Not Extreme Couponing, but Mission Possible, After All

• She is like the merchants' ships; she bringeth her food from afar


• She looketh well to the ways of her household

In an effort to help myself and hopefully, some of you readers, get back on track with out savings at the grocery store, I'm reviving my "Mission Possible" series.

Our mission, should we choose to accept it, (and you know we will) is to take
the resources we have available to us--coupons, rebates, Extra Care Bucks (ECB),
Register Rewards (RR) and weekly ad circulars--to get the things our families
need and can use, all while keeping our total out-of-pocket (OOP) as low as
possible. We fulfill our tasks at drugstores, grocery stores, dollar stores, and
wherever we can find those bargains and frugal finds that benefit our families

I admit it, I haven't been couponing much, (or at all) in quite some time. I had convinced myself that it just wasn't worth the time or effort involved since I'd moved back home, with fewer stores, higher prices, and no double, not to mention smaller coupon denominations. But it hasn't been just couponing, I haven't worked on my stockpile of anything, even just watching sales. If I happen to notice that something is on sale, I may buy extra, but I've been in blah blah mode for while, and I decided to work my way out of it.

The first thing I did was get my coupons in order, which involved clearing out my coupon stash, because 95% of them were expired. As a matter of fact, I wouldn't even call it a stash. I tried going back my small organizer, but I really like to be able to see my coupons, so I pulled my binder and set it all back up.

And then I went shopping.

The first shopping trip I made after getting my coupons in order, I used one coupon. One. But I persevered, and yesterday I went to Brookshire Brothers and used eleven coupons, and had about a 20% savings. It's not extreme couponing, but I had a smile on my face when I got out to the parking lot and looked at that long list of (-)'s on my cash register tape.

I didn't take pictures, but here is a breakdown of what I bought:

1 bag of lentils, $.39, from the clearance bin
1 bag of garbanzo beans, $.39, also from the clearance bin. I hope to cook these and attempt to make hummus.
1 store brand brown rice, $.69
1 Prices' pimento cheese, on sale for $2.79
3 Philadelphia cream cheese cooking sauces, $2.99, I had one coupon for a free one, and two for $1.50 off, so I paid $2.98 for all three, making them an average of $1.00each
1 18-ct carton of eggs, $2.36
1 Challenge Tuscan style spreadable butter, on sale for $1.49
6 Yoplait yogurts, 3/$2, $4 total, I had a $.40 coupon. Not much savings, but it paid the tax on this item, anyway
1 pkg Bagel Bites, $2.49, less $1 MQ (manufacturer's coupon), or $1.49
1 Hormel ready meal, on sale for $2.29, less $.55 coupon, or $1.74
2 Starkist tuna pouches, $1.35, less 2 $.50 coupons, or $.85 each
2 pkgs Tyson grilled chicken fajita strips, on sale $6.99, less 2 $1MQ, or $5.99 each
1 pkg Tyson honey bbq wings, on sale $6.99, less $1 MQ, or $5.99 each

My total, with tax, came to 39.94, and I saved $11.94 with coupons, plus an undetermined amount on the sale and clearance items.

Not extreme, but a decent savings in the end.

How have you done on your Mission Possible lately?

Until next time...