The real deal?

I sat down on Saturday and actually reviewed my shopping trips for the week for an evaluation of my first "couponing" shopping trip.  The results were mixed.  I got some deals that were worth the time and effort of the planning ahead and such but I also made some errors and did my classic impulse purchases (although not nearly as many as usual, so bonus).  These errors and impulses have given me some good information and also led to the creation of some personal shopping policies.  My mistakes were actually classic ones made on a regular basis by rookie couponers, so buyer beware and learn from my mistakes ;-)  Here are some examples:

Free Smartwater 6pk with purchase of 10 vitaminwater 20 oz.  Sale price of Vitaminwater was $1 each and total for 6pk of Smartwater and 10 Vitaminwaters was $10.


Joe and I do not regularly drink Vitaminwater and I have 3 unopened cases of bottled water and another half a case, also I have a water delivery service and a dispenser so generally we use 4 bottles at a time and refill them.  Once a week or so I toss out those bottles and open 4 more then rinse and repeat.  This was an unnecessary purchase that wound up costing us $.05 an ounce of Vitaminwater as opposed to $.02 an ounce of Coke Zero (in the can).

Listerine 1L, Selected Varieties:

• HEB - on sale for $4.97 and receive 2 free Reach Crystal Toothbrushes
• Target - on sale for $4.99, with a $1.00 off coupon for a total of $3.99

Ok, this is actually something we do use and is on my NEED list.  However, I did not shop around or compare my lists against each other.  At the HEB, the Listerine was $1 more even though I got the free toothbrushes.  The sale on it was a yellow tag sale (HEB puts up coupons near items) and this was a manufacturer coupon so I could not mix it with my other coupon.  Target was better, however, when we went to Sam's Club this weekend (Where I normally buy Listerine) the 3 pack broke down to $3.96 each bottle so ultimately I had no savings on this one and actually paid $.98 for my "free" toothbrushes.

Impulse buys - No real savings!

• Target - Beneful Dog Food, regular price but I had a coupon for $1 off.  I should have saved this for the next time they have it on sale!!!!
• Target - Misc office supplies, regular price but I had a coupon for 10% off when you buy 2.  These are useful items but really....did I *need* them?  Nope
• Target - Milkbones Mini's, regular price and NO coupons.....I still had some at home and this was not something I had to have but since I was standing there.....BAD MAMA, no biscuit ;-)

See the trend there?  Target is a difficult store to walk out of without the impulse buys and I am terrible in that store.....and ultimately I wasted a couple of coupons that I should have held on to until there was a sale.  Then the purchases would have been worth it.

Now for the good news, there were some really good sales out there and keep in mind I had no coupons from the newspaper but only from internet coupons (Prior to end of the month when they update all the sites with the really good ones, many of them have a maximum number of prints so if you don't get them early they can get used up by someone else!  Print your coupons on the first business day of the month!!!) and some from the Target website.

Target:

• Johnsons Baby Lotion, on sale 2 for $6.  Doubled up coupons on this one, had a $3 off 3 and another $1 off each one.  Total cost each $1 (75% off retail!)
• Kraft Cheese 6-8oz, on sale 2 for $5.  Coupon for $1 off 2.  Total cost each $1.79 (50% off retail) Also the cost of the Target brand cheese in the same size was $2.49 so, I did good!
• 2 Liter sodas, assorted varieties 5 for $5.  No additional coupons but a really good sale so stocked up on Sprite Zero, now on the lookout for good sales and coupons for Oceanspray Cranberry Juices to mix ;-)

Kroger (I had some serious issues at this store.  They have a program where you can add coupons to you store card and use them on your purchases without having to print or clip.  However, none of the coupons applied to my order so I wound up not getting a good portion of the things I planned on purchasing there):

• Pantene Pro V Shampoo, Conditioner or Styler, on sale for $3.33 each.  Added a coupon for $3 off 2 and walked away for $1.66 each

HEB:

• McCormick Grillmate Spices 5 for $5 plus FREE box Zatarans Rice.  This was an accidental find, I wandered down the aisle accidentally saw this and did a happy dance.  We like the Zataran's Rice so for $5 I got spices (Normally $1.99 each) and a box of rice (Normally $1.09 each) Very good deal, made me very happy and was something that I got multiples of.  I bought 5 and got the 5 boxes of rice!

Overall I can see the worth in pursuing the coupon lifestyle.  I have some changes to make with myself, I am not a budget minded person and have serious impulse shopping issues (I know, not a shock to anyone who has ever been in a store with me, hahahaha).  Having been unemployed for going on 2 years and not having the extra money to live in the lifestyle to which I am accustomed does not make me happy.  If I can save money on the groceries and put it toward my vacations and other things that I would much rather have then well, I am totally there.  Also, since I have time on my hands....well, at this point I have no excuse.

Tomorrow I will begin the evaluations for my next shopping trip.  Drugstores do their sales from Sun - Sat but the grocery stores do them from Thurs - Wed.  My actual shopping trip will probably be Friday so I will be sure to post the results, wish me luck!