Coupons

Face wash, Contact solution, & Nail polish - all things that I wanted or needed to buy that I got for free.
I have been trying for a while to find ways to cut back on our food spending. I make meal plans and grocery lists before I go to the store, so I won't buy any extra items. I also try to follow through with actually making the meals, so that we don't have to go out to eat (I greatly need to improve on this). Over the last few weeks, I have come across (just by chance) articles that talk about using coupons to drastically minimize your grocery bill. I never thought too much about using coupons because we shop at Wal-Mart, and their prices are already so low. However, I had two other friends mention on their blogs how much money they had saved (as well as how much food storage they had accumulated) by coupon shopping. So, yesterday I started my experiment (I actually prepared for a few days before that - I made a list of just about everything I could think of that I would ever buy, from produce to Pillsbury cinnamon rolls to toothpaste). Because Wal-Mart's prices are already so low, oftentimes the lowest sale prices at other stores are still more expensive, so I went to Wal-Mart with my list I had made the day before, and wrote down the prices of as many of the items as I could find (there were a lot of items). I started thinking, "Why am I spending time on this? I'm so tired of recording the prices, and I'll probably never look at them again to compare to other stores' sale prices." However, I was then able to buy the few things I needed from Wal-Mart & then go to Safeway where, because I had made my comparison list, I was able to go straight to the sale items that were even cheaper than Wal-Mart's prices. I then went to Rite Aid & gathered a few of their really cheap sale items & even got $25 worth of stuff for free. I am really excited about building my storage supply & saving money on my everyday groceries. Thanks Anne for the website referral (It breaks down all the sale items in the grocery stores around you, and tells you what's a good deal, a rock bottom price, & items you can get for free, whether at the store's sale price or with the addition of coupons). Check it out if you're interested. It's really not as time consuming as I made it by recording my own prices at Wal-Mart. I'm just a total nerd & wanted to make sure it was even worth using coupons if Wal-Mart's prices would still be lower than other stores anyway. I recommend at least doing the trial period. If you have any questions let me know, and if you sign up, I would love if you would use me as your referral.