My Newest Obsession

Many people (as in....a few) have asked me to share what I am doing to save money at the grocery store and/or Target. Those of you who have heard these stories a million times already, feel free to log off....I can admit that I have been a little annoying with my coupon success stories lately, but I am pretty proud of myself! So... I have a few rules and routines that I have been following over the last month and they seem to be really making a difference in our grocery budget!

1. Grocery circulars come to my house in the mail on Wednesday. Typically, I focus on HEB and Randalls, but if Kroger or Sprouts has an amazing deal, I would be willing to head there. However, so far, they haven't had anything worth going for. I sit down and circle all the great deals, things I think I need, things I might want etc...I then get out my coupons and try to match up as many as possible. THEN I make my meal plan. That has been a big money saver....I plan my meals based on what is on sale or what I have good coupons for. Sometimes this means typing a new cut of meat into Pinterest to find a recipe that I think will work! As far as coupons...We receive the Sunday paper (you can get a Sunday only subscription!) which is where I find a ton of coupons, I print quite a few from this coupon site and Coupon Mom, and I make sure to check the circulars carefully for random coupons.

(A note about Randalls....) Most people write Randalls off because they have typically higher prices. I urge you to look more closely! This week alone, I saved $67 or 44% of my bill! Randalls has a great rewards program online that allows you to automatically add coupons to your Randalls card and receive specialized prices on items you buy regularly. They also put store coupons in their weekly circular. The key here is that they allow you to "stack" coupons. Meaning, I can use a store coupon, a manufacturer coupon and a special personalized price on the same item. Also, they double coupons up to .50 at my store (this varies per store, so check your coupon policy!) So, for example...this week, they had:

Nature Valley Granola Bars on special 3 boxes for $5.

I had a $1.50 off one manufacturer coupon +

2 .50 manufacturer coupons which doubled +

.75 off one Randalls coupon.

= 4.25 off price.

Since I bought 3 boxes, I was allowed to use all 3 coupons and stack the Randalls coupon. I got three boxes for .75! My boys love these bars, so it was a major score! Now, you aren't going to find fabulous deals on everything there. You have to find the deals you can stack or use high value coupons. That being said, you will often find amazing deals on ground beef ($2.99 a pound for lean ground beef this week!) ice cream, soda etc...Just watch!

2. Target. I freaking love Target so much. This is where I first got the coupon bug. First of all, you need to download the Cartwheel app. It provides unadvertised deals on hundreds of things throughout the store. You add the deals you want and then show the barcode on your phone to the checker. There are TONS of deals on Cartwheel. Second, you can stack a Target coupon, manufacturer coupon, and Cartwheel deal. Also, I have a Target Red card (the debit card) which saves me an additional 5% off the total bill. That's a LOT of savings on each item! Also, Target often provides gift cards when you buy a certain number of a specific item. You can't use the gift card on the immediate purchase, but you can use it the same day. I usually just do two transactions so that I can use the gift card on the rest of my items. So, for example....A few weeks ago, I got this amazing deal on shampoo and conditioner....

Loreal Advanced shampoo and Conditioner.

I bought 5 shampoos and 1 conditioner. =$24

3- $5 off 2 Loreal shampoo/conditioner manufacturer coupons

Target Cartwheel 10% off

Target Red car 5% off

Receive a $5 gift card when you buy $20 of Loreal products

Total: $3.00 (and some change) for all 6 products! (which is lower than the normal cost of ONE!)

Also, Target is very good about putting things on clearance and all deals/coupons can be applied to clearance! I have found shampoo, body wash, toothpaste etc....for GREAT deals because they were already half off, plus coupons and Cartwheel deals! So far, I have had no problems with the cashier taking my coupons or not deducting the correct amount, BUT, I have heard that some stores will give you a harder time. That being said....be choosy when you pick a check out line. Look for friendly faces, cashiers you have used before etc...don't go to the teenager who doesn't look like they give a crap or that might be brand new. This seems stupid, but it makes a difference! Also, be kind! Don't be all annoying about your coupons. If you irritate them, they won't help you out if a problem arises.

So....there you have it. Am I an extreme couponer? NO WAY! I have never had a zero balance, but I have gotten a few things for free! I have only done this for a few weeks, but I am hooked. It takes me about an hour a week to organize deals and plan meals, but it is so worth it. I love feeling like I am saving our family money and doing my part to contribute to our car fund!