Register Rewards and The Coupon Binder's First Outing

It's either pretty sad or pretty normal that the highlight of my week was my Sunday afternoon shopping trip to West Lebanon.  After a long week of work, a late night out, and the battle of wits between Maddy and myself, I needed a trip out for some bargain hunting and peace and quiet.

This was the first shopping trip where I actually mapped out my course of destruction, and where I aimed to really save more than I spent.  Of course, saving is always on the mind, but this was the first trip out with my newly constructed coupon binder instead of my old faithful accordion folder.  I was armed and ready for action!

First stop was CVS.  Now, I normally don't make regular trips to drugstores, because I tend to find better deals elsewhere.  But, I scoured the weekly flyer and found some unbeatable bargains that I couldn't pass up.  I figured out that by doing 2 transactions, that is where the savings would all add up.  My first transaction was "register rewards" only items.  These were items that would print me a coupon to use on my second transaction.  In a nutshell, I was able to get conditioner for 1$ each, Coppertone sunscreen for $4 each, and Listerine for a refreshingly low proce of $1.69!  Not to mention the free pack of gum at checkout.
Second transaction was more items, but in using the register rewards earned totaling $15, my total spending of the trip to CVS was $32.30.  I saved 67.16!  Success!

On to Borders.  A 50% coupon from there doesn't happen regularly, so I had to get something...  Well, I'd pay $2.49 for 10 episodes of He-Man DVD's any day!!  Total spent: $2.49.  Total saved: $2.50!  By the Power of Greyskull!!


Price Chopper here I come!  I'm a Shaw's or Market Basket girl on any typical trip, but Proce CHopper had some sale items just too good to pass up.  Yes, I would like that package of bandaids for free!  Anyone with a kid knows that bandaids are worth their weight in gold.  When you run out, that is when you need them, or when your child insists that the only thing that will save her life after that tragic hangmail incident, is a band aid!  Total Spent: 24.01.  Saved: $30.20.

Shaws, you know you have my kind of deals.  Over the years, I have become very comfortable with Shaws. Almost everyone I know says they are so expensive.  Not so if you shop the right way with them.  They double coupons up to .99 every day, so that .75 coupon is really $1.50 in your pocket!  Best deals: FREE Ken's Marinade, Free Sierra Mist, .50 Sweet Baby Ray's and $1 Skippy!  You don't even want to know how long it has been since we've had "real" name brand peanut butter in the house!  Would you pay .35 for Tabasco Sauce or .19 for Frank's Red Hot?  There were some other smoking hot deals, but I don't want to take all day.  haha.  Total spent: $73.50.  Savings: $89.43!

Well folks, that is how you get $321.60 in stuff you need for only $132.31.  I saved over 60% just by paying attention and using coupons and patience. 
I now plan to keep a copy of the weekly flyers as well as my receipts in a little organizer separated month by month so I am better prepared for next year.  There will be no bunker or hoarde or stockpile of extreme proportions.  This is just my little effort of saving money on the items that we use in our home.

The coupon binder actually helped me shop faster and more efficiently!  If anyone has any old baseball card sleeves hanging around, send em to me!  Mine are still holding my Garbage Pail Kids!

Oh, and I saved .10 on Gas too!