Mikey D

I think a lot of people have this idea that a “couponer” is just a really, really cheap person. These couponers seem to go to all these efforts to save money, but in the end is it truly worth the hassle? When does couponing cross the line from making economical sense to creating an overly frugal consumer?

For Grace and me, it never crosses the line. Saving money is saving money, plain and simple. If you can do it, do it. When we plan (yes, plan) weekly shopping trips, we never deprive ourselves of anything we want. We sit down and make a shopping list of items we’ll need for our weekly dinners, lunches, snacks, desserts, etc, and we buy it. It’s not like we are saving money by having our weekly dinners consist of Ramen noodles and Easy-Mac. But we do find ways to save money through coupons, bonus card savings, sales, and in-store specials- like most smart couponers- and we use those deals to our advantage.

See we’ve learned the couponer philosophy. The trick isn’t to spend less by buying less; the trick is to spend less while buying more. And more is good.

This week Grace shaved $16 off our average grocery bill total. While that’s not an astronomically large number, it’s still pretty darn good. We bought everything we needed for the week, but more importantly we were able to contribute our growing stockpile. Here are the “extras” we bought this week:

-2 tubes of toothpaste
-1 toothbrush
-1 large bottle of mustard
-2 bottles of dish soap
-2 jars of spaghetti sauce
-1 box of penne pasta
-1 box of spaghetti
-1 Polish sausage (free)
-2 packages of rice (free)
-2 bottles of salad dressing
-2 boxes of cereal
-1 box of taco shells
-1 bag of jelly beans
-1 bag of Reece’s peanut butter cups

These are all things that went straight into our stockpile. The best part? We paid around a dollar or less for everything on the list. These are all items that when we plan future dinners we will have on hand and will not have to pay full price at the grocery store. Of course my favorite part was getting the sausage and rice for free. There is nothing like pulling an item off the shelf and knowing it is 100% free.

In all, Grace and I received a stellar $52 off our bill because of coupons, bonus card savings, and specials. But we weren’t done!

We noticed that Target was having a special on Gillette Fusion razors- the exact razor I use. I have very sensitive skin, so electric razors don’t work out for me (I wish they did, though). I can really only shave twice a week without getting my skin super irritated. The plus side of only shaving a couple times a week is that my razors last longer. The downside is that when they go dull I have to pay $10 for a new one. So when there is special on razors, I like to take advantage of it.

So Target had a special where if you bought two razors, you’d receive a $5 Target gift card. Grace and I had been collecting $4-off Fusion razor coupons the last couple months, and had four of them saved. The plan was to go to Target and buy four razors, save $16 with the coupons, and then receive $10 in gift cards, which we would then turn around and use to buy two bottles Aveeno face soap- coupled with a $3 off coupon we had- to essentially get the $6.50 soap for free.

Mission accomplished. In all, we spent $25 on 4 Gillette Fusion razors and 2 bottles of Aveeno face soap. The retail price of those items was $55- so we ended up saving $30, or 55% off retail. With the razors purchased today, and the pack I already had in our stockpile, I am now set on razors through Christmas. It’s an expense I do not have to worry about, especially in the summer, when money is a little tighter.

This week Grace and I saved a grand total of $82 on our purchases. So is couponing worth it? For us, a full pantry, peace of mind, and 82 extra dollars in our bank account makes it all worth it.

~Mikey D

The pantry is almost full...

...working on the upstairs closet.

Grace's coupon binder.

With coupons.