One year ago this week I started couponing. I discovered CVS, I got paid to buy Glade candles at Target, and I basked in the wonder of it all! It was truly exhilarating to be able to get stuff I needed for free and to get paid to buy other stuff. I really felt that coupons were a gift from God, just one more way He had provided for us since I decided to quit my job and stay home with the kiddos full-time. The first week of December, whilst still in the throes of CVS-newbie excitement, I discovered that my kids needed baby wash. So, I thought I’d go to CVS to get myself some Johnson’s baby wash and pay for it with my CVS ExtraCare bucks. I had a $1 off manufacturer’s coupon as well. Alas, when I got to CVS, I discovered the baby wash was $4.29. $4.29!?!? No way was this new-couponer going to “spend” that much of her ECBs on that. I decided I would just save my coupon and use it to get some reasonably-priced Johnson’s at Target later in the week.
The next day, CVS put out an e-mail coupon for $2 off Johnson’s baby wash. I am not lying. Hot Dog! I was excited! With my $1 off manufacturer’s coupon and my $2 off CVS coupon, I could get the price down to $1.29. Now THAT is a price I was willing to spend my ExtraCare Bucks on! So I went in and bought a bottle. And guess what happened? There, on the bottom of my receipt, I got a $1 ExtraCare Buck BACK for buying the Johnson’s. It was an UNADVERTISED special that I knew nothing about. So, between my $3 in coupons and my $1 ECB I got for buying it, I paid 29 cents for the baby wash.
The limit on this deal was five. You KNOW I got my coupons together and went back and got four more!
I went from not having any baby wash to having enough for months, and I got it all for just pennies. Wow!
So, that’s a great story, right? Super-neat how that worked out, eh?
To me, it’s not a story of a great deal. It’s a story of God’s great love for me.
You see, November 2007 had been a tight month for us, and with Christmas looming that first week of December, there is a reason I was being tight with those ExtraCare bucks. But God is my provider, and He meets my needs because I have placed my trust in Him. I needed baby wash, and I truly believe that God gave me that great deal to encourage me on my couponing path. He provided for even my kid’s most basic needs through coupons – the day after I walked out of CVS not willing to pay $4.29 or even $3.29 on for the baby wash, I got a $2 off coupon in my email! And it was CVS coupon that I could use with my manufacturer’s coupon. And THEN I got $1 back for buying it! Not a coincidence, people. (In this post, my Bloggy BFF Jill calls this “God Showing Off”.) God worked that out for me and used it to empower me. I think when I first started couponing, I wasn’t sure how long I’d be able to stick with it, but after the Great Baby Wash Heist of 2007, I have truly never looked back. I ask God to bless my couponing efforts, and He DOES! My most recent CVS receipt tells me that my year-to-date savings there are over $6200. And to that I say, THANK YOU LORD!
I mean for real, how cool is it that the Creator of the Universe cares what I pay for baby wash?? FREAKING COOL!!
What do you need today? Why don’t you ask God and give Him the chance to meet your needs in an amazing way?
