I feel like this should be a Bloopers edition….

It’s been over a week since my last update. I saved some money, but nothing went nearly as planned. Anxiety, stress, and memory lapses really did not help my mission.

Before I left the house, I prepared myself. I already had all my notes on each ad. I also wrote a list of the items I needed to buy there. When I folded it up, I could see my list. Then I clipped my coupons to the back. I did this with each ad, with the feeling that I was about to accomplish something.

With my organized stack in hand, I started at Dollar Tree. I planned to get Renuzit air freshers for $.67 each, with a buy 4 get 2 coupon. Except, I never brought the coupon and completely forget about it. When I grabbed the air fresheners, I couldn’t figure out why they weren’t marked down. I convinced myself that it will come down at the register. They didn’t, of course. But hey, I did grab a bag of Chex Mix that was much cheaper than Rite Aid.

I quickly moved on to Dollar General. They were out of a few of the items I needed. I grabbed what I could and checked out. As I put my cart away, I realized I left my coupons on the counter. So none of those were used. The cashier nicely said I could use them next time. I just smiled and agreed, as I beat myself up inside for being so mindless.

Next was Rite Aid. I’m not used to this store, so I struggled to find some things. I’m also not sure how much I really saved, compared to what I normally pay. Then, I bought the wrong razors. I had coupons for $5 & $4 off. Except one was for disposable razors, so scratch that. I still saved with their sales and my one coupon though. They were regularly $13.49, but I paid $6.14 each. Not too bad, considering. With this visit, I saved a total of $23.87. Plus I have $8 towards my next trip.

Giant was my last stop. It wasn’t as great as I wanted it to be. A few of my coupons were rejected. I also got confused over an Air Wick oil starter kit deal in the ad, listed at 2 for $6. There was no picture in the ad and no sales marked on the items. I found a kit for $13.99. I didn’t think it was right, but grabbed it anyway to ask the cashier. She had to get a manager, who approved it. Honestly, I think it was a misprint. I also had a $2 coupon, so I got 2 for $2 each! (Orig 2 x $13.99 [27.98], on sale 2 for $6 – $2 coupon = 2 for $4.) With this trip, I managed to save $75.64 off my bill of $352.02. That’s 21.49%. It’s a start.

Then of course, once I got home, I scanned all of my receipts with at least six different apps to get even more cash back.

I know I could have done a lot better. I’m still working on my process of doing things to be faster and more efficient. I really need to focus more. I learned that I need to print more coupons, take them with me, and remember to use them! Then I need to pay more attention to the details on the coupon and store rules. Also, I should probably compare prices a bit more. Stupid mistakes that I can easily work on. Baby steps.