The greatest challenge to my shopping adventure was that I brought along my husband. He is probably at the same level I was about a year ago when I began. He had a list of items but did not really know how to gauge whether the price with the coupon was a good buy. In other words, he did not have a "price book" embedded in his brain. I actually have three price books (or price lists) in my binder. I seldom refer to them anymore because I have the price lists for the items I buy most often memorized.
My dear husband did not use the rain check with the Smart Source milk coupons and ended up paying $3 for milk that would have been free had he paired the coupons with the rain check. He completely bypassed a great deal on Welch's grape juice because he did not realize that it was super doubles week at HT and thought the juice cost too much. He did not realize that the $1 coupon would double to $2 this week and make the Welch's a good buy.
I did not have the heart to fuss at him. I gently pointed out his errors and he went back to the store to get credit for his mistakes. He did great! He got all the shopping errors rectified and they gave him back the rain check to use yet another time.
What did I learn...I will have to provide my sweetie with a shopping "scenario" for each item rather than simply listing the items to purchase. A shopping scenario for the Smart Balance milk and Welch's he purchased would look like this:
(1) Smart Balance milk special: buy 1 half gallon get 1 Smart Balance spreadable butter FREE
Buy 3 Smart Source 1/2 gallon milk - $3.99
Get 3 Smart Source spreadable butter (Free-no coupon needed)
Use 3 Smart Balance milk coupons $1.50 off one item (will double to $3 off each item)
Use rain check for Smart Balance milk 2 for $6
Out of pocket (OOP) Free!
(2) Welch's Grape Juice
Buy 3 Welch's Grape Juice @ $3.79 ea
Use 3 Welch's Grape Juice coupons $1 off 1 bottle (will double to $2 off each item)
OOP (Out of pocket) 3X $1.79 = $5.37
Yes, I know this looks like a lot of work but it serves a purpose. My husband is slowly being groomed to learn how to shop wisely with and without coupons. In addition, I have great hopes that he will become a savvy couponer once he is fully convinced of its merits. He loves going shopping and watching the prices roll back once he scans his loyalty card and coupons. But, if he does not learn how to spot a bargain or (better yet) make a bargain, he will never become a savvy shopper.
We shopped from two different lists to save time and effort. On our shopping trip tonight, we bought $164.24 worth of groceries. Our out of pocket was $45.52. We saved $118.72 for a savings of 73%!!!
Is my sweetheart convinced? Yes, he is convinced that coupon shopping definitely does save money and is worth the effort. However, he says that it is worth "my" effort and not his. He says he will sit in the car and listen to the baseball game next time.
Here's a little peek at my rain checking deal at Harris Teeter this week. I love rain checks. The last day of a big sale is the best day to go rain checking.
Happy Couponing and Rain Checking!
ShaRon, The Bizzy Coupon Bee
