One of our daughters went to a coupon class about a month ago. She and her sister do not want to be in debt for anything other than a modest home, even their cars are almost paid off. They only have credit cards to use as ID and for online purchases which they then try to pay in full each month.
They did not want to go alone the first time so I told them I would show them how to save money using coupons and the sales, especially the buy one get one free sales each week. Since we go to the store anyways, I thought I might as well take them with me. We can have some girl time together. 
If you are struggling paying your bills- you need to pay attention to this post. 
If you are in debt and want to get that debt paid down and eliminated- you need to pay attention to this post. 
If you make money but love to save and have more money at the end of your paycheck- then you need to pay attention to this post.
This is serious saving! 
This is not about saving a dollar here and a dollar there. This is about actually making a difference in your family's budget. 
I will share some other case studies later on.
I know families who are using this coupon system to cut their food bill in half and nearly eliminate their budget for household goods, cleaners, personal care products and beauty products.
This system is being used by middle class families to extend their budget. The savings each month from their food budget and personal care budget are being used to pay down their debt. I will write a post about the fastest and easiest way to pay down your debt at another time. 
In fact, this is such a savings to most families; studies have shown that a mom or dad that uses these saving strategies is worth $80 per hour! This is nothing to make light of!
As I was showing them I got hooked! Since I go to the store anyways I figured that it was time we started saving some money and use that money we save towards paying for the college bills we are paying and for paying down debt. We spend a lot of money on food, good food, healthy food. But those savings we'll talk about later on. For now, just see how FAT these savings are.
This is nothing to sneeze at!!! I don't care how much money you are making in real estate you can learn some frugal ways to save. Since we live in Florida and we are now approaching hurricane season, stocking up is a 'must do item' on your list. As soon as the storm warning hits- the stores' shelves empty within hours.
In just one month we have enough shampoo and conditioner for a year, enough razors for a year, enough body wash for a year and enough feminine products for a year. In this photo here between Walgreens, CVS and Publix and this is all non food items-
I bought $980 of products for $64.00 - that includes the 6.5% sales tax.
We still have lots of items to donate to the Military care packages, send our kids in college and give to homeless shelters.
If you are so rich that you don't need to save any money- you and your friends can do this for fun and then donate all your items to charity.
The video I posted below is ten minutes long so fair warning about that but it is well worth watching. I go through the items and explain how you can use them, etc. For instance, Nestor and I do not use any deodorants that contain the aluminum because we believe it may cause breast cancer. So we donate the free products that we don't use to our kids who refuse to listen to us about deodorants or we send it off in care packages or drop it off at the homeless shelters.
Copyright © 2010 By Katerina Gasset, All Rights Reserved.*If You Are Struggling To Pay Your Bills- You Need To Read This Post*
Nestor Gasset and Katerina Gasset- Realtors®, CIPS, ABR, SFR, GRI, REOS
International Properties & Investments, Inc
Call us today at 561-753-0135 to get your house sold.
Hey Katerina,
This is great. Does this program work in Minnesota? I should check it out!
Yes, it works everywhere in the U.S. Walgreens and CVS savings are everywhere. You don't have Publix there but Safeway, Krogers, HEB, Food Lion, Target- all of them run the sales. Sales and coupons are regional but basically the same everywhere. THere are ALL these FREE blogs that mom's write where they list all the sales, have videos to teach how to do it and get organized and tell you exactly how and what to buy, where and when and which coupon matched with the sale. It is amazing! It did take me and my daughters about 3 hours to learn it all. The first few trips to Walgreens took a little longer while learning how to do this, but now it is run in and run out. The little time invested is reaping great rewards!
We just went to Publix last night, our grocery store here- ( we also go to Whole Foods and they have their own coupons too!) - I spent $32 and saved $107 in food! I can now use that $70 I saved to apply to the principal on the next credit card I am paying off. I already paid off 2 of our cards.
Go to Southernsavers.com
she has great videos on how to change your thinking and organize yourself-
For Walgreens my favorite blog is:
WildforWags.com
Thanks Katerina, I will watch it with my wife and then go ovger it with my daughter !
I just follow the blogs that moms have about where to go, when to go, what coupons to use.
At Walgreens you get Rewards Dollars back after buying certain items, you then attach store coupons and Manufacturer coupons- you pay about $2 out of pocket to start but then the rest of the purchases are rolled over and over again using the rewards dollars. That way I can get TP and paper towels for free. The reason there are so many razors is that there was a coupon on the paper for $5 off the razor, then Walgreens had the razor on sale for $8, then Walgreens also gave you back $5 in Rewards Dollars. So on each one I actually made $2. Then I take those dollars and buy the rest of the rewards items. The only thing is you have to get used to buying one or two things at a time. I put it all in my basket, all the clerks know me and love me and we are always so nice to them, they even ask us to come and teach them how to do this in their store! I do let people go ahead of me that run in for a pack of cigs or a drink or something small. That way I don't have a line behind me. The store gets paid by the manufacturer for all the coupons so they store is not out any money.
I will do my food post next week of what we just did last night.
I have not taken many photos of my food savings because I put the food away before I remember to take a picture! But last night I spent $32 at publix and saved $107 !!!!!! Nestor was with me and was SO proud of me, :)
Walgreen's just came to our community and I'm having a blast with their sales. Unfortunately, Wal-Mart is our only big name grocery store in town. Otherwise, it's about 50 to 70 minutes to the next "biggest" town with a variety of stores.
With the tips you are providing it may be worth the time and gas to make that trip to save more $$.
Good evening Katerina,
This is really great advice..I've never had time to clip coupons but this makes me want to re-think making time!
Laterinbe: this is very intriguing. Thanks for sharing this information.
Dorie- The system I use I don't clip the coupons. I go to the blogs that list all the sales and some like the WildForWags.com blog- you can even print what exactly to do. If the coupons are online, she has the link right there. So I print her list, then I get out the coupons. I put all my Sunday paper coupons filed by date that they came in the paper. No clipping unless I am told to go to that date's coupon packet and then I clip it. This saves hours and hours of time.
I thought that it would take too long. But our family food budget is out of this world. We easily pay over $1200 a month in groceries and personal care stuff. I easily cut that in half in just one month. And we still go to Whole Foods! I have not cut out the quality!
Plus all the stuff I don't use, I donate. I can not think of a better and more fun way to donate to our church members who have fall upon hard times.
Donne- Nestor goes and gets me the coupons. He goes shopping with me and shows off to all the people in line how much I am saving:) He thinks it is so cool too! Now he can have all the Chips he wants that I used to refuse to buy. I don't eat chips, never have. But he likes a small handful with his dinner each night and his lunch. It is something he must have learned in his younger years. So now he can all he wants because I get them as low as free to about $89 cents a bag. He is not picky. Those types of items are super expensive over time so this is great.
One clerk told me that even if you use only one coupon a week that is a $1 off of something you are going to buy anyways, that adds up to $52 a year in savings. That is a tank of gas for us so why would anyone scoff at that?
Dorie- I always said that it was going to take too much time too and so I never did it. But when I found out that these moms are worth $80 bucks an hour just to coupon! I rethought this whole process. I make more than that in an hour but I certainly don't need to spend what I make wastefully either.
I spent $62 or so dollars on getting over $900 worth of non food items. I never have to buy another razor for Nestor or my sons or my daughters. I never have to buy another feminine sanitary pad or tampon or poise. I have a year supply of my Loreal Hair color. One of my daughters does my hair for me. I got the hair color on sale at Walgreens with combined coupons- at only $1 a box for color that I normally paid $9 for!
I am now collecting all the items for our Hurricane first aid kits for nearly zero dollars. It does not get much better than that.
In order not to feel overwhelmed I suggest you learn one store at a time. Once you get used to one store's policies and get quick at it, then add on another store. I learned CVS first but then I fell in love with Walgreens!
Debbie- Walgreens is the best! Go to Wildforwags and she will teach you all about Walgreens and you will get hooked. I even get a lot of grocery items there now. They have the best deals with their Rewards Dollars. I got whole almonds there for 50 cents a can! You know how much those cost! The had a sale, then I used the Walgreens coupons and then the manufacturer coupon and then I used my Walgreens dollars!
Katerina - That is fun! We love to save money on our purchases. My wife recently bought like 100 jars of Ragu for about .25 a jar doing something similar, she had a blast. Your video cut off right as it sounded like you were getting ready to tell where to look online, thank you for posting the sites in your follow up comments.
I use to clip coupons when the kids were little and I was a stay at home mom.
Haven't done it in years, but your post is inspiring to me so I wll go to the links you provide and take a look.
Do they have any wedding coupons? LOL
Katerina,
That is great advice! I will have to learn to save more on my grocery shopping. I'm ready to start now.
Brigita
Katerina - As a Single guy with a shaved head I can totally appreciate the savings on the HBA items. Im a CVS, Walgreens & Publix Guy...I grab the BoGo's and mix my coupons in. Yesterday I saved $40 at publix with buy one get one free Items alone. And Yes...they are items I use all the time.
Good Information Your Passing Along.
Great post. Thank you for the education. With a little time and effort anyone can save money doing this.
I've been using coupons and various other discounts since I was 11 because my wise old grandmother did. I used to enjoy cutting out the coupons for her.
I know your post isn't about cancer, but instead of saying that "Nestor and I do not use any deodarents [sic] that contain the alluminum [sic] in them because that is known to cause cancer." you really should say that "...because some scientists believe that deodorants that contain aluminum can cause breast cancer." Big difference. There is not a whole lot of research on the subject, and that which does exist is inconclusive at best.
Readers interested in the subject can find more at the National Cancer Institute web site or the FDA web site.
Absolutely fantastic! I love this kind of stuff! Does it work in Canada?
Wow you have blown my socks off! Now all we need is a bigger house with closests to store all the goodies. I am curious to know how long it took you to achieve this?
Katerina,
I've never thought past the coupons in the Sunday paper. This is an eye-opener!
Mike in Tucson
Katerina this is great! I use coupons and sales quite often but on a smaller scale. I am excited to save 50% at CVS and Walgreens and $40 off on groceries. I clearly just need to spend a bit more time and go all out.
Hi Katerina. Thank you for getting me hooked on Southern Savers LOL I love that website. It also helps growing some vegetables at home which you already do. I remember you posted pics of them. I love fresh food. I maintain my five raised beds once or twice per week and my food bill is about 25% less.
What a haul! I am also starting to see widespread marketing of coupons with companies like Groupon. I hope we are entering a time when instead of conspicuous consumption we are honored for saving. Great post!
My Mom was the coupon queen! After the seven kids were out of the home, and she had a little slack in her budget - she allotted $1 per week for the church food pantry - and usually had a very full bag! One of her rules was - it had to both be on sale and have a great coupon!
Thanks for the great tips. I will have to get to the blog and learn to earn.........................chris
I've been a coupon user forever, but not to that extent... looking forward to checking out those web sites.
Thanks for sharing. This is very interesting!
You know, since I don't take a Sunday paper anymore, I don't get the hoards of coupons that are always inserted there.
But go back 20 years, when my two kids were in school, eating me out of house and home (lol), and I was a HUGE coupon clipper. In fact, I knew what was in each aisle of all the markets in our city. AND, I had a 1-inch 3-ring binder, with baseball card plastic sheets in it. This was perfect for most all my coupons, and I had them so organized it was not EVEN funny. I don't think I EVER saved $900 in one trip, but it was typical for me to come home with $200-$300 worth of groceries and save well over $100 of that. I thought I was livin large.
I am gonna now go back and watch your video, because times they are a changin, and I think I will be re-inspired. Thanks
I would love to see some links to the coupon sites!
I'm glad you posted this....I'm just not organized enough, but I should be! You're right!!!
Wow, I've been shooping and couponing for 30+ years and have never realized such a savings on my bill! Just yesterday I went shopping and saved $42 on $283 worth of stuff and I thought I was doing pretty darn good, but what you've done is crazy!
One thing you mentioned in the video is you bought some John Frieda items that had a store coupon for $4 off of two, and a newspaper coupon for $5 off of two. How did you use both of the coupons on one order? All the coupons I have say "One coupon per purchase", or "No other coupon may be used with this coupon", and if you try to use more than one the register beeps and won't take it. Or did I misunderstand?
This is some crazy stuff, yo! To spend $64 for $980 worth of stuff would be totally worth whatever it took to do it. I'll be checking out those coupon sites! Thanks for posting this!
I used to clip and use coupons all the time, but stopped doing it years ago, when I stopped eating any processed food. There usually aren't coupons for fresh fruits and vegetables. Thanks to this blog, I will start looking at the coupons again.
The key, I think, is to only buy items that you are actually going to use.
Kelly my wife got hooked a while ago and has saved us a bundle she is not happy unless she gets 50% off.
I have a picture to show you but I cannot load any pictures on ACTIVERAIN!!!
I think this is great advice for everyone, regardless of whether they are struggling or not.
Katerina, thank you so much for posting this. I have been wondering just how I can save money. I have always thought clipping coupons was a huge waste of time, but it looks like you taught me different! I have already favorited the two sites you listed above and plan to take myself to class so I can learn how to do this! Too cool!
Great post. I actually watched the entire video and enjoyed it quite a bit. Good to see personal finance starting to pop up everywhere.
I thought my wife did good with coupons, but not nearly as good as you're talking about. Tell me where to start!
Thanks so much! I'm going to use the extra $$ towards marketing ;-)
Corinne- That was in ONE MONTH!!!! I go to Publix once a week. I go to CVS once a week. But I go to Walgreens about 3 times a week.
I can walk to Publix but don't because I buy a cart full there. I walk to Walgreens and do my couponing as part of my walk and then walk home with 2 or 3 bags each time. If there is a super sale, I will drive to load up the trunk, LOL!
But over $900 in one month and that is just the non foods!
I just went to Publix and paid $32 for $107 worth of groceries and some other non foods where I was getting money back to apply to the groceries. Will share the receipt!
It actually is exciting. Now Nestor never says, How much did you spend but rather, how much did you save!
Beware: It can get addicting!
Russell- I understand what you are saying about the cancer part. However, I really don't trust anything the FDA says since they are most all paid off by Big Pharma that if they approve their drugs then they get cushy jobs for Big Pharma when they leave the FDA. Too many conflicts of interests there. They have shut down many great cancer treatment natural cures and actual cures that I know about first hand from the scientists who developed them. All shut down because Big Pharma did not want them on the market. I could right a book about what I know as truth about the whole cancer market. Katerina
Lana! I love my GARDEN! We raise tomatoes that keep dying year in and year out, total failure there, but now I bought the upside down topsy turvy tomato grower since you know here in FLorida we have to keep them away from bugs, bugs and more bugs and raccoons and possums. My friends have success with the topsy so I am now trying it.
But I do grow a lot of fresh herbs very successfully, Avocado tree is going great, eggplant and lots and lots of Chinese cabbage- grows super and is good to guard against cancer. I love our coconut tree and I will post a picture of our Pineapples! They are blooming and growing!!!!! LOVE IT!
Pat and Wayne- On the John Frieda Coupons- These were from Publix. At Publix and most all retailers, like whoever you have where you are for grocers- You can use the store coupon and a manufacturer coupon. So I used the $4 off of two from Publix and the manufacturer coupon of $5 off of two. That it the trick to bigger savings.
Same thing for Walgreens- you get to use the store in ad coupon from Walgreens and the manufacturer coupons and if the product is a rewards product, after the sale, the Catalina machine prints you out your Rewards dollars. Now those Rewards dollars are considered Manufacturer coupons so a lot of the time when I am using them I have to buy something. Now some people just buy something for 25 cents to use as what they call fillers. But I will buy stuff our family needs that is on super sale like this week large cans of olives are on sale at Walgreens for 99 cents which in itself is a great sale, but then the paper had coupons for $1 off of two cans, so now the cans are down to 49 cents a can! I stock up on those!
These sites tell you ahead of time about the sales so then if there is something I am really wanting to stock up on and it is going to be free- like the razors- I order the coupons from a clipping service. The coupons were for $5 off the razor. Walgreens had them on sale for $7.99 and then gave you back $5 in Rewards dollars. So I paid out of pocket $2.99 for the razor- but got back $5 in the rewards dollars which I then turned around to purchase more items to get those reward dollars on. Then we use those to buy all the other things on sale that we need or can donate.
Thanks for the information! I think everyone can use a little extra money these days!
I used to only shop with coupons (had a few different organizers I used over the years when I was a single mom of 3 selling real estate in good and bad markets) and I would shop the sales. I also was a Walgreens Rewards junkie but only purchased stuff I actually used. My problem was sending in the rewards forms through the mail - maybe it's different now.
I "think" I don't have the time and inclination to bother with this anymore, but my husband lost his job and once we move into our great foreclosure purchase (husband is working on it full-time and saving thousands in labor), we might have to sit down and become another "coupon couple."
As much as I don't feel that I have the time to do this, I also hate throwing good money to the wind. Since we've both been so busy we're eating out more than ever (and I do use my Entertainment coupon book for that as much as possible), and I cringe at how much we pay vs. what it would cost to cook at home. But time is also money and once we're moved into our new place we'll have a little more of it.
How Cool Is That!Thanks for featuring this post!
I know it is not about real estate but I also know that there are SO many people that this post can help to inspire people to save money and donate to good charities.
I also hope that you who are struggling with the high cost of food and household goods see this as a way to relieve some of that pressure and to gain some pride and confidence knowing you are helping your family.
I read a lot of tear jerker comments on the blogs that teach how to use these couponing and money saving strategies. Something simple, only costs a few dollars to get started and will save hundreds of dollars.
My daughters' pantries and refrigerators are full of food. They have a sense of security knowing that on limited budgets they can still eat so well for less than a fraction of what it would otherwise cost.
Pay it forward, tell your friends and those you know are struggling.
Bob #38- What kept us away from couponing is #1 we are not struggling and time is money so I used that for an excuse and #2 we eat mostly at Whole Foods and buy only organic for most products.
And that is why I started with non food items that I can donate to my kids and church and the military. I get it all for Free even if we don't need it because the people in the military could sure use the products and so can our local homeless shelters.
That is why I say to those who don't have any desire to do this for themselves, they can get together and start clubs where they do this together for a local homeless shelter, etc.
We started as I state in the video with the thinking that we can not use coupons because we only use organics and fresh.
Well, I was surprised to discover how many coupons Whole Foods offers and also for Publix organics.
I will talk more about that in my food savings post I am putting together for you.
I stopped using organic shampoos because they just were not working on my hair. After a lot of research I found out that the laurel sulfate is washed right out of the hair after rinsing. Hence, all the John Frieda and Pantene shampoo and conditioners:) Love them!
Terrie- Two things that these moms teach-
1. Use the sales to make your meal menu plans. Most of us make a menu and then go shopping for the items. This is a huge waste of money.
2. Change what you use on things that are not that big of a deal, like don't be married to a brand name. There is so much out there that is the same just different labels. I don't care if my band-aids are by Band-Aid or by NexCare or by Walgreens. Be open minded about brand and you save a ton of money.
3. The store brand is NOT always the least expensive! That was a real eye opener for me!
We have 9 kids and all but two are grown ups so there are a lot of products to give away. :)
Awesome! I'm forwarding this to my wife ;-)
Katerina,
I'm shocked to read that your hair is not natural! Just joshing, of course. Tips I'll certainly check out.
I love to coupon! It's like printing free money. If you want a cheap way to organize the coupons.....buy a 3 ring binder (I got a 3") and a pack of baseball card holders. Organize them in sections, viola just turn to the page and there's your coupon!
I just had another thought- all you agents who are in markets where the houses sell for 50k- your portion to your broker is about 1500 and then your split. So let's just say this is a short sale you are working on, it takes your time to get the deal done- you end up with a check of like $800 or $900 before you take out your expenses other than your cobroke.
So if you do the coupons the way these moms are teaching how to do it on these blogs I listed- that is the same as selling a 50K house for many of you! So that is NOTHING to sneeze at!
This is amazing! I will have to watch the video later!
I am sorry about all the grammar errors and spelling errors. I was SO excited to get this out there. I also never imagined that it would get featured. I went back to do some corrections.
Sherry- I know that is one of the systems people use. The other system is to have the foldable carry around type box, then we just file the coupons all together, like all the Smart Source coupons stay together in the way it comes in the paper- then I just put a sticky on each group with the date that it came in the paper. I do the same thing with the Red Plum coupons. Then the ones I print from the computer and from the websites, I put those in another section. The tear pad ones and the ones hanging in the stores, I put in an envelope.
THen after I go to the blogs to find out what is on sale and where, they list right on the blog in which date of paper the coupon is in and if it is SS or RP. Then I just go to that date and take out the coupon they are telling me to take out.
But the more that I do this, the more I am creating my own sales especially on the organics we like. So I may be changing to your system and then have my little son organize them for us. :)
Thanks for sharing this information. I've heard of people being able to do what you showed us in the video -- I'll have to check out the blogs you mentioned. Might put my kids to work on it this summer as an experiment and see what they come up with!
Katerina, You are SUPER woman ... a wife, mother, homeschool, businesswoman, coupon saver and more!!!!
mmmmmmmmmmmm, you've got me thinking about this
It's great of you to post this... especially with a video. Thanks for sharing it.
We are budget shoppers, but I do not know if we have done that well.
Katerina,
This is a great post. I need to check out some of the sites that you mentioned in your comments. Thanks for the info.....
:)
Katerina- I so love coupons. Since my daughter was born 16 months ago I have only bought one package of diapers without coupons. Some items are still cheaper at the warehouse stores, but I calculate that out. My husband laughed at my excel spread sheet of prices per unit at the warehouse vs. other stores with coupons. My last trip to CVS consisted of a package of diapers, 2 bottles of Pantene products, 2 Nivea body washes and a travel package of Panetene. My bill was $1.71 after coupons and extra care bucks. I love it. I haven't had to buy toothpaste or deodorant in about 8 months. I'm gonna check out those websites.
I'm going to watch this tomorrow, thanks Katerina, saving $$ is always a good thing.
Katerina, I think you are an amazing woman.
I have wanted to be a coupn collector but just have never had the discipline. And just like you, my problem has always been that I don't buy a lot of prepared foods so I always just assumed I couldn't save with coupons.
Now I see that even if I just save on non-food stuff I can still save considerably.
Thanks not only for the initial post but for the continued and detailed follow ups to the comments and questions.
Kim- Isn't it great! I just got back from CVS, I bought 2 huge packages of toilet paper that are on sale for 9.99 for 32 rolls ( in 16), a package of AA batteries 10 for 5.99. I used coupons off the toilet paper and coupon off the batteries and then I used a CVS Extra Bucks of $5, and then I got $10 back in Extra Care bucks. So ALL that toilet paper and those batteries cost me $10! It is tough to get the TP for free but you can get the price down considerably.
I also stopped at Walgreens on my way back from an errand. I LOVE WAGS! I just got over $60 in products including cans of olives for just the sales tax! No tax on the olives, since that is food.
You will love http://www.WildForWags.com! That is such a fun and addicting site! I will share some more of the cool savings at Walgreens. I just took a photo of my shopping trip tonight:)
Christy, the person who runs the website I told you about, wildforwags-I just found out she is also a licensed Realtor® in Florida!!!!
I will write a post about her next week.
Good post,
I'm printing this off for wifey. She's the shopper in our house.
I used to clip coupons but had gotten out of the habit over the last many years.
My daughter is known as the Coupon Queen for the way she grocery shops. She showed me one of her register receipts where she got $138.00 in groceries for 98 cents. What I have suggested to her is that she might want to figure out how much she saves each week, then take 20-50% of that amount and put in a savings account. That way she will be saving money and building savings too. The thing to remember is that you can't get rich saving money if you just treat the savings like extra spending money. I hope she is doing that.
This is a great post, Katerina. As an old grocery employee I find it shocking that so few people take advantage of this potential gold mine.
We absolutely love this post! What a great story for you to share. What never seizes to amaze me about you, is how much care and effort you put in to every single thing you do; whether it be with real estate, answering peoples comments; or saving money!
You are a true inspiration in so many ways. We love going to Costco, and doing this too! The only thing I will mention is you have to be careful not to waste items, just because you have a surplus of them. For instance, throw away a razor quicker than you normally would, because you have tons more.
Sometimes we will walk out of Costco a little bummed because we spent $500 but yet we won't need to buy anything for a long time. I mentioned to my husband, if he thought we used more food, goods, faster because we have more. He said he doesn't think we do; but still you have to be careful of that notion.
I do the savings at CVS, but now I will at Walgreens too! Thanks so much Katerina!
Great and practical ideas! I always like saving money but hate how the terminology has been perverted by advertisers by implying you can save money on the purchase of something you didn't need to start with.
Katerina,
First, we have the same taste in furniture. LOL
Second, I love coupons. Whether you are struggling to pay your bills or not, you should have respect for the money that you do earn and not WASTE IT by overpaying for ANYTHING!
Third, If You Owe, You Do Not OWN! As a nation, we need to stop being slaves to the banks by purchasing everything, including our groceries on credit.
Alan- you will have to take over the shopping again! At least the Walgreens deals! Then you can come home and show her the deals, and she will follow. Once people see how easy this is, and how much you can save, amazing!
I just did a new video of my small 15 to 20 minute trip to my Walgreens walking distance from my house. I will post it later maybe tomorrow on youtube.
Susan- This is why you are exactly right with your daughter.
There are different reasons to save. I have read about some families who only have $120 a month for groceries. They were struggling so hard until they found out about how far their $120 can go with couponing. So the feeling of just being able to have their pantry full makes them feel empowered.
Most people though, should be doing this for the exact reasons you stated. Take that portion of your budget that you saved and apply it to a savings account but first pay off your debt.
Jenna- SO true. Ben Franklin said, Neither a borrower or a lender be.
Wise words that ring true today. We take the money that we are saving from couponing and apply it to our credit cards. We never had to use credit other than for house and car- but when the market crashed, we did for office supplies to keep the biz going until the short sales started closing. So now we have been paying all those off. We are pay as you go kind of people. I don't want to be a slave to a bank, in servitude forever working only to stay afloat.
There is one mom I know that is using all her savings on couponing to apply to the principle on their mortgage and their home is going to be paid off soon, what a great feeling that will be.
Kim and Kelly- Thank you so much for your kind words. I am humbled. We are very careful not to waste. I am one of those people who learned from my mother and grandparents who were in a refuge camp for 5 years after escaping Stalin- to never waste. I hate waste and unfortunately that is one of the reasons I am fat. I eat what my son does not eat on his plate- I am wasting more by putting it into my body!
I am one of those people who squeezes every last drop of toothpaste out of the tube, always have since I was a kid, and always add water to the end of the shampoo and dish detergent to make it last a little longer and to get ever little bit out of the bottle.
When the mustard bottle can not squeeze out any more mustard, I take off the lid, add water and Agave Nectar to it, put the lid back, shake, then pour it over chicken and bake. It is the most delicious chicken. I always get compliments on it, then I smile.:)
My grandmother saved containers. I save the waxed paper in the cereal boxes- to use for kids craft projects and for certain types of cooking - we got rid of our microwave about 10 years ago.
Will look this over with my better half and see if we can make it work.. Thank You
About the razors-
They will never be wasted and never underused. We have 5 sons and 4 of them are grown up. We put them in their Christmas Stockings:) I also have son in laws who need razors. So even though you see all those razors- it may be a year supply for Nestor and myself, but any overage goes to the rest of the family first then we make care packages for one of our daughters in the military who has already served two tours in Iraq and may be going back again. We also have our Church here and we donate goods to our Church. Then it is the homeless shelters and abuse centers. All in that order. Just to make myself clear:)
Again, you're a true inspiration. Your posts help me to want to do better, and strive harder.
WOW! I am totally impressed!!!! I have been redeeming coupons for years and the best I could ever do in the grocery store with a store card, specials and double coupons was $50 on $120 order. I thought that was pretty good...until now. I can't wait to get started!!! Thanks so much Katerina for sharing. I look forward to the food post.
Jayne! That is STILL REALLY GOOOOD! That is about 40% savings on your grocery bill. That adds up. Do the math: even if all you save is $50 a month off your grocery bill:
50 x 12 = $600!
Now calculate your average commission to see how long it takes you to earn $600! That is how much life you just saved, :) Not only that think about what an additional $600 can do to pay off your credit cards, car or towards your principle on your mortgage! This is not chump change!
Love your post! Congratulations on another feature post. Yes, I need to start clipping coupons again. I used to do this frequently, but just got out of the habit. Learned lots from all the comments, also. thanks for sharing!
Hi Katerina -- Just thought I'd give you an update. My middle-school aged daughter and I took your advice, checked out the blog then visited Walgreens today. We managed to purchase $27.00 worth of merchandise and only spent $2.57. Plus, we had so much fun together doing it! We both thought it felt like a scavenger hunt. Sort of like Farmville, but with real-life products. By the way, the lady in front of me in line bought six packages of toothpaste for 12 cents TOTAL. Didn't see how she did it, but the cashier called her "the Queen".
Melanie-See how fun it is! Especially when you take your daughters with you. This instills frugal living to them. Plus it is SO fun! I went back to Walgreens tonight since it is the last night of this weeks sale. The toothpaste you are talking about I also got it all for like just the tax, 24 cents for each one. That toothpaste is a special one, it sells for $8. Then it was discounted to $4.95 then you get $5 back. I bought one because I usually just donate all our toothpaste since we don't use fluoride. This one did not have it in it so I ran back to get a bunch more! Anyways, I got $230 worth of products tonight for just the cost of the tax! It was the best one I have done for that much at one time. I even got Pizza for my son ( I don't eat pizza) and ice cream, we had coupons and then used the reward money.
The neutragena soap bars are a fabulous deal. Ours are $2.89 each- you buy 3- you get $10 back in Reward $. So you are getting more money back than the cost of the 3 bars! I stocked up on those for my daughters Christmas stockings. There is another deal wildforwags found, the Bengay Massage ointment was on sale for $4.97 and I had coupons from Bengay website for $5 off! So absolutely free! Also, I got a year supply of Reach Dental Floss for free, walgreens has it on sale for 99 cents each, I had coupons for $1 off of each and I had 6 coupons! We go through a package about once every 2 months so this was a perfect amount!
Like I said, this is nothing to scoff at! These are real savings that will make a dent in your budget!
Katerina,
This is so great of you to share all of this! I feel honored that you mentioned me and my site. It was such a thrill to see everything you bought and I loved your article. Keep up the great work.
Thanks again!
Christie
www.wildforwags.com
Hi Katerina~ Years ago I used to save a lot by using coupons. I think I will start again so that can save! I want to retire earlier, LOL! Thanks for the push!
Hello Katerina,
Wow - what a terrific post! Thank you so much for sharing it with us! Amazing!! Wonderful information to put into use to save money! I will reblog to share with others. Again, thank you!
Rita
Thanks for this post Katerina. I've tried couponing a few times, and it seems like I always forget or get caught up in other things and don't clip them or check the sales. I actually got out my coupon organizer (one of those mini-files that holds index cards - has 13 pockets, so I organize them by month and those with no expiration date in the back) a week or so ago, and told myself I'd try again. I am singed up on a fe online sites to print coupons, but some grocery stores around here have stopped taking those. :(
Chistie-
Thanks SO much for stopping by! I am glad you liked this post. I learn all the WAGS deals from you and your awesome website:
http://www.wildforwags.com
Everyone- meet Christie, the Realtor that runs and owns wildforwags.com
where you can learn all for free how to really cut a hole in your household budget!
You will learn more about Christie soon, subscribe to my blog so you don't miss out on my saving food money post coming soon!
Oh my- I am so pleased with all your paying it forward to help others! This post has been reblogged by 12 agents! Thank you SOOOO much!
Also, thank you to whoever of the AR staff featured this post because these savings can really help families and those living by themselves, etc.
Katarina- we do this too. My favorite site is iheartpublix.com - Check it out and I bet you will love it too. We have a stash and donate to the church for the needy. It helps!
Dixie and Dick- I will check it out! I know already I will love it!