Tuesday, March 24, 2009

49 cents

That's how much I paid today for all of this.


I started doing the couponing thing back in November. I've used coupons in the past, but never consistently and never deliberately. I always just used them if it was convenient. I decided to really give it a go this time with a different attitude to see if I really could lower our food and toiletries budget with it.

In short, I have. It has taken me a while, but I think I've finally gotten the hang of it. I am regularly saving 50% or more with minimal effort, and sometimes quite a bit more, as shown by the shopping trip today. Our pantry and linen closet are stocked with items that I've gotten practically free. And they are items that we actually USE. So far I've drawn the line at buying something just because it's super-cheap.

And let me tell you, it's pretty nice to be able to just go to the cabinet when we are getting low on something rather than having to worry about making a trip to the store. The money saving is great, but that little perk is the best for me.

It still takes me a little longer to do my shopping plan because I am matching coupons to sales rather than saying, "I feel like salmon this week!" and buying it anyway. And the more that I work on the coupon matching, the easier it is.

I'm not in the big leagues yet, but someday I'm gonna be.


Noodle4

4 comments:

smalltownme said...

Good for you!

Tina said...

Great job...I wish I could get inspired...I'm SO lazy! :)

Anonymous said...

Awesome! I need to get busy with the coupons again. I used to do really well, but I've gotten lazy.

Vanessa said...

Well done! It seems you are well on your way to the big leagues. I use coupons but am never very serious about it like that, only if it's an item I normally buy and I happen to remember the coupon.