Just call me coupon QUEEN!!!!!!

well - sort of! I finally decided to try my hand at this "coupon" shopping.........so I went to Kroger's this weekend for the Mix/Match sale and - I am ADDICTED!!!!!!

First, let me tell you that you will have to commit to spending at least an hour of your time getting everything together - but hey - for the money you are going to save - it is worth it! I did it at 9:00 at night after Jake and Mark were in the bed and there was silence!! LOL......

There are multiple ways of doing this - it really just depends on what works best for you. My friend, Veda Burton, and I are weirdo's and we HAVE to clip everything......some others, like my friend Becky, just files the whole coupon book that comes in the paper in a hanging file that she has created and then when she visits the sites that tell you what to buy that is one sale at rock bottom price, or is on sale for a great price, how many to buy and which paper the coupon is in (like Smart Source or RedPlum) - then she goes and clips it at that time..........did you catch that I mentioned there are websites that do all the work for you!!! Amazing!!! You basically just log on and it tells you what is on sale, how many to buy, what your savings will be, etc.......how cool is that!!!! So far, my favorites are www.couponmom.com and www.coupontom.com

What took me the most time on Monday night is that I took the sales paper, checked everything that I wanted to buy and then matched up what I had coupons for (because that is where you get the most savings). Example: Last weekend (and this week too I think) Kroger had Mustard on for $1.19 if you have a Kroger card. Well, I just so happen to have 3 coupons for 35 cents - which Kroger TRIPLES up to either 35 or 39 cents.......so, the mustard was 1.19 - $1.05 (my 35 cent coupon tripled) so I paid like 14 cents a piece for my mustard's (I bought 3 because I had 3 coupons). Get it? Kraft Shredded cheese was on sale for way low - I bought 6 because I had coupons for it and paid like $4.00 total for 6 cheeses - those things are expensive - like $3.00 so I bought six and stuck them in the freezer!!!!!

The other cool thing that I discovered is that there are sites that you can go to that will load directly onto your Kroger card (www.shortcuts.com and www.cellfire.com )....that way - when you are at Kroger and you purchase something that you have a loadable coupon for - it automatically subtracts your savings when you swipe your card!!!

You can also go to www.kroger.com and create your very own grocery list by the sales paper - ie - when you go to the site - it will pull up the sales paper and you just click on the item and put the amount of items needed..........I mean - it can't get any easier than this - right??? However, if you are purchasing other items that are not in the sales paper - you will have to create an additional list for those.....

The most time that you will spend is deciding what is a good sale and what you have coupons for.....this is only learned by sitting at the masters feet and learning!! LOL. We have a group of girls that get together once a month to listen to the pro's (or at least they are pro's to us) and get all kinds of information that we in turn - share with others. The first class I took was with a friend of mine at First Baptist - amazing - I was hooked. Then, Becky came and showed us how she does it and once again - I was like - SHUT UP! No WAY!!!!.......she brought all the groceries with her to our class - because like me, she is very visual and we have to "see" it to grasp it - and she had bought $480 something worth of groceries and by the time she left the store between her Kroger card and her coupons - she was at $182!!!!!! When she said that - I was all up in that meeting - paying full attention to details!! LOL

I'm still learning - will keep blogging about it..........but, for now - even if you aren't interested in doing the game - you should collect coupons and save every little bit that you can. Kroger is amazing - they have taken the place of all the other stores that I use to shop at because they double and triple coupons all the time - it's not just on the weekends - it's all the time. so, start pouring over those sales papers and as I learn - I will keep sending out the information.

Oh - and before i leave - my shopping trip last weekend - when I got to the check out counter - I told her to ring me up before scanning my Kroger card so I could track my savings......first total - $404.....she scanned my Kroger card - it went to $280 - she took my coupons and it went to $219!!!! I would have hit under $200 but I bought some meat to put in the freezer............so, it really does pay off!!!

For some it may sound cheesy - for some it may sound like too much work - but for those who need to save some money or you just want to have a little extra to play with - this is a great way to do it. I walked out of Kroger's with basically $180.00 that I saved just by using coupons.

Until next time.....clip, clip, clip!!!

Karen