My new thing: couponing

As I was making my resolutions for 2011, I really wanted to make headway on our debt and save money. Maintaining two households, student loans, daycare...we have a lot to cover every month. The best way to do that would be to cut out everything we can and use that money to focus on the debts...and coupons became a part of my mental discussion on how to save money.

I've used coupons in the past, but I quit using them after JJ was born. I used to spend waaaaaaaay too much money on groceries, but after figuring out just how much I was spending on groceries, I started reconsidering it. I did some research online and found tons of resources for couponing, such as couponmom.com and various blogs and coupon sites. Since I've discovered those, my life in groceries has pretty much changed.

Example: Walgreens - a store I NEVER went to - is a store I go to weekly now. Between deals and coupons, I can usually cut my bill there in half, if not more. I went to Walgreens on Friday night to get some things. For a list that included two sets of razors, three Secret deodorants, a handless soap system, two disinfecting wipe sets, lipstick, mascara, mouthwash and two lotions for JJ, I paid $38 - saving $47 in the process and getting $8 to spend next week. I never thought about taking advantage of deals at Walgreens on stuff that I need, but I do it all the time now. It's kinda like I'm making my own stockpile of things, and I'm saving a ton of money in the process.

When it comes to spending money on food...I'm not so good at that at the moment. I do use coupons and can knock off quite a bit, but I can't do what those extreme couponers do since the main grocery stores I have where I live don't have that great of deals and are simply local stores. But, I have started shopping at the commissary again and can save a lot of money there. Example: I got five pounds of chicken for $7 - getting four pounds of chicken at Wal-Mart would've cost me $15. We eat a lot of chicken every week, so being able to save that type of money on something like that can really stretch throughout the rest of our grocery list.

I'm excited that something as simple as clipping coupons can save me some money. I'm cutting spending in other areas of our lives, but I hope that being able to save at the grocery store will realy help us stretch our groceries a long way. I might even become an extreme couponer when we move, since there are several stores in Colorado that have stores that allow for huge savings...

...maybe.