Two weeks ago we appeared on the Morning Show at KPVI news (see the segment here) to announce a couponing workshop we were teaching as a fundraiser. While on the show, we compared what the average person can buy for $5 with what we can get for the same using the tips and tricks we teach. With that, we received a call just a few days ago from news anchor/producer Haley that interviewed us previously as she wanted to put us to the test. She wanted to challenge us to see just how far we could stretch $10. We would joke that she was going to do the same, but honestly her goal was just to select a subset of our items and show her viewers what is normally bought for $10. We didn’t know what the sales were going to bring but thought it would be a lot of fun. Hear this again: we didn’t preplan this trip for weeks – we just took what came in this week’s ads. We had a blast!
But we had a small caveat. We didn’t want to go out and look like Extreme Couponers by buying as much orange soda to fit a shower stall. Nope. We wanted to shop and buy what we would use and with the healthier diet we try to live on with our family. We knew that would make it more challenging, but again, we were up for a bit of a challenge.
We’re not going to share all the details yet…that will come on Friday with a complete shopping list so you can see how to do it yourself. You’ll see items on there that we’ve posted throughout the last few weeks. And you’ll see that there are a few things that you will find differently on our trip than you find on any Extreme Couponing show. Remember, we’ve told you before that ghastly show, Extreme Couponing is unrealistic and that you shouldn’t expect those type of results.
How was our shopping trip different?
- We bought what our family would eat – There are no processed foods or foods that our family wouldn’t, or even more importantly what we feel our family shouldn’t eat.
- Our items represent many departments in the store – We bought meat, cereal, produce, dairy, canning supplies, outdoor supplies, and even personal care items
- We have a few natural and organic items – We purchased organic cereal and produce and nitrate-free bacon
- We purchased items without coupons – You may not expect this, but we purchased items that we would buy anyway without coupons. If you save elsewhere in the budget, you can buy those items without worry (even on a $10 challenge)!
We would like to tell you we completed the challenge, but we couldn’t. Yes, we came up a dollar short – by underspending a whole dollar – we spent only $9 for everything you see above (watch Friday for a closer picture)! 🙂
The show will air on Friday evening (UPDATE: here’s the details of what we shared just a few days later) and we plan to post our full printable list on Friday. Why? So you can see there were no funny tricks, but more importantly so you can go do it yourself! Our mantra is that we want to make couponing easy, accessible and doable for everyone.
Are you up for the challenge?!
Gwen
I am looking forward to seeing what you did! There are weeks I am not given much for a budget for a family of 8 due to my dearly beloved’s fluxuating income. I am very new to this couponing thing and do not buy the garbage from Extreme Couponing. Exciting for me to be able to learn from you alll! 🙂
Jen Q
One thing I really appreciate about your website is that you have so many healthy deals featured. Can’t wait to see your results.
On an unrelated note…we finally were able to join a CSA (much like your bountiful baskets). This has slashed my grocery bill significantly. So many times I would stop at the grocery store to pick up produce and would get side tracked by the other “deals” in the store. But without having to stop at a store to get produce that was not locally grown I have saved a ton of time and money.