Just Getting Started

I think I mentioned that I started couponing recently, and for those outside the coupon crazy world, I thought I'd share some insight since a few people have emailed me with questions.

Until recently, I clipped coupons, made a grocery list, and then went through them to see if anything matched up. If so, great, I'd save a dollar here and there, and felt okay about it. I shopped at Wal-Mart because after Hailey was born, I took the time to compare all of our regular purchases at both Kroger and Wal-Mart, and WallyWorld won out by about $20 per week, making our recent weekly grocery bills about $120-$150, including household items, food, and diapers.

This was pretty much making me sick to my stomach. I hated spending that much each week. I also hated shopping at Wal-Mart. SO...I took a couponing class just a couple of weeks ago from a woman named Su Soutter. I learned a few things.

First of all, I now shop deals online, and make two grocery lists...one for our definite needs, and one for our must-have steals of deals. Those steals mean only shopping with coupons for things when they are on sale, getting the rock-bottom price for those items. The goal is to work to build a stock-pile of non-perishables and household products, so you never have to run to the store to get something at it's highest price, because you are always keeping your home stocked with purchases made at their lowest.

It's not rocket science, but it takes planning and organization. It also takes time. I probably will not be truly cutting my grocery bill in half for a couple of months, as I still have to buy my must haves each week regardless of coupons. But...I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, and have already saved a TON just from being more mindful of the process. I got myself a big hefty notebook and filled it with baseball card sheets to organize my growing coupon collection, and off I went to the store!

Sorry I don't have any pictures so that you can get a visual of the amount of stuff I've purchased. I promise I'll do that in the coming weeks. But I do want to share my numbers with you, both for my own record, and also to create shock and awe, so that you too, may take three hours a week to get your money's worth.

So here we go. Shock. And. Awe.

Week One:

Kroger total: $276
Kroger spent: $207
Kroger Savings:$69
(I shopped lots of extras for stock-pile purposes this week using coupons I had.)

CVS total: $29
CVS spent: $15
CVS savings: $14

Week Two:

Kroger total: $124
Kroger spent: $89
Kroger savings: $35

RiteAid total: $41
RiteAid spent: $21
RiteAid savings: $20
(this one included a deal where RiteAid had a BOGO on CoverGirl makeup, and I also had a BOGO coupon, so they cancelled each other out, and both items at $6 each were FREE)

HarrisTeeter TRIPLES:
Harris Teeter Total: $56
Harris Teeter spent: $17
Savings: $39!!!!
(I usually plan to just do Kroger and one drug store per week, but can't pass up the triples when they happen.)

So in this past week, I spent at total of $127 for $221 worth of groceries. These are all things we use regularly, and will now allow me to focus on buying the perishable weekly items while saving up on coupons to make my rock-bottom purchases as they come along. This week I will already be able to spend significantly less than our normal bill.

I've been aching for a way to start helping out financially again a bit, and I've found a way to do it! This is just a little mini job I've taken on, but with a mere three hours a week, I can cut our grocery bill in half, which pays me about $20 per hour. Not too shabby.