Coupon girl strikes again

Well, my friends, this week is triple coupon time at Lowe's Foods. I never set foot inside of a Lowe's Foods store until today, and I must say I had a lovely time. I started out by signing up for my rewards card, which allowed me to take advantage of triple coupons. Then I started my shopping adventure, armed with an envelope full of coupons and a spreadsheet containing my coupon strategy. Yes, you heard me right. I created a spreadsheet detailing my coupons and their value compared to the prices of the items. Laugh at me. I don't care. I bet you're not saving as much money as I am at the grocery store either. So there.

Anyway, it was great fun, and I got lots of nifty stuff, as you can see below. But can you guess how much I paid for it all????



Here's a hint: the retail value comes to about $33. I did not pay $33. In fact, I didn't even pay $3. I am quite proud to say that all of the items you see pictured above cost less than $1.70. (I think I might be off by a penny or two because I also bought a boss's day card that isn't pictured here but was included in my final cost).

In case you can't tell from the picture, here's a breakdown of what I bought:

Hamburger Helper Microwave Singles
New York Texas Toast Croutons
Mahatma Chicken flavored rice (4 packages)
Mahatma Long Grain Rice
Mueller's Multigrain Rotini Pasta
Mueller's Multigrain Spaghetti Pasta
Nestle Crunch Stix
Dawn Original Dishwashing Liquid
Lady Speed Stick Deodorant
Dove Deodorant
Tic Tacs (4 single packs)
Oral B Ultra Floss (2 packages)
Knorr Sides Plus Cheddar Rice
Duke's Mayonnaise
Nestle Treasures Chocolate Bar

My coupons totaled $28.86, and there was about $2.31 in Rewards card savings. Tax was almost another $1. True, some of these are things I wouldn't typically buy, but I'm willing to give them a try. I can use all of it, definitely. That's one thing I try to do with my couponing - I try to make sure that either I or someone I know can use the item. Otherwise, it's not a deal if it's not something I can use.

So that's my fun for the week. Some people watch movies or hang out with friends, but I clip coupons. I guess that's just me.

By the way, if any of you currently get the Sunday paper and you don't use the coupon booklets that come with it, I would love you oh so much if you would save them for me. I can definitely make it worth your while by helping you stock up on free stuff! It breaks my heart when I take papers to my recycling bin and see coupons tossed in there- most of the time it's impossible for me to go diving for them, but I hate to see good coupons go to waste.