An Adventure: Learning to Cut/Use Coupons

I have been interested in couponing for awhile now but it always felt so overwhelming. Like, what stores accept what coupons and which coupons can be used together? The list of questions went on and on. Last Tuesday my boss and I somehow got on the subject of budgets. Now, my boss is a whiz when it comes to saving money and his wife cuts coupons every week- something I have always been jealous of. I was telling him how much money Colin and I have saved since we limited the amount of times that we eat out every week.

I am going to be very honest with you guys here... Thanks to Mint.com (if you don't have that app on your phone, GET IT, seriously) we realized that in 30 days we had spent just under a thousand dollars on fast food and eating out. I know, I know, that is ridiculous, I could feed a third world country for that amount, I have heard it all.

When I told my boss that, his mouth dropped and he called me names that aren't appropriate for my mother to read :) Just kidding, but he did say that was ridiculous and dumb. Agreed boss man, agreed.

When he told me that he feeds his family of four (Wife, Daughter (3) and Son (12 weeks) for about $50 every two weeks, I thought I had misheard him. That is impossible... right? I couldn't fathom how they could get diapers and formula for their son, pull ups for their daughter, and enough food to feed two adults and a toddler for two weeks for only $50.

His answer was simple: Coupons.

Now, I'm not looking for miracles and I know that it will probably take a lot of time to build up enough coupons to start seeing huge savings but if I can save even ten dollars, I should do it.. Right?

Today, I read tons of articles about how to coupon and they all pretty much say that same thing: Save your manufactures coupons until you can find a store coupon to go with it- or until it is about to expire. So basically all I was looking for today was a store coupon and a manufactures coupon that I could use together.

Here is what I found:

Jack's Pizza (Colin loves these for some reason)
Jewel-Osco- Save $2 when you buy 5
Manufactures- Save $1 when you buy 3
- Hoping that I can use the two together to get $3 off of 5 pizzas.

AquaFresh Toothpaste:
J-O- Save $1.30
Manufacture - $1.00 off any AF toothpaste
-Using the two together to get $2.30 off of 1 toothpaste.

Poise Feminine Pads:
J-O- $3.00 off 27-72 count Poise product
M- $1.00 off any Poise product
-Using the two together to get $4.00 off of one pack of Poise pads.

Tidy Cats Cat Litter:
J-O- $6.00 off of 27 lb box of cat litter
M- Save $1.00 on any Tidy Cats Litter purchase.
-Giving these to a friend who should be able to use the two together to get $7.00 off of a 27 lb box of cat litter.

Huggies Diapers
J-O- $1.50 off Huggies Big Pack Diapers, Pull ups, or Goodnights
M- $1.50 off of one package Huggies Diapers.
- I am giving these to my boss and his wife but they should be able to get $3.00 off of diapers when they use both of them.

Drugstore Deals: Walgreens


Colgate Optic White Toothpaste:
On sale for $3.99
$2.00 Register rewards good towards next purchase.
$1.50 Manufacture coupon
Like paying: $0.49

Scrubbing Bubbles One Step Toilet Bowl Cleaner Starter Kit
On sale for $8.99
$2.00 register rewards good on next purchase
$4.00 Manufacture coupon
Like paying: $2.99

I wonder if I split this into two transactions and used my $2 register rewards from the toothpaste for the Scrubbing Bubbles Kit, if it would be like paying $0.99... Hmmmm.. I may try that.

If you have any coupon advice or found some awesome deals lately, let me know in the comments!