I bought all this at CVS Pharmacy today for only 17 cents.

The cereal was on sale this week for $1.88 a box. I had enough coupon matches for the varieties on sale that it was no problem to get five boxes for 88 cents each.

The shampoo was on sale for 77 cents.

I also had a CVS Extra Care Bucks rebate for $5 that I earned by stocking up on toilet paper a week or so ago.

17 cents out the door.

How does she do that?

I don’t use web sites whose gimmicks are to match coupons to sales.

I don’t follow the scenarios that some bloggers post of how much you can get if you have this or that combination of sales, coupons and rebates.

I don’t buy batches of coupons from auction sites.

I read my own sales fliers and do my own matching with coupons I collect on my own from the Monroe, Detroit and Toledo newspapers. If I see a deal that I like, I put it on my shopping list.

You can do this too.

If you live in Monroe, Mich., and want a big stack of coupons so you can shop like this, then go to the Dorsch Memorial Branch Library downtown. There is a coupon swap / drop / freebie box near the first-floor restrooms. Ask the librarians where it is, if you can’t find it.

The coupon box is overflowing right now – I just made a delivery on Friday afternoon and it was already pretty stuffed. Go put those coupons to work for your grocery bill.