Fully Stocked

I just got home from grocery shopping (at 9:45 pm) and I am exhausted. It takes me awhile to prepare my list, my coupons, etc. I usually go at night so that I don't have to bring the kids and I can take my time. Tonight I knew it was going to take awhile since I had a ton of stuff on my list. The whole time I was thinking how annoyed I was with all the people in the store and the fact that the store is always out of stuff at night and then I stopped. I realized that I needed to change my way of thinking. I need to be thankful for the fact that we can buy food, and that I have the time to coupon so I can save some money.

I had a cart full, I mean so full that things were spilling out. I pathetically pushed my cart up to the check out line and started unloading. I am slightly OCD and need to keep all the like items together. While I was arranging, a lovely old man in a suit came up behind me carrying a bouquet of flowers and a bottle of wine. I told him to go ahead of me for obvious reasons and he obliged. As he finished, he stopped for a moment, turned around and handed me a single carnation from his bouquet. He said, "Thank you. You are lovely, sweet young lady. Have a blessed holiday". It made my night.

I quickly went back to paying attention to the register and watched as the total kept rising. The total of $277.30 was way too high for me, so I passed the checker man my VIP card and my stack of coupons and watched the two men in line behind roll their eyes. I apologized for making them wait and we quickly were in a conversation about couponing. They both told me it wasn't worth the time. I respectfully disagreed and they asked if they could watch the total go down. I am by NO MEANS an extreme couponer, I have actually just been using one paper (plus the coupons my grandparents send me; my grandpa cuts them out for me and mails them to me:), but I like saving money. My total ended up being $157.22. I saved $120.00. Not extreme, but extremely helpful! The men both told me that they would maybe consider couponing now. Anyway, I got home and again started feeling irritated with all the unloading that I had to do and then did an attitude check again (this thinking positive stuff is hard). We are blessed. This is what it looked like when I got home:

Bags everywhere

And then my OCD kicks in again and I unload all the bags before I put anything away. I did get 4 cases of soda, but they are in the garage, but everything else gets put on the counter.

It was a good deal on cereal:)

This was my receipt:

Then I begin the tedious task of putting it all away. I wish my pantry was neat and organized, but the reality is, I have too much stuff food in there and if that shouldn't be a problem. Thank God we can feed our family.

A fully stocked pantry makes me happy

Hail to the Chief!

You all know how I LOVE coupons, right?! Well, you may also know that I am NOT such a fan of actually shopping. I used to be, but now it is a huge pain! Loading up both the kids, the stroller, the diaper bag, yelling at stupid snow birds drivers, etc. It's just not my cup of tea. I do, however, LOVE to shop online, but I don't always have coupons for the items I want. Well, now I have a new tool that will help me in my online shopping endeavors, just in time for Christmas. The website, Coupon Chief, is great! They are one of the fastest growing coupon sites, with over 250k visitors a month! Basically, you log onto their site, http://www.couponchief.com and you can search for literally thousands of coupon codes (about 50k the be exact) at tons of different stores(over 15000)! It is really simple to use! My all time favorite store is Target. I shop there at least once a week, if not more. I am constantly wanting coupons for things that I come across. Well now, I can shop at Target from home and I can get on the Coupon Chief website and search for Target codes. Another store that I adore is Kohl's. Again, find Kohl's codes and voila! SAVINGS! Cha ching! I am always looking for deals and this website is now on my favorites list! It has a wonderful section with step by step instructions so you make the most of your time and money! I'm not kidding about the amount of stores... they have coupon codes for Hot Topic, Kodak, Home Depot, Borders, Lids, etc. You have to check it out!!!

I hope that you all enjoy it as much as I do! Happy savings!

BTW... I finished decorating today! I may have pictures later, but for now I think I will enjoy what is in my diaper bag. If this picture doesn't say Mother of the Year, I don't know what does. (Ok, so it's just sparkling cider, but still, the people at the grocery store didn't know that and I got some interesting glances as I pushed my car cart with two kids in it into the parking lot)

The Coupon Fairy Paid Me a Visit.

This is Delaney, happy as a clam, in the space ship cart at the Commissary. If we don't get this cart (it is the only one) we are in for a LONG shopping trip.

I was at Target yesterday for my weekly (ok twice weekly) trip to get formula and was feeling so sad. I felt so broke. There are SO many cute things right now and we just don't have the money to buy random things. The Christmas decorations are adorable! I especially love the ones that look like old fashioned sweaters with red and gray. Oh well.... maybe next year right? I looked up and down the aisles dreaming of the day that I will be able to buy things that I want and not immediately regret it or return it. As I made my way down the ever expensive diaper aisle, I found myself sighing, again. Man diapers are expensive. I am planning on potty training Delaney next week so that will help when we are through but Brody can pee like a champ! That boy wets his diaper constantly and then it flaming mad until it is changed. I usually have coupons for everything, but lately I have been lazy... I haven't been cutting them. Don't really know why, maybe it's the fact that I hate spending money. So back at the diapers. I am staring at the many different prices trying to figure out which one is cheaper between Pampers and Huggies. This week, it was Pampers. I then walk over to the Easy Ups for Delaney and pick up a pack of those. Almost $3o for 3 packs that will last Brody a few days and Delaney a week or so. Crap. Oh well, they need them. No ifs, ands, or buts. I put them in my cart and notice a lady looking my goods up and down (the stuff in the cart, not me:). At first, I am slightly annoyed, but then she asked me how many packs of Pampers I had. I told her 2- she handed me 2 coupons for $1.50 off! Then she asked if I had Easy Ups, I said yes, she gave me ANOTHER coupon for those! She said she doesn't use Pampers, but always cuts out the coupons just in case she sees someone who needs them! I was seriously stunned. It was the sweetest gesture. I suddenly came out of my pity party and thanked her and immediately wanted to adopt this idea.

I am a coupon junkie. I love coupons and I get a high over how much I can save. Eric is all about coupons now too. My sister-in-law, Cortney, taught me her system for saving on groceries. A lesson that I will forever be grateful for. My current system for grocery shopping is because of her. Thank you Cortney!

I use the website called The Grocery Game. On Sundays, she posts the new list for the different grocery stores. I subscribe to Fry's and Safeway. I get the Sunday papers (The Arizona Daily Star and The Arizona Republic). If I had more money, I would get 2 or 3 of both. Then, I go on the website and go through the list for the stores. I decide what I need and then go to my coupon box. The beauty of The Grocery Game is it tells you what is on sale, what coupon to use and the day you can find it in. I go through the coupons, clip what I need and then I am off to the store to save major money. Before Brody was born, my totals we over $200, but I never paid more than $80! The coolest part is, I would end up getting a ton of FREE stuff! I haven't had to buy a toothbrush in a year... I have that many FREE ones!

My coupon box is just a small file box I got for like $8 at Target

Inside, each month is separated by a file folder.
I also have a Sharpie, scissors and extra clips.

I just bundle all the coupons for that Sunday, clip them together,
and write the date on the top.

Then FILE IT!!

I also save coupons that I get n the mail. I have 2 coupon accordion files that I use. I put the big coupons such as Bed, Bath and Beyond, The Picture People, individual store booklets, etc. in the big one and then I put cut coupons in the little one. I make sure that they are in my car at all times.... every once in awhile I go through and throw away all the expired ones and reorganize a bit.

My little one... I have a small pair of scissors, a pen, a calculator
and paper clips in it as well.

Both of the money saving gadgets.

I have been slacking on coupons. Not any more. I will start again!!! But this time, I will cut out more of the ones that I DON'T use and put them in the file. I know how expensive things are and when money is tight, even a dollar saved can help!

I will return the good deed that lady did for me. I guess it's kind of a pay it forward with coupons! So if you see me out and you need a coupon, ask me! I may have one.