Couponing experiment

I stumbled upon a tv show about extreme couponers and was about to change the channel when this lady bought $600 worth of groceries and after coupons only paid $2.  My jaw hit the floor and I was mesmerized.  And so began my wild hair to try using coupons.  (This is what daytime television has turned me into!)  Now I didn't plan to go dumpster diving for coupons like one lady does.  Or walk 7 miles each day picking up coupons from my neighbors.  My goal was simply to use one coupon.  I've never bothered with coupons because I figured I wouldn't remember to use them.  So I figured it would be wise to start small. 

Except...I'm never one to start small.

One coupon turned into an envelope full of them.  My rule was to only clip a coupon for things we would have already planned to purchase.  But I'll be darned if Proctor & Gamble wasn't sending out their coupon circular this week.  I have no idea how often this happens but the timing was perfect.  And many retailers were running sales and additional coupons for P&G products to coincide with their circular.  That meant that I would have a sale price, retailer coupon and manufacturer coupon for some items.  That's like the Holy Grail of couponing!  Or so I'm guessing.

Long story short, I went to the store today with my detailed list and my envelope of coupons.  The result?  (Drum roll please...)  I saved over $75 between manufacturer coupons ($20) and retailer coupons/club discounts ($55).  That was 23% of the total.  Not too shabby!  My big learning is to indicate the coupon details on my shopping list - size of package, item limit, etc.  The list is really the key, then all you have to do is hand the pile of coupons to the cashier and watch the total chip away.

It wasn't really that difficult but if I'm honest, I'm not sure if I'll keep this up once I go back to work.  That's the way my wild hairs have historically worked.  In the meanwhile, I'm looking forward to receiving the coupons in the Food Day tomorrow.  And hopefully the bigger lesson of stocking up on sale items sticks.