It's silly but I don't remember having ever bought one before. I know that the ginormous Sunday papers have a ton of coupons in them BUT if they're not for things I'd normally buy what good will it do me? The paper was $2 and I figured the gamble as to whether or not there'd be $2 worth of coupons I could use to break even was a pretty good one. There are. Yay! I've broke even and now I have some future wrapping paper too. I'll probably paper mache with my boy sometime this month now too. I'd say it was a worthwhile $2 spent.
Not that anyone is biting their nails in suspense but if I remember to at a later date I'll disclose my full savings from the newspaper purchase. I know: how exciting. Seriously folks I just don't use coupons unless they're the ones that print out at the register at the end of a purchase. I will try my darnedest to only buy things I need. That's one down side of coupons I think. You have a scrap of paper that will save you $1 on this box of yumminess but you would not have normally bought that box of yumminess. Thus you've spent $3 or so that you would not have otherwise. I don't consider that a savings.
For those who are wondering (because I know some of you are) we don't do the digital coupons (or whatever they're called) because we don't have cell phones. And I don't print off coupons at home because we haven't used our home printer in years. Last time it ran out of ink we didn't purchase more... why is ink so expensive anyhow? Is it like tears from gold? The computer we used to have the printer hooked up to took a dump several years back. Shoot I don't even know if the printer works any longer or if we have hookups for it to this laptop. Okay, I'm brain spewing now. Anyhow, we don't print off coupons either.
Average daily spending for March: $15.40
*quick note: I just cut most of the coupons from the paper and there're $6 worth of coupons for items I buy on a regular basis so I definitely broke even. I clipped $10.50 worth of coupons for items I do not normally buy but that would be comparable to ones I do (like a different brand toothpaste or shampoo). And I clipped $6 worth of Starbucks K-cup coupons that I will place on the shelf in the store. Shoot $6, who ever can use those two coupons, more power to you!
Good deal! I'm glad you could use so many coupons from a Sunday paper. I find that I don't do too well using coupons. Between the grocery outlet we shop at and buying store brand products in the regular store, the prices seem better so I simply forgo the coupons. Like I said in one of my blog posts, there are a lot of local ladies who would disagree with me. They do great in our area with coupons! I personally find that a lot of the items they get are things that we just don't use in our home. But when you find coupons for items that you do normally use in your home and it saves you a bunch of money, such as you did this week- I'd say that deserves three cheers! Hip-Hip-Hooray!! :)
ReplyDeleteI don't do too well using coupons either. That's why I never try to hard to find the buggers but I've been wanting to take a stab at the Sunday paper for a few weeks now and finally I went for it. I'm stoked that it turned out quite well!
Delete"Not that anyone is biting their nails in suspense" :DD ahhahhhaha you kill me:). Yes, I would like to know!
ReplyDeleteI'm going to use the ones I need this week and I'll wait on the others until those items are on sale or when I need them (before expiration dates). Geesh, coupons are work, really.
DeleteI use all the coupons I can find, and I do print them on my computer as well. I try to only buy when the items are on sale (not just when using coupons---I try to buy things ONLY when they are on sale, period) but it's not always possible. I find that even more savings comes from the store "loyalty" card and the weekly specials. And if you can use a coupon on one of those, so much the better. We are only two people in our household and my savings from coupons and loyalty card is ALWAYS over $1000 per year. It was about $1300 last year. I'm not that good an accountant--it's printed on the weekly receipt in the store I shop at most.
ReplyDeleteEven more economical is cooking from scratch---I like your orange bread recipe but my husband won't eat coconut, so it probably won't do me too much good. But you're on the right track in making those homemade goodies---they make a low cost diet way less boring, and they contain way fewer of those nasty chemicals I try to avoid in processed foods. That's not to say I don't use a mix now and again---because I do at times--but I do pretty well at not spending money in the store bakery, at least. You are on track while you and your child are still young---you have a great future ahead of you if you can control your spending and start saving for retirement when you are young. Compound interest is the greatest thing going---it allowed us to save more than I ever dreamed we could for our retirement fund. And with grocery prices going up all the time, it's an excellent place to control costs.
I'm trying to combine coupons with sales too. Hopefully I can get the hang of using coupons. And I'm getting better with time about making more and more at home. I too really like the idea of not having the chemicals and preservatives in our food. And there's a great sense of accomplishment that comes from making something from scratch as opposed to buying it prepared. I like it.
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