Part-time Job/Work for Yourself

I just wanted to get a link out to those who might be interested, click this blog subject title to link. I have mentioned several times that my DH (darling husband) has said that he believes that my couponing (q'ing) is comparable to me having a part-time job, which contributes to our family's resources.

I found this wonderful blog site and article that seem to sum it all up for me....have a look see;)

Successful Weekend Shopping

I was able to get a little shopping done on Saturday in the big city of Amarillo. I was loaded to bear with my lists and my three inch zipper binder full of coupons. I was accompanied by my sister in law (SIL) Annie. First stop to Family Dollar, I have never really shopped in this store but Annie had several items to purchase. I spoke with the clerks and they called their store manager then the district manager and found out that they can accept internet coupons, whoo hoo!!! I didn't drag out my binder, but made mental note of several items/brands that they stock and will have to spend more time there next trip to town. I did find some clearance children's liquid tylenol clearanced from $5.97 to $1.50, so I wiped out their stock and picked up three to add to my medicine cabinet.

Next stop Walgreens, I was pumped. I had them scan the box of computer paper to see if their price was reduced as I had read on several blogs, yes...So I was able to pick up one box with four reams of paper for $7.95 and will send in the $5 rebate plus an additional 10% for a gift certificate card at Walgreens, so four reams of paper for $2.45, not too shabby...

I have decided that I will not be shopping at Walgreens anymore, the clerks and the manager stated that they do not accept internet coupons...my purchases were already rung up, so I will just keep my items and receipt, then hit up another Walgreens next time I shop and have the items returned and my account credited....

Next stop WalMart. I have never shopped with internet coupons (q) so I was a little nervous, but I did brave the store and entered in with my full binder. I did stop off at the customer service desk to make sure that they accepted internet coupons and after some calling, they said they did.

I was determined to buy items on my shopping list and use as many q as practicable. I stuck my free q on top and was able to score most items, except 2 so will have to continue my quest. All said and done, my initial shopping total for a total items of 57 was $139.88....but after coupons were deducted, the grand total amounted to a whopping $74.87!!!! I am way pumped.

46.5% off of grocery bill!!!!

It took a little time, I picked a young male checker and he thought it was kinda' fun with all of the coupons. He ended up having to call over a Customer Service manager to review everything, but they accepted all of the coupons. I probably had about 1/2 manufacturer q and 1/2 internet coupons. My best purchases were the Muir organic tomato sauce priced at $1.16 per can with $1 internet q, for a total of .16 per can and then I had $2 off q from Farmland and was able to find really nice sliced hams at $2.88 each so after q 88 cents each, then Farmland bacon at 2/$5 and I had $2 off q so they were 50cents each, plus 1 lb. Farmland sausage rolls priced at $1.23 with $1 off q so I got 4 rolls at 23 cents each. I am overloaded with bacon, sausage and ham, but couldn't be any happier. These are items that we need and the prices were wonderful!!!

The other thrilling thing is that I as able to go to Panhandle Salvage on the way into town and was able to buy about 8 packages of 8 oz cheddar cheese at $1.50 each and colby cheese and also found two boxes of powdered milk. I did pick some yogurt, yellow peppers, onions and potatoes, frozen broccoli, corn, etc. That store is getting more and more crowded, so you have to hit it when it opens or you lose out. I got there at 9:30am, they open at 9:00am, but had made a call to my SIL and she was there at 9:00am so was able to grab some of the hot items for me, until I could get there to finish my shopping.

So a wonderful shopping day for me...and the family. I did finally get some sense and we packed our large cooler and it was just the right size to hold things all day while we visited the family without having the items go bad before I could get them home to the fridge/freezer.

My SIL was thrilled and surprised that I was able to do so well with q, she asked if I had told my MIL Rosina? No, did she really want me to talk about my shopping and success at CVS w/q. She looked at my massive q binder and looked at me and had to say, no.....She doesn't have the time and wouldn't be able to get things organized.

They do very well with having Panhandle Salvage, near by, so their grocery savings are significant each month. I had to explain that David believes that my q time is really equivalent to having a part-time job, it takes alot of time and effort. Alot of people say it is easy, but I have not found that to be true. I spend alot of time clipping, comparing and researching and the hours add up to a chunk of time each week. Especially when you strive for $0 OOP or reductions of 90% on some of your shopping excursions.

But I am thrilled that I am able to see such significant savings in our budget over just 1 1/2 months of being into q'ing.