Wordless Wednesday

I promise, I will stop sharing my obsession with the coupon game soon. But this... oh, this is just too good to keep to myself.

Spent: $130.

Saved: ...

I only paid full price for two items: 1) Honey 2) Molasses, both of which are for making bread at home using my $12 machine from Goodwill.

Love, hugs, and blessings,
The Mama

I Take It ALL Back!

First of all, I have to give a major shout out of thanksgiving to my coupon coach. She knows who she is! I could not have even thought about doing this without her!!!

I've spent the better part of the last week cutting, organizing, and reviewing my coupons and all of the deals that have been available this week. I've got some great sites that you can find here, here, and here. There's also a few good tips here and here. I clipped from the newspaper, printed online, and made the most of in-store and advertised savings. I'm not going to lie, it was very challenging at first and extremely time consuming. But the high that I got from walking out of Publix with $72.00 of savings in my pocket was worth every late night and every wrinkle I earned from frowning at the coupon sites.

I will say that I have converted to being a loyal Publix shopper. They were wonderfully helpful and the savings were amazing. The store is clean, the food is fresh. I will say the manager acted like a total sketch when I was trying to check out. He kept staring at me and motioning to one of the cashiers to watch something. And my cashier was a snotty teenager who kept asking me if I had really gotten the applicable quantity of items for my coupons to work. At the end of the day, however, I was extremely happy and dare I say giddy. I've never enjoyed grocery shopping so much.

The most rewarding moment, however, came as I was tucking my oldest daughter into bed. As we finished our nightly prayers, I asked her what she was thankful for. She said, "I'm thankful to God for all the wonderful food he helped you bring home." Wow. Now, if that isn't something, I don't know what is.

Love, hugs, and blessings,
The Mama

Coupon Me Not

First of all, I have to say that I have sooooo much respect for the cost-shaving and coupon-cutting moms of the world. There are thousands of blogs and websites available with tips and tricks to help a non-couponer like me get started.

That being said, I have officially failed at the process.

My friend was able to save $60 off of her $100 grocery bill on Sunday. A-MAZ-ING. Inspired by her success, I decided I would give it a try.

All in all, I spent six hours yesterday scouring the internet and newspaper for coupons. I made a menu, wrote out a list, and with coupons and frequent shopper card in hand I headed to Kroger.

Walking through the store, I was mindful of store specials as well as the coupons I had in hand. I'm a big supporter of supermarket-brand items. As long as they meet the standard criteria I have set in my mind, they generally cost significantly less than the national brands. So when I could, I purchased store brands. I utilized what coupons I had, and I made the most of Kroger-Plus deals.

As a basis of comparison, two weeks ago I saved $50 on my grocery bill and stayed right at my budget of $100. My bill for this grocery adventure was $184 and I only saved around $15.00. Needless to say, I went over my weekly budget.

I left the store frustrated, mentally tired, and humbly ready to admit defeat. I don't know where I failed because I didn't indulge in any impulse buys.

Upon reflection, the experience was not a total bust. I found a wonderful meal planning website, Meals Matter, that helped me prepare my grocery list so I didn't over-buy. I did buy healthy foods for my family, including some gluten free treats for N. I have a plan for our meals for the next seven days, so we don't have to go through the nightly "what do we eat" conversation.

Here are some of the sites I visited to help me through my introduction to couponing. Perhaps you will be able to navigate more efficiently than I did and can share some of your wisdom with me.
Coupon Mom
Money Saving Mom
KC Penny Pinching Mama
Meals Matter
Mommy Savers

Good luck in your own couponing adventures!

Love, hugs, and blessings,
The Mama