Coupon Tips!

Just a few tips that I learned at our enrichment night that helped me. You may already be doing this but I wasn't.

1. Shop at each of the grocery stores in your area for the best deal. I go online to Publix and Bi-Lo websites and view their weekly specials. They start each Wednesday and go for the week. I jot down the best deals and write c beside the ones that I also have a coupon for.

2. Use coupons with the specials and closeouts that each store is offering. If I have a 50 cent coupon for Cheerios and they are buy one get one free, then the grocery store will double the coupon to $1 off and if I have two of those same coupons, I can use both of them. That would give me a total savings of $2 off of the box I have to buy and the other box is free. You just can't have more coupons than you have total items.....That is my understanding.

3. Be organized with your coupons in an expandable check size folder. I don't have as many coupons as some people have, so that works for me. Remember, I have only been doing this for 3-4 weeks. Also, remember to keep the coupons out front that expire earliest.

I never thought I would save as much money as I did last month. The other thing that helped me save was planning my menu according to what was on sale and items I have in my fridge that will go bad if I don't use them up. I use to plan my menu just by thinking of what we had not made in a long time and what sounded yummy. I still like what we eat but I don't have to rack my brain as much trying to come up with the new ideas. If Chicken is on sale and Uncle Bens Brown Rice, then we will have that with a salad and asparagus. Yum. Anyway, I think you catch my drift.

The other tip would be to stock up on the items that are on sale. You might have a lot of a few items at first but keep it up and each month you will save on not having to buy those items. Steve found chicken last year at Walmart for 97 cents per package. Not per pound....per package. They were skinless chicken breasts and they were huge. He bought 15 packages and they lasted us about 6 months. Having a deep freezer for those items will help also.

THose are my amature tips on saving grocery money. Good luck. As my family keeps growing, I have to find more ways to feed my kids without going broke. I can't imagine how much these boys will be eating in 5 more years. Yikes!