This will not be a regular edition on this blog, but I did want to share that I was trying out couponing.  I've always been of the mindset that coupons wouldn't make that big of a difference if I stuck to store brands and shopped sales.  And with some items, that rule continues to apply to me.

However, after two successful shopping trips, I'm now convinced on the positive impact couponing can have on your grocery/household item budget.  I've hit Walgreens and Kroger twice with tremendous savings.  First trip: I spent an average of 60% on items I normally buy.  Second trip: I spent an average of 40-50% on items I normally buy. (That means, I'm going to buy milk whether it's on sale or not, but I'm not going to buy certain things like specific yogurt brands unless it's cheaper than the store brand.)  I can't remember totals from the first week.

From the second week:

Before coupons at Walgreens I spent $89, after coupons I spent $46 out of pocket and received $27 in register rewards.  So $19 on $89, and I could have kicked myself because I completely forgot about a $5 off coupon I had.  (Remember, this is only my second shopping trip, so I'm training my thought process.)  So I spent an average of 21% of the total cost, and if I'd have remembered the coupon, it would have been closer to 15%.

At Kroger, after sales but before coupons, I spent $125, after coupons I spent $83.  So that's an average of 66% of the total cost.  Remember, these items are things we normally use and normally eat.  I don't want to start seeing good deals and purchasing items that we don't normally eat or use.  For us, it's not savings if I wouldn't normally buy it. 

This week's trip has us stocked on soap, toothpaste, body wash (which I only got because it was cheaper than bar soap with sales and coupons), and hair care items for at least four months.  We're stocked on toilet paper and razors for at least 6 weeks.  For the next two weeks, all we'll need by way of groceries is milk.  So basically, over the last three weeks, my grocery/household items budget has gotten to $110/ two weeks for a family of six.  This total includes diapers and four to five gallons of milk.  Not bad for us.

After seeing such positive results, I'm convinced that your grocery budget can definitely be slashed with the use of coupons.  It's funny to me because I've always thought that it wasn't worth the time involved.

I know this isn't the best picture ever, but I need to upload some new ones I've taken.  And I haven't gotten around to it, yet.  Please bear with me to my family and friends who come here to see pictures.