Back in April of this year when I decided I might try couponing, I started with a goal in mind. I looked ahead five months into the future, to when I would be starting my junior year in nursing school. I knew that my next semester would be the hardest, and most time consuming semester I have had thus far. Fall semester would mean 12 credits of nursing classes, long clinical shifts, 36+ hours a week of studying and reading the required materials. This was on top of doing the everyday wife, mom, full time job stuff that every woman has to deal with (which is busy stuff in and of itself!)
I was worried that the house wouldn’t get cleaned; there would be no food in the pantry, and possibly not enough money to even buy the food since I wouldn’t be able to work full time – very scary to say the least!
Spring semester was a semester of worrying how I was going to get to the store; and worrying how I was going to pay for the one thing I so desperately needed to get that wasn’t on my budget for the week. It was a semester of exhaustion. I didn't want a repeat of Spring.
Couponing was an alternative for me - a way to build up a stockpile of items that my family needs so that I wouldn’t have to worry about making time to provide these items for them while I was in nursing school in the fall.
So My Original Goal Was:
To stock the pantry, medicine cabinets, linen closets and accumulate enough household cleaning items to last from September 1, 2011-May, 2012.
I learned to coupon by reading the tips on Fabulessly Frugal and Krazy Coupon Lady. Combined, these two sites gave me more than enough information to start couponing without having to pay for any classes to teach me. At first, I was super scared to try out what I had learned, but it’s been a work in progress, and I have to say, I still learn new things every week.
I have spent the summer fine tuning my couponing skills. I started out in the golden age of Albertsons providing TTV coupons for free, which they did through June. Some of my beginning free TTV Highlights are:
Bar S hot dogs for $1.00 a package. I doubled $1/2 coupons packages and picked them up for free.
Bar S Hot Dogs from a sale earlier this summer.
These have been great to have for camping trips and barbecues.
These have been great to have for camping trips and barbecues.
Cheezits and Wheat Thin Stix for $2.50/box. With free TTV, I paid $.50/box
Weber Seasonings (the bottles) for $1.99. These went so fast, I had to get a rain check but, the next round of TTV, made it possible for me to pick them up for FREE.
I have to admit, this wasn't a necessity (thank you free TTV) but he sure loved it.
At the time I thought, Score! Score! Score!
I have to admit, I think I went a little “hog wild” in the beginning. I was camped on the computer, scanning the deals that my favorite sites would post, and I would run out the door as soon as I found something I knew I could take advantage of. I was spending so much time planning shopping trips, I was doing nothing else. I'm here to tell you, these deals are always forthcoming. Even if you miss one, it's ok, another one is right around the corner.
Thank goodness Albertsons took away free TTV coupons!
I know people might think I'm crazy for being happy about this. I know this put a strain on the pocketbook of a lot of people, and I feel for them. But it made me open my eyes. I realized, I didn’t have to take advantage of every single deal I found. And I have to say, (climbing up on my soap box) although I firmly acknowledge that I am not a hoarder, taking away the free TTV definitely did cut back on the shelf clearing that was going on, which has made product available for everyone, has made the lines shorter and has made my shopping much more enjoyable!
The demise of free Albertsons TTV also made me realize that creative couponing is an art. For me, there is nothing more exciting than hitting a catalina promotion, and rolling catalinas to build a stockpile. It’s so much fun to take left over catalinas, combine them with a different store promotion, add them to a really great coupon that you might have found as an internet printable, had in your binder, or found on Ebay, and end up walking away with product FOR FREE! (No TTV required!) It makes shopping fun again!
Examples:
Albertsons gave away a gallon of milk this summer when you bought yogurt. I bought two 4 packs of Dannon Light and Fit Yogurt for $2.00 each, used $2.00 in coupons (printed from the internet) and walked away with eight cups of yogurt AND a gallon of milk for $2.00 -total! I might have even caught that sale again on a TTV week, used two doubles and got it all for free..it's all a blur to me.
Just this last week Albertsons had Ragu on sale for .99 each (when you bought ten.) I bought ten, used five $1/2 coupons I found on Ebay, and combined them with a left over $5 catalina I still had from the week before. I paid NOTHING!
Of course I found many more great deals this summer, but if I wrote them all down, this post would turn into a novel. My point is, the demise of free TTV isn't completely horrible. There are ways to score! score! score! Without doublers!
Back to my goal...
So school starts on August 30, and I was just taking stock of what I had managed to stockpile this summer. I thought I would take a few pictures and show you.
Shaving cream, hairspray, shampoo and conditioner for my daughter and I to use until the end of school. (I only pick a couple bottles up now, here and there, when I can get shampoo/conditioner for less than a dollar, or shaving cream for less than .50) Most of these were purchased at Walgreens, and I paid $1 or less for each, rolling Register Rewards and using coupons - I store these under my bathroom sink.
This is my "stockpile" room, my husband so affectionately assembled for me. Notice I don't have 300 boxes of cereal or 67 bottles of mustard? I have gathered enough to feed my family for an extended period of time. The Chex Mix have been great for camping trips and barbecues. The candy fits nicely in my purse when I want to go to a movie (yes I went there lol) That Skippy peanut butter was an excellent deal only $1/jar! I just picked that up today! :)) Because I don't have to buy certain things every week, I can take advantage of a sale and stock up.
Remember the sale at Albertsons last week? Totinos pizza and pizza rolls were dirt cheap! I actually filled this freezer last week, without using TTV, Albertsons had that amazing catalina sale! Gotta love almost free pizza rolls!
This is my pantry. I have enough items saved for various kinds of meals. I have vegetables, soups, taco kits, snacks, pasta, Hamburger Helper, etc. Enough for a family of four to use for, what I believe to be, the whole amount of time listed in my initial goal.
I am not showing you my pictures to brag or gloat. My stockpile took me approximately five months to assemble. It took a lot of planning, and a lot of organizing - but it was worth it. I am not special. If I can do this, anyone can do it. I'm actually to a point now, where I give a lot of my coupons away, helping others out in the process. It is so nice to be able to pass around coupons to others, and help them learn how to save!
Even shopping for school supplies wasn't a burden. I reviewed my ads, price matched, saved coupons, and ended up buying school supplies for four people, spending under $15.
There are things we still buy weekly - like fresh vegetables and meat, but not having to worry about being out of laundry soap, dog food, or toilet paper and not worrying about going over budget has been so nice. Knowing how to coupon has definitely been a godsend.
So I can honestly say that with nursing school starting next Tuesday, I have definitely met the goal I set back in April. It feels so good to be in maintenance mode - to be able to pick out the items that are really a great deal, and only worry about buying them for the week.
Can I keep couponing and maintain this stockpile while I'm in nursing school? Stay tuned and see....
) the ladies at Fab Frugal are very professional and very courteous and will answer most of your questions, so I definitely recommend attending their coupon class!