What A Deal!!!

So, ever since I have been staying home with Xander, I have been trying to come up with new ways to save money.

We lost about 40% of our income with me staying home and after giving up our home phone, internet, gym membership and giving up cable soon, I am still struggling with the budget.

I have decided to get more serious about our budget and saving money at the grocery store. Thanks to all of the awesome blogs dedicated to money savings and coupons (see my blog list) I have been able to save a lot of money.

To give you an example of my recent savings, I am going to give you the info about my most recent trip to Target. I was AMAZED at how much stuff I walked away with for such a small amount of money. Here are the details:

My total when I walked out of the store was $36.16. The receipt said I saved $100.00!!! And I know that is true because I saw my total before the cashier started scanning all of the coupons I had.

I received many items for free or for just pennies. I won't list everything but just the cheapest stuff and the free stuff.

-3 packs of Johnson's safety swabs for babies (I use these for Xander's ears) - $1.29/ea. I had a $3/3 coupon from Johnson's and used 1 $1.00/1 Target coupon to get these free and I got a small overage (which applies to your total bill)

-1 Johnson's buddies bar of soap (for when Xander is older) - $0.97/ea. I used a $1/1 Johnson's coupon to get this item free!

-1 jar of Earth's best organic baby food - apples - $0.54. I had a $0.50/1 Target coupon and got this food for $0.04!

-1 jar of Gerber oatmeal cereal with DHA - $2.99. I had a $3/1 off coupon from Gerber and got this cereal free!

-1 Glade sense and spray air freshener - $6.50 on sale. I had a $4/1 off Target coupon and a $4/1 off Glade coupon and got this for free with an overage of $1.50!

-2 Glade scented oil candle holders - $2.50/ea on sale. I had a Target coupon for $3/1 and a Glade coupon for buy one get one free. I got 2 candle holders (each with 2 candles) for free plus an overage!

-1 Glade lasting impressions starter kit - $6.50 on sale. I had a $3/1 off Target coupon and $4/1 Glade coupon. The item was free plus an overage!

- 1 Pledge multi surface cleaner - $3.89. I had a $1/1 Target coupon and a $2/1 Pledge coupon and got the bottle for $0.89! Not free but a heck of a deal still!

-2 All Small and Mighty laundry detergents 32 load - $4.54/ea. I had 2 - $1/1 Target coupons and 2 $2/1 All coupons. This made each bottle $1.54!! Again, not free but the cheapest I have ever gotten this detergent and it happens to be our favorite detergent!

- 1 bag of Hershey's bliss candy - $2.99 on sale. I had a $1/1 Target coupon and a $1/1 Hershey's coupon. The candy was $0.99! Not free but cheap for a sweet treat!

- 2 bags of Cheetos (small bags) - $1.29/ea. I had 2 Target coupons for $1/1. Each bag was $0.29! Cheap quick snack!

- 1 Campbell's tomato soup - $0.55. I had 1 Target coupon for $0.50/1. $0.05 for soup - just about free!

- 1 Archer Farms Artisan mini bread loaf - $0.84. I had 1 Target coupon for $1/1 making this item free!

- 1 can of Del Monte corn - $0.66. I had a Target coupon for $0.75/1 making this item also free plus an overage!

-1 20 oz bottle of Vitamin water - $1.00. I had a $1/1 Vitamin water coupon making this free!

-1 dozen large grade A eggs - $0.99 on sale. I had 1 Target coupon for $0.50/1 making the eggs $0.49! Super cheat for eggs!

1- 2 oz Johnson's Soft Lotion - $0.97. I had a $1/1 Johnson's coupon making this lotion free!

1- Dry Idea roll on deodorant - $2.00 on sale. I had a $2/1 Dry Idea coupon making this free! Even though I don't normally use this deodorant, it won't hurt for a backup if I run out of my usual deodorant!

3- Greeting cards - 2 @ $0.50/ea and 1 @ $0.99/ea. I had a Target coupon for $1/3 making the total for 3 cards $0.99! Can't beat that!

I also had a coupon Target sent me in the mail for $5 off any grocery purchase of $50 or more. I had them scan that coupon first so it would go through since my total after all coupons was less than the required $50. I cannot believe how much stuff I came away with! I didn't even list several of the things I got. It just goes to show that coupons do work and really can save you money if you take some to use them.

Happy shopping!!!