Last month I was invited to a “coupon party” where someone taught me how to save a lot of money by using coupons. Initially I was skeptical…I thought it was a waste of time, that I couldn’t find coupons for the things I use, that I saved more money using generic, etc. Now I feel compelled to share what I learned because it’s already saved me a ton of money! Bear in mind that I am a newbie at this, so I’m still learning myself. Hopefully this info will be useful to someone else.
On Monday afternoon, I went to the Lowe’s Foods here in Sanford and got:
- 4 single serve packs of Whitehouse applesauce. That’s 24 applesauce cups total.
- 4 cans of Chef Boyardee canned pasta.
- 2 boxes of Uncrustables. That is 8 sandwiches total.
- 1 box of Snyder’s pretzel snack packs. That’s 10 small bags of pretzels.
Do you know how much that would cost without coupons or sale prices? At Lowe’s, these items would come to a total of $23.17, without tax. I paid $6.61, plus tax. That’s a savings of almost 78%.
So how did I do it? For all of these items, I had both a Lowe’s store coupon that saved me some money off of the regular price, some giving me a discount even on the sale price. And then I had manufacturer’s coupons on top of that. This is called coupon stacking. Usually (not always…check with the store) a store that puts out it’s own coupons will let you “stack” manufacturer’s coupons on top of theirs, allowing you to save big.
Take for example the Uncrustables, normally $3.09 per 
box. The Lowe’s coupon made them $2.00 each. I also had a coupon that allowed me to save 75¢ per box. Because Lowe’s doubles manufacturer’s coupons up to 99¢, this saved me $1.50 per package.
So the final breakdown is:
- $3.09 each (or about 77¢ per sandwich)
- minus $1.09 for store coupon = $2 each
- minus $1.50 for manufacturer coupon = 50¢ total for each box (or about 12.5¢ per sandwich)
If I’ve done my math correctly, that is an 84% savings on that item alone. And yes, this is an item I will use. They’re great for days when we’re running behind and can’t take time to put lunch together. Normally I can’t afford them, but with coupon stacking I can buy a few boxes to keep for those rough mornings!
Denise
August 20, 2009 at 10:12 am
That is great! We don’t have any stores in our area that doubles or triples coupons. I need to get back to clipping coupons…I use to be better at it than I am now. You are doing great! Makes you feel good, doesn’t it?
Allison
August 20, 2009 at 10:43 am
Does Lowes Foods double coupons all the time?
I’ve been doing some of the same type deals at Walgreens lately. I might have to buy brands I wouldn’t normally buy, but who cares when it’s almost free!
themama
August 20, 2009 at 12:41 pm
Denise, I feel GREAT! I have a ton of food in my pantry and I don’t have to worry about how to feed everyone if there’s a bad week financially. It’s a good feeling, especially knowing that it was all very inexpensive.
Allison, yes. Lowe’s doubles manufacturer’s coupons every day up to 99 cents. Harris Teeter does also so it is actually cheaper (for most things) than buying at Walmart.
Courtney
August 20, 2009 at 2:23 pm
Melissa,
Loved your post today, and i wanted to share with you my latest find. On Ebay i bought 20 $5.00 coupons for Kohl’s that can be used one at a time on any item (regular price, sale item or clearance). At Christmas time I used them for my son’s teacher’s gifts, and it worked great. i bought $20 picture frames for 2 or 3 dollars. Oh and for all the coupons i paid $1.04. So that is $98.96 in free money to use. It just takes some time and some planning.
Have a good day!
Courtney