Happy Monday everyone! I am still working on my "new" blog... it may take me another week. This past weekend was very busy for me as I was working at an event the entire weekend at the Maryland Zoo. Now I am trying to get back on my feet with housework, homeschooling and getting my coupons ready for grocery shopping this week!! I did manage to run to Rite-Aid on Saturday night and buy $75 worth of stuff and paid NOTHING!! That was quite exciting!
Well, today I wanted to share with you some "tips/advice" that I just emailed to a friend of mine who felt disappointed with their shopping trip this past weekend. Even though they DID save money using coupons... they just thought that they didn't do a "good job"! Hey... remember.. ANY MONEY SAVED is a good job!! There was a day when you would have paid that bill in full and not thought about it :)
Here is the "advice/tips"
(1) don't get discouraged... you DID save money on items that you NEEDED :)
(2) this was one of your first times really trying to use your coupons ... you'll get better with a few more times!
(3) make a list of dinners for each day (like I showed in my spreadsheet) and write down the ingredients you need to make those dinners. Make another list of household items you need (tp, soap, etc) and then look at the circulars to see who has what on sale so that you know where to buy those items. Having these lists helps us to buy only what we need and not lots of extras and then not have enough to actually make dinners! HAVING LISTS READY REALLY HELPS SAVE TIME!! I usually go to Aldi's, Target, Bi-Rite and sometimes Sam's Club all in one night ... about 3 hours or less.. sometimes Rite-Aid too... whatever I can fit in :) !
(4) when you see a sale on something you always use... (ie. soap) and you have coupons to make it cheap or free... stock up!!! This is what helps you save money in the long run!
(5) make a binder for your coupons and have it with you when shopping... this helps w/ the items that are on sale that you didn't know about. When you see it you can check your binder for your coupon :)
(6) I don't shop at lots of grocery stores... I don't have time for that... I shop at Aldi's (which is always cheap) and Bi-Rite (which doubles coupons up to $1.00) and I do some grocery shopping at Target! Don't get yourself overwhelmed trying to get deals at 5 different grocery stores! Use the grocery store that best suits you and has a great coupon policy! Of course, if you see a sale say at Food Lion, for example, on something you use regularly and you have coupons... when convenient for you .. stop by and run in and stock up! (I don't even bother looking at the grocery store ads for other stores that I don't shop at.. maybe that is bad, but I don't have the time.. I have three kids and can't be running all over God's creation to get groceries, LOL)
Hope this is a help to everyone!! I am going grocery shopping tonight I believe... maybe I will share with you tomorrow how I made out :)
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