Today I took advantage of some freebies, some random super cheap stuff, and the perishables.
Now, before I break down the shopping trip, let me explain something real quick: I'm not a fan of Hamburger Helper. I don't recall the last time I bought the stuff. It's not that it's godawful - it ain't great, but I've had it before and it's not disgusting. It's just...well, I can make a skillet meal with noodles and beef and sauce cheaper than the $1.75/box it costs. A pound of beef is a pound of beef; for a buck or less I can turn it into something much like Hamburger Helper.
That said, in the cart today was 12 boxes of Hamburger Helper.
It was free.
They were on sale for a buck. I had coupons for $.75 off three. If you bought 6 boxes, you got a $3 OYNO.
Six boxes: $6 - $3 in doubled coupons - $3 OYNO = free. Since it lasts forever, I got 12 boxes.
Also free: 5 tubes of Colgate toothpaste. It was on sale for $1.50, and I had $.75/1 coupons. Those doubled to $1.50 off.
Also free: a can of Glade air freshener because I had a coupon for a free one.
Nearly free: 4 cake mixes, 4 tubs of frosting, and one cookie sheet. Grand total = $1. I'll probably donate the frosting to a food pantry because I don't use it, but it was part of the requirement to fulfill this deal.
You can buy any 4 frostings and get a free Wilton cookie sheet or cake pan (same deal as last trip with the cookie mixes and the free pan). I had coupons for $.75 off when you buy a Betty Crocker cake mix and frosting tub. Buying 4 frostings also generated a $3 OYNO. To top it off, both items were on sale; it was $2.50 to get a frosting and a cake mix.
Four mixes & frostings: $10 - $6 in doubled coupons - $3 OYNO = $1, plus a free cookie sheet.
I ran one transaction with six boxes of Hamburger Helper, the cake mixes & frostings, and the pan - total $16. After coupons my total was $7. I paid with $6 of OYNOs from Saturday's trip and a dollar bill.
I received two more $3 OYNOs back, which still left me with $21 in OYNOs total.
I then ran a second transaction with everything else. There was the other six Hamburger Helpers, five Colgate toothpastes, a can of Glade, another small bottle of Tabasco sauce, three bottles of Dawn dish soap, a pack of scouring pads, two gallons of milk, three pounds of boneless skinless chicken breasts, and four pounds of ground beef - total $56.91. After coupons it was $33.91. I paid with $21 in OYNOs and $12.91 cash.
I received one more $3 OYNO back.
And that was it. We were done for this crazy week of deals.
Today's shelf price: $82.65
Cash paid: $13.91
Remaining OYNOs: $3
True out of pocket cost: $10.91, for a savings of 87%
And the total for the sale week 9/30-10/6
Shelf price: $400.08
Out of pocket cost: $53.38, for a savings on the week of $346.70, or 86.7%
I spent about 5 hours clipping and organizing coupons and we'll say another 3 hours on the shopping trips including driving time and putting stuff away at home. My eight hours of work amounts to $43.34 per hour.
I stocked up on a year's worth of hot dogs and bologna and six to nine months' worth of toothpaste, coffee, cheese, and mayonnaise. There's two months' worth of treats in the cookie and cake mixes. We have enough meat and prepared food for lunches (thanks to the soup and frozen meals) for two weeks.
This was all done using manufacturers' coupons from the Sunday paper and the weekly mail circulars.
This is not impossible. Anyone can do this. You don't have to buy coupons on Ebay (it helps, but it isn't necessary!), you don't have to do anything shady or underhanded, and you don't have to go to any great lengths. You just have to be willing to set aside a little time to gather your materials and to do a little bit of math to figure out how to get the most for your money.
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