Where Shopping is a Pleasure

Day 9

Today I went on a big shop. Once again, I really had no plan. Just a file with my coupons, and I decided to try out a new grocery store. But there was a game changer today: I was only purchasing items for which I had a coupon.

With that in mind, I drove to Publix.

Now Publix is an easy store to shop in: nice wide aisles, helpful color coded price tags, frequent BOGO offers, and a great Baby Club that mails me coupons every so often.

My baby even seems more relaxed when I go to Publix. Maybe it’s the quiet instrumental only music humming ever so quietly in the background.

The store was very quiet in the midafternoon which was perfect for me because I could take my time reading the tags and sale circular and rifling through my coupon file (which I must say, I am getting quicker at doing).

And since there were few other shoppers, I didn’t have to be so self-conscious.

The entire shop took me 1 hour- NOT BAD!!

I spent $59.05 out of pocket and saved $39.83. The savings were a combination of in store sales and 13 coupons used. So I saved about 40.3%.

 

Here are some highlights from today’s haul:

-Shampoo on sale for $0.75 a bottle and I had a coupon for $1 off of 4. So for $2 I got 4 regular sized bottles of shampoo or $0.50 each! This is probably the best deal I have ever scored on shampoo.

-Chips on sale 2 for $5 and I had a $1 off coupon, so each bag was only $2.

-Soup on sale for $1 a can and I had a 2 coupons for $1 off of 4. I got 8 cans of soup for $6.

-Diapers were on sale and then I had a $1.50 off manufacturer’s coupon and a $2 store coupon. I got the bag of diapers for $6.50

-Disinfectant wipes were BOGO and I had a coupon for $1 off brining the wipes down to $2.50 for both.

-Conditioner was on sale for $3 and I had a $1 off coupon.

There was only one glitch in the trip. I bought almond milk which was on sale for 2.50 and used a 0.50 off coupon, but later realized that I had a $1 off e-coupon for it. I could have save $1 more. This really shouldn’t bother me, but for some reason it does. Again I have to say it- this is why the people on the show plan so diligently: the deals are out there, but getting them is NOT easy!

I also learned to read the fine print and not pay too much attention to the photos on coupons. I handed over the “$1 off of 4 soup cans” coupons thinking that they would not apply because the actual soups that I chose were not the same as the ones pictured. In fact, the ones pictured were the more expensive “chunky” soup versions that were not on sale. But the coupons did apply to my purchase- they were brand specific but did not indicate that they could be used only on “chunky” soups. The cashier very patiently explained this when I guiltily handed them over saying that they probably “wouldn’t work.”

Which brings me to my next point: the cashier was lovely. She didn’t seem put out by my 13 coupons at all. And since they were sticking to each other I handed them over one at a time and this didn’t faze her either. She was a total professional.

The whole thing really boosted my confidence. I really think I can do this.

 

SAVINGS TO DATE:  $ 114.66   ($74.83 last count + $39.83 saved off retail today)

 TIME SPENT TODAY:  1 (I went on a big shop that I probably wouldn’t have done if it weren’t for this project.)