Coupon Sense

Several people have told me about couponsense.com and so a while back I decided to bite the bullet and give it a try. As my luck would go I went to a class and learned a ton about it and was super excited about it..... and then went to Idaho for 3 weeks and didn't do anything. So I kind of forgot all the ins and outs of how it works. Luckily I have a wonderful instructor that I can call anytime and she will answer my questions.

So despite my lapse of time and memory, I still decided to give it a shot. The results: in the last 2 days my bills came to $146.19. And how much did I pay? $51.24!! That's a savings of almost 65%. On the things I used coupons for my savings would be about 85%. Unfortunately things like "cream of" soups/fruits and veggies/etc. rarely, if ever, have coupons which is what dropped my percentage.

Not too shabby since I didn't do much to prepare. I simply made my shopping list exactly like I would have before, and then compared it with couponsense.com to find where had the best prices mixed with coupons. I didn't buy anything that I wouldn't normally unless it was free. It was easy, a little time consuming since it was my first go, but way easy. I'm not big into going to lots of stores so I limited it. All of this was done at 3 stores: my main grocery store, Target, and CVS since they are all within about 5 miles of each other. I have decided though that if I have time I'm willing to go to more now just as something to do and as a cheap way to get my food storage. So yesterday we went to Fry's and today we went to CVS and Target. We might hit up Safeway and Albertsons (which is a whole block away) and then Bashas which is about 2 miles from us either today or tomorrow, maybe not until next week. But only if I have nothing better to do.

My reasoning for going to these other places is simply to increase my food storage because they have some amazing deals. At Safeway right now I plan to spend $5 and will get 5 boxes of cereal and 5 boxes of poptarts. At Bashas I can get 12 cans of chicken noodle soup for $0.29 a piece!! Talk about great food storage items. Also Betty Crocker Hamburger (etc) helper is only $0.66 a piece. I'm not big into Hamburger helper but I'll eat it if I need to, I can think of worse things to eat. I got yoplait yogurt for $0.30 a container.

The other great thing is that couponsense.com has lists of free stuff and under $0.50stuff. I managed to get 4 body washes, mousse, and hairspray for $.28 each, talk about stocking up. I also got face cleaner, 4 razors, 2 dental flosses, a small first aid kit, a glade candle, and 6 things of crystal light for free. I still plan to get bar soap and baby wipes for free too but only if I end up going to walmart for some reason before Wednesday, which is likely to happen.

And did I mention that I got free lunch today for Axton and I? A gas station is running a promo of buy a sandwich and get a 32 oz drink free. Well I had a coupon for the sandwhich so I didn't spend a penny and it fed both of us and was surprisingly good.

This has turned into a fun game for me and I can't wait to see what savings I can earn for the rest of the month. It would be even better if I didn't have to lug a 2 year old around with me but I think he enjoys being out and about almost as much as I do. I hope this post helps someone else out there. Couponsense is nationwide I believe and exceptional in 7 states including AZ, CA, UT, and ID from what I've heard. If you go forward with trying couponsense let them know that you learned it from me so I get rewarded!! I think you can give them my name or use this number 1718734!! Happy shopping!

BOUNTIFUL BASKETS is on the move too. It is now in Washington State and Idaho. It's also spread to Cedar City for those of you interested check out their site. I got 40 lbs of pears for $12, guess we know what I'll be doing all of next week!