Couponing

Well, something I have yet to share on my blog is my new obsession with coupons. The past few months couponing has become a nation pastime, with women fighting over the last of stock-up items and newspapers being stolen from the neighbor's front porch. It's even gone so far that many of the stores are now rewriting their coupon policies, because too many people are out there getting free items and only spending pennies on the dollar for their groceries. Well, this is a pretty good description of my lifestyle these days. We no longer run to the store for something without a coupon or a deal or sale going on. We have a stockpile of essential food items in our home, and are to the point that we no longer go without any of our favorite foods (healthy and unhealthy). We do all of this without spending more then $300 a month on household items and groceries. This coming from the girl who was spending close to $600 - I have decreased our food budget by 50%!

This has become a passion and a responsibility as my role as a stay at home mom. Instead of going out into the work force my job is to save us money. My role is to care for our family in every which way, including our budget. So, if you haven't heard of extreme couponing yet, you probably don't have cable and haven't been to the grocery store lately. This way of life is about getting the biggest deal possible on every item you buy, creating a stockpile of food in your pantry and freezer, and never paying more then 50% discount on your items.

The biggest deals I've had as of lately include using a double store coupon to make the manufacture coupon twice as nice! I generally spend no more then $30 on a shopping trip to a store and always have over a 50% discount! This means I spend $30 for a trip that generally would cost over $60 without coupons. Sometimes it's even better then this - like only spending $5 for a bag of food that would cost $25 - that's a 75% savings!

It does take a lot of time and energy to get these deals, to understand the process, and to make it all work for your family. We, me especially, need to eat healthy foods that are lower in sodium, so processed foods aren't always great to have in the house. But, I don't buy these items as much as I save on bulk ground meat and roasts, chicken, fresh fruit during the summer, and great items to use for sack lunches and meals on the go. I even managed to get my husband off his habit of drinking 2 or 3 cans/cups of soda a day - because it was too expensive!

So, I will attempt to show off some of my latest deals on here, but I am in no way a professional couponer, and in turn do not guarantee that I am accurate in any way. I typically follow other blogs that tell me exactly how to use my coupons, and do not go off on my own yet.