So I attended the Marsh triple couponing event last night! This was my first "semi-extreme" experience. I took Jonah with me for a couple reasons. One, I had a ton of coupons for BBQ sauces, marinades, hot sauce, etc. and he loves all things sauce. I figured I would let him pick out all his faves. Two, I needed an extra person with an extra cart, specifically someone who could read well and do math quickly! Sorry, Jack. : ( Anyway, the trip was positive, but I do have a few complaints and this will probably be a once a year thing for me in regards to Marsh.
First of all, I am a price memorizer. I pretty much buy all the same items from the grocery store every time I go. I do all of my main grocery shopping at Meijer, so of course, I compared prices constantly last night at Marsh. They mark things up like crazy! I can't ever imagine shopping there for my groceries. They are also a MUCH smaller store than Meijer. The aisles are smaller, the choices are limited, and the quantities are less. But with that said, the store was clean, the cashiers were friendly, and we waited in line less than 5 minutes.
Jonah and I started in Healthcare/Beauty and after about 2 coupons, he had caught on. Success! He was a great help. It really helps to have someone go with you. I would work the coupons and he would find the items on the shelf and then we would figure out the price and decide if it was worth it or not. My rule is to not buy things we don't need. People who do the "extreme" couponing are a bit much and those people had hit the store before we got there. There were alot of items that I needed and had coupons for, but the shelves had already been cleared. Selfish people, I swear. Also, my rule is to only purchase 2 -4 items of the same kind, depending on how much you can save. It's rude to take everything and leave nothing on the shelf for the next person.
It was crazy. We saw people with binders, people with 3 to 4 carts, and people yelling at their husbands for not getting the right items. Insanity. I ended up spending right around $200 before coupons and my Marsh loyalty card. After we scanned the card and coupons, I paid just over $60 for everything! I was so excited. Our cashier even celebrated for us and made a small deal out of it. I stocked up on things for the kids mostly, since summer vacation has started and I have 3 mouths to feed (Isobel is still taking bottles!). We got alot of items for FREE or nearly free, too. I also bought a few things that weren't on my coupon list like Andy's gourmet hot dogs, which ended up making my total a bit higher.
All in all, it was fun for what it was. How often does a store triple your coupons? My conclusion is to continue shopping at Meijer. The prices are extremely low and they double all coupons with a value up to $0.50 for a total savings of up to $1.00. In my normal shopping trips, I get alot of my items at 50 - 75% off just by doing all the Meijer deals. They also have online coupons that you can clip and they are loaded to your phone number, which you enter at checkout, for extra savings.
Some of my best deals at Marsh with coupons were:
-Oscar Mayer hot dogs (10 pack) - $0.48 each and we bought 6 packages
-Betty Crocker Fruit Snacks (Dora, etc.) - $1.10 each and we bought 6 boxes
- General Mills Cereal (Cocoa Puffs & Lucky Charms) - $0.99 a box and we bought 3 boxes
- Old Spice Deodorant - $0.60 each and we bought 4
- Most BBQ sauces, marinades, Kraft dressing, Ketchup, Mustard, etc. ran around $0.12 - $0.49 each
The deal ends on Monday, so try and hit your Marsh this weekend before it's over ... and before the shelves are cleared! : )
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