"Summer Loving Happened So Fast..."

I LOVE COUPONS! My "summer loving happened so fast" when I had a little extra time on my hands and not as much money since there isn't as much work in my part time childcare position during the summer months.

To expand my coupon collection, every Sunday I buy the two newspaper bundle from Dallas Morning News and during Kate's nap I spread it all out, cut & organize my coupons, and devise my shopping strategies for CVS & Kroger (my two new favorite stores because of CVS's Extra Care Bucks and Kroger's policy on doubling or tripling coupons). I've even started trying to find online coupons to print, learned how to stack manufacturers coupons with store coupons for better deals, and started hunting for information on the internet from other moms who are smarter at bargain shopping than I am.

From all those things put together, I've saved our family close to $1100 in the past four months in groceries and health/beauty products. And I've gone from spending about $60-$75 a week on those products to being able to get by on an average of $35-$40. While that all sounds wonderful on the surface (and it is fabulous), my main frustration is that my bank account doesn't show an extra $1100 sitting in it!

That total saved actually comes from all the coupons I've clipped, the deals I've found, and the Extra Care Bucks I've collected/spent. And a good portion of the items I've purchased with that savings are currently sitting in the hall closet as members of my precious stockpile. I never understood this before, but stockpiling things that I can find at an awesome price is definitely a saver strategy. So now we've got shampoo, razors, body wash, rice krispy treats, chex mix bags, toothpaste, and much more that I've found for incredible prices just waiting on us to use or donate it.

I am saving about $20-$30 a week, but with an unexpected doctor bill here and there, the ever fluctuating cost of gas, and such we haven't seen a significant change in our finances - but I know it is making a difference by helping us better afford those incidentals and I really love my little growing stockpile.

So after giving bargain shopping my best efforts, tracking my progress for a few months, and looking at our finances, I think it's fair to say my summer love and I have "had a blast" and it's definitely worth my time and energy to keep at it. If you have any great couponing strategies or any money saving tips that have proven worthwhile for you, please let me know about them - I know I still have a long way to go to perfecting the art of saving a buck!