Couponing and Deals of the Week {3}

My original plan when I started couponing back in March was to post pictures and a summary of my savings each week. Well, that lasted about two weeks.  But I'm still at it! And each week it gets easier and I get faster at it.  I now have a pretty good and fast routine for all the coupon clipping, searching the ads in the newspaper, planning my grocery trip and the actual trip. I know it sounds like a lot to do, and it is, but do not get discouraged! Once you develop a routine that fits your schedule, it becomes really fun! I mean, who doesn't like saving money? I would also like to add that the Extreme Couponing show can be a little misleading. You do not have to spend 30-60 hours a week doing this.  It only takes me about 5 hours total each week in prep work and the actual shopping trip. Sometimes even less than that. Here is my routine:

*After church on Sundays, during the boy's nap, I do my coupon clipping. I then search the ads for the sales of the week and match my coupons with the sales. 
*On Wednesdays, Country Mart comes out with their ad (why can't it Sunday like all the rest?!?!) so I do my price matching for there.
*On Wednesday night, after church and the boys are asleep, I plan out my trip. This includes a list of every single item that I am going to buy at each of the 5 stops. (Country Mart, Walgreens, CVS, Save-A-Lot and Walmart). This list also includes how much I am going to spend on each item after the sale price and coupons so that I have a close total of how much I will spend at each store.
*I make one shopping trip each week and I get up around 6:00 on Thursday mornings while everyone is still asleep. This past week it only took me a little over 2 hours to make all 5 stops and this was my biggest trip yet. I arrived back home shortly after the boys had woke up. Jordan even had enough time to help me unload the car before he headed to the office. : )

In my previous shopping trips, I have mostly focused on stockpileing toiletries and household goods.  Now that I have accomplished that, my goal is to focus mostly on food items. However, if I see a REALLY good deal on a toiletry or household item, I can't pass it up.  For example, this week I bought a tube of Crest Toothpaste for 50 cents and a bottle of Aveeno shampoo and conditioner for less than $2.00 per bottle.  And I definitely couldn't pass up the 4 boxes of Hefty freezer bags that cost me less than $3.00.

So here is a pic of all my groceries from 5 different stores:

Total Cost: $205.00
Total Savings $106.00