When Brandon and I decided that we would try our hardest for me to stay at home with our girls, I tried to figure out how I could do my part. One time when I was at my orthodontist, I overheard one of the assistants talking about how she paid 55 for two weeks worth of groceries. WHAT?! I couldn't believe my ears. I asked her how in the world she managed to only spend $55 and was she eating Totinos every night? She assured me that her and her family were not eating frozen pizzas every night and that they were indeed eating wholesome and nutritious meals.She began to enlighten me on the world of couponing. It was interesting to me how far coupons have come since my only experience with them were from my childhood and they never got my parents two weeks of groceries for fifty bucks!
I started researching various coupon bloggers and WOW was I amazed at how much money you can actually save! I have learned most of my couponing knowledge through other bloggers and through my own experience. I feel with every shopping experience I get increasingly better. Here I will outline for you exactly how I applied my knowledge of couponing and started saving us a substantial amount of money every month.
Let me start off by sharing that I don't go to various grocery stores (as many couponers do)to find the best deals, merely because I have two little ones and to get them in and out of the car is a full blown cardio workout. Instead, I hit up good 'ol Wally World because they do this glorious thing called Price Match.
I start my saving extravaganza by purchasing the weekly Sunday newspaper and collecting the coupons and ads(Target, Dollar General, CVS, and Walgreens).
Then when Wednesday rolls around, we get the rest of the flyers in the mail (WalMart, Tom Thumb, Albertsons, Brookshires and Country Market). You can also find other SUPERB coupons throughout the week on websites such as http://coupons.target.com/ , redplum and coupons.com. You can even find great coupons on Facebook when you "like" their page. Who knew?
After hoarding all my coupons and flyers, I create my weekly dinner menu. I make certain to plan for the two weeks or up to the next day Brandon gets paid. Next, I create my grocery list with the needed items for our meals. Once I have completed that part of my list, I fill in the other various items we need for lunches, breakfasts, snacks, and all that other miscellaneous stuff.
Now is the fun part! I pull out all my collected flyers and look for items that I have on my grocery list. When I find an item that is on my list, I place a star next to the item and record the item's price from that store. For example, I found this week that Aldi has avocados on sale for 29 cents. I put a star next to avocados on my grocery list, and record 29 cents next to it. I go through all my ads and do this for any applicable items.
Once I've completed my grocery list and recorded all my price matches, the final step is to compile the necessary coupons. I wish I could say I was one of those couponers you see at the store with the over sized binder that is beautifully categorized with colorful tabbed dividers.Unfortunately, I am just not that good. I usually pile them together (and by pile I mean shove!) in one drawer and then pull them out as needed.
A couple things I have learned from experience is that WalMart does not honor buy one get one free without a specified price. They have their coupon policy online which I should have read prior to learning the hard way, but nonetheless, I learned it. Another trick I learned was once I get to the checkout lane with all my items, I separate my price matched items with a spacer and place them at the very end. During my shopping, I make certain to circle all the items that need to be price matched because there will be times that WalMart does have the price matched or beaten.
So there ya have it. Price matching, plus couponing, equals one happy momma who saves her family money and gets to stay at home with her babies. I know you're probably thinking how time consuming this must be. However, the more you do it, the better you get, and the QUICKER you get at it. And not to mention how rewarding it is to swipe my debit card and look at all the groceries I purchased while saving us money!
I hope I have appealed to at least one person who can share the joy that I so do when I grocery shop! Happy Shopping!
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Monday, January 23, 2012
To Blog or Not To Blog
I have debated with the idea of starting yet another blog. After a failed attempt of blogging two years ago, I thought now might be a great time to start one. The dynamics of my life have changed. I'm no longer part of a circus act, trying to balance the roles of teacher, mother, and wife. No, I have subtracted the role of teacher and now I'm just juggling the roles of wifey and SAHM (stay at home mom).
Which brings me to the reason of why I ultimately decided to blog. As I mother, I am intrigued and entertained by reading other stories from real life moms. Nothing gives me greater gratification to know that my life, although crazy and chaotic at times, is the norm.
Two years ago when I was a first time momma, I was certain that I'd make mistakes that would impact the well being of my daughter. Questions continued to run through my little head, like would the motrin I gave Penelope before the recommended age make her fall asleep only to have her never wake up (Note to self: read the box prior to giving child medicine!)or would the roll Penelope took off my bed later impact her IQ, and better yet would the beef jerky my husband rubbed across her lips at three months transform her into a CRAZY eating carnivore who would never want to eat any vegetables or fruits? Yes, I know NOW that these were ludicrous and irrational thoughts, but at the time, I didn't know any better!
That's when I caught on to reading mommy blogs and websites dedicated to moms posting various questions, concerns, thoughts and everything in between. In no time at all, I quickly figured out that we, as mothers, want to know that our life fits the mold of normalcy. No I'm not the only mother who has given their child a pack of sweet tarts to keep them quiet in the checkout lane. Actually it occurs quite often!
Even now with my second daughter, who is now four months, I continue to seek advice, answers, and confirmation through others to know that I am not completely crazy or in this alone. By reading blogs posted by moms, I find comfort in knowing that we're all on this journey of motherhood together.I'm not the only momma who has given their child reeces pieces when they were good in the checkout line or given them two packs of fruit snacks back to back so they'd be quiet during Mass. While I may not be the perfect mom, I try my hardest and that's truly all that I can do.
So with this blog, I hope to share my blessings of motherhood, my daily chaoticness, (I realize this is not a word but just go with it) and various recipes and menu ideas. I can't tell you how many times I've come across new delicious recipes that I've found and wanted so desperately to share.
As I come to a close, I share with you a document I created this morning. I wanted something to help me look at the week in a different way. Something that would allow me to be as productive as possible. I used my trusty friend google to search for a document and when I couldn't find just the right one, I decided to create my own word document. I am a list making fool and I get such a sense of accomplishment when I can scratch something off of my list. I'm hoping that this tool will give me just that: a feeling of rush and exhilaration! I know I know, these are the things that get me going, word documents!
Which brings me to the reason of why I ultimately decided to blog. As I mother, I am intrigued and entertained by reading other stories from real life moms. Nothing gives me greater gratification to know that my life, although crazy and chaotic at times, is the norm.
Two years ago when I was a first time momma, I was certain that I'd make mistakes that would impact the well being of my daughter. Questions continued to run through my little head, like would the motrin I gave Penelope before the recommended age make her fall asleep only to have her never wake up (Note to self: read the box prior to giving child medicine!)or would the roll Penelope took off my bed later impact her IQ, and better yet would the beef jerky my husband rubbed across her lips at three months transform her into a CRAZY eating carnivore who would never want to eat any vegetables or fruits? Yes, I know NOW that these were ludicrous and irrational thoughts, but at the time, I didn't know any better!
That's when I caught on to reading mommy blogs and websites dedicated to moms posting various questions, concerns, thoughts and everything in between. In no time at all, I quickly figured out that we, as mothers, want to know that our life fits the mold of normalcy. No I'm not the only mother who has given their child a pack of sweet tarts to keep them quiet in the checkout lane. Actually it occurs quite often!
Even now with my second daughter, who is now four months, I continue to seek advice, answers, and confirmation through others to know that I am not completely crazy or in this alone. By reading blogs posted by moms, I find comfort in knowing that we're all on this journey of motherhood together.I'm not the only momma who has given their child reeces pieces when they were good in the checkout line or given them two packs of fruit snacks back to back so they'd be quiet during Mass. While I may not be the perfect mom, I try my hardest and that's truly all that I can do.
So with this blog, I hope to share my blessings of motherhood, my daily chaoticness, (I realize this is not a word but just go with it) and various recipes and menu ideas. I can't tell you how many times I've come across new delicious recipes that I've found and wanted so desperately to share.
As I come to a close, I share with you a document I created this morning. I wanted something to help me look at the week in a different way. Something that would allow me to be as productive as possible. I used my trusty friend google to search for a document and when I couldn't find just the right one, I decided to create my own word document. I am a list making fool and I get such a sense of accomplishment when I can scratch something off of my list. I'm hoping that this tool will give me just that: a feeling of rush and exhilaration! I know I know, these are the things that get me going, word documents!
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