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Saturday, October 2, 2010

couponing

have you ever been behind one of those crazy couponing ladies at the grocery store. you probably found yourself really irritated - "why is she doing so many transactions?", "is she seriously buying 16 boxes of cereal and 16 boxes of granola bars?", "how many coupons are in that stack?". then remember how her total went down and down and down... and then you felt jealous instead of irritated?

i'm one of those crazy couponing ladies. i'm not going to try and convince you that everyone should coupon, but i figure if i can make you a little jealous you might at least think about trying it. :) one of the greatest highs (natural only... no idea what an unnatural one feels like but i promise you this is much better) i've ever had is getting food for free or ridiculously cheap.

what i paid for the above items (per item) at albertsons (keep in mind some of this isn't a usual purchase for me - but poptarts, hot dogs and capri suns are great camping food and we went camping a few times recently!):

item regular price sale price i paid
kelloggs fruit loops $ 3.69 $ 2.00 $ 1.00
kelloggs frosted mini wheats $ 3.49 $ 2.50 $ 1.00
oscar meyer franks $ 3.99 $ 1.50 nothing
cool whip $ 2.19 $ 1.00 nothing
nutrigrain bars $ 3.69 $ 2.50 $ 1.00
poptarts $ 3.49 $ 2.50 $ 1.16
kraft salad dressing $ 3.49 $ 1.99 $ 0.50
kraft 8oz cheese (block & shredded) $ 4.99 $ 2.00 nothing


i paid $28 for over $270 worth of groceries! that's over 90% savings!

do i have your attention now? here's the idea:
  • buy things that are on sale with the coupons available
  • use a website like grocerysmarts.com to match coupons with sales in your area
it isn't brain surgery. the website does it for you! it's definitely the easiest way i can think of to obtain 30 free bags/blocks of cheese. :)

happy... happier shopping is in your future! give it a try!

3 comments:

Chelsea said...

I love when I hear about these things! It is really motivating.... except for the fact that one time I tried my version of this at Vons for cereal and the cashier had a terrible attitude about my learning experience with coupons! Apparently, I was using too many manufacturer coupons and not enough store ones. Either way, what store did you go to?

Clare said...

I'm all for couponing, but I think it would be difficult because of where I live (aka middle of no where). I just shop at Aldi, which I don't think has really expanded out west too much. But let me tell you, it's wonderful!

Fab Five said...

That's awesome! You have to teach us how!

healthy cooking on a budget

disclaimer: i don't claim to be an expert on cooking, weight loss or even healthy eating, but i do love to cook, find healthy, taste bud-friendly tricks and most of all, i love to eat!

qualifications: what qualifies me to blog on cooking healthy on a small budget? well, as my husband is still a student, my budget is not what you'd call large. and as for the healthy part, when i was 10 i was diagnosed with pancreatitus - a disease that doesn't effect me much anymore unless i eat food that is too greasy or has too much fat (in which case, well, let's just say i get really sick). this had steered my experience and limited cooking expertise in a health-conscious direction.

please feel free to comment, criticise, rate recipes, try ideas and make requests for future posts!