Stepping Into The Coupon World

For years I've marveled at the coupon divas who could get such great stuff for so little. I've considered trying coupons, but it always seemed so confusing and overwhelming. Plus, we're trying to get away from processed foods. This is what I've told myself every time I considered diving in. This past Sunday, we were getting gas and I ran in to pay. The Sunday papers were staring at me, and I impulsively bought one. We've got a 3 month totally unpaid maternity leave coming up, so stocking up on some essentials seemed like a good idea. Here's what I've found so far:

Target:

Pantene Mousse & Hair Gel- $3.50/each
$3/Two Coupon From Sunday Paper
= 2/$4
Gillette Mach 3 Razors- on sale for $6.74
B1G1 Coupon From Paper
=$6.74/2

Kroger:

Ivory Body Wash- On Sale $10/10
$1/1 Manufacturer Coupon
=Free! I was pretty excited about this one.

CVS:

I finally signed up for an Extra Care Bucks card, and found a promotion that would give me a bunch of ECB's to start off with.

Maalox & Benefiber- Buy $20 in Maalox, Prevacid, Benefiber and get 10 ECB
Dawn- On Sale for .99
.25 Manufacturer Coupon
= .74
Dawn Plus- On Sale .99
.50 Manufacturer Coupon
=.49

So I wound up with 2 super cheap Dawn dish soaps, and $10 in ECB to use on my next purchase. My goal is to buy things that earn ECB's WITH my ECB's and hopefully get them for free or nearly so.

Walmart:

Glade Spring Collection Candle- On Sale $2.50
Up to 3.99 Free Manufacturer Coupon
= FREE! Love that.
Air Wick Air Freshener- On Sale .97
B1G1 Manufacturer Coupon x2
= .48/each
Gillette Mach 3 Razors On Sale $6.50
B1G1 Manufacturer Coupon
=6.50/2 ( My husband flies through razors so this was a GREAT deal)

Cub Foods:

Equaline Bandages- .69 with in-store coupon

Duncan Hines Brownie Mix- On Sale w/in-store coupon .77
.50/1 Manufacturer Coupon
=.27

Crest ProClinical Toothpaste- On Sale $3.06
$2/1 Manufacturer Coupon
= $1.06

Kashi Cereal- On Sale 2/$4
$1/1 Manufacturer Coupon x2
=$1 ea

LOVE this one. Kashi is some of my favorite cereal but is always pricey.

Not Pictured:
Ocean Spray Juice- On Sale 2/$4
Buy 2 and get 4pk Ocean Spray Sparkling Juice FREE

I did this deal, but they were out of the sparking juice, so the hubby is going back today to get that. However, as I was searching for them, I found coupons for $1/1 and they are also on sale for 2/$4. So we will get our free 4 pack, plus another for $1. THEN I noticed as I checked out that a store coupon printed for $1 off my next shopping trip. So we'll get two four packs for free! Pretty sweet.


This week has been pretty fun, I think I may be hooked! Last night I finally got our printer up and running ( so I can print coupons, of course :) and think I'll keep going with this. One thing I quickly realized is the need for a binder and a system. Fumbling through a pile of coupons at the store is no fun. What do you think? Do you coupon? Or is it just too confusing/too much work?