I believe it was Confucius who said something about getting back up when you fall. Or maybe it was Vince Lombardi.

Curly Howard: Wise and sage (Courtesy of wikipedia)

But I think it was Curly Howard who said it best.

“If at first you don’t succeed, keep on sucking ’til you do suck seed.”

I decided to ignore the people who told me to give up couponing (you know who you are), after my failed first attempt.

Instead I picked myself up, dusted myself off and channeled my inner Curly as I attempted another couponing adventure.

Some Things Aren’t Worth It

I spent Sunday compiling and clipping coupons from three papers, but what I found online is what really helped boost my confidence.

Between The Coupon Mom, Grocery Shop for Free at the Mart, The Krazy Coupon Lady, Saving Well Spending Less and Jill Cataldo, I was able to figure out what the deals were and which coupons would be needed.

I told Tammy that my new goal was to buy $100 worth of stuff and only pay $25. I then spent Sunday night sitting at my table in the Koupon Korner trying to figure everything out while Tammy and I watched Celebrity Apprentice.

There were some really good deals on feminine products so I checked with Tammy to see if the coupons matched up with the brands she used.

For the most part they weren’t her brand, but that didn’t stop me from trying to convince her to use them anyway.

That didn’t go so well.

Me: Do you use Playtex?
Tammy: No.
Me: Why?
Tammy: I don’t know. I just don’t.
Me: Well you’re about to get 2 boxes of them ’cause I’ve got a Buy 1 Get 1 Free coupon.
Tammy: You’re not gonna make me shove something up my vagina that I’m not used to just to save a few dollars.

I decided to put the Playtex coupons back in my binder.

Here I Go Again on My Own…

I checked the websites, made my list and matched the items with coupons so I would be armed with everything I needed when I headed out late Monday afternoon.

I made a quick stop by Walgreens where I used two coupons from the store’s Sunday flyer and got two Diet Dr. Peckers and two 72-count paper plates for 99¢ each. I also grabbed a pack of Lifesaver’s mints that Tammy was wanting.

Because I had a $3 Walgreens Register Reward, I paid $3.92 out of pocket, $2.49 of which went to Tammy’s mints, but I SAVED a total $6.29 ($1.31 on the paper plates, $1.98 on the Diet Dr. Pecker, $3 Register Reward). That’s a 64% savings.

Next up on the agenda was tackling my White Blue Whale (aka Wal-Mart) and followers of The Life of JWo all know how difficult that can be for me.

I only took the coupons I intended on using and wouldn’t let myself park on the “food side” of the store. That way I wouldn’t be tempted to look at stuff we didn’t need or that I didn’t have coupons for.

I walked in knowing I definitely could do better than the 18% savings from my last effort.

I went through the aisles checking out prices and matching them up with my coupons. Items that didn’t have a 50% or greater discount didn’t make the cut. Well, for the most part…

During my last trip to Wal-Mart I picked up four bags of Starburst Jellybeans that Tammy was going to put in Easter baskets. But between 3.21.12 and 3.26.12, two bags were opened and one bag was taken to Tammy’s work, so I decided to grab a few more.

Since they were $1.88 a bag and I had two coupons good for $1 off 2 bags, I got four new bags. At $1.38 a bag, that’s only a 26% savings, but I knew Tammy wouldn’t mind because these would fall into her “anything good” category.

Proof of a good couponing outing.

The only non-coupon items I picked up were a pack of Peeps ($1) and an onion (75¢).

The items I used coupons on are listed below…

1. Bic Comfort 3: $2.88 (cost), $2.00 (coupon x 4), 88¢ per item (final cost), 69% savings
2. Schick Disposable: $1.97, $1.00 (x 1), 97¢, 50% savings
3. Kotex U: $1.24, $1.00 (x 3), 24¢, 80% savings
4. Carefree: 94¢, $1.00 (x 3), –6¢, 106% savings (made a total of 18¢ on these)
5. Olay Soap: $2.57, $2.00 (x 1), 57¢, 77% savings

I bought 18 items and used 14 coupons that saved a total of $19 and reduced my bill by 58% before tax (51% after).

Bursting at the Seams

I had let Tammy know I was going to Walgreens, but didn’t mention Wal-Mart because I knew it would cause her anxiety which usually results in her yelling at me or a Tammy’s Tirade.

Ain’t no shame in this game...

But I could hardly wait for her to get home so I could show her my bounty.

Tammy: I knew you went to Walgreens, but you went to Wal-Mart too?
Me: Yeah, but check out how awesome I did.

Tammy rolled her eyes and took a deep breath but I didn’t flinch because I knew I had done good.

Me: You see these razors? I got them for 28¢ each. You’re set for period stuff for a while now too. See these Kotex U’s? They were 24¢ each. I actually made 6¢ on these Carefree things. Pretty sweet huh?
Tammy: Um-hmm.
Me: I only spent $15 for everything.

I think I took too big of a bite during my first attempt and while I know my second attempt doesn’t really qualify me as a Super Couponer, it’s a step in the right direction.

Curly’s words of wisdom will help guide me the rest of the way.