Well, I’m off to a good start with this coupon thing. I saved some big bucks at CVS last week AND got $5 in Extra Care Bucks for my next visit and then saved big time at Pavilions this weekend.

So, let me start by saying that a lot of my friends give me a hard time for grocery shopping at Pavilions. It’s in the Vons/Safeway family, but not known for being the cheapest store in the area. However, I like it because it’s convenient to my house, is new and nice (and yes, that matters to me), and it’s in a shopping center with restaurants, a gas station, CVS, a bank, and a drycleaner. I hate driving all over town to get things done and I was happy to pay a wee bit more to do all my shopping in the same center.

When I went in a couple of weekends ago, I signed up for their “Just 4 You” coupon program. I already had a club card, but as they explained to me, the J4U program was an online coupon program. Based on past purchases, they created a profile with discounted items and online coupons that I could pre-load onto my club card. I knew I’d need a few items for the weekend and so last week, I went online and checked the program out. It allowed me to create and print a shopping list with the items I liked and it was easy to navigate. I was happy to give it a try, but still hesitant about how much I’d save.

When the checker was finished ringing me up, I made a point of looking at the total, then I swiped my card. I had a pretty big grin on my face when I saw that I had saved over 20 dollars!!!

Here’s the breakdown of how I did:

Almonds – saved $1

Special K bars – saved $1.50

Diet Coke – saved $.79

Dawn – saved $1.06

Bounty – saved $.25

Eggs – free

Weight Watchers – saved $9

Butter – saved $2.10

Cottage Cheese – saved $1

Mini Babybel Cheese – saved $1

Not too shabby for just a quick visit to the website! I learned that the J4U online coupons can (and should) be combined with the club discounts AND other coupons. This is going to be a learning experience, but I’m ready for the challenge!!!