for Paige fund, since she had to suffer without her car for a week so we could haul equipment to Vegas and back” fund.
Our third stop was to Walgreens. I asked John if he was up to one more shopping stop, and he said he was. We were organized and didn’t have much to buy, so it was a short trip. I spent $20 on soda and chips and got $10 back, and used that $10 register reward to pay for nearly all of the rest of my items. Not bad, I must say.
I tried to push it just a tiny bit further and asked John if he’d like to go with me to the paint store, since it’s RIGHT there, and we could buy paint for HIS room, but he was hungry and tired of shopping and said he wanted to go home. I can respect that decision, because I wanted to go home, too.
Wow. I’ve always wanted to do something like that, but i never bother. I’m impressed.
I’m going to try that this week. Sometimes I’m really good at it. Other times (most often), I just give up.
By the way, if you were tired from that much shopping, you must be getting old, too. And need I remind you that you’re a year older than me?
Congratulations! I’m a little bothered that I had to buy cereal this month at less than ideal prices because we needed it, and NOW cereal is on sale, but I’ve already spent this month’s grocery budget, so I can’t go play the game! But way to go 🙂
Those, my dear, are some serious savings! I am terrible with budgeting and pre-planning. I usually try to buy on sale when I grocery shop but I need to be a bit more motivated like you!
That is my kind of shopping trip!