Revised Couponing

Okay, so here is a little peek into the world of couponing....excess!

I have been couponing since the end of Jan, 2010 and have successfully SLASHED my grocery spending. I have saved at least $350 a month. I have fed my family very well and have even had 4 birthday parties, and Easter dinner to spend for as well! And since then I have also accumulated many,many, many, razors, shampoos, toothpastes, body wash, cream cheese, whip cream, cereal (many times with free milk) and etc.

Oh ya, and granola bars (all these were either free or 20 cents)

Now before you think I am crazy....I did not spend over $1.00 a box for these cereals, and most of these were far less than that. I do have 4 children, and according to the very small portion sizes on the box, if they only poured out that serving we would be done one box in 2 and a half days...so it may seem like a lot..but unfortunately with a big family it goes quick...p.s. the dates for best before on the boxes are until march of 2011....so I do not think we will have any problem!

And then there is the Ziploc sale that is on right now at Meijers....if you can get there by Sat night...a box of 15 slider freezer bags is $1.00 so buy 3 boxes...I had coupons from the paper (forget which ones) $1 off 2 boxes, and .40 cents off 1 box. Meijers in MI doubles coupons up to .50 so that makes that one coupon .80 off one box. So pay for the 3 boxes. It comes up to $1.20 plus tax, and then they will print out a Catalina from the till for $2.00....use this on your next order.

So that makes the Ziplocs = Free plus a .80 cent overage!!!!

They actually pay you to take them out of the store!

Here is something to watch out for...never use your Catalina (the 2 dollar credit) on any order if you are expecting a Catalina from that new order from the same brand as the original Catalina....so do not use the $2.00 credit on the Ziploc, if you are buying 3 more packs of Ziploc on your next order....it WILL NOT print out (as far as I know...from all my 3 months of couponing) But feel free to use the coupon on your other items...Do separate orders, or if you are blessed to have your Hubby shopping with you, have him do a separate order! I know it sounds confusing...but it actually gets easier.

Okay, so now to the revised couponing....Since I have obviously built up my stock pile, and yes my freezers have been filled too, and laundry soap...I didn't want to post that too but I got an amazing deal at Kmart last week and also at Meijers the week before on cleaning supplies..all for a dollar. So yes, it is safe to say, I am stocked up! I think I am at the point of only buying the item if it is free, or if it is under .50 or if it is anything that I have not stocked up on unless I need it for groceries. So that being said, I should probably be able to reduce my household spending by another $50 a month, and still have more than enough. By making a menu plan, and purchasing food stuff and household items on sale, it is amazing how much I am saving. Oh and by the way, we have a trailer and motor home that I will now be able to stock with shampoo and toothbrushes for all of us, and all of the essentials and first aid kits (check out the deal at Walgreens this week) so none of the items will go to waste. And of course we can donate items to local families too. It should be fun to see how next month goes....if I can save even more!