This Week in Mega Coupon Shopping

I know I have been trying to stick to the Compact as I explained in an earlier post, but this week has been great for shopping in our area. Two grocery stores were having triple coupons and I had a ton of coupons/gift cards to use from my birthday. I couldn't resist the temptation of the savings possibilities!

Wednesday was the first day I went shopping. I had a $5 birthday coupon for Sports Authority because I am a member of their "League" loyalty program. Since I have been needing some seamless socks for running, I used my coupon and only paid tax ($1.05) for two pair that were in the clearance bin.

Next I went to Walgreen's to pick up my sons allergy medication. This week they had 4 ct of Advil PM for $1.00 so I got 2. While I was there, I was perusing through their clearance and found some boxes of Skinny Cow candy for $2.24 and I had $1.50 coupons so I got 2 of those as well and a Gillette Fusion Razor which was on sale for 9.99, I had a $4 coupon and I received $4 in register rewards making it 1.99.

Then on to Dierbergs where they are having triple coupons and a great meat deal this week. I spent $68.51 for a huge cart load of food including 3 packages of fresh meat, 4 12pks of Dr Pepper, cereal, lunch meat, cheese, 2 boxes of day old donuts (which were amazing), chili beans, paper plates, protein bars, soy milk, free range eggs, gluten free making mixes, chai tea, etc. The best deals were the Brooks Chili beans for .89 and I had a coupon for .45 off 2 making them .14 each and Ortega taco seasoning was .79, I had a coupon for .50 off 2 making them .04 each! With my $10 gift cards I had a %36 savings. Not the best savings but still pretty good.

The other store having triple coupons was Schnucks where I had better luck finding deals. The best was their Betty Crocker fruit snacks which were 2/$4, but if you got 4 you automatically saved $4 then I had coupons for .50 off two making each box .25. They also had Quaker real medleys oatmeal cups 1.50 and I had 3 .50 coupons so I got 3 for FREE!! Amongst those deals, I got some canned fruit, ice cream sandwiches, muffin mixes, pretzel buns (EEE! love them), bacon, pasta sauce and garlic bread. My total after coupons $30.60 a 53% savings!

After all that shopping, I didn't feel like I did that great of a job saving so last night while I watched Harry Potter and Grim I planned a mega trip for today. I planned out 5 stores and I dusted off my old coupon organizers (now I use binders) to help keep my stuff straight. I had over 100 coupons and a 8 page list. I even planned out the route to maximize gas mileage.

So this morning I made a big pancake breakfast to give us plenty of energy. Then at 9:00am packed the car with beverages, a cooler, my son and husband and headed out on our adventure. After a quick stop at the post office, credit union and gas station, we arrived at our first store, Office Depot. My poor printers were out of ink from all the coupon printing, home business use and working from home so I was in desperate need of ink cartridges. I got 2 twin packs for $81.94 after my $10 coupon.

In the same strip mall as Office Depot is Dierbergs, so after a quick drop off at the car, we went there. I was mainly on the hunt for cheap stuff on this trip so I scouted the store for the items I had .50 coupons for that would be free/cheap after tripling. I got Dawn dish soap for .09, free tea, Dove candy bars for .25, BBQ sauce for .39, panty liners for free, Carmex for .35, and Campbell's soup to go for .91 (but got $1.00 back at the register for buying 4). And I got more 12pks Dr. Pepper which are B3GO Free. My total after coupons was 26.05 a 50% savings.

Since I didn't get any perishables, we didn't need to rush. We went to Kohls because Chad needed socks. Kohls had packs of 11 pair on sale BOGO free so we got two. I had a $10 off and a 15% off any purchase coupons so I used both. Spent 18.16 for 22 pairs of socks a 61% savings.

Then back to grocery shopping and triple coupons at Schnucks. I was on the same mission as I was at Dierbergs and I think mission accomplished. Free Yoplait Simplait yogurt, free smart balance butter sticks, Vans organic frozen waffles for $1.00, organic pasta sauce, and cheap crescent rolls, biscuits, and cinnamon rolls. Along with some deli meats, cheeses and some popcorn shrimp for Sam we spent $36.93 a 64% savings.

The last stop was Target. This was the most complicated list/coupon stack I had and it took a 10 minute break in the store to reorganize and sort before we could go to the register. I had a 4 page spreadsheet with different scenarios in case they didn't have certain things in stock. It was interesting to say the least. We had a full cart and a full basket by the time we were done. My haul included multiples of dish soap, a running jacket, batteries, Halloween candy (lots, at least 10 lbs!!), a costume for Sam for next year ($6), tea, hot cocoa, Pam, Crisco, coffee, coffee creamer, frozen pizza's, light bulbs, makeup brushes, Zyrtec, protein bars, paper towels, kitchen towels (clearance and had a 20% off Target coup), dog food & treats, cat food & treats, litter, Ziploc bags, powder sugar, and cheese. My total after coupons ($80.05) and red card discount ($8.64) was 173.78 a savings of 65%. Later I realized I missed 2 $1 coupons...downer.

After all that Sam was screaming for lunch and since it was 1:00, I decided he had earned a trip to Pizza Hut. I had a coupon for a free medium pizza with any $15 purchase so we got a Large Pepperoni Lovers, order of bread sticks, 2 soda's and a water to eat there and then we ordered our free medium to go. With bellies full and my mustang squatting under the load of treasures, we came home and unpacked everything.

I am really happy with the my shopping trips this week. We have plenty of food for the next two months, Sam a costume for next year, and new running gear (which I will need to run off all the calories I will be consuming from the candy). I will try to get back on here tomorrow before my 12 mile run to post how I have been doing on the Compact, running, frugalness in general.

Until then, Happy Frugal Living!!