COUPONING. phew.

Couponing. Man. This is quite possibly the hardest thing I have done in a long time. Typically, when I decide I want to do something I am able to pick it up fairly quickly. Now, don't get me wrong. Mostly this is because I choose to try new things that I think I will be good at... I am not like attempting to run a 10k. So, in careful scrutiny of our budget (which could be - and possibly will be a whole different post) I decided that I could start couponing... so I tried. AND... failed. Now, you may think how can one FAIL at couponing - but please remember, we are the couple who FAILED at our first church nursery experience. Hahaha. So from the struggle, and the collecting of coupons that started February 20th - I feel that I have had my first really successful week. As I am writing this Chris proclaims "I just LOVE how proud of yourself you are! Hahaha" Followed by some smart comment about my humility; however, this is something that I am proud of. I feel like I have entered into some secret world where the stores PAY YOU to shop. Yes, you read that right. So below is a breakdown of what we got, what we paid, and MOST importantly, what we saved! :)

RITE AID:

6 American Greetings cards - FREE

TOTAL Spent at Rite Aid: Actually this is the deal where THEY PAID ME $0.12 to buy the cards. What a great deal!

HARRIS TEETER:

Smart Balance Skim Milk - Original cost $2.99

FREE (HT Double Coupons - $1.50 coupon doubled = $3)

Philadelphia Cooking Cream - Original cost $2.99

FREE (HT Double Coupons - $1.50 coupon doubled = $3)

JELLO Temptations - Original cost $2.99

$0.99 (HT Double Coupons - $1.00 coupon doubled = $2)

2 tubes of Colgate Total toothpaste - $3.39

$0.39 each (HT Double Coupons - $1.50 coupon doubled = $3)

TOTAL Spent at Harris Teeter: $1.08 + $1.12 = $2.20

CVS:

3 bottles of Listerine - Sale 5/$5

$1 (Coupon for $2 off 2 Listerine products)

2 tubes of Colgate toothpaste

$2 - In hind sight I would not have purchased these - but the lady said you had to buy all 5 to get the deal - which was actually not accurate - she was new and just thought it was.

TOTAL Spent at CVS: $3.40

=================

Would have cost: $29.08

TOTAL SAVED: $23.60 (81.2% savings!)

GRAND TOTAL: $3.40 + $2.20 - $0.12 = ONLY $5.48

So in closing - it is exhausting - it takes a. LOT. OF. PATIENCE. But, in the end, today when I walked out of Rite Aid with those 6 cards - it was all worth it. Look out couponing world. Here I come.