couponing

I have been couponing for a long time. In CA I loved going to the commissary with my stack of coupons and see how much I could save. When the extreme couponing show started, of course I watched! Since then, I have changed the way I coupon and have learned so much. While I am no where near an extreme couponer, I have built a pretty good stockpile of things that don't expire. I don't and will never buy things that we won't use. To me that is just silly! But if I can get something for free or close to free, I am going to use all of the coupons I have! My favorite thing to stock up on is toothpaste! Since we moved to RI, it is a little different for me to coupon. We don't have a super walmart, just a regular one that is old! The Walgreens, Rite Aid and CVS are really small and don't carry all of the items that are on sale weekly. There is no Kroger and no Target! So my deals are limited here unlike when we were in VA. If one store did not have something, I would just go to another. Here, not so much! But I am making it work and still getting some great deal. I follow a few blogs and Facebook pages of other couponers. They help me with the deal match ups. My favorite two are the Krazy Coupon Lady and Freetail Therapy. I have a coupon binder that I love! I used the printable page dividers from the Krazy Coupon Lady and it si so easy for me to organize them and to find them! It did take me forever to get it put together, but now that it is done, I am so happy that I did it this way. Here is what my coupon binder looks like:

Today I made the rounds, going to Walgreens, Rite Aid, and Walmart. While I was not able to get everything on my list, I did get most of what I wanted/needed. Here is what I got for $9.50:

-6 tubes of Colgate toothpaste=all were free with the sale price and the coupon
-1 box of Sally Hansen wax strips=paid only $.99
-Finesse Shampoo and Conditioner=B1G1 plus both of them had a try me label on them where I can get the total amount of the purchase which makes them free when I get the rebate!
-4 scotch magic tape=$.22 each with the coupon
-2 fly swatters=free with coupon
-4 cans of beans-I had no coupons for these, but we needed them and they were cheaper at walmart than the grocery store!

So my total for all of this was $9.50 for 19 items or $.50 each!! That is a 91% savings!! If I would have had the coupons, I would have paid over $47! I love the thrill of a good good buy!