Last night I had to run to Food Lion to pick up some cat food. One of
the great things I love about shopping at Food Lion – they have a magic coupon
machine when you walk in the store. You just swipe your MVP card and BAM! – it prints
out a sheet of coupons.
For an extreme couponer, not only is it a welcomed surprise when all
the coupons print out – it’s also a challenge to fit those coupons into that
shopping trip. The store coupons expire the day they are printed.
Most of the coupons that print out are store coupons, meaning they are
cents off on a product, but only for Food Lion. There are Manufacturer’s
coupons too – which combined with the store coupon makes for some great savings
(that’s called “stacking” in coupon lingo).
I didn’t bring my coupon binders in because I was only running in for
cat food and I had $10 in my pocket. I didn’t want to swipe my bank card and
the temptation of pacing each aisle is too much to resist if I have my binders
with me. BUT, I did stop at the magic coupon machine!
Yup, you guessed it… BINGO! I hit the jackpot!
There were a couple coupons on there that I didn’t have a need for. I
did take advantage of the $1.50 off fresh chicken (I picked up a whole roaster),
$1 off fresh bagged garden salad (a 1lb bag), $1 off iced tea bags (a box of
40); plus I picked up some cucumbers, peppers and gizzards that were on
markdown (the dogs have to have snacks too!). Oh yeah, and I got the cat food, on
sale!
Now mind you – I only had $10 in my pocket and was determined not to
swipe my bank card.
The cashier rang up my order and before swiping my MVP card and handing
over the coupons my order was $25.14. After my MVP savings and coupons – I paid
$8.20 out of pocket!
Not bad for an unintended coupon adventure!