Extreme Couponing

In case you are wondering why it seems that I have fallen off the face of the earth, well I had kind of checked out. The culprit? My new hobby. Extreme couponing. It almost sounds like a sport and well, I guess it can be and has been to me.

It is Carrie's fault really. I was reading my newspaper one morning and saw a reference to springsbargains.com, a blog featuring the latest deals in Colorado Springs. I visited her blog and was hooked. She posts daily the best deals available in the Springs - sales at Walgreens, where to get free breakfast or sandwiches at local restaurants, clearance deals and what is best to buy at my local supermarket. From there, it all started.

I also learned about downloading and printing coupons from the internet, which I hadn't done before and coupons you can add directly to your loyalty card from P&G, cellfire.com and shortcuts.com that you can use on top of your coupons.

I found some other useful sites that outline strategies to use at the stores, maximizing sale prices and what coupons to use and where to get them:
-www.southernsavers.com
-www.moneysavingmom.com
-www.frugalcouponmom.com
-www.afullcup.com
-www.hotcouponworld.com

I also learned about All you magazine which is stacked full of coupons each month. I signed up for a two-year subscription from a Southern Living Consultant for $18/2 years. Worth the investment.

I enlisted a cousin who is willing to give me her newspaper inserts each week and decided to also subscribe to the Denver Post on Sundays to get more coupons.

I've clipped coupons my whole life, but I totally adopted a new mindset - if it isn't on sale AND I don't have a coupon and it isn't truly essential, I'm not getting it.

For the first time since I moved to the Springs, my food/retail total for last month was down $200! And at the same time, I was stocking up on essentials. I was getting many things for free and in many cases, I was being paid to purchase items! All of my trips to grocery store now reflect at least a 50% savings (most of the time, more) and I even saved 30% off at my last trip to the commissary.

I had a trip to Albertson's grocery store where I got 2 lobster tails, 1 lb of salmon filets, 2 pts of raspberries, 1 doz. eggs and 1/2 gallon of milk for $6. I went to Walgreens today and spent $0 - using $10 in register rewards - to get Pantene shampoo, conditioner, and detangling spray, kleenex, 2 boxes of popcorn shrimp and 6 boxes of Tyson's buffalo chicken wings in the frozen food section. Crazy, but true and absolutely great. I am stocked up on most toiletries I'll need for the next year, including pull ups for spidergirl, and am saving money that we can now put toward trips, entertainment, and achieving our other financial goals. I've been able to donate many things to Northern Churches Care, helping struggling families in the Springs.

I think I have my new hobby down now after much research and learning new stores and websites and such. Now I have time for other things... like enjoying my kids and the summer.