The Real Housewives of Central Florida

Pronounce this word: Coupon

Did you say it out loud? Heh, hope you were alone...

How did you say it? Koo-pawn? Queue-pawn? Koo-pin?
Yeah, that last one is Ron White's fault.

And on another tangent, that second "ue" in queue is totally unnecessary.

I've always pronounced it queue-pawn, and Mike is quick to correct me. It's just one of those words that I grew up hearing pronounced a little differently. It's not wrong, it's just unusual. As opposed to torlet. That is definitely the backwoods Florida way of saying toilet. At least I don't say lieberry or aks.

My reprogramming is moving along swiftly, due to the inordinate amount of times the word coupon is said in our house. I've kinda developed an obsession with couponing in the past few months in my efforts to save money. Of course, it is a double-edged sword. There is the propensity to buy something simply because you can get a good deal, not because it is a product you use. But, it's also a way to try new products at a lower cost.

I like waiting for BOGO sales and then layering coupons on top of that, getting 2 for less than the price of one. But you have to be patient and not use your coupons immediately. Thursdays are when the new grocery ads come out, and I admit to pulling the ad up online and matching coupons to sales.

It's a sad, little life I've got going on these days, isn't it?
What say we all put on our finery and hit the local hot spot? Of course, the plane tickets to your neck of the woods would severely cut into my recent savings...

If you have a CVS near you, get their little club card, peruse their ads and start stacking coupons. They also offer Extra Bucks, rewards for purchasing certain products at their stores. These store-generated coupons are for money off your next purchases. If your next purchase is 10 minutes later at another register, well, you've got them on a technicality.



Walgreens offers their own Register Rewards, but they are crazy strict on usage. Both places require you to pay the sales tax, which is fine. But at Walgreens, don't try to purchase an item for $5 and use a $6 Register Reward. They won't let you simply pay the tax and waste the rest of the reward, like CVS. Walgreens will deny you the use of the coupon. There can still be good deals there, but follow the rules.


Some of my best expeditions:

CVS: Spent $10.38, Saved $21.93
Total Steals:

Purex 3-in-1 detergent sheets: regular $7.99, on sale for $5.99, minus $3.00 coupon = $2.99, or 63% off. Haven't tried them yet. I've got a 150-ounce jug of Gain I'm still working through. Why yes, it was on sale!

Zegerid OTC 14ct: regular $12.79, on sale for $9.99, minus $3.00 coupon = $6.99, or 46% off.

Plus I had a $5.00 CVS Extra Bucks coupon to use on the total purchase, and received $11.50 in Extra Bucks for next time. Ignoring the sales tax, they actually paid me a penny to leave the store with the Zegerid ($6.99 - $7.00 Extra Buck for next time.) Which I gave to my sister, because I'm nice like that. The Zegerid, not the penny.


Publix: Spent $86.31, Saved $40.66
Total Steals:

Starbucks Ice Cream: BOGO, plus $1.50 coupon = 2 pints for $2.29. Not a product we would normally purchase. Mike said it was ok, but very chocolatey. Since it was Hot Chocolate and Mocha Frap flavors, that's probably what they were going for.

World's Best Cat Litter: Regular $7.99, in-store savings at $5.99, plus $3.00 coupon = $2.99. And as we know, worth it even when it's not on sale.


Walgreens: Spent $13.01, Saved $13.87
Total Steals:

Ponds Towelettes: Regular $5.99, on sale for $3.99, minus $1.25 coupon = $2.74, or 55% off. I got both the morning refresh and the evening soothe selections. They seem to work well, although the chamomile/white tea scent is a bit over-powering in the evening soothe.

Johnson & Johnson cotton swabs: Regularly $2.99, on sale for $1.99. Plus, it was a 375 count box, with a bonus 125, so that's 500 for $1.99. Got 2 boxes. We go through a lot of Q-tips around here.

And I purchased EOS Summer Fruits lip balm. Cost $3.00 and received a $3.00 Register Reward. So, free. Yay! I do love me some lip balm. I may have an addiction. Anybody know a hotline?



There are a ton of blogs and sites devoted to this. I doubt I will reach the levels of these folks. Most likely, I'll slack off. Especially once I get back to work. Which, dear God, please be soon.

Couponing. It's a lifestyle. It takes forever. It may or may not save you money, depending on your usage. It also makes for one boring ass blog post. I'll try for something a bit more titillating tomorrow. The thrill of organizing my sock drawer? Low-sodium tips and tricks? The best way to fold a towel? Oh the possibilities! I'm tingly just thinking about it.