Couponing in May

Oh, I'm ready for May to be over with already. Ready for summer. Ready for no more homework. Ready for late evenings playing outside and grilling something delicious. Ready for the pool, any pool. Ready for time…any time.

In other news I have dipped my foot in the pool of couponing. I used to cut coupons religiously, use them occasionally and let them expire constantly. But I've learned a few tricks this time around...actually took a couponing class.

On my first time out my goal was to get one deal at one store. Three hours and three stores later I had saved a grand total of $9. Seriously wanted to throw in the towel after that day.

The second week I tried a few deals at a different store. My out of pocket was much larger than I had planned (turns out those "free" deals are not immediate); however, all things considered I got $37 worth of stuff for $9 (out of pocket was around $20...complicated story).

Today though, I tried my first grocery experience. After all I had to go anyway, might as well try to get some deals right? I'm guessing it took me around 2 hours to prepare for the trip (list, sales, coupon cutting). I paid $67 but I saved $52. That's right folks, 50%. Today it was worth it.

Bottom line is there is a serious learning curve involved but now I'm thinking it might be worth the effort. I'll keep you posted.

Hopefully in June, there will be some more time for all of this. Two more weeks.