How To: {Coupons)

 I've had a lot of people ask me HOW I organize and do my couponing....Granted I am NOT an extreme couponer, like you see on TV, I do use coupons to feed my family of 6 for about $50 a week, and have built upa little stockpile on FREE stuff! Here's my steps to success:

• Get the Sunday paper - I buy 6 because theye have at least two coupon inserts and I use a lot of their couons (**Note: I usually do not buy on a holiday weekend bc they don't usually have new inserts)

•  Get Organized! I like the binder system - I use trading card sleeves to organize my coupons and have them categorized in groups like "baby", "frozen", etc. I am a visual person, so i like to actually look at them. Some people prefer to not cut them, but file by date, and others like to put them in a box....

•  Make your list (and stick to it!) - I use The Grocery Game to help me stay on toip of things since I also have four important kiddos to take care of and teaching. It doesn't leave a ton of time to spend matching in-store deals with coupons... PLUS, it shows you your expected total and percent savings. :)

•  Go shopping! - I like to go on Tuesday's or Monday evenings because there aren't as many people there. I buy ONLY what's on my list - sticking to it has allowed us to buy more expensive items that we normally would NOT buy because of the price - things like organics. If you look on your coupons too, it doesn't state you have to purchase the pictured product, so buy the smallest size for maximum savings. :) Here's some pictures of what we've been able to stock up on. All items were either FREE or cost less than a dollar to purchase....
   

The pantry

Baby supplies

Closet supply of Excedine, toothpast, toothbrushes, bandaids, shampoo/conditioner, and body wash

Remember to stay organized

Laundry Room - 14 bottles of ALL & Wisk; 6 bottles of Snuggle; 4 bottles of Febreeze

It makes me wonder why I never did this before! I went yesterday to the store because my dad and Sherrie were coming over for dinner. I glanced at the list and walked out with 14 free Country Time lemonaides, 8 boxes of free pasta, and 5 free pizzas in addition to what we went there for. Retail value was $141.... I paid $42... That's a 67% savings.... I could get used to that! :)

Thankful Thursday - Extreme Couponing?

Being a math teacher, I think in numbers....I see the world around me in "math language"... so when I shop for groceries, I am ALWAYS on the lookout for the best possible savings. And then I started watching TLC's "Extreme Couponing"......So I bought TEN newspapers this past Saturday.....and sorted the coupon inserts.....

Normally, our family of six can easily spend $200+ at the store getting our basic grocery needs for the week. The cost includes of course the necessary items that companies KNOW you need, so charge more than an arm and a leg for like diapers, baby items, and lunch snacks. I have been trying for a while to find a good way to get the things we need without having to spend SO much money. I hate money...there's never enough, and there's always that stress of needed a little bit more to get by. Then there's the fact that my husband is soley commission, so it's very hard to make a set budget every two weeks. But I'm learning....

After watching the show, I learned a few techniques on saving money.

1. Shop the sales
2. If something is on sale, or the store has a promotion, AND you have a coupon, stock up on that item - store sales for that item happen about every 6 months
3. Do not take all the kids - they can get restless and will cause you to loose your concentration on "how many" you need, and like to pick up things they want (that we don't need!)
4. Buying more than one newspaper allows you to maximize your savings and use coupons for each item you purchase :)

So, I went to Kroger last weekend after buying my hoard or newspapers...and Jason went with me to see what I've been talking about. He took the big kids and I took the little kids. We needed some items that weren't on sale and didn't have coupons (lunch meat), BUT we bought a lot of other items that I had coupons for and could stock up on. There was a promotion too for General Mills cereal - you buy 4 boxes and you get a $5 gift card. I also had a $0.75 off per box coupon...so four boxes cost me $8, and I got $5 for the next trip! We saved 50% that night!!

And then I went yesterday..... I shoped for our family of six for two weeks, AND bought supplies for our small group, which is coming to our house next Friday.... This would normally total almost $400 worth of groceries and items... What did I pay??? LESS THAN $200!!!! The awesome part is that if you shop at Kroger, you also get 1 point for every dollar you spend there. Your points accumulate and you get 10 cents off per gallon of gas at their gas station or Shell for evert 100 points you have. After loading the van, I went and filled up - and I got 80 cents off per gallon! Here's what we loaded up on:

Some highlits of my shopping trip:

• 4 bottles of Mayo
• 16 boxes of cereal (which gave me a total of $20 off my next shopping trip)
• 14 bottles of Gatorade
• 3 bottles of juicce
• 3 packages of Huggies diapers
• 4 boxes of Wheat Thins Stix
• 8 bottles of baby shampoo/body wash
• 8 packs of yogurt (that will be gone in two weeks with four people who love yogurt!)
• 8 boxes of Nature Valley Granola Thins (plus another $10 off my next shopping trip)

Needles to say, today I am thankful that God has made me to think in numbers...... I can't wait to see if I can make the percentage go even higher!