First, let me say thanks for all the encouraging words you guys have given me over the last coupla days. It has meant a lot to know I'm not alone and I am gonna make it. Thank you!
Second, I am trying to get my act together about money and saving more. Tons of people have talked about buying a Sunday paper and clipping coupons, so Monday I tried it. Here's the catch. For someone like me who rarely buys processed food, it doesn't really work. I usually buy the store brand of products so savings on Chef Boyardee does me no good! Plus the amount of sodium in those is enough to send my BP (blood pressure) through the roof! When the store brand is at least a dollar or more cheaper and the coupon is for 50 cents off...ummm, you do the math.
Still grocery store trips are still a big ticket item around here and I know it's about to get worse with diapers added on top. I already do what I can with managing our food. I write a food menu, stick to it at the store, have a few staples around, in case my day starts off like today did with not waking up until noon and my well laid plans for quiche get pitched out the window! (What the heck?! She must be having a growth spurt.) We buy the store brand toiletries as well, so not much chance to save there unless I get it for SUPER CHEAP. I am going to have to figure out the triple and double coupon days and see if they will do us any good.
In short, this is like a secret code for saving pennies and I have yet to crack it. With no coupons used from the paper, that's a dollar wasted. Rats!
2 comments:
the trick is to keep those coupons until the brand name item goes on sale at a particular store, then you will get something for super cheap. you can use couponmom.com, or mypennypile.com, or there's a million other sites. the stores have a rotation of what goes on sale, and sometimes they have a sale and then a few weeks later an even better sale. so if you save your coupon for those times, you can often get things for free or very cheap.
it is tough though to find things that aren't super processed. just don't give up after the first week, wait at least a couple months before you decide if it's worth it. :) oh and start buying diapers NOW. buy a pack once every week or two so that when the babe comes you can alternate buying a pack, using one stashed, buying a pack, etc... helps ease the blow.
Come pick my brain...
It takes awhile in the beginning to get the hang of it but now it takes me maybe a hour or two a week to get all my coupons clipped and figure out the best sales. Hotcouponworld is the best. it is a message board and includes grocery stores, pharmacies as well as big box stores. I make a lot of "from scratch" meals and still save big! I have a binder with baseball card sleeves in it and that is what I put my coupons in. I sort by categories. Sounds like work but when you get to the store there is no rifling through them all to find the right one. CVS is great to combine sales, coupons and their extra care bucks (like an instant rebate). I bought 120 diapers the other day for $3 and some change out of pocket.
I went to the Kroger tonight and got 36 rolls of tp (cottonelle brand), loaf of bread, pkg of cheese slices, can of frosting (for halloween cupcakes), baby toy on clearance (bucket with blocks in it) and a dozen eggs and paid $6 and some change out of pocket! How's that for coupon saving!!
Kroger doubles coupons up to 50 cents. Every three to four months Harris Teeter does triple coupons up to 99cents. A lot of times I get things for free there (cleaning supplies, condiments, canned items, etc) The key is to combine coupons with sales.
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