I have heard about these women who go into stores with tons of coupons and a strategy and walk out paying very little for a lot of groceries. I have looked for coupons and use them occassionally to save a couple bucks here or there but I never realized what great deals are out there to be had. After watching one episode of Extreme Couponing I was hooked. I recorded 5 episodes, sat my husband down, watched them together and said I wanted to be like them (though sometimes they are a bit too extreme). Soon after I was getting a tutorial and walk thru to learn all about "couponing" from my awesome friend and visiting teacher, Stacy. I still didn't know if I could do it...but I was willing to try.
My first find - Pop Tarts. To me they are okay but my husband likes them, and they are convenient for him to grab on his way out the door for work. He really isn't a breakfast fan but will eat Pop Tarts so I will take what I can get. I got boxes of Pop Tarts for $0.96 a box, normally $2.59 a box. I got a good deal and was ready for more.
I started looking for deals and coupons and came across a steal of a deal. Mueller's pasta on sale at Publix, Buy One, Get One Free. Two boxes normally cost $1.47 each just became $0.73 each. Then I found a coupon for $0.55 off 1 box. The catch...you have to register and email address on Mueller's website to get two coupons. I registered my normal email and got two coupons and headed to the nearest Publix. Out the door I got two boxes of pasta for $0.37...that is $0.185 per box!!! I paid with the change in my wallet. WOW! At this point I was excited. We don't really need any more pasta but hello... it has a two year shelf life. Food storage here we come.
I have tons of email addresses with misc. business ventures I have tried, old email addresses I didn't think worked any more, work email, personal email, and my husbands multiple email addresses. I was able to get 30 more coupons (yes that is 16 email addresses between me and my husband...don't judge). I went to work today with the intention of running to Publix on my lunch to get the deal of my life (or at least the day, since now I know what I am doing... I better get more deals like this). I was excited and shared the deal with my co-workers. One even asked if I would show him the "tricks of the trade" so he can teach his wife how to save money! At this point I was stoked and ready to go. But the closer it got to my lunch break...the more nervous I got. I was sure the store was going to limit the amount of coupons I used, or all my coupons were going to crash the computer and I would have a little old man standing in line behind me, very upset that he has to wait for me.
Finally, feeling very anxious/nervous/excited, I headed to the store. I loaded up my cart with 30 boxes of various pasta and headed to the front lanes. When the cashier saw my stack of coupons she sighed. OH NO! I upset someone already...I don't like that feeling. After confirming with her that I had 30 coupons on 30 items she seemed happier and the transaction went smoothly, for the most part. She somehow managed to not scan a box of spaghetti which threw off the whole transaction. After 5 minutes of counting boxes, looking at the receipt, counting the amount of coupons scanned, the manager coming over to manually enter $1.65 worth of coupons because it just wasnt working, and apologizing profusely to the old man standing in line behind me (see, I knew that was going to happen), we got it taken care of and I was out the door with my prize!
32 boxes of pasta: Retail cost = $47.04.
Total out of pocket cost = $5.92
4 Angel Hair (2 whole grain), 4 Spaghetti (2 whole grain), 4 Penne (1 whole grain), 3 Elbow Macaroni, 3 Sea Shells, 3 Corkscrews, 3 Ziti, 2 Linguine, 2 Fettuccine, and 1 Tri Color Rotini.
I feel like I have accomplished some great feat. Though I also feel like I stole from the store...and I know I didn't, the deal is just unbelieveable!!! I am super excited about this deal and I am even more excited about my next great steal of a deal. Now... where do I put 32 boxes of pasta?!?!?
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