It Does Pay...

...to use coupons at the grocery store that is. I went tonight after going 2 weeks without needing to go (except for the "necessities") and I was astounded at the total of my groceries. Before the shoppers card, sales, and coupons, my total was roughly $325. I snapped this picture of my cart with my phone so you could see just how full my cart was. So, although the quality of the picture isn't the greatest, you'll get the gist.

After all the sales, shopper's card, and coupons, I walked out of the store paying roughly $133.50 for my groceries! That's right people. I saved $191.50 on my grocery bill and this will last us approximately 2 weeks. Not too shabby if you ask me. I got 6 gallons of milk, but only had to pay for 4 of them; 5 fridge packs of Coke for $1.22 a piece; and the list goes on and on. This isn't the store brand of items either. With the exception of the dill relish I bought, everything in the cart was "name brand", on sale, and I had a coupon for it. (On things that don't really matter - like dill relish, I'll buy the generic brand. But when it comes to cereal and such, this family prefers the taste of name brand.) The checker guy couldn't believe the total I was paying after all was said and done. Typically, I don't ask for help out to my car - I can do it. But, it took the bagger 2 carts to get everything in and not squish it all together. Tonight, I asked for help.

When I go grocery shopping and gather up the coupons, sometimes I just don't want to do it. It does take time (about an hour) and effort to gather the coupons and organize them. But, on the other hand, when I save $191 in one trip, I think of it as getting paid $191 for the hour worth of work I did to get everything ready and organized. Now, if only I could find a "real job" that would pay me that kind of money wouldn't that be great.