Well, it's been a while. Haven't had much to say and I knew you wouldn't want to hear my rant about what's going on with our government and all that craziness; I mean, why would you want to hear my opinion, when all you have to do is turn on the TV and hear a million other opinions? So, I've been off doing bigger and better things, well maybe not bigger, but certainly BETTER (in my opinion).
Let me preface this by saying that I don't like grocery shopping. I don't know why, my kids are all grown up, I don't have to carry them in the basket and listen as they shout "Mommy, can we buy this or Mommy, I want that" anymore. Maybe that's WHY I don't like it anymore; it used to be exciting, but lately it's been BORING.
Sorry to have to admit that for as many years as I can remember, grocery shopping has been: make the list, go to the store and buy the stuff on the list, come home with the stuff from the list and put it all away. Pretty boring, right?
And, on those few occasions, when I would take time to clip a coupon, I really felt saving a buck or two was a big thing and I was oh, so proud of myself.
You see, I really am a cheapskate and I really LOVE sales and hate to spend a ton of money on anything. But, I didn't want to invest the time and effort it took to clip the coupons and then many times I felt I could buy the store brands for even cheaper than the brand items even with the coupons. So, all that said, it didn't accomplish much and I continued in the "no-brainer" pattern for many years.
Enter the Grocery Game and then Southern Savers. Wow! Thanks to my friend, Debbie, for explaining the Grocery Game to me and helping me through those first few initial lists and all the explanations. Then, another friend, Jessi, helped me out by sharing Southern Savers with me.
What in the world am I talking about anyway? Well, these are both websites where you can go and compile a grocery list. The great thing is, that these sites show you what items are on sale at specific stores and what coupons you can get from newspapers, internet, mailers, etc.... The fun begins when you start buying items that are on sale and then adding the coupon on top of that and saving a bundle of money. Remember, I LOVE saving money.
Anyway, the first thing you need to do is start getting the Sunday paper and keep the coupon sections. Don't clip the coupons, just keep the whole section, cuz you won't know what coupons you need until you read the list for your particular store and the particular items you need to buy.
I know it sounds confusing, but it's really not. It does take a bit of time to get used to it all.
Debbie and Jessi both have racked up quite a bit of stuff and savings over the past few weeks. I'm not nearly as adept or savvy as they are, but I'm learning and it's FUN.
This week I went to two grocery stores: Kroger and Ingles. At Kroger I spent $70.58; but my total savings with coupons and store deals was $62.82. Woo Hoo!!
At Ingles I spent $69.82; and a total savings with coupons and store deals of $58.76.
I didn't buy anything that we will not use.
I am finding that we are accumulating quite a stockpile of some items. My daughter had to organize and clean out the pantry the other day to make room for stuff. The reason behind this is because most items come on sale about every 6 to 8 weeks. So, if they are on sale and you have several coupons you need to go ahead and buy all that you can until they come on sale again, so you won't run out and have to pay full price.
Okay, I'll stop here. I could go on and on about this and I guess you can see that I am a bit pumped. But, you gotta admit, it beats politics, healthcare and the whole gamut of dramatic emotion related to that!!
Don't get me started on that one....
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