I went to the grocery store with my coupons and list in hand.
I spent more than an hour buying $70 worth of groceries. My grocery store has all these "Buy five or more and get a really good price" specials which, combined with coupons, could add up to great savings, but are a real pain to figure out. A REAL pain. Because it's mix and match. You can buy 3 of this and 2 of that and get the discount, or 5 of one thing, or...
You get the idea.
And then, because I was tired and stressed, I bought this:
Not on the list and not on sale.
Then I got home and discovered that I had NOT bought five of the correct item combo; or bought an item which was not eligibe for that discount, etc.
Now even more disillusioned, I ate the above item.
So...now I have stuff to return AND I have to exercise an hour more to burn off those calories.
Here are the savings:
| Item | Qty | Original Price | Final Price | Savings |
| Duncan Hines Brownie Mix | 1 | $2.39 | $1 | $1.39 |
| Nature Valley Granola Nut Clusters | 1 | $3.99 | $1 | $2.99 |
| Nature Valley Granola Bars | 4 | $3.99 | $1.30 | $10.76 |
| Fiber One Cereal | 1 | $4.99 | $1.75 | $3.24 |
| Cascade 2 in 1 Dishwasher Detergent | 1 | $5.99 | $3.49 | $2.50 |
| Seven Up Soda | 4 | $2.19 | $0.85 | $5.35 |
| 18 large eggs | 1 | $2.59 | $1.88 | $0.71 |
| Total Savings: | $26.94 |
Worth it? What do you think?
Not worth it to me but then I hate grocery shopping. My DH even discourages me from accompanying him because I distract from the Mission and he gets only 4 instead of the required 5! With all the money he manages to save I can then buy housewares, magazines, flowers, earrings, and munchies! 8^)
ReplyDeleteit's definitely worth it if those things are what you want/use/need!!! The egg price is fabulous!!
ReplyDeletebtw, that candy bar is fabulous! one of my favorites!
Have you tried looking at other sites for information on maximizing your coupon savings? hotcouponworld.com and couponmom.com are two that I use. They are free sites and provide the same information - and more - as The Grocery Game.
ReplyDeleteIt does take a while to see the benefits and savings of coupon shopping (think months because of the sale cycles). As you practice shopping with coupons it will get easier and you will make fewer mistakes like you mentioned in your post. You may find it is easier to save (and stockpile items) in some grocery categories than in others.
Have you checked into ways to get multiple coupons? I use a coupon clipping service.
Grocery shopping is one thing I hate to do. Do you realize how many times each item actually has your hands on it up to the time of putting it away at home. I, too, have been in the coupon craze and have had numerous people while shopping ask me how I organize and the time spent. It takes me approximately 4 hours each week to cut, alphabetize, organize my coupons... add on to that the actual shopping... It is almost like a part-time job but the pay is not even minimum wage. But, how i love the sound at the end when my bill is less than at least half the total bill.
ReplyDelete