Guest Post - Savings @ Target

It is my great pleasure to have Joanna from Raising Baby on a Shoestring Budget with a guest post today. She's a busy lady with an adorable little boy. She's also a world-class saver. So take it away, Joanna!!

I don’t have spare time. My 5 month old son is a high need child (ie he frequently cries, screams and needs to be held). I hold a part-time job as a nanny. My husband thinks that our house should not look like a landfill, so I have to keep it somewhat clean. (Yeah, he’s weird like that.) Then there’s that whole cooking-meals-so-we-don’t starve thing. Add to the mix being on four church committees, mowing my yard every week, trying to keep up with friends and family and you’ve got one busy gal on your hands. Who has time to clip coupons and be a bargain shopper?

Does this resonate with you? Do you feel that you could never be a Super Savvy Shopper like Shawna the Great? (Trust me—she deserves that nickname.) I have felt that way too, but apparently Shawna’s ways are beginning to rub off on me. Time spent clipping several Sundays of coupons (I'm a procrastinator) + Target coupons I received in the mail: 1.5 hours. Shopping time: 1 hour. On many of the items I purchased today I used a Target coupon + a manufacturer’s coupon from the P&G brand saver. (Did you know you could do this? Thanks for the help, Shawna!)

The coupons used for this shopping trip equaled $22.30 off of my total! Add in extra savings by buying clearanced & sale items and that’s a whopping $33.98 off of my bill. I bought ONLY items that I was planning on buying or substituted for things I would’ve bought. Example: I was going to buy a can of air freshener for around $3 to keep my bathroom smelling fresh. Instead, I had a $4 off coupon for Glade Plug-in w/ refill, so I paid $0.14. What a bargain!

I bought:
8 Rolls of Bounty
12 Big Rolls of Charmin
8 boxes of Puffs tissues
2 100-count Ziploc bags
Suave Shampoo
Suave Conditioner
3 2-packs of Gerber Baby Food
2 Twin Sheet Sets ($7.50 for flat sheet, fitted sheet & pillow case)
All Free & Clear Laundry Detergent
Electrasol Dishwashing Detergent
Glade Plug-in w/ refill (Only $0.14 after $4 coupon.)
Skintimate Shave Gel
2 Crest Toothpastes

Value of Merchandise: $80.06
Out of Pocket Expense: $43.45
Savings: $36.61
Time commitment: 2.5 hours
DEFINITELY WORTH IT!