Stockpilin' Security

Yesterday's post demonstrated the financial reasons to stockpile. Whether you stockpile for 2 weeks, 1 months or 1 year, you will cut your budget. But the financial side is just a part of the equation; it always is.

The other reason for stockpiling is security. A month ago, my husband and I were out celebrating my birthday. While sitting at a red light, we were hit by a drunk driver. A few days after that, I had the flu with a 103 temperature. Those 2 weeks after the accident were rough, and we ate out some, but we mainly lived off our stockpile. We had a lot of stress, but meals were not one of the stressors. All the frozen meats, frozen vegetables and canned vegetables I had stockpiled at low prices for the prior 6 weeks turned easily into meals. Knowing we had our stockpile saved us the stress of grocery shopping and the extra money that would have been spent on eating out. We also did not have to spend much money while recovering because we were not grocery shopping often and we were just eating what we had. 

Ironically, we just got our car back and it is back in the shop now- the new muffler burnt the new bumper so we are getting a 2nd brand new bumper. :) Somethings out of whack; life gets out of whack sometimes too. And today, the same day the car that was in the wreck is going back to the shop... my tire on my car blew out as I was headed to my doctor's appointments. And not just pop, hole, patch. Like completely ripped off the wheel and not a bit of rubber was left. My normal reaction would have been to scream, this time I laughed. It's quite funny when you put it all together and look back.

There are not a lot of things in life you can control. You can not control what life throws at you, but you can control how you plan for emergencies so you can respond efficiently and costly, and you can control your attitude. We have not been *lucky* lately by most people's standards lately, but we have been blessed. Blessed God has taken care of us and blessed we had our stockpile. Both God and our stockpile granted us security and peace. I knew I could provide for my husband and I, and when times became troubling and money started to pour out of our pockets left and right, I took comfort in knowing that I had saved money stockpiling and couponing....and everything would be alright.  

Happy couponing. :)

Coupon Savings Calculations: A True Motivator

When I first started couponing, I was frustrated. I did not know the first thing about coupons, was completely overwhelmed, had no clue how the store policies worked, which stores I should shop at, and did not know if I would be investing lots of resources into something that would not pay off.  I remember sitting with my crisp new circulars from the Sunday paper on January 2nd, just 1 mere day after starting my resolution, thinking "NOW what?" 

Over the next few weeks, I had *figured* it out. Each week I got better and better. I'm a businesswoman, so I need numbers and data sometimes to prove that I am investing my resources correctly. I am also human so I like feedback so I can know if what I did was either good or bad so I can correct my future behavior. In order to accomplish this, I needed a tracking mechanism. A way that I could keep up with how I was doing day by day, week by week, and eventually year by year. I wanted to highlight my wins to keep me going, learn from my mistakes and benchmark for the future so I knew if I was on target.

Below is my method of tracking. I have formulas set up in there so I just fill in the missing pieces and voila! I know how I did each trip. This is inserted in from Excel, so parts did not copy as well. If you want my template with formulas, just reply to this blog with your email and I will email you my template.

These are the exact numbers of everything I have done from day 1 of couponing thus far: the date I made the purchase, the store I made the purchase at, what I paid, how much I saved, the value of the merchandise (what I paid+what I saved) and the percentage I saved. 

 As you can see, I did not start out doing too hot. 37% was good, but I wanted to hit high numbers quickly. Well, you just can't save huge at first. Firstly, because you are learning. Secondly, you do not have a huge coupon inventory yet. Thirdly, because you don't have a stockpile built up yet. All it takes is some perseverance and you will get there.

TIP: Start small. Learn 1-2 stores (I choose Publix and CVS: both simple stores, coupon friendly and 1 mile from me). Learn their policies, buy 2-4 newspapers a week and start building inventory. Go on coupons.com and other websites to print off coupons you need.  Also, follow coupon blogs and coupon forums.

You can see as the weeks went on and I gathered more and more coupons, I started to do better and better. You will also see I had some $80 and $60 purchases in the beginning of January (although these were better than the $100+ we had previously!). You don't see those anymore. Most are $30ish, and lots are $15 and below. At first you will have a few bigger grocery totals, but after you build up your stockpile, that number will go down. You will start to live off your stockpile and shop only when you need fresh produce or to replenish your stockpile when there is an awesome deal.  Essentials like frozen vegetables, meats, breads, etc. were making up a large portion of those $80 purchases. Now I buy them cheap and with coupons and stockpile them or freeze them, so I don't have them taking up my bills. That is how I get down to $30 or less. 

Tracking is what has kept me motivated. If it helps you, great! If not, find another method to motivate you to keep going. Seeing that I have saved $867 AFTER TAX dollars AND that I have 5 shelves stocked up with essentials that will last me a year AND that my bills go down as my savings go up...that's my true motivator. What's yours?

$ Kohl's Cash $

Kohl's is running a Kohl's Cash event through tonight! My husband just bought clothes and brought me back $20 in Kohl's Cash. So head on in to Kohl's if they have something you need and get $10 for every $50 you spend to use March 14-26th!

Happy couponing!

New Proctor & Gamble Coupon Book!

There is a new Proctor and Gamble coupon book out that they will mail to you! Over $35 in savings mailed to your door. :)

Items this coupon book covers: Cascade, Dawn, Febreze, Home Made Simple, Mr. Clean and Swiffer!

Click here to order your free coupon book!

You can register for 2-3 I believe before the system won't let you order anymore.

Happy couponing!

Mega Lessons from the Kroger Mega Sale!

 

So I am not a huge fan of Kroger, but when they have their Mega Sale- I am there.  I always save big and can usually stock up on essentials, like pasta and tomatoes in this case.

Mega Sale+ Mega Coupons = Mega Savings!!!

First I analyzed which items were in their Mega Sale using Coupon Mom and Southern Savers. Not too much got me super pumped, but I had 20 items I could buy that I would use to replenish my stockpile, and I had coupons for them so off I went to Kroger this morning with my list and coupons in hand. I normally do not shop Sunday mornings, but I woke up early and was planning on going there for my Sunday papers so I figured I would get there early and shop their Mega Sale before church (and before shelves were cleared!).

The first item on my list was Advil. And look what I found on the box I wanted:

These are called "peelies"

Peelie- A coupon found stuck on the item you want that you can "peel" off to use on that item instantly!

These are fun when you find them! Please do not remove a peelie unless you are buying the product. Lots of people do it, but it is not right. Do unto others as you would have done unto you. I would not want someone snatching a peelie so I could not use it on an item, so I would not do that to someone else. 

I had a $1 off Advil PM in my hand, but this was $2 off- way better!

Below are the 20 participating Mega Items I loaded my cart up with:

• (4) Rozini Healthy Harvest Pastas (high fiber!)
• (4) Rozini Garden Delight (great for summer time pasta salads!)
• (4) Red Golden Tomatoes (great for my sauces!)
• (3) Diet Dr. Peppers
• (2) Medium Pace Salsas
• (2) Pure Bars
• (1) Advil PM 24 count

TIP: If you need a "filler" item, get something cheap you will use. I got the 3 Dr. Peppers as fillers. We do not drink much soda, but it is great for when we do or have guests over. And these were on sale for 89 cents, much cheaper than the 3 for $5 normally! 

Filler Item: In this case, an item you purchase to get the deal. I had 17 items, I needed 3 more on the Mega Sale list to hit 20 items and get another $5 off. So basically I had to spend $2.70 on soda to get $5 off additionally on my purchase. Works for me!

Coupons I was armed with:

• (2) 50 cents off 2 boxes Healthy Harvest printable, $2 off since Kroger doubles 50 cent coupons
• (2)  50 cents off 2 boxes Garden Delight printable, $2 off since Kroger doubles 50 cent coupons
• (2) 50 cents off 2 Red Golden Tomatoes printable , $2 off since Kroger doubles 50 cent coupons
• (1) $1 off 2 jars Pace Salsa (I actually found this as a peelie on the item; I saved my coupon for another future use!)
• (2) 50 cents off Pure Bars, $2 off since Kroger doubles 50 cent coupons making this item FREE
• (1) $2 off Advil PM peelie

TIP: If you find peelies on an item, USE the peelie! Save your coupons that you brought with you for future use or another upcoming sale. 

TIP: If you are a new couponer- you do not have a huge coupon inventory built up; this is frustrating at first and makes it hard to save, typically. I have a coupon inventory, but for this run, all the printables were better finds that my regular circular coupons. This whole trip could be done by a new couponer since all these coupons were either found on the item or printed.

Total: $5+ tax!!!

Total Items: 20

Total Saved: $35.07

Percentage Saved: 83.82%

Price per item: 25 cents

Normally the Advil is around $5, so pretty much I got everything else for FREE using coupons, sales and strategic shopping. :)

I did have one MEGA lesson learned this trip: 

ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS check your receipt BEFORE you leave the store.

My originally total after sales and coupons was $11.77 with tax so I thought "hmm...that is good...but not what I calculated..." but I left anyways. I left because the line was getting long, and I was getting stressed since I was holding up the lines with all my coupons. When I got home, I realized they had only taken 1 Mega Sale $5 off, not the 2. I purchased 20 items in the Mega Sale so I should have received $10 off, on top of my coupons and sale.

TIP: Try not to feel pressured from the non-couponers in line paying full price. :)

Luckily I live 2 miles from Kroger so I went on back and found my cashier. She acknowledged I was correct and my receipt did not show the 2nd $5 off, so I went to customer service. They were happy to fix the problem, and here is what I got:

So my total came down quite a bit. $5 is a LOT of money to miss out on, so always check your receipts. I have heard others have similar issues with the Mega Sale, but I usually have to experience a mistake before I learn- I'm a "hands on" learner. :) Hopefully you can learn from my mistake so you do not have to drive back to your Kroger after leaving. :)

TIP: Always calculate what your total out of pocket will be at home so that when you are in line you know if there is a mistake. It gets stressful in line so it is easier to calculate at home on your own time.

TIP: Check how items ring up very closely, especially when you are shopping a new sale. This Mega Sale started this morning, so the cashiers were just learning the sale so there is more room for error on the first day.

So today's Mega Lessons from the Mega Sale: 

1. Always look out for peelies 
2. Always check your receipts before leaving the store!

Happy couponing!!!

Coupons Cubed and Stockpile Dinner & a Movie

Tonight I did a quick run to Publix- principally to pick up a movie for a at-home dinner/movie date with my Hubby.

For tonight's purchases, I used 3 types of coupons: store coupon, manufacturer's coupon and a Groupon.

Store coupon- This is a coupon that is from Publix, Kroger, Piggly Wiggly, Target, etc. These usually say "redemable at Target" or "For use only at Publix." A lot of times these are in the circulars in the front of the store (shown in picture above) or in your Sunday paper.

Manufacturer coupon- from the Sunday paper, printables, etc. These come from the manufactuer, e.g. Proctor and Gamble, Kraft

Groupon- Amazing website to buy services or items at discount. Sign up for this! They will mail you awesome daily deals.

What most people don't know is that you can combine store AND manufacturer coupons! When an item is on sale and you can use both these bad boys, you hit the jackpot!

Take tonight for example:

• 6 bags of Steamers Vegetables: $1.79, on sale for 50% off so 89 cents each (great price as is!).
• Used (3) $1 off 2 bags Publix coupon so $3 off
• Used (2) $1 off 3 bags Manufacturer coupon so $2 off

----
Total: 34 cents plus tax. Saved $10.74! 93% savings!

Because I combined both coupons, I was able to get an amazing deal. These ended up being 6 cents a piece!

To top it off, I went and rented a movie from our Blockbuster kiosk inside our Publix (my main reason for going..but hey, I couldn't pass up saving $10.74!). When I rented my movie, I used my Groupon promo code I posted a week ago. I bought 5 movies for $2 using Groupon.

So tonight at Publix I rented a movie and got 6 bags of vegetables for 74 cents!!!!!

Another tip is to eat from your stockpile on nights where "I just don't know what to make..."- that's why it is there. :)

So tonight our dinner to accompany our 40 cent movie is a pizza!




Not the healthiest meal I usually make, but healthier than ordering take out! And it makes the Hubby happy when he gets a break from whole wheat, organic, lean, etc. :) All of the items I am using tonight to make pizza were from my stockpile and I used coupons to purchase all of them. This pizza will cost around $2.50 to make and we will have leftovers for tomorrow. :)

So for $2.90 we get dinner and a movie.

Happy couponing!

Heads up, Kroger Shoppers!

Starting tomorrow, 3.13.11, Kroger is having another MEGA SALE!!! I am not a huge Kroger shopper, but I become one during Mega sales. If you Buy 10 of their selected items, you receive $5 off at the register. So find 10 items you have coupons for (or really need), load up your cart, use your coupons, and then get $5 off the remaining balance! This is a great stock up for meats, frozen foods, etc.!

Click here for a complete listing of all Kroger Mega Items!

Just select the items you want, print off any coupons you don't have, and head to the store!

TIP: This website sorts items by Mega items and then sale items. The website also sorts by organic foods, meats, frozen, etc. This is very helpful when you are trying to plan meals around what is on sale.

TIP: Check the items you want. Hit "create my list." Then cut and organize the coupons you have and print coupons you don't have.

TIP: If you need an item to hit your 10 items to get the 5 off, the 2L of soda are great. If you do not drink soda (I rarely do, but I keep these for when we have guests over) then a great filler is the pasta or another cheap item. Anything under $1 that you will use.

Happy couponing!