First Walgreens Coupon Trip

Last night (or I should probably say this morning) I went to Walgreens to try couponing for the first time. Even though I didn't have a ton of coupons saved up to use, they were having some crazy good sales for Memorial Day that I did have some coupons for, and I needed some essentials like Laundry Detergent and Cereal. We got there about 12:30 a.m. I figured the store wouldn't be as busy and there wouldn't be a lot of people behind me when I was checking out in case there were problems. My first disappointment came right away because I went in thinking that I was going to be able to pick up a Walgreen's Summer Beauty guide coupon book that I had read about countless times online. This booklet was supposed to have some really awesome coupons that I wanted to use for this trip and in the future. Right off of the bat the cashier said that she did not know what I was talking about. I did pick up the regular monthly Walgreens coupon book which has some good deals - but I really want the other one!!!! I don't know if maybe they are waiting until June 1st to put it out, or if our area is not going to carry them. Anyway...... The rest of the shopping part was relatively uneventful. They had all of the stuff that I had on my shopping list except for 2 things, and everything was easy to find. All of their sale items were clearly marked so that made thing easy too. This is where the easy ended. When I got up to the register to check out, a line of about 4 people appeared out of nowhere behind me. So this made me nervous. Then when the cashier started ringing stuff up, several of the items scanned at regular price and not the sale price. So while I am still trying to unload my cart and stack stuff on the counter, I am also trying to watch what she is scanning and make sure it rings up right, and remember the price. She corrects about 3 things to the correct sale price and then totals my sale: $191.76. Yikes!!!! Then I hand over all of my coupons. Thankfully all of my coupons scan without any problems! My total after coupons was $135.59, plus I got $7.00 in Register Rebates that I can use on my next shopping trip like cash. And after getting out to the truck and glancing at my receipt (because I thought it was still a little high) I discovered that one of my items that was supposed to be Buy One Get One Free had actually rang up full price for both. So I went back in with my receipt and items and they refunded me $10.83. So my total cost for the trip was $125.59. My receipt said that with sale prices, rebates, and coupons my total savings was: $109.47!!! So I saved 51% on my total trip. Not bad, but I can't wait until I have more coupons saved and can do even better. Here's what I ended up with on this trip:

(2) Reynolds Wrap Foil 75 sq. ft.
(2) Arm & Hammer Powder Laundry Detergent 36 loads
(4) Kellogg's Frosted Flakes Cereal
(2) Kellogg's Pops Cereal
(2) Kellogg's Raisin Bran Cereal
(2) Hawaiian Tropic 12 oz. Suntan Lotion
(3) Palmolive Dishwashing Liquid 10 oz.
(3) Sun 2X Laundry Detergent 75 loads
(2) Advil 200 ct. Tablets
(2) Pine-Sol Cleaner 26 oz.
(2) Clorox Toilet Bowler Cleaner 24 oz.
(2) Coppertone Sunscreen
(4) 5 Gum 15-packs
(2) Listerine Cool Mint Mouthwash 1 Liter
(2) Listerine Whitening Plus Restoring Mouthwash 16 oz.
(2) Benadryl Anti-Itch Cream 1.3 oz. (Came with free First Aid Case)
(1) Scott Naturals Paper Towels 6-Pack
(2) Off Clip On Starter Kits

So, still more money than I wanted to spend, but like Brandon said, "You got a lot of shit!" LOL. And I learned an important lesson. From now on, I need to have someone with me when I am checking out. This way they can stack all of my stuff on the counter so I can pay attention to the stuff that is scanning so I can make sure everything is ringing up the right price!

First Try at Couponing

So, you may not know it but lately I have become very interested in couponing. It is actually something of a fad since that new show Extreme Couponing came on TLC. The people on this show are crazy! They are mostly stay at home moms and they claim that they spend 40-60 hours a week couponing. But, it pays off! They typically save between 90 and 100% off of their shopping bills. Well, I know that there is no way that I can compete at this level since I have a full time job - but I am interested enough to devote some time to it in the interest of saving money. There is an awesome forum website that I read daily that tells you how to do everything and pretty much walks you through great deals each week at your local stores. I decided to start slow and easy and make my first trip to Wal-Mart. Truthfully, I probably spent about 6-8 hours this week looking for coupons, reading the website, clipping coupons, looking at sale ads, and then planning out my shopping trip. And while I didn't get a "Extreme" deal on everything, since not everything was on sale but I still needed it, I think that I did pretty good. Here is what I got today:

(2) Crest Whitening Toothpaste $2.77 each = $5.54
(2) Cokes $1.48 each = $2.96
(2) Crest Mouthwash $3.47 each = $6.94
(1) Heinz White Vinegar $1.00
(4) Crest Toothbrushes $1.50 each = $6.00
(8) Bar S Bologna $1.18 each = $9.44
(3) Lunchables w/ Fruit $2.38 = $7.14
(2) Brillo Spongepacks $1.46 = $2.92
(4) Smuckers Simply Fruit Jelly $1.54 = $6.16
(8) Pasta & Rice Sides $.98 each = $7.87

Total before coupons: $55.97
Total amount of coupons: -$19.20
Total after coupons: $36.77 A savings of 34%

Not too bad for my first trip. And the website where all these people go on and on about how much they save say that it only gets better with time because you'll have more coupons and can wait for more stuff to go on sale before you have to buy it. For now, I am having fun with it - plus saving money!!!