So apparently, there are these pieces of paper with bar codes that occasionally come in the mail and can be found online, which offer discounts on any number of items offered for sale in local stores of all kinds. I'm told these redeemable vouchers are called "coupons".
Trish has occasionally - and very casually - clipped a few coupons in past years. Most of those sit around in the miscellaneous junk drawer and eventually get thrown out a couple of years after they expire. So we've probably saved a few dollars per year via coupons before, but I'm going to count the dollars from this new effort to organize and track the savings we realize.
From the looks of things, it shouldn't be too hard to find coupons that cover things we actually do buy and use. A quick Google search for coupons turned up any number of online coupon sources. One notable site was CouponMom.com, which includes some printable online coupons as well as a complete list of the coupons available in each Sunday newspaper in our region. Those newspaper coupons are not printable online as far as I can tell, but it's nice to be able to put check marks next to the coupons you would probably use and then see them isolated on a handy list. From there, you can decide if purchasing the Sunday paper is worth it for the savings you would get from those offerings.
You will recall from our archived notes that we gave up the newspaper in week one of this year. If the coupons are particularly lucrative on a particular Sunday, we might grab an occasional newspaper from the store. To maintain the integrity of our running total of savings, I will subtract the cost of the paper from the coupon savings if that's the route we go.
I needed to replenish some sundries and found a few matching and printable coupons online. My first visit to the store with calculated coupon clippings netted $12.49 in savings. I also happened across a two for one offer on vitamin D in the store, something our doctor has suggested we take daily, so I'm counting the free bottle as kind of an instant coupon. That brings the total to $24.78 in savings, all on stuff we will definitely consume: shaving cream, deodorant, aspirin, peanut butter, tostitos (okay... this one probably would not have ended up in my basket without the coupon, but I do enjoy the occasional chips and salsa treat), vitamins, and orange juice.
This is one of those trackable items that I will update on a monthly basis. We should be able to reach $100 in coupon savings by the end of the calendar year.
Next up: alternatives to driving. Have a great week!
Coupon savings so far: $24.78 in just one visit. I guess it pays to look around a little bit for deals.
Total saved this year: $1,364.18
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