Proud Wifey

Yesterday, after talking couponing all week with my Mother-In-Law, finally took her shopping.

It was a little easier to take her where the bigger savings were when the two biggest supporters of BJs were not home. We avoided that... that... that place. Every two-weeks they go shopping and every two weeks they drop $300. OMG!!! I have the same amount of people in my household and we spend half that.

First we stopped at Rite Aid and I encouraged her to get their Wellness Card to maximize her savings. She is a pretty savvy shopper and knows to look for deals, but sometimes you have to look beyond those deals. I won't name the item, but two different types of one brand were on sale, one was definitely cheaper than the other, yes it had less in the box, but when you did the math, the cheaper box came out on top. Besides it was BOGO 1/2 off; and when you added the amount of product in the one box to the other and did the math, it still came out cheaper. DUH!

I told her, there were three things she needs when she shops... savings card (if the store has one), coupons and a calculator.

It still drove me batty that she tried to tell me, you can still get more in a box from BJs... Grrr! Really woman! Do the math and then tell me you get more. Make a liar out of me.

I am trying to teach her to buy groceries from their local grocery store, which, oh by the way has 5% off every $30 you spend on Monday's for Seniors. Okay, I understand you cannot possibly do that right now, while you are teaching, but hello.

I understand that both my sister-in-laws are trying their best to eat healthy, but they don't need to go to BJs to get a bulk amount. All I ask is that they do the math per unit and see what they are spending and then go to a grocery store and do the same.

Once we got home; oh by the way, we managed to save nearly $50. I admit the shopping was mostly for meals over the next several days, after all, there are 10 of us (plus a few additional guests stopping in to partake in meal time) in the house right now. However, we did buy other items, which will be used even after we depart on Sunday night. Anyway, my husband, oh how I love him, stepped in the conversation and explained various other ways the family could save money at local stores.

Printer ink, for instance... Don't throw away your cartridges!!! Get yourself, either a Staples or Office Depot card and turn in your empty cartridges. Different stores offer different savings programs. We recently received $10 off our next $50 spent. AWESOME! Especially since ink is so darn expensive.

I just spoke to my mother-in-law and promised her that I would find a coupon blogger that is local, who compares pricing...

UPDATE!!! UPDATE!!! UPDATE!!!

I am actually pretty proud of myself... I had one more cigarette yesterday, totaling two for the day.