Save a Buck, or 50

We've all seen the show Extreme Couponing on TLC and we all know that sometimes it's a little far fetched.

1) Most of us don't have all the time in the world searching the internet for coupons and good deals. If we do one week, we can't the next; it isn't practical.
2) Most of don't have extra rooms in our houses for 'stock piles'.
3) Most of us would never eat 30+ boxes of cereal before they go bad.
4) Paying a coupon cutting service for more coupons is defeating the money-saving-purpose!
5) Proctor & Gamble products limit you to only four coupons that are the same, being used at one time.

And, the biggest number 6 of all time:

6) We don't have stores around here that double coupons.

I googled it and local stores just don't cooperate. I couldn't find a store within 100 miles that offered double coupons and super saving with a store card. If I could find one though, would I be willing to always drive over an hour to go get groceries? Probably not every trip.

So, I thought...

I've been couponing for over a year now. I would cut them out of the Sunday paper. I started by cutting lots of coupons and saving them all. I would end up purchasing things that I wouldn't normally purchase. I quickly realized that I had fallen into the company couponing plan!

It didn't take long for me to break that habit and start to only cut out coupons of products that we actually buy! I even took a few minutes to request a coupon book from Proctor & Gamble (P&G); we use a ton of their products (Tide, Tampax, Bounty, Old Spice, Venus, Crest, Pampers, Herbal Essence, etc.). Go check out their website for free samples and sometimes really good coupon offers.

With coupons, I was saving money. I averaged, and still do average, about $10 in coupon savings a trip. My all time high savings was $19.00. I thought that was pretty impressive.

Some people may think that couponing is "beneath" them. But, when I am shopping at Walmart? Who cares? Seriously? Watch me save $19.00 and judge away! I do sometimes apologize for the extra time it takes, to the people behind me in line. They always say it isn't a big deal.

I was inspired though. I watched Extreme Couponing and I wanted to save more!

One day at Walmart I stood behind a woman in line. She had a notebook and was telling the cashier the prices of her items. It took me a while; but, I realized that she was price matching.

Price matching!

Price matching is the key to savings! Combining price matching with coupons is amazing! Walmart price matches all the time! Let me tell you a bit more about it.

Every week I pull sales adds out of the Sunday paper (Target, Walgreens, CVS, etc.). Then, in the middle of the week the Penny Press arrives (Sunmart, Glenns, Fairway, Pamida, etc.). Finally, if I get time, I check internet sales adds (Bakers, Hyvee, SuperSaver, etc.).

I comb the adds looking for things that are on my grocery list. Sometimes I will have 'lunch items' on my list for Heath and me. I look for items on sale that we could use for lunch. Once I find a good deal, I write it down:

Product, Type or Size, Sales Price, & Store

My list is usually about a page long. I even started making a cute print out to use, for straight lines and organization. :)

I walk through Walmart and look at the prices before I put it in my cart. Sometimes, I'll be honest, Walmart's price is cheaper. However, sometimes I find amazing deals too!  Some to take note of are:

Easy Mac - sale price $0.47, originally $.98
General Mills Cereals - sale price $2 each, originally $4.37 each, & I had two $0.75 coupons = $1.25 each!
Venus Razors - sale price $2.99, originally $4.99, & I had a $2 off coupon = $.99!!!
Wagon Train Dog Treats - sale price $1, originally $4.50, & I had a $1 off coupon = Free!!!

These are just some of many, many dollars that I've saved. The saving from the last three trips were: $39.99, $47.65, and a whopping $57.83!

It is amazing what you can save when you just spend an hour a week looking at sales adds. It sure beats running from store to store to get the prices you want. Plus, I don't feel bad making Walmart lower their prices for me. I mean, it's Walmart...

Don't believe me? Look for yourself. This is from my last trip.

I keep track of the Walmart price too; that way I can calculate my savings when I get home.

They price match anything and everything as long as the brand is the same.  Fruit and veggies, they will match the pound price.

Try it! Next time, take some notes, and tell them at the register that you want to price match.

Does anyone else price match? Who is going to start now? :) :)