I often hear stories about people who purchased $150 (or more) worth of products and paid $0.37 including tax. I also hear stories about people who swear that they can save way more without coupons by purchasing generics at Wal-Mart and Aldi. I am a double-dipper. There are days when I clip coupons like a super-cheap-OCD-dime-saving-diva, then I have one bad trip and boycott the process. That’s a lot of work to save a total of $1.
Which camp are you in? Do you swear that these mad-money-saving-women are a lot like leprechauns and unicorns? I’m here to tell you that these coupon-cutting-crazies are real and we have several of them in the group. Melissa Walker is one of them. She recently contacted me about doing a coupon workshop. Side note: We still don’t have a date set so don’t be mad at me. The format is being developed but it’s going to look a lot like this: She will hold your hand (probably not- that would be an invasion of personal space and I don’t think she wants to get slapped) and show you the ropes. After the workshop, you won’t be left high and dry. We will send you home with the resources and knowledge to be one of those money-saving-maniacs.
Here is the cool thing about Melissa: Her wealth of knowledge isn’t limited to coupons. Check out this article to see what she has to say about getting started when it comes to saving money. She also knows how to save money at several stores just by using a recyclable bag. At CVS you buy the bag-tag for $1. Every 4th trip you get $1 off your purchase. That may not seem like a ton but if you know how to do it you can get some great deals at CVS and add the $1 to what you’ve already saved and you’ll be on an adrenaline-high like no other.
August 30, 2010 at 8:57 am
Just a note – if you are going to implement reusable shopping bags, be sure to wash them with laundry detergent, then allow them to air-dry. Per Better Homes & Gardens, the American Chemistry Council recently did a study on these bags, intercepting shoppers as they entered supermarkets and collecting 84 empty bags (most made from woven polypropylene). Nearly all bags were found to have some level of bacterial growth, with 12% testing positive for E. coli. Also, separate raw meat & produce just as you would if you were using plastic bags!
September 2, 2010 at 4:11 pm
Katie, as far as the raw produce and meat, I always, always make them put those in a plastic bag so I can throw them away when I unload my grocery bags at home. I don’t want that on my cloth bags. Thanks for the tip.