Fundamental Truth

Here is what I know to be true after couponing and looking for deals since April.  If you are going to coupon, and look for deals, you need to get over yourself.  You will be shopping in places you may never have been willing to go to before.  I hear this more than anything else - I would never shop at 'so and so'.  I understand.  For me it was Superstore.  I hate (yes I still do) what I refer to as 'Stupidstore'.

My SP is not one of the new fancy locations.  It's an older store that is absolutely nuts on weekends.  I avoided it at all costs.  I'm lucky I can go there during the week at quieter times of the day.  I used to only shop at Safeway - I liked it there.  Clean, organized, and I knew my way around.  But here is the thing.  By being willing to shop at places you never would have seen yourself before - you will save money.  Lots of it.

We are down to $125 a week this month.  And with three weeks under our belt, this is a fine amount for our family.  We are able to get all of our essentials, plus get other stuff to stock up on.  It is crazy to me that by only shopping at SF for weekly items, and paying full price, we used to spend $1200 a month.  In our third month of couponing and saving, we are now spending $500 (4 weeks in June).  And you know what, we have more food and supplies than before.

Yes, I am doing all the shopping.  My hubby used to do his fair share, but with me looking for deals, I now handle it all.  My husband said this past weekend that he "doesn't know how I do it" and that "we never seem to go without whatever it is we want."  This feels like a huge compliment.

I want to tell you that if you are willing to stretch your shopping boundaries a bit, it will do wonders for your pocket book.  For me, this has meant I could buy a new dress guilt free this month, some new yarn, our family went out for a nice dinner, and Nate can splurge on extra beer.  And all these extras came without worrying we were stretching our budget.  How wonderful is that?

:)