I went trotting into Target today carrying my Dooney Burke, wearing a pair of Ray Bans and my tennis shoes that cost more than most of my full retail trips. I was also carrying my coupon binder and an accordion file with the rest of my "Target Only" coupons in it, just in case, with my reusable Target bags for my purchases (.05 off for each bag you bring in and use instead of the plastic ones!). I was never a bargain hunter, I was very much a "I want it, where is it, I am going to get it" kinda girl. Making a change to a coupon frame of mind has been, in nice terms, difficult for me. Although I have to admit that watching my totals go down when I hand over a few coupons gives me a tingle.....I am hooked!
I walked into Target with a $30 budget and walked out for $28.43....Please tell me, has anyone EVER walked out of a Target UNDER budget? Not this girl, until today. I also walked out with 7 items I did not plan on buying when I walked into the store.....Oh the JOY!
My trip there was for something very specific....Lysol No Touch Soap Dispensers, I have been coveting these since they came out but even without my new mindset of "don't spend it if it's not on sale and you don't have a coupon" I could not justify spending $12.99 for hand soap. I can get 4 at Bath & Body works for that price so I have tried to avoid looking at them. Imagine my joy when I saw on Savings Angel that they were on sale for $7.99 at Target AND there was a $3 off coupon in both the Sunday ads and online at Lysol.com (You do have to register for the site, but there are a bunch of different coupons for Lysol products there.) My total for each was $4.99, now that I can justify....Yes I can pay less at Bath & Body Works but hey, this one has batteries which made Joe super excited and actually made him happy about the coupon chaos. Although he has yet to get excited enough to help me clip them......
One other thing of note that my Sis-In-Law Kristin passed on to me. Target has a debit card program that gives you the same 5% off all of your purchases that you get for using your Target credit card. Super easy to sign up for. Next time you are in the store take a voided check with you, go to the customer service counter. In 5 minutes you are signed up and they will issue a card that gives you 5% off all purchases and takes the funds directly from your checking account. No bill at the end of the month! I had no idea that they had the debit card, so I had to pass the information along!
I also ran into the HEB on my way home because they had Oceanspray Cranberry Juice advertised for .88, which of course they were out of but in the 10 minutes I was in the store (looking for unadvertised sales that I could go home and match up with coupons) I saw 2 different people with their coupon binders.....and they were my age or younger! I was almost embarrassed that I had left my binder in the car, the impulse to run out and grab it was a difficult one to control but I somehow managed to keep myself in check.
It has taken quite a bit for me to adapt to this mindset, but coupons can make a serious difference in your life if you have a few hours a week and the knowledge to use them correctly. The books I have linked from Amazon are great, there is a lot of good information about making it work. Also, there are lots of websites out there that can help.
I did a comparison of some of the free coupon matching websites this week and am still completely on board with Savings Angel. The ease of use, the fact that I can pull up only the stores that I want to see, get a list together and then they tell me which coupons to grab or link to print them makes it totally worth the fee. The others either require you to write up a list, write down the coupons then go on a hunt or just generally have bad information on them. I like printing my list and my coupons in one sitting, gathering what I need from my box of alphabetized coupons (There is that shiver again) and then heading out the door...that totally appeals to the lazy in me. As of now, I am not doing the research on the other sites anymore it's just not worth the time and effort.
Happy couponing y'all and let me know if you find any excellent deals!
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