Friday, January 15, 2010

The Game

Well, I was better at the coupon game today. The local Big Chain supermarket is having triple coupon week so I gathered up all the $0.50< coupons I have and went shopping after dropping Sr off at the airport. They actually had some bargains and I found a few "free" items. The cashier and the man behind me was impressed by my savings.

Here's the catch: Most of the coupons I find are for products I would never buy (and hardly pay full price for) and we really don't eat. How is that a savings?

I think my experimental phase is coming to an end in this game. I prefer to shop the Amish bulk store and grow my own (although the 10 organic yogurts I bought for less than 0.30/each was nice as I haven't had time to make my own in ages). I tend to stock up on sale products (ones we eat) anyway. And, another confession, I am way to disorganized for this game. I wasn't paying attention when my items were tallied and I didn't get an "in-store" sale price and paid 3 more for the product. I plan to go back tomorrow to have them fix it.

We ate leftovers tonight (pork roast, potatoes and carrots from last night). The Pantry will hardly be dented now that Sr is gone for the rest of the month. My kids eat like birds. I also have some smaller (homemade) prepared meals in the freezer that I will probably use.

The best part of this challenge has been the organization of my stockpile and the inventory. I have a good idea of what sort of commercial products I have on hand. I also know what is in the most handy storage areas (inside freezer and two kitchen pantry cabinets). I am still working on garage freezers and the home canned area of the basement. I have also enjoyed making menus or coming up with things to eat on the fly using my own storage.

I am going to update my inventory on the sidebar tonight after the kids are off to bed.

Another useful thing (I hope) I have gained from reading these new blogs is this link: Swagbucks. I already have several "bucks" and hope I can get enough to get an Amazon giftcard. If you like seeking information on the 'net, this may be useful to you too.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I used to be an avid couponer and grocery stockpiler. I was also part of a coupon swap. I saved a lot of money and got a lot of food and health and beauty stuff.
Then I got interested in local and organic stuff and that kind of went out the window. ;)

We don't have stores that double or triple coupons here. For a brief time, a couple of grocery store chains let you bring in 4 coupons that they would double. Like you, I found I had to be really organized when using so many coupons and applying them to the store sales. Do you find that the majority of the coupons are for pre-packaged food?

I'm also enjoying knowing what I have on hand as part of this challenge too. I'll have to check out the Swagbucks.

anita said...

That's my problem—coupons are, 99% of the time, for things we never buy and rarely use, even if someone gives them to us. And I'm not organized enough to use them properly anyway . . . now, what I really would like is a coupon for 25% off a 10-pound bag of pinto beans, or something similarly useful!

Gina said...

Exacty, Anita! I would love a coupon like that too!

Monica: our stores rarely have double or triple (it is one week or so every few months). I think to really get the "deals" you have to live somewhere with a lot of competition (we only have Kroger and Walmart in my little city and the larger city next to me has those, Target, and Meijer and they don't seem to compete with each other much. The Amish bulk store often has great discounts on commercial food items (you just don't know what they will have) and there is a grocery liquidator nearby who sells a lot of organic brands at really low prices (no coupons needed!)

So far, I am up to 13 Swagbucks!

Yes, I think most of the coupons are for pre-packaged foods.

I find it amazing that all of the hardcore coupon shoppers on the Eat from the Pantry challenge seem to have meager stockpiles!