What I have learned

Today I bought a double edition of the Sunday paper. (Double the coupons, too). I found the most usable coupons in the manufacturer's section. We shop at Target and I think these are the only type of coupons they accept. There was a Target flier in the paper, but it only lists their store sales. Another bonus I discovered that the manufacturer's coupons are good for several months. I separated them by the month. I would have liked to sit down and make my grocery list using the coupons but there was no time today. So I took them all and tried to nail down a few items that I could purchase using these coupons. There were several for items that we were needing, however, the Target brand of those items were signifigantly less expensive than the name brand minus the coupon price.

Today we only used one coupon. We saved one dollar and the paper was two dollars, so based on my first try we are slightly in the hole, but there are a couple of coupons that come to mind that can be used in the coming months. I am excited to see what coupons I can find next week. I might not get the double paper next time. I did read some of the paper this afternoon and I plan to recycle everything that was not cut out.

I almost gave up after today's dismal performance, but I remember the lady on Oprah saying it takes a little practice. I have also heard that shopping at discount stores like Target or Walmart are cheaper than just regular grocery stores.

Hopefully next week will be more successful.

Coupons

I was watching Oprah one day this week. I don't watch all of them, just the episodes I find interesting. This day the topic was thrifty living. A woman was interviewed who has saved her family tons of money grocery shopping using coupons. They challenged her to shop for a full weeks groceries, using coupons of course, and the goal was to see how much she could have the final total lowered. She got over $120 in groceries brought down to under $40 dollars. I was amazed.

I have tried to look for coupons online in the past. Most of the sites I found want you to become a member and there are so many to choose from. The free sites all appear to offer the same set of coupons. The coupon guru suggests buying several Sunday papers to find coupons. I think I will start with one and see what I find. I may have to shop at another store because I'm not sure that Target accepts coupons.

We don't buy a lot of groceries each week but I believe there is a way to get more for less money. I'm sure I may have to do some research. Hopefully it will be worth the effort. I'm excited to try!

On another note, Tim did pass his first certification test!! One down and one to go. The final test won't be until the end of next semester, then its off to find a job.