Couponing comeback: spent $20.92 Saved $95.30!

I haven't posted in a long time because I have been really lazy about couponing and saving this past month or so. While it is alot of fun to see how much I can save it is still really time consuming for me to go through the deals and print/cut out the coupons I am planning to use. Not to mention, the best stores for couponing for me (CVS, Target, Homeland) are about 15-20 miles away and Jake hates ALL of them. He is a pretty miserable couponing companion- I have to spend so much time entertaining him and trying to keep him quiet it is really quite difficult to pay attention to prices and coupons while I am out with him. Even more frustrating (and this seems to only happen about 97% of the time)  I go through all that planning, driving, and hassle with Jake, only to find out they are COMPLETELY OUT of what I worked so hard planning to get. Then I come home empty handed with nothing but a wasted day (or two!) to show for it and I have to wonder if couponing really is worth it.

But today, I decided to give it a try again. I spent HOURS planning this out yesterday (I am really hoping I get quicker at this as it gets easier), printing and clipping coupons and deciding what to buy where. I started out at Target, the furthest one away, because there is a Chick-fil-a across the street from them that was offering FREE chicken biscuits this morning. So I brought my own coffee and started the savings off with a totally free breakfast. YUM.

I was planning on going to Target, CVS, and Homeland (in that order) and being home around 11 or 12 at the latest. (I started at 9). I have no idea what I was thinking. I think I completely forgot about the number one reason I haven't done this in a while.

My first trip to Target was AWESOME. I spent $5.37 and this is what I got:

• 1 Scrubbing Bubbles daily shower power sprayer on sale for $6.99, used a $3 off Target coupon and a $5 off manufacturer coupon. Yes, I actually MADE $1.01 off the purchase of this! I really wanted the Scrubbing Bubbles extend a clean power sprayer, but at such a good deal, why on earth would the first Target I go to have them in stock???? stupid me for planning on it.

• 3 cannisters of Gerber Puffs ($1.89 each), 1 can of Gerber wagon wheels ($1.89), and 2 packages of Gerber yogurt melts ($2.49 each). I used a $1 off the purchase of 5 Gerber food items Target coupon. I also used four $3 off the purchase of any or multiple Gerber products. (I got them in the mail because I had previously purchased a bad batch of Gerber rice cereal. I expected them to only replace the bad box of cereal, but they were WAAAY more than generous!)

• 1 jar of Vlasic hamburger dill pickles ($1.79) and 1 squeeze thing of Vlasic sweet relish ($1.19). I used 2 Vlasic coupons $ .55/1 I printed from their website.

• 1 bottle of Suave Professionals conditioner. I used a coupon to get one free, I have no idea why Suave sent me one in the mail, I must have signed up for it at some point? Anyway, I am NOT complaining!

• I am kicking myself for this one: 1 Baby Oragel tooth and gum cleanser for $2.99. I had no idea I had a $1 off coupon for this until I got home. (See, should have spent another hour planning this trip!). I know it is only a dollar but that is not the point. The whole point of this "game" is to see how much I can save and how little I can spend. I guess I feel kinda like I lost the game or failed or something. I could have had my total for the day UNDER $20!!!!

My total out of pocket at this store was $5.37 (could have been $4.37 GRRRR!!!!)
$1.97 of that total was tax. My total saved this trip was $22.49 just over 80%!

By this point Jake was getting really upset about being dragged around Target. He HATES Target more than anyplace he has ever been. I don't know what it is, but he usually screams the whole time we are in there. Maybe it is the lights or the Target sign, I have no idea. But, I had more Scrubbing Bubbles coupons and since this one was out of the Extend-a-clean, we had to go to another Target. I was thankful at least the other Target was right across the street from CVS (where I was planning to go next anyways).

At the second Target I bought

• 1 Scrubbing Bubbles extend a clean power sprayer for $6.99, again using a $3 off Target coupon, and a $5 off manufacturer coupon. Again, I MADE $1.01 on this purchase. But I don't know of any store that will just GIVE you money back in these situations, so I had to buy something else. 

• I bought a new binder for all my coupons. The binder was $4.29. 

After my coupons and the $ .05 discount for bringing my own bag, my total for this purchase was $3.93. Tax was $ .70 of that total. Total saved was $8.05 so, less than 50% but I really needed a new binder. My other one was getting way to small.
Next we went to CVS and big shocker here, but they were out of what I went there for. I didn't buy anything there and had to make yet another detour. I went to another CVS and bought

• 4 boxes of Scrubbing Bubbles toilet gel things. They were $2.50 each, and when you buy 4 of them, you get $5 ECB. I used two $1/1 coupons from the paper and one $2/2  peelie coupon. I also had $5 ECB that CVS emailed me for completing a short survey last week. My total out of pocket was $1.43 ($.43 was tax) I saved $16.16 and have $5 ECB for my next transaction.

• My next transaction was for Prevacid. It was on sale for $23.99 but they were giving $5 ECB. I was very excited when I scanned my card in the store today and it spit out a $6 OFF PREVACID CVS COUPON!!!! YAY! Love when I get an extra (great!) coupon for something I was planning to buy anyways. I combined this with my $10 off manufacturer coupon I got from calling them and requesting. I used my $5 ECB I got from Scrubbing Bubbles and only paid $5.04 out of pocket!  And $2.05 of that was tax! I saved $26! I guess that was worth going out of my way for!

After that last CVS I had to come home. Jake was tired and hungry and cranky. It was almost 2:00 when we got home and we hadn't even made it to Homeland. THIS is exactly why I don't coupon as much as I should. What a long day.

After Jake woke up from his nap we FINALLY made it to Homeland. I think this is the first time I have gone the first day of their sale and the FIRST time they had everything I went there for and did not have to ask for a rain check. Homeland doubles coupons up to and including $1.00, so those double coupons paired with great sales and rain checks from past great sales got me the following:

(1) Kraft salad dressing
(1) Texas Toast croutons
(1) Kraft barbecue sauce
(1) KC Masterpiece barbecue sauce
(2) Sweet Baby Rays barbecue sauce
(1) 9 oz pkg Oscar Mayer deli shaved chicken lunchmeat 
(2) 10 oz cans of diced tomatoes with green chiles
(1) box of Blue Bunny fudge bars (6 count)
(2) pre-sugared Kool-Aid powder mix cannisters

My total out of pocket was only $5.15!!!!! Can you believe that?????? And $1.05 of that was tax!
I am not even going to try to break it down because Homeland's receipts are even more confusing than Target's and I am not sure how to figure out what each item actually costs (other than writing it down as I shop, but shopping with Jake is complicated enough as it is, so no. Sorry.) Their receipt does say that I saved $22.60 and got 84% off!

Homeland only doubles one like coupon per transaction, I hear some cashiers will only let you double one like coupon per day so I am scared to do multiple transactions unless I leave and come back and try to hide from the previous cashier. That is too much hassle for me and I am scared of getting caught. I might end up going back later in the week though for more of those good deals (or more likely rain checks) because they ALWAYS run out of their sale items.

Anyways, today was busy and tiring but I am proud of all the money I saved and stuff I got. And the best part is, even though I only spent $20.92 out of pocket, I still have $5 ECB for CVS, and I have two $5 rebates I can submit for all those Scrubbing Bubbles things I got! So once you factor in the rebates and ECB, I actually got all of this stuff for $5.92! (Could have been $4.96 GRRRR)