Shop smart, shop S-Mart!

If anyone has seen any of the Evil Dead movies you'll understand what the titles means lol. In this post I will be discussing the basics on couponing and how to stretch the all mighty dollar!
I went shopping at 2 places this week, Publix on Thursday when their new circular was released, and at Walgreens today when they had a restock shipment come in.  We'll start with Walgreens since my purchase there was small.

As you can see I only bought 2 different items.  I purchased 12 Glade Decor Refill Scents and 3 glade plug in warmers.  The glade refills fit in the glass holder or the car holder or you can use it as is.  It folds into a holder from it's packaging.  This is what I use it for that way I don't waste money on a holder!  And now for how to get these at the cheapest price possible!

Glade Warmers: Original Price= $2.29 each
Sale Price= $1 each (Must buy in quantities of 3 to get the deal)
3 Coupons from http://www.coupons.com/  and from the 05-05 Smart Source for $1 off ONE Glade Warmer.
3 Glade warmers x $1 = $3 - $3 in coupons = FREE!

Glade Decor Scent Refills: Original Price= $1.89
Sale Price= $1 each (Must buy in quantities of 3 to get the deal)
6 coupons from http://www.coupons.com/  and from the 05-05 Smart Source for $1 off 2 Glade Decor Scent Refills.
12 Refills x $1 = $12 - $6 in coupons = $6 making each refill $.50 each.

So right now my total before tax is $6 BUT I'm not done yet!  I had previously bought some mouth wash which gave me 2 register rewards for $2 off towards my next purchase, you can stack these too! So $6 - $4 in register rewards = $2

Original Total= $30.45
New cost after coupons and sales and added tax= $2.90
I saved $27.55, this is a 93% savings!!  One of my highest % savings but not my biggest haul.  This was just a little taste to get your blood going.


Now lets get to my bigger haul, not my biggest I've ever done but you will see how much money can be saved and how much more goodies you can get just buy spending a few hours a week clipping coupons and comparing sales!

This was a shopping trip I did at Publix, Publix is a southern store that has an AWESOME coupon policy and wonderful customer service!  I <3 Publix!

In this haul I scored 3 12pks of Ginger Ale, 4 bottles of Juicy Juice 2 pouches of Campbells Skillet sauce mix, 2 bags of Texas Toast croutons, 4 trays of Chicken Nuggets, 2 loafs of Arnold Bread, 1 carton of Almond Breeze Milk, 2 containers of Buitoni Pasta, 8 boxes of Hamburger Helper, 8 jars of Beechnut baby food, and 2 bottles of Sunlight liquid Dish detergent.

Sunlight Dish Detergent:
Original Price: $1.39
Sale Price: $.69
2 Coupons from the 05-19 Red Plum for $1 off each bottle.   $2 in coupons - $1.38 = +.62 cents.  Whattttt!??? The store actually PAID me to take the dish detergent!  Beware though not all stores do this, check your local stores coupon policy.  Publix will put the overage towards the rest of the total BUT they don't give money back :) Once again I <3 Publix!

Juicy Juice:
Original Price: $3.19
Sale Price: Buy 1 Get 1 Free making each one $1.60
2 Coupons from http://coupons.target.com/#?lnk=lnav_t_spc_x_x for $1 off 2 Juicy Juice products.  $6.40 - $2 in coupons = $4.40 making each bottle $1.10.
Now this deal is area specific.  My Publix take competitor coupons and Target is one of their competitors.  Ask your local store if they take competitor coupons and if they do which stores. Also some stores won't let you use a coupon on the "Free" item but some will so make sure you review your store's coupon policy!

Texas Toast Croutons:
Original Price: $1.69
Sale Price: Buy 1 Get 1 Free making each one $.85
1 coupon for $.50 off 2 bags, I randomly found this coupon at the base commissary.  $1.69 - $.50 = $1.19 making each bag $.60.

Arnold Bread:
Original Price: $4.29
Sale Price: B1 G1 Free making Each bag $2.15
No coupon used for this item.

Hamburger Helper:
Original Price: $1.89
Sale Price: Buy 1 Get 1 Free making each box $.95.
2 coupons for $.80 off 4 boxes printed from http://www.coupons.com/. $7.60 - $1.60 in coupons = $6 making each box $.75

Almond Breeze Milk
Original Price: $$3.29
Sale Price: $2.50
No coupon used for this item.  Normally I do have $1 off coupons for this item but there wasn't any at the time available!  I normally get this deal for $1.50.

Chicken Nuggets:
Original Price: $4.39
Sale Price: Buy 1 Get 1 Free making each package $2.20
4 coupons for $1 off each package from the 06-02 Red Plum. $8.80 - $4.00 in coupons = $4.80 making each package $1.20

Buitoni Pasta:
Original Price: $4.39
Sale Price: Buy 1 Get 1 Free making each package $2.20.
2 coupons for $1 off each package. $4.39 - $2.00 in coupons = $2.39 making each package $1.20

Campbells Skillet Sauces:
Original Price: $2.39
Sale Price: 2 for $4 making each 1 $2.
2 coupons for $1 off each pouch from the 04-14 Smart Source.  $4.00 - $2.00 in coupons = $2.00 making each pouch $1.00

Beechnut Baby Food Jars:
Original Price: $.59 each
Sale Price: $.50 each
1 coupon for $1 off 8 jars printed from http://hunt4freebies.com/coupons/new-beechnut-coupons/. $8.00 - $2.00 in coupons = $6.00 making each jar $.38

Ginger Ale Soda:
Original Price: $5.49
Sale Price: Buy 2 Get 1 Free making each 12pk of soda $3.66
1 coupon for Buy 1 Get 1 Free from the 06-02 Smart Source making each 12pk of soda $1.83.
This was an AWESOME deal, it basically came out to buy 1 and getting 2 free! 

Grand Total BEFORE store deals and coupons: $99.17
New Total AFTER discounts and coupons and this includes tax: $36.21, a 64% savings! Now this is not my highest % savings but I did save $62.96...that's like filling my car up twice! Mind you I did round up a 1/2 a cent here and there because some of the prices end is 9 but it all evens out in the end.

So this is just a crash course of how I coupon.  Don't worry if most of this passed over your heads or you're confused.  I just wanted to show a basic shopping trip and how I saved money using coupons.  On the next blog post I will discuss where I get my coupon information from.


-Southern Savings Mommy