Tight Wad

The economy has definitely affected my income. I work in advertising, and when things are slow for retailers...what's the first thing they cut??? ADVERTISING!!! So despite the TIRELESS efforts of my company to roll out "new and innovative products" things are a little sluggish. Which means my purse strings are a little tight these days.

I've been thinking of ways to cut back, and one of the most obvious is to clip coupons. I've tried this several times in the past, and while I'm really good at clipping them, I'm historically horrible at actually using them. This, while not the major source of stress in my marriage, caused Ex to huff wildly in my direction on more than one occasion.

However, the same old friend that taught me how to make my own laundry detergent, and who is indirectly responsible for my new soap habit, is a WICKED AWESOME COUPON QUEEN. She has a blog where she often posts about her coupon success, and I have begun to glean from her experiences in order to save a few dollars here and there.

I'm nowhere near as talented as she is at this whole coupon thing, but tonight I managed to have a pretty successful trip to Walgreens. I perused the sale paper and compared the sale items to the coupons I had on hand. Here were some of my successes:

Infusium 23 Conditioner Originally $6.99, Store Sale for $5.99 less $3 coupon. Final $2.99

Degree Deodorant Originally $3.99, Store Clearance for $2.19 less $1.00 coupon Final $1.19

Tylenol PM Originally $5.99, Store sale for $4.99 less In Store Coupon for $1.00, less Mfg coupon for $1.50 Final $2.49

Cover Girl Mascara Originally Buy One Get One Free...reg price of 2 would be $10.58. BOGO $5.29, less 2 coupons for $1 each...final for two tubes of mascara was $3.29

And the one that I think will make V proud....

Loreal Haircolor Originally $8.99. Store Clearance for $4.19 less $2 In Store Coupon, less $2.00 Mfg coupon....Final Price...19 cents!

I'm honestly not sure what makes me a bigger dork...the fact that I am now armed with the knowledge to buy soap for pennies at a time...or the fact that I don't even have to do that, because I brew my own in a giant pot in the kitchen.

Either way....thanks, V, for the geekage. : )