Couponing

I love that "couponing" is the new cool thing to do. As if saving money in the past was for losers! It's actually the other way around for me...I was the loser (money loser) because I didn't have a CLUE what I was talking about. Tell me if this sounds familiar: ughhhhh, I don't have time for that...or, how are a few coupons REALLY going to make a difference. Ahhhh, yes. This makes sense. There just isn't enough time in the day to start saving hundreds of dollars a month. Ok, ok...so I'm not up to hundreds, yet. But (and I wish I knew how true this was in the past)...every penny counts.

Jake and I are shopping buddies...I can probably count on one hand how many times I've gone grocery shopping without him. I know, sickening. He's starting to get used to this whole couponing thing and I'm hoping one day he'll grab a Sunday paper and clip a few! For now, he's my treasure hunter. I pass him the coupon and he finds the booty (pirate booty, that is). Sorry, I couldn't help myself.

Things I've learned (and are trying to put into practice):
*BOGO is not the name of a clown...it means buy one get one (FREE!)
*using a manufacturers coupon when things are on super sale or BOGO is where the real savings come in!!
*CVSing MAY actually be a worthy cause...click here to learn how to "CVS"
*paying full price on a majority of your items at the grocery store is jut silly
*online coupon printing eats the heck out of your ink but it's well worth it! Use *DRAFT MODE* on your printer!
*I'm going to have to cave and do the baseball card deal of organizing the coupons!
*this takes time...but once again, worth it!!

Here are some of my favorite blogs for couponing advice:
Southern Savers
I Heart Publix
CouponMom

I am nowhere near paying $15 and saving $125 like some people blog about. Coupons on deli stuff/meat/seafood are hard to come by so you can't always walk off with tons of savings...but, I really think it's possible to have a complete budget makeover! Now that we are putting Jake through school (and the economy is kind of, um, in the potty)...we are really realizing that every penny DOES count. Just this past Sunday, we saved $25 between Publix and Target on household items that we really needed!! I know it's not a ton, but, imagine saving $25 a week every week for an entire year....that's $1,300!!! If Jake actually read our blog (LOL) he'd know what I'm thinking...MAUI for our two year anniversary. HA! SO glad he DOESN'T read this! ; )

If anyone has any neat tips, let me know! Have fun and be careful with those coupons...ouch! Nasty paper cuts!

Linds

***UPDATE***

Extreme Couponing 101: Atlanta - Eventbrite

Southern Savers presents
Extreme Couponing 101: Atlanta -- Thursday, February 25, 2010 -- Marietta, GA
JOIN ME! : )