I Got All of This For WHAT?!

I went on my very first Homeland Coupon shopping trip last night with my sister Lisa.  She's a seasoned couponer and I was glad she let me tag along and helped me scope out some good deals that I was a little excited about.  Who am I kidding?  I was like a kid in a candy store.  I had printed several online coupons that I found links to on Coupon Closet and was kind of nervous about using those.  I've read several people post on CC that they weren't allowed to use their online coupons and that would be frustrating and irritating to the person in line behind me.  But all went well, the cashier didn't utter a word or even smile (gotta love Muskogee) but I scored some really great deals.

After my One Card savings (so I could get the sale price) and after my coupons, here's my haul and what I paid:

Cinnamon Toast Crunch $1.50
Golden Grahams $1.50
Old El Paso Tortilla Stuffers .50
Transformers Band Aids .31
Two Skinny Cow candies .12 each
Lucky Charm Treat bars $1.49
Oscar Meyer Carving Board lunch meat .99
Sunny D .79
Smart Balance half-gallon milk .79
French's Honey Mustard Dip .89
Three Hunt's Pudding Snack Packs .69 each
Two Ragu Pasta Sauces .50 each
Two Bumble Bee canned Tuna FREE plus .62 money maker! (Thought Homeland changed their policy and didn't do this anymore?  Receipt shows otherwise!)
Planter's Peanut Butter .59
French's Worchestershire sauce FREE plus .01 money maker!
Freschetta Supreme Pizza $2.99
Two Kid's Cuisine .99 each
Velveeta Cheesy Skillets .29
Pilgrim's Fresh Chicken Thighs .35
Two Banquet Frozen Meals (Yuck! But my husband likes anything) .50 each
Edy's Frozen Fruit Bars .50

My total before all possible savings was $74.20, but I would have paid $54.32 with only the One Card for the sale prices.  But with all my coupons that double the subtotal was $19.14 but with tax I paid a total of $22.42!  Ah, the sweet smell of success!

Coupon Closet

I just realized that I mentioned Carrie from Coupon Closet but didn't explain what it is.  My sister Melissa called me and told me about this site and how wonderful it is and boy, was she right!  One word to sum it up, amazing!  Carrie posts all sorts of deals she finds several times a day and goes even as far as giving you a shopping list to certain stores in Oklahoma complete with links to coupons for the items, or tells you which coupon to use from either Smart Source or Red Plum and then it states the sales prices and what it will be after coupons!  It is my new go-to website for all my bargain-hunting needs.  I'm uber-excited about it!

I Am Now A Member of VocalPoint!

On Coupon Closet the other day, Carrie posted about getting a FREE Swiffer Duster sample from Vocal Point.  I checked it out and was a little intimidated by the fact that you have to qualify to join.  After answering a few simple questions about myself and my family, I apparently qualified and was able to join!  Unfortunately, they were all out of Swiffer Dusters but I am still excited about it.  I'm looking forward to participating in surveys, trying out new products, reviewing them and maybe, just maybe, getting a few freebies in the mail! 

Oh Walgreens, How I Love You

I've recently discovered the world of couponing.  My sister Lisa has been doing it for a while and she shared with me all that she has saved and I decided to give it a shot.  Now, I'm still new at it and of course I tend to over think things at times so I can confuse myself pretty easily just by making it more difficult than it really is.  But couponing at Walgreens can really be tricky, what with the register rewards and what not.  Not to mention the "filler items" you have to have to match the number of products to the number of coupons.  But I'm rather proud of my first time saving experience and I decided there truly isn't a reason that I should not do this all the time.  With a little practice and time which I have an abundance of thanks to my hard-workin' man, I can make this completely worth the effort.  And I'll be saving money which I can spend elsewhere! 

Without further ado, here is my haul and how much I saved; thanks to the wonderful Walgreens cashier who was extremely helpful and patient (and Lisa!).

1. Tide laundry detergent
2. Downy fabric softener
3. Two Gillette shower gels
4. Two Gillette deodorants
5. Two Dawn dish soaps
6. Two Crest mouth rinses
7. Three Crest with Scope toothpastes
8. Four (yes, four) contact solutions
9. Listerine Smart Rinse for kiddos
10. Two Pantene Shampoos
11. Two Pantene Conditioners
12. Oral B floss picks
13. Two bottles Kids Vitamins
14. Two packages of Bic disposable razors
15. One Gillette Fusion Razor
16. Two packages toilet paper
17. Two boxes of Band-Aids
18. Couple of candies
19. Two packages of Crayola Markers
20. One package of hair barrettes
21. Fiskars scissors
22. Two packages of pencils
23. Two packages of erasers
24. School Box
25. Nivea Body Wash

If I would have just walked into Walgreens and bought all of this without coupons and without planning, I would have spent $172.18 but with my new found shopping savvy I spent $62.49!  I realize this is not as glamorous at those Extreme Couponers who would get everything on the list above and pay a penny but for my first time I'm pleased; so much that I felt the need to create a blog about saving money. I do have to say, my favorite transaction was the Tide, Downy, Bic razors, Listerine Smart Rinse, and one Crest Mouth Rinse where my grand total was a whopping $1.98.  That. Felt. Good.