I've recently started couponing...This is my 3rd week. I kept saying all last year that I was going to start, but let's face it, I had NO extra time to coupon with working at Seacoast and photography full time! Kaz and I have been HUGE Wal-Mart shoppers since we moved back to Charleston 3 years ago. Honestly, because we live RIGHT BEHIND Wal-Mart. It's so easy to go there at any time during the day because it's so close! Our weekly budget has pretty consistently been $75 a week. I thought that was pretty good, BUT after talking to friends who have children and spend less than $50 a week I SOON realized we needed to make some changes!
I talked to my friends Liz and Blythe about couponing because they both use Southern Savers and know more about coupons than I do! After talking to them, and spending about 6 hours on it the last 3 weeks I'm happy to say that I'm officially beginning to coupon AND I LOVE it!
Ideally, I would like to get out budget down to around $40-$50 a week. There are some things we are not willing to sacrifice on, which are carrots[for juicing-about 10 pounds a week], other fruits, and at least 1 meat a week for Kaz. I'm not a big frozen foods person such a chicken tenders, nuggets, pizza rolls, etc so stuff like that doesn't interest me. BUT in the last 2 weeks I've been able to get SOME REALLY good stuff and have spent a total of $106 on groceries in the last 2 weeks. Thats a savings of $44 from our normal budget. Right now, I'm in the stocking up stage. I ONLY BUY what I know we will use...I don't buy just because it's a good deal. I'm sure it will take a couple more weeks of stocking up before I can get the $ to where I want it in a week, but that's ok.
I'm doing all of my shopping at Publix! I had no idea how great of a store they were! Our Publix takes other store coupons and doubles coupons up to $.50. Each week I have gone to the same register...The cashier is a young guy and the bagger is an older man. I love that they know me now...This morning the older guy said, "Do you think you will do as well as you did last week?". I thought it was special that he remembered me AND HOW GOOD I did:)
DON'T WORRY....I'm not going to post EVERY week my grocery buys, BUT I will show you my last 2 weeks!
This week[Total bill $112, spent $59, SAVINGS of $53]...Angel Soft toilet paper, Palmolive dish soap, saltine crackers, Windex, 2 Lysol wipes, 4 cans rotel, 2 packs toll house cookie dough, Lipton soup, 2 packs Kraft shredded cheese, 3 packs of pasta, 2 packs hot dogs, 2 packs hotdog/hamburger buns, 2 boxes Ritz crackers, 2 boxes Tricuits, and 1 pack of Huggies diapers[for $5] :) OH AND 4lbs of Ribs...
The household stuff was what I was most excited about!
Last weeks bill[Bill $103, spent $47, SAVINGS of $56] 10lbs carrots, 2 packs of paper plates, 1 roll of Scott paper towels, 8 cans of tuna, 1 cantaloupe, 2 bags chex mix, 2 bags Doritos, 1 can Newman salsa, 2 bottles A1 sauce, 4 bottles Kraft bbq sauce, 6 cans Cambells Chunky soups, 2 containers of deli meat, 2 packs of Publix hummus, 2 lbs london broil, and 2 Reese cups.
SO COUPONING is what I'm doing every tuesday afternoon, and going to Publix every Wed morning:) That's my new routine! Kaz and I buy the sunday paper to get Red Plum and Smart Source Coupons and then I go to the following websites to print other coupons:
Do you have any couponing tips?
