couponing!

ok, so back before I got pregnant with Zoey I was trying to do the whole "coupon thing". I had some mild success, but as my pregnancy progressed I couldn't keep up with even trying anymore ... I gave up. With that new show on TLC my interest has been renewed (I've thought about it a lot, even before the show) and I wanted to give it a try again. I'm not trying to be too crazy about it ... but I figure if I use coupons as often as possible, even on regular price stuff, then I'll be saving money!

two weekends ago I decided to go out and do some coupon shopping -Annicka came along, she was quite bored- I came home confident I had saved some $$ ... my hubby was not so impressed, I guess that show has ruined our view on getting a good deal! (if you've never seen it, these people will buy hundreds worth of groceries and pay as little as a few cents - it's crazy - guess that's why the title is Extreme Couponing)

Never the less, I will be sharing both successes and fails ... I think my first trip comes in right in the middles!

here's my purchases and the breakdowns:


I went to Babies R Us for all the bottle supplies: all playtex items were buy one get one 50% off.
*I bought the three pack of bottles: $12.99, used my $7.99 coupon (I got the coupon because I recently opened a bottle and the drop-ins included with it were slit, making them un-useable ... so, I wrote to the company ... they sent me the coupon and had me send in the drop-ins, free shipping), so the pack was $5
*Then I got the double pack of drop-ins that came with a bottle: $9.99, but 50% made it $5
*The nipples were $4.49 each, I bought four packs and paid $13.47 (so, I paid for three and got one free)
*Grand total ... normal price: $40.94 plus tax I paid: $23.47 plus tax


Next we went to target! We needed diapers, wipes, and laundry soap ...
I got pampers, cause that's what I had coupons for (huggies are my favorite, though)! I had a target coupon that was $5 off when you buy a box of diapers and a box of wipes (both had to be a certain size or larger) ... so, I bought two of each - the diapers were $19.79 each and the wipes were $11.99 each. Then, I had $2/off for pampers diapers, I used two - one for each box ... and had $.50/off for wipes, I used two - one for each box!
Grand Total ... normal price: $63.56 I paid: $48.56 (plus tax)



*I also bought a box of wipes (I didn't have a pampers box for all the wipes I was buying) with a $1.50/off coupon and a little travel pack with my last $.50/off coupon ... the price was $2.39 each before coupons!
*Then to the laundry products ... I bought Wisk, cause that's what I had a coupon for: it was on sale for $8.49 (which I think is not much less than normal price) and I had a $2/off coupon
*The Tide Stain Release was a gamble, as I've never used it - but wanted to try (I have to say, I think I'm impressed) ... the were $6.99 and I had $3/off coupons!
*Then I headed over to get some travel size Tide detergent (I can use these at my MIL's this summer) to use some of my lower value coupons: they were $.97 each and I had one $1/off coupon and three $.35/off coupons!
*I had two $4/off coupons for the Gillette Fusion razors, and Target had a deal where if you bought two you got a $5 gift card - PLUS they were on sale, sooo ... I bought two at $9.89 each (before coupons)!
*At the check out lane I grabbed two Tide to Go pens, for $2.94 each ... I had two coupons, $1/off ... but it looks like only one got taken off (now that I'm looking at the receipt)
*Grand Total ...
regular price: I'm not sure, I didn't know the regular price of the razors or the wisk
I paid: $104.45 (this includes the afore-mentioned diapers) and my receipt says I save $48.75 ... not bad!
I saved $39.05 with my coupons alone, so that pleases me ... and I should mention I bought notebook tabs ($2.99), two matchbox cars ($1.09 each), and a balloon toy ($2.49) all at full price - I should have let Annicka pay for the three toys with the $5 gift card I got, oh well!

so, like I said ... I still spent a decent amount of money, despite saving a decent amount! so, it's in the middle ... but I have to remember that it's still a deal, even when it's not a "steal" ... I saved about $65 and that's still good, right?!