A New Challenge

So, here I go being the suburban housewife/mom, but I'm going to make a new challenge for myself. I recently attended the Community Christian Church Generosity Conference, where I learned some basics on couponing, stockpiling, and just generally saving money at the store. I am going to give couponing a real shot for 6 months. If in 6 months, my savings are significant, I will carry it forward. If not, I will revert to my previous habits.

One thing I do have to say about couponing in general, is that start up is time consuming. I followed some of the tips from the conference, which was Saturday, and am still in the process of clipping and organizing. Today is Friday. I will throw out there, that I have 2 sicklings to care for, and one little boy that is extremely clingy and needy. I am still developing the best form of organization for myself, but I know that once I have it solidified, the clipping and putting away will be easier.

For those of you interested in starting, I learned some valuable tips from Laura Webber, whose blog can be found at www.sharpenyourscissors.net. She is also the great lady that spoke at the conference. Here are a couple of tips she gave us that never occurred to me.

1.The rules of coupons are one coupon per item. This means that if you have 5 coupons, and buy 5 items, you can use one coupon on each of these. Meaning, if there is a great sale, STOCK UP while the stuff is cheap.

2.Get one paper per person in your family on Sunday to get multiples of the coupons you will use most for your stock up items.

3.Read other couponer blogs for deals. One local to Illinois that she shared was www.coupongeek.net. (This one is great as it shows the good deals and coupons that are hot around here.)

4.Walgreens and CVS are GREAT places to shop. I know what you are thinking, expensive, but both of them have frequent sales and reward programs that let you earn store dollars to spend at a later date. This means you may get things for free, plus you save money using your coupons.

I'm sure I'll be posting on my adventure, once we have all been cured of the funk, as I lovingly call it, or as Jeremy calls in the scourge. I am laying in bed as I type this, home from work due to this mess that is infiltrating our immune systems. Hoping to feel better soon and to share some of my successes with this coupon adventure.