Sunday, January 02, 2011

Coupon Resolution

I tend to go to the grocery store and buy the brands I want with little or no savvy comparison shopping. Food is just something I'm picky about, and I'm never going to buy the store-brand parmesean cheese just because it's cheaper than the Kraft. I need the Kraft. Also, I go to Schnuck's and Whole Foods a lot because basically I hate Kroger. Not exactly fiscally responsible decisions on my part.

The point of that is, I've realized that the only way I'll ever save money on groceries is if I start clipping coupons, and then remembering to look through those coupons before going to the store. As incentive, I'm going to use this post to keep track of the money I save with this resolution. You know I love to keep a log of things, and this seemed more motivating than just my usual Google spreadsheet. Although you know I'll keep one of those too- the formula for finding the sum is just too sexy to be tossed aside in favor of a blog post.

1/2/11     $3.50
1/9/11     $6.10*  (Snowpocalypse Savings!)  
*Earlier this week I watched an episode of Extreme Couponing on TLC and now I feel a little bit insane when I visit coupons.com. If I ever start paying for coupons, please have me committed.
1/16/11   $6.00
1/23/11   $6.50
I feel like the same 3-4 items that I use have coupons, and that's it. I mean, they are things I normally buy, but it still feels weird. Do coupons run on a monthly cycle or something? In February, will it be different items?
1/30/11   $5.00
January savings: $27.10- Not bad!
2/6/11     Nothing! Absolutely nothing. I looked high and low for something useful, but nada.
2/13/11   $8.25  Making up for last week, I suppose.
2/20/11   $3.70 No coupon circular in the paper! Gasp!!!!!!!!
2/27/11   $5.80
February savings: $17.75
2011 year to date: $44.85
3/6/11    $3.80
3/13/11  $1.00
March savings: $4.80 (So lame!)
2011 year to date: $49.65
4/3/11   $4.55
4/10/11 $7.85 I actually used $2.00 worth of coupons at Target this week.
5/15/11 $6.20 I've been slacking lately- I'll cut out the coupons, but forget to bring them to the store with me. Also, Chip went to the store for me a couple of times.

3 comments:

Heather said...

Check out mymemphismommy.com for coupons and match ups. The trick is to use the coupon when the item is on sale to save even more money. And don't forget Target has their own coupons on their website. You can match those up with Manufacturers Coupons and save even more. For example Target has a coupon for .75 cents off toothpaste and you have a Manufacturers coupon for .50 cents. Use both and save $1.25.

Stacey Greenberg said...

I've found that unless the coupon is for something (i.e. the exact thing) I'd buy anyway, it usually isn't worth clipping.

Sassy Molassy said...

The remodeled Sanderlin Kroger is mostly finished and pretty swank. You should check it out. I buy Kroger brand of almost everything--how else could I afford to feed this crew?