I promise this blog won't become a couponing blog... but... I saved a ton!

So, I've been disappointed in the sad number of super double coupon events, and I had promised to boycott the other grocery store for the whole month because of a decision they made so that left me one choice for this month. Buy in bulk at Costco and fill in with my favorite grocery store even though it doesn't always have the best deals.

What would you pay for 4 boxes of cereal, 4 boxes of pop tarts, 12 bags of fun size candy (for Halloween), 3 Yoplait smoothie mixes, 2 microwave personal meals (Healthy Choice, for my lunches), 1 bag pizza rolls, 3 apples, 1 bag grapes, guacamole, sliced apples in individual servings (for lunches)? Retail price tells me I should pay $114.17 for it, after coupons and store promotions, I paid $45.77.

In a second order, I bought milk, 2 frozen pizzas, 3 bags pizza rolls, 3 microwave meals, a small frozen cake, and 3 individual M&Ms packs (I owed Carter). I was supposed to pay $48.62 but only paid $22.26.

I know, everyone always wants to know how, well here it is: Promotion - buy 4 boxes of cereal get an instant $4 off of order PLUS a coupon for free milk to use in the future. Used 2 coupons, 1 for 75¢ off 1 box (which doubled to $1.50 off) and the other coupon was for $1 off of 3 boxes. Buy 5 bags of candy for $10 (instead of $12.50), I did this twice and added 2 extra bags of candy at $2.50 each, making my total $25 for candy. I then used 4 coupons: $1.50 off of 3, $1 off of 3, $1 off of 3, and Buy 2 Get 1 free - I got credited the $2.50 off of one of the extra bags. That's $19/12 = $1.58 each bag instead of regular price at $3.49, yes, it was awesome! In the frozen food section they had several items marked that if you bought ANY 6 items, you would get an instant $5 off your order. My 6 items rung up at $16.50 (those were the sale prices). I used a coupon for every item ($1 off 1, $1 off 1, 75¢ off 1 - doubled to $1.50, 75¢ off - doubled to $1.50, 75¢ off - doubled to $1.50, and 35¢ doubled to .70) This is $16.50 - 5.70 = $10.80 PLUS the instant $5 off = all of that for $5.80!! That makes each item less than that $1. I then had coupons for the guacamole and pop tarts AND the grapes and apples were on sale. I then paid with a $10 off of total order I got from doing a deal last week. This brought my out of pocket order down to $45.77 and I got my coupon for a free milk. Which brings me to the 2nd order.

I got the milk for free, which we technically didn't need but it freezes and it was free. I then got the 2 pizzas, normally $6.85 each, I got them on sale for $5.50 and used 2 coupons for $2 off of each, bringing my total to $7 for those PLUS it printed a coupon for me for $1 off of my next order. I then did the same freezer deal as last time but with 3 bags of pizza rolls and 3 microwave meals. I used 2 coupons totaling $1.50 off and I had another coupon for $1 off but I messed up on the meals and couldn't use the coupon. So that was a little more than it could have been, but it triggered the $5 off. The chocolate cake was on sale and it WAS my birthday last week so I got it, it was only $2.50. Finally, I owed Carter some M&Ms and he was going to share with Spencer so I bought 2 bags and then saw the sign that it was Buy 2 Get 1 free, so I grabbed a third bag because it was free. My out of pocket for this order was $22.26.

Today's totals: $114.17 + $48.62 = $162.79 Original Price, $68.03 Paid out of pocket, $94.76 Total Savings. It just makes me smile!!!

I promise to update on my life and family soon!!