Happy, happy Friday. Today is special because it's the day my big sister was born. A happy birthday shout out to my sister Lonnita (redovencreations.com)! I have a few things to discuss today and then it's off to work for the day! Tomorrow my neighborhood is having a community garage sale. I've never had a garage sale, but let me tell you, I have plenty of items in this house that need to go! Why not make a penny or two off of them? I just found out about the sale on Wednesday and I'm afraid I am unprepared. How long does it usually take to be setup for a garage sale? All I know to do is pick the items, price them and set them out. Is one day enough time? That's what's on the agenda for today. Wish me luck!
Okay, second agenda item for discussion today is couponing! Besides this becoming my husbands new obsession, it is a lot of work! We, like many of you, have been watching that Extreme Couponing show on the TLC network and have cut down our grocery bill by more than 50%! We were using coupons before we watched the show but now, it's on another level. A few weeks ago the local Marsh stores trippled coupons for 4 days! Ya'll know I have a coupon binder CHOCKED FULL of coupons, so we went to town! Our bill was $216 and we paid 39 cents after all our coupons were deducted! Check out photos of some of the deals below! I am saying this to tell you; if you aren't using coupons you are throwing away money and I'll gladly recoup that money for you (feel free to send me your unused coupons).
Now, I don't spend hours upon hours clipping coupons and prepping like the folks on the show. I do purchase 4 Sunday newspapers for the coupons, search the ads and login to my favorite couponing sites on Sunday afternoon. It takes about 2 hours total to get everything done. I don't shop at one store, I shop wherever the sale is that matches the coupons I have. I don't stick to certain brands. Whatever is on sale and I have a coupon for is what I buy. No store is off limits. I shop at Kroger, Marsh, Meijer, CVS, Walgreens, Family Dollar, Double 8 (Yes! don't sleep on the stinky stores!), Deals and occasionally Walmart. Walmart takes a lot out of me so I try to stay away unless there's an irresistible deal. Try starting small and cutting out the coupons that come in the mail. Match them up with the ads that came with them. Purchase items not when you need them, but when they are on sale. That way you build up a stockpile and you'll always have what you need before you need it! I have a closet full of toothpaste, toothbrushes, tissue, laundry detergent, etc. that will last me for the rest of the year! Work smart, not hard. Make this a challenge for yourself and reward yourself for it; using some of your $$ you saved, purchase something nice for yourself! Hope this helps ya'll save $$ before the weekend hits. For many, it's payday, save your cash. Happy Friday!
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