saving $ is fun!

above are pictures from my best coupon trip. i spent $25 for all of the items!!! normally it would have cost over $62.

for the past 3 months i have been infatuated with saving money. we absolutely can't afford not to use coupons!!! i seriously had no idea we could save so much money. it takes me about 1-2 hours/week to make a grocery list and clip all the coupons. i wouldn't be able to do so well if it wasn't for southern savers. the crazy thing is, i am not even that good at it yet and we have saved well over $300. there are stories i read frequently about ladies who spend no more than $5 on $200 worth of groceries. ahhh-mazing!!! i want to be that good!

faq: (i feel silly even answering these because i really am just beginning to learn how to do it; i mainly refer people straight to southern savers!!!)

• where do you get all the coupons? the sunday newspaper, online - coupons are all over the place! the best online site is coupons.com, "All You" Magazine (if you hurry, go to southern savers and get a 2 year subscription for $16. the deal is good until 10pm on july 31. normally the magazine costs $2.24/monthly issue.), southern savers has links to several coupons.
• do you buy things only on sale? yeah, pretty much. there are certain things that we need each week that are non-negotiable (i.e. soymilk for kelly since he is lactose intolerant and some fruits and veggies). i know that the whole goal is to buy large quantites of items when they are on sale and you have coupons for them. that way you have a stockpile that will last you until the next time they go on sale.
• where do you shop? i stick to publix. publix takes all the competitors coupons - even the drugstore coupons like rite aid, walgreens, cvs. i know several couponers go to multiple places to get the best deals. maybe i will get to that at some point. for now, i am only able to go to one store since our transportation is limited with only one vehicle.

i will try to update this blog frequently with my grocery purchases. i was getting groceries once every two weeks. i have now begun to get them once/week so i won't miss out on any good deals. our grocery budget is $50/week. last week i came in under budget at $47. woo hoo!

seriously, if you have tips that i should know when it comes to saving money, please tell me. i will aprreciate it a whole bunch!