Coupons rock

Some time ago I happened upon the TLC show Extreme Couponing and watched a few episodes with a mixture of awe and disgust. These people were often obnoxious, rude, borderline hoarders, and always taking advantage of store policies that simply don't exist in my area (in that sense, I was quite jealous). Still, it piqued my interest enough to wonder if I could save the kind of money that those people did, on a more conservative, practical level. Absolutely no bedrooms, closets or basements full of stashed supplies--only what can fit in my pantry.

As luck would have it, an acquaintance of mine knew the ways of couponing and gave me a brief tutorial of buying newspapers, clipping coupons, (ugh, hate that part), and using online resources to gauge where the best deals are at. Truth be told, I still rarely buy newspapers, and when I do, it's only one, not dozens.

I should mention that up until recently, the language of coupons baffled me. "One per purchase" made me feel like there was a sole coupon I could use, and then what was the point? Savings of 50 cents? But then I learned  the language means an item you buy is deemed a purchase. So if you buy 5 bottles of coke, you have 5 purchases. If your coupon has a limit of 1 item per purchase, you can use one coupon on each item. 5 coupons. Got it.

I've done well couponing within my boundaries. Really well. My least savings days still average 30-50%. It's like free money offered online or in a $1.99 paper (see this popular site.) Who wouldn't want to buy the things they normally get, but for less? My favorite store is CVS, because they often have great diaper deals where you get CVS extrabucks back for spending x amount of dollars. Usually, it's $10 extrabucks back for a $30. Extrabucks work like real cash, applied to anything in the store. So, I buy 3 Huggies diapers for $9.99, and I have 3 $2.50 off Huggies coupons. My total is approximately $24 ($30-$7.50) and I get $10 extrabucks back. So it's like 3 packs of diapers for $14. That's a 54% savings. Not bad. That puts a name brand diapers on par with generics prices, and as moms know, the brand named diapers ARE better. 

Today, I bought a cardigan from Target. Originally $19.99, it was marked down to $15 on sale. I had the Target Cartwheel promotion selected for another 15% off, plus a Target coupon for $3 off $15 woman's clothing purchase. So I paid $9.75 for a normally $19.99 clothing item, savings of 52%. Nice.

Things to know:

1) have multiple computers. Each coupon can be printed from each computer twice.
2) Be organized. Binders, excel sheets, whatever works for you
3) Do your homework before you go into the store and it will save you SO much time and money. (I actually make an excel list of items, regular price, coupons, and rewards (like extrabucks) so I know exactly what I am spending or getting out of my purchase).

Happy savings!