More box pictures and "extreme couponing"

We have finally sent the box out with the trash, but it was the center of Danny's playtime for more than two weeks. If we had more space in our house, it might have stayed forever. :) We laid low this last weekend because Danny was not feeling well. Thursday afternoon we got a call from daycare that he had a fever and he's just now starting to get over it.


So have you heard of extreme couponing? It's become more prominent over the last couple of years and has been featured on virtually every morning news show. More recently, TLC has produced a TV show called Extreme Couponing to document the shopping trips of individuals who use coupons to purchase hundreds of dollars worth of items for only a few dollars or cents. I've always used coupons here and there, but two weeks ago I decided to fully apply myself (now that I'm no longer writing a thesis!) and see how much bang I could get for my buck. Since then, I've been surprised at how little you actually have to pay if you take a little time to do your homework before heading to the store.

My first trip was to Target. Here's what I got:

20 Smart Ones frozen meals on sale for $1.80 each for a total of $36

• 2 manufacturer's coupons for $4 off every 10 bought (savings of $8)
• 2 Target coupons for $5 off every 10 bought (savings of $10)
• Received a $5 Target gift card for every 7 purchased ($10 in giftcards)

Total: $8 for 20 Smart Ones meals, or $0.40 cents a piece

7 pairs of women's Mossimo jeans on clearance for $4.98 each

• 7 Target coupons for $5 off any women's denim (savings of $35)
  

Total: 7 pairs of jeans for FREE

7 cans of Wolfgang Puck organic soup @ $1.99 for a total of $13.93

• 1 manufacturer's coupon for $1 off 1 (savings of $7)
  
• 1 Target coupon for $1 off 1 (savings of $7)
  

Total: 7 cans of soup for FREE

5 trial size Aquafresh Extreme Clean toothpaste @$0.97 for a total of $4.85

• 5 manufacturer's coupons for $1 off 1 Aquafresh Extreme Clean toothpaste, any size (savings of $5)
  

Total: 5 tubes of trial size toothpaste for FREE

4 boxes of Electrosol Finish Dishwasher tabs (20 ct.) on sale for 2/$5 for a total of $10

• 4 manufacturer's coupons for $1 off 1 box (savings of $4)
  
• 4 Target coupons for $1.50 off 1 box (savings of $6)
  

Total: 4 boxes for FREE

1 Vaseline Intensive Rescue lotion on sale for $2.69

• 1 manufacturer's coupon for $1 off 1
  
• 1 Target coupon for $1 off 1
  

Total: $0.69

2 packages of Hall's cough drops @ $1.19 for a total of $2.38

• 1 manufacturer's coupon for $0.50 off 1 (savings of $1)
  
• 1 Target coupon for $0.50 off 1 (savings of $1)

Total: $0.38 for two packages, or $0.19 a piece

4 bottles Up & Up multipurpose cleaner with bleach @ $1.37 for a total of $5.48

• 4 Target coupons for $1 of 1 Up& Up cleaning product (savings of $4)

Total: $1.48 for 4 bottles, or $0.37 a piece

Not pictured:

4 bottles of Up & Up Ibuprofen (20 ct.) @ $0.99 for a total of $3.96

• 4 Target coupons for $1 off 1 Up & Up pain relief product ($4 savings)
  

Total: 4 bottles of Ibuprofen for FREE

4 bottles of Up & Up Mouthwash @ $1.37 for a total of $5.48

• 4 Target coupons for $1 off 1 Up & Up oral care product ($4 savings)
  

Total: $1.48 for 4 bottles, or $0.37 a piece

SHOPPING TRIP TOTAL $12.03 before tax. I used $98 worth of coupons and received $10 of Target gift cards for a savings of ~90%. I saved even more by buying items that were on sale (for example, the jeans normally retail for $20 a pair).

Second stop: Walgreen's. I have to admit that I was a little bit wary to tackle this store because they have a tricky program called Register Rewards that is subject to all kinds of rules. But I watched an online tutorial and decided to try it out. It was totally worth it!

4 tubes of Colgate Total Advanced whitening toothpaste @ $3, for a total of $12

• 4 manufacturer's coupons for $0.75 off 1 tube (Savings of $3.50)
  
• Received 4 register rewards for $3 (Savings of $12)

Total: $3.50 MONEY-MAKER

4 bottles of Baby Magic Shampoo/Lotion @ $3, for a total of $12

• Received 4 register rewards for $3 (Savings of $12)

Total: 4 bottles for FREE

4 Venus Pro-Skin women's razors @ $7.99 for a total of $31.96

• 4 manufacturer's coupons for $5 off 1 (Savings of $20)
• Received 4 register rewards for $4 (Savings of $16)

Total: $4.04 MONEY-MAKER

4 Gillete Pro-glide men's razors @ 9.99 for a total of $39.96

• 4 manufacturer's coupons for $4 off of 1 (Savings of $16)
  
• Received 4 register rewards for $4 (Savings of $16)

Total: $7.96 for 4 razors, or $1.99 each

1 bottle Motrin PM (20 ct) @ $3

• Received 1 register reward for $3

Total: 1 bottle for FREE

SHOPPING TRIP TOTAL $0.42 before tax!!!!! I used $39.50 worth of coupons and received $59 of register rewards for a savings of 99.99%.