Thank you for sending in so many wonderful questions. (please keep them coming!) I picked the top 3 questions to answer today. And I will continue to answer your questions every few days.
Before I get to the questions- a quick intro about me that will probably cover some of the questions asked as well. I’m a 31 year old wife & mommy. Jack is a wonderful husband & father and is super supportive of this crazy couponer! He has even (gasp) used a coupon for me before! Jack is a Financial Planner & Accountant and he recently went back to get his Masters (can you say BUSY!) I have 4 WONDERFUL & BEAUTIFUL children–my world!!- Jack is 9, Hannah is 7, Brendan is 3 and Clara is 2. I homeschool the older 2 kids-this was our first year. I began couponing 3yrs ago – started slow, then went a little overboard, and finally found my middleground 🙂 Im sure some of you can relate! I LOVE LOVE LOVE blogging and sharing deals with friends & family! I teach coupon classes to local churches, moms groups, and pretty much anyone that asks. It’s my passion to help others save money and survive during this crazy time. In my spare time who am I kidding? I sneak in a good book when I can and just love spending time enjoying my kiddos & family.
On to the questions:
Do you shop at ALL the stores in your area each week or do you stick to a few? I shop at Publix & Walgreens every week! (sometimes making 2-3 trips per week if it’s a great sale). I will shop at CVS if there is a really great deal on something that I NEED. This was not the case when I first started couponing. I shopped at all (Publix, CVS, Walgreens, Target, Winn Dixie, and Walmart) almost every week. I got burned out pretty quick, however, I also stocked up ALOT during those first few months which really helped out a lot. So, to answer your question, no, I don’t shop at ALL the stores in my area each week. Just my 2 fave stores and if there is a SUPER deal I may stop in at the others.
How much time do you spend making your list and shopping each week? It takes me about 30 minutes (if there are no interruptions) to make my Publix & Walgreens lists and gather the coupons if I have been good and kept my coupons organized that week. That is a HUGE time saver–organization! I can usually shop pretty quickly too if I don’t have kids with me and if the store is stocked well.
Do you prefer CVS, Walgreens, or Rite Aid? I do not have a Rite Aid store in my area. I love both CVS & Walgreens. I have a really nice management staff at my LOCAL Walgreens (and great cashiers!!) AND a new CVS opened and it is really great and the staff is very friendly. So I have to say I like them equally- but Walgreens is closer so I try to stick to Walgreens! Sorry-I just can’t pick one over the other lol. They both have good & bad points.
** I received a lot of questions about Publix Double coupons- so I have decided to add the double coupon matchups to the weekly deals post I do. We can’t double here in Florida, so it will take me some time to get used to the rules–thank you to my facebook buddies for helping me learn the ropes**
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