Learning as I go...

I have been couponing now for 6 weeks or so and I'm starting to get better and better at it. I'm still no expert, by any stretch of the imagination. There are blogs that I've read of women with families of 6 that spend only, like, $50 a week on their groceries and household items. I am definitely NOT there yet. I've also been spending WAY too much time on my research and have been a little disorganized with ordering coupons that I'm not using just because I'm not as good as planning out my shopping as I should be. But, I still have made some progress! So...here is what I'm doing:

-The KEY to getting the best deal on your groceries is to use the coupons when the item is on sale. I've learned that most items in the store are on a 12-week sale cycle. So, if you're really serious about saving the most money, you shouldn't use your coupons right away, but when they go on sale. I've also learned that as you're starting out, it's hard to balance your needs from what you should stockpile because it's on sale. For example, I didn't really NEED all of the pull-ups I got a CVS a couple of weeks ago, but the extra care buck deal and the coupons made it worth while to spend the extra money on because it was such a good deal.

-I spend 1-2 hours a week clipping coupons and filing them. I get the from the Sunday paper and am always on the lookout at stores for promotional coupon books. I've found a TON of these at Publix. Sometimes, if they are really good coupons, I'll take a few copies and clip away!

-I've been organizing my coupons in the three-ring binder pictured below. I went to OfficeMax and got baseball card holders for $2.99/10 pack and got those little sticky tab label things to put on the sides. (I saw a lady on her blog say she got her baseball holder pages at Walmart for $1/10 pack, but I looked and looked and could not find them.) I organized my tabs by where I put the items away in my kitchen and also by type of item. I've seen other women's blogs where they got one of those BIG zipper binders which holds more stuff like scissors (when you find a good coupon in a flier at the store that you want to clip and use right away), and sales papers, and receipts, and then they can zip it all up so that no coupons fall out. I'm probably going to get one of these soon. I'm gonna check this Sunday's paper and see if I can catch any last-minute BackToSchool sales.

-I am making a weekly menu for what we're going to have for lunch and dinner. It's not set in stone and it's not always perfect, but it helps a lot with making my grocery list and sticking to it. Sometimes I've been able to see what's on sale make a couple of dishes with that info, but for the most part I've been sticking to the meals we're used to eating.

-I spend 2-4 hours a week (WAAAY too much) looking at coupon/sales blogs to see what deals are coming up for the three stores I've decided to focus on shopping at:

1. Publix (They take ALL competitors coupons and are VERY friendly about coupons in general. They also have some awsome buy 1/get 1 free sales that you can use 2 coupons on! You can use a coupon on the second item even though it's free!)
2. CVS (ExtraCare Bucks deals are AMAZING! Especially if you have a coupon with the item! You can click here to learn about how to use them)
3. Walmart (They sometimes have a better regular price then the sale prices at Publix and CVS. I just really try to remember as I shop what items I frequently buy cost at Walmart and then I know if the sales at Publix or CVS would be worth it or not. The coupon blogs really help with this information too)
   

-Based on what deals I've read about at each store I'll supplement whatever coupons I don't have with ordered coupons from thecouponclippers.com (link is on the right sidebar of this page). Or, a lot of blogs link you right to a website where you can print off the coupon to go along with the sale deal on the item. I also am ALWAYS on the look out for organic dairy and meat coupons as we use that stuff all the time in my house. I've found lots of those right at the website of the brand that I'm buying. For example: Horizon Organics, Stonyfield Farm, and Organic Valley.

SOOOO...Before couponing I was spending about $225-$250 a week on groceries with all the organic milk and other organic items I was buying. After couponing, I'm spending on average $150 a week and I'm getting about 30% MORE than I used to as I stockpile what's on sale even though I might not really need it right now. Hopefully as my stockpile grows, I will spend less and less on groceries. My goal is to get to $85-$100 a week in the next 3 months or so.

Here is what I got at my three stores 2 weeks ago:

WALMART: $54 and change
I find that Walmart has the best deals on produce, but their organic selection of produce is pitiful. You can find a list of important produce items to buy organic here. A couple of good deals with this trip: Kashi Cracker normally $2.79. I had a $2/1 which made them $.79 each. Cascadian Farm organic cereal normally $2.88. I had a $1/1 coupon which made them $1.88 each.

PUBLIX - $87 and change PLUS I walked away with a $10 JC Penney Gift Card
The big bottles of listerine (for Josh) were on sale for $3.79. I had a $2/1 coupon which made them $1.79 each. I got four bottles. Contessa frozen meals (REALLY GOOD for when you don't have time to cook dinner) are normally $6.99 but were on sale for 2/$10. I had $1/1, so this made them $4 each. I got 6 of them.

(I forgot to put the gallon of organic milk in with my Publix pic)

CVS - $61.50 PLUS I walked away with $10 in Extra Care Bucks to use on my next visit
GRAND TOTAL- $203 and change

This was a big spending week, but I stockpiled a lot of needed stuff! I had coupons for about 30%-40% of what i bought. There were only a few items that I needed that were not on sale or I didn't have a coupon for.

Whew..I'm done. Sorry about the long post and if it was a little confusing. Hopefully it might give you an idea or two on how you can save a few $ in your weekly grocery shopping!