This post was inspired by the many friends that have inquired about my new found frugality... I have to say I am reluctant to do this because I don't want people to think I'm a total cheapskate. :) I've found it's actually fun for me to do and has saved our family a lot of money, so I thought I would share the wealth and let y'all know what I've learned. Like many families, ours is on a budget. I was looking at our expenses trying to figure out where we could cut back without changing our life too drastically. So I thought, you know, the one place we could really improve on is groceries. I typically just ran to the store, got what we needed hoping it was on "sale," and that was that. There was no way around it because we had to eat to live, so I didn't give much thought to it. I heard about the coupon mom and decided to give coupons a try, but it was WAYYYYYY to overwhelming for me, so I gave up on the whole idea. A few months later, I found a blog Being Frugal is Fabulous and I thought maybe if I followed a blog and did what she said instead of doing it on my own, it would make it a lot easier. So I started with Walgreen’s. I have to tell you, the first successful shopping trip you have to Walgreen’s will make you an addict. "Say what, I can get 50 dollars of stuff for $3 and I don't have to sift through clearance crap??!!"Yeah...
Then I started noticing coupons. They are everywhere! You can find them in the mail, walking down the isles in the grocery store, and even online! One time I needed some Uncle Bens rice for a recipe, and I thought, " hmmmm I wonder if I typed in Uncle Bens coupon if I could get one online!" I found one and was able to save money on something I was already buying. Then I realized this amazing question that has since changed how I think- How can I get this for less money?? Then I’m still buying the same stuff I have always bought, but I’m finding a way to cut down on the cost. You may not think you are getting coupons for things you normally buy at first, but after a while you will start finding those precious coupons that will save your family serious money on stuff you already buy.
A great way to cut down your cost in the long run is if you see an amazing deal on something you buy every once in a while, buy a supply of it. Say you normally buy face wash every month for $5, which equals $60 a year. You find it for $1 (Believe me, this is not unusual), and you buy 12 for the year, and you only spend $12!! You are spending a little more up front than you would normally on face wash, but you end up saving $48 for the year! Do you know what I think when I save that kind of money? That would be a sweet date night!!!
Another great way to cut down is to find out what the best sales are for meat and produce for the week, and plan your meals around that. Meat and produce are two things that hardly ever have coupons, so you have to find a way to be smarter about what you buy if you want to save money. For example, last week roasts were on sale, so I planned two meals around the one roast I was going to buy and we had two fabulous meals. I'm not sure I would have planned to have roast that week, but it was delicious and more cost effective. There are definitely times I want to plan a certain meal, but I do usually try to plan for what's on sale.
Something you must realize when taking advantage of the amazing deals that are to be had, is to realize that not every deal is a good deal for me. Before buying something, ask yourself these questions- 1. Is this something I would normally buy? 2. Will I use it? 3. Although I may not use it normally, could it add to my food storage?
One thing you have to know about coupons is you MUST be organized. If you aren’t willing to be organized, you can’t do coupons- simple as that. It will drive you B-A-N-A-N-A-S. You need some sort of a filing system for all your coupons, and then you need a miniature filing system to take with you when you go to use them. You also must be organized in your mind with possible problems you may encounter at the cash register. Know how to fix any problems that may arise- have an ad in your hand, make sure you have the correct product, and you may even want to carry a copy of their corporate policy on coupons. The thing with coupons is there WILL be problems. There WILL be frustration once in a while. But it’s all part of saving our families’ well-earned money.
One amazing thing I have taken away from all this is that being a homemaker is like my job. When I save my family $150 a month, I feel like I’m contributing to our family financially. I have actually thought of doing a little something on the side just to earn a little extra money, but I would much rather be smarter about the money we already have then to spend my free time (my precious free time!) making more money. I definitely feel so blessed to be able to stay at home, so I'm trying to do what I can to help our little family out.
So what do I do? I get the Sunday paper ($6 a month-so worth it) and cut out the coupons, leaving out ones that answer no to the questions above. Be careful with this though. One time I threw out a Tylenol coupon thinking I didn’t need it, but a couple days later I found it was free with that coupon and I really wished I had it! I might not need it at the time, but I’ll take a free one to have Tylenol in the future, or to have an extra in my purse or something. After cutting out my coupons, I organize them. Also, if there are some great coupons I’ll go pick up another newspaper or two. Another part of my coupon routine is to check this AMAZING blog Hip 2 Save. She has pretty much the most amazing blog ever! I always check her for the Walgreen’s and Target deals going on that week, and I like to check throughout the week because she knows where all the best printable coupons are and great internet deals etc. On Tuesday or Wednesday (varies) when I get the grocery ads, I always look through them and find the best deals from the ad, and match them up to coupons I have. This is the best way to use coupons is to use them on “good” sales. Not all sales are good sales. Then I plan my shopping trip for Wednesday. Coupon shopping trips with kids can be a little crazy unless you are really organized and know what you’re doing. I’m good enough now that I can use them with kids at grocery stores, but I usually try to take trips to Walgreen’s by myself and any other trips I know will be stressful. The least amount of stress you let this cause you, the more successful you will be! Start out doing one thing at a time, and before you know it, you will catch on. (it took me a few months to really get it down.)
So that is my 2 cents on couponing. Is that a word? I thought I would include a couple pictures from recent trips. Yes, I have to take pictures if I get amazing deals- hahaha. I'm a nerd. I like to take a second to look at what I did because it is so super rewarding and I take a picture while I'm at it!
Everything here was free! (One shopping trip!)
Free gum, free cascade, and everything else 50 cents or less.
A dollar or less
I love shopping with the weekly ad. It saves our family a lot of money. It's like a competition each week with myself. Every week I see if I can save more than previous weeks. I need to start using coupons though.
ReplyDeleteThanks for this info. I would like to be an author on here.
How did you get that stuff for free???? I soooo want to know!!
ReplyDeleteYou've inspired to me to do much better! For now I just take all of the weekly ads to Wal-mart and have them price match. I can save $40 on produce each month alone. Milk is a whole other thing- at least 15 dollars a month. Add it up and just price matching alone saves me close to $100 a month. Now I just need to add in the coupons. Whoo hoo!
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