My First Blog & Coupons!

First, I have to thank Hillary.  Without her, well, I wouldn't be where I am today.  She is a great support, friend, and a great inspiration!  Plus, she has gotten me blogging!  I also have to thank my wonderful family; my wonderful and supportive daughter and husband and of course I can't forget my awesome and supportive parents!  So with that being said, my first official blog :)

I LOVE coupons!  If you know me well enough you know that and if you really know me you've seen me in action! I've been named the Coupon Queen and hold the title well.  Sunday mornings are one of the best days of the week.  Coupons in the newspaper!  The next best day?  Shopping day!  I actually have three delivered to the house every Sunday morning.  Our local newspaper had a special for $1 a paper and I took advantaged of that and ordered three.  I look at the coupons, if they are good and I know it is something we can stock up on and it is regularly on sale I will go to the Dollar Store and buy more.  This past weekend I bought 9; so I had 12 total newspapers.  I pull each page out, line up the same page and cut once.  They all get organized in their little sections.  (As I go through my huge coupon binder I throw out the old as I put in the new to prevent any future disappointments of having a good coupon and not being able to use it). 

Then, I go through each of the grocery store ads one at a time.  Since I have just organized my coupons I know what coupons I have so if I see it on sale I just need to grab the coupon.  I then go and make my list.  I write down what it is, how many I need, price, and then a circled c if I have a coupon.  So, fruit snacks (3) 1.99 (c) then pull the coupon to paperclip to my list.  Then, I go through the other store ads. If I see the same product cheaper I will cross it off the previous list and add it to the new store list and move the coupons over.

Yes, it can be time consuming especially at first however, it is SO worth it!  We have saved hundreds of dollars on a single grocery trip.  (Just recently, I have a sub total of groceries of $610 and ended up only spending $264 after the store sales and coupons).  This has become a competition (with myself) and my goal...to save at least 50%  on groceries and to beat the last trip.  Also, a lot of prep work actually saves you time at the store.  Writing out your list like I have allows you to go into the store, know exactly what you are getting and how many.  Then follow the golden rule, if you don't have a coupon, it's not on sale, and it is not a necessity (milk, bread, eggs, fresh fruits/vegetables) don't buy it!  Smart shopping is the first step to smart saving!

My coupons in the baseball card holders.

My Coupon Binder!

The BEST envelopes for those big coupons; I have one specifically for my Bed, Bath, and Beyond coupons!