March savings and another couponing tip!

I can't believe we're 4 months into 2012! How crazy is that? I always like the end of the month though, because it gives me a chance to total up my savings for the past 4 weeks.  This time I was really excited because I knew I had snagged some really good deals.

First off, Harris Teeter had triple coupons (which I indulged in three times...using 20 coupons each time).  Also, I had a very successful month with retail store coupons.  I made 2 trips to Bath and Body (they had there special event where if you buy a home fragrance you get a free hand-soap and reusable bag, and I also had a coupon for a free signature item if you spent $10), had an extremely productive trip to Target (they had a lot of toys and games on sale that matched up with their online coupons and coupons from the paper.  I'm talking $2 Candyland and $3 Disney Princess doll deals), and gave my husband a $10 off anything coupon to Kohls and Hi-Ho Silver to use for my Birthday (an extra perk was him winning me a $100 Chamilia necklace in their raffle).

So, what did I save in March? A whopping $377.02 (bringing my yearly coupon savings to $764.05)! Keep in mind, that's just with coupons that I clipped, got in the mail, or printed offline.  That doesn't include store promotions, sales, or using any loyalty card.  I am so excited because this month I was able to add a lot of items to my church's food pantry, as well as my own, get about 10 Christmas gifts under my belt, indulge in a little home and body fragrances, and my husband is already finished with my Birthday shopping...from my favorite stores, nonetheless (that's probably what I'm the most proud of...he's a Walgreens at the 11th hour shopper!).  Also, in case you're curious, we spent about $600 this month on all these items, but they were worth close to $1,500 if regular price).

Now for another couponing tip.  This one's actually for how to score the coupons in the most cost efficient way: Buy your paper from the Dollar Store! We have the Sunday and Wednesday paper delivered (ordered off promotion) and any extra Sunday papers I want, I get from the Dollar Store.  This saves me about half of what I would pay for each paper.  Also, I only buy 2 extra papers, and that's only if there's coupon inserts that week (some weeks there aren't any, so don't go stocking up and then check).  I stick to 3 papers total because most store have a "3 like coupon" policy, so if the deals really good, by the time you go back to get more, the item's already gone anyway.  So, just get 3 and leave the rest for others.  Hope this helps and have a great April!