Husbands, Gotta Love 'Em

I sent my husband off to do the shopping for Mother's day on Saturday.  He gets a little nervous about using coupons, but despite this his overall savings were 38%.  It really isn't too bad for a beginner.  My new numbers in the right hand column do have this shopping trip factored in so that is why my percentage of savings has dropped from 90% down to 88%.  DH has been trying to learn how to meal plan and cook a little bit better.  So, instead of buying the 1 large container of sour cream that he needed, he bought 3 of them because he was so nervous that he would not have enough.  Buying unecessary multiples without a coupon is what hurt his savings.  These are the learning experiences that will only make him a more savvy shopper.  ;)  WTG Aaron.  Pretty soon, I will delegate all shopping trips to you!!!  TTFN!

My Purpose

Several months ago, I found myself a stay at home mom with no children at home.  What is a girl to do with herself?  In an effort to contribute to our household and still remain at home and available to my children and husband, I decided to begin seeing how far I could stretch each and every dollar.  I started off searching the internet trying to find everything that I could about coupons, rebate programs, resources and became a bit overwhelmed.  I even wanted to throw the towel in and retire from my short lived coupon career.  Boy, am I glad that my sweet sister-in-law encouraged me to try again.  She shared some of her own successes with me and suggested that I start more simply with a store like CVS.  She briefly explained their rebate program and I decided to start with that.  Well, after I got that store down, I began to learn how to shop Walgreens, Rite Aid, Stop and Shop and Shaws.  

As I have shared my shopping experiences with friends and family, I have been flooded with questions.  So, I decided to start this blog as a way of helping others brave the stores and find the deals.  Many may wonder, "How can a few dollars worth of coupons really make that big of a difference?"  Well, for you skeptics I plan to detail each shopping trip and keep a running total of my out of pocket expenses and my savings over time.  Hopefully, you too will be able to see just how much money can be saved over time.  I also plan on sharing some of the resources that have helped me to learn how to be successful and maximize my savings.

Hope this works well and is helpful to someone!  TTFN!!!