Savings, savings

Oh, I love sales and coupons! My Granny has always been super-frugal... downright cheap at times. We all used to tease her because she'd "spend $5 in gas driving around town to every store in order to save 50 cents in coupons". Honestly though, I've learned a lot from her! Couponing (is that even a word?) is time consuming, but lately I've found it well worth my efforts. I have two awesome savings stories for today =)

First, I bought myself a winter coat. It wasn't a splurge at all. It was a need. The only coat I had was a black trench coat, more suitable for business or dressy attire, and it isn't warm at all. My old winter coat (and by "old", I mean I've literally had it since 6th grade-- 12 years!) is completely worn out. So, I had looked for a new one for a couple of weeks. There was a Columbia jacket at Dick's Sporting Goods that I really liked, but it was like $220. Obviously, I wouldn't spend that much money on a coat. I also checked Burlington Coat Factory. They also sold one I really liked for $59, but it wasn't in my size. Last night, my brother needed a ride to the mall and while we were there, I found the perfect coat in JCPenney's. It was originally $180, but all their coats were 60% off. That made it $71.99. It seemed like a pretty good deal, so I decided to sleep on it. I went back this morning to buy it and the cashier gave me an "instant savings scratcher". Mine was an additional 15% off of my purchase. So, after the sale and the coupon, I ended up paying like $64 after tax for a great winter coat. That was a savings of $116. I was on a roll!

I also filled up my gas tank. Both the Kroger & Shell by my house are selling for $2.79/gallon today. I went to the Kroger in Forest (where I bought my groceries today) and paid $2.39/gallon with my fuel points. Yay again!

The best story is my grocery story! I bought all soy-free, healthy food (mostly all-natural & organic). The only "prepared" meal I bought was a frozen lasagna, which was also on sale. I'll put that in the oven before we head to church tomorrow and it'll be nice and hot when we get home. I had boukous of coupons + a "15% off total order" coupon for Kroger. Before I used my plus card or gave the cashier my coupons, my bill was $77 and change-- a standard price for everything I bought. With the sales & coupons, I saved $41 and change and ended up paying $35.12 for my groceries! YAY! I love when the amount saved is greater than the amount spent! I used to think I'd done well when I saved $8. About $7 of that wasn't even groceries (dish soap, dishwasher cleaner, Ziploc containers, etc.). I went to Sam's and bought chicken for $12. So, all in all, I'd estimate that I spent about $48 on about $90 of groceries.

The weather was beautiful today-- 68 and sunny. I took Maddie to Peaks View park and let her loose in one of the baseball fields. People stopped to watch her run (something like 35-40 MPH!). My puppy is definitely a little bit greyhound! She was so obedient and came back to me every time I called her. Now she's tired and you know the adage, "A tired puppy is a good puppy."

I can't wait for Aaron to get home so we can spend the evening together!