Life for Less: Coupon Convert

Months ago, I blogged about how Matt & I save $$$ on our weekly grocery bill. In that post, I mentioned that I'm not much of a coupon-er. I had lots of excuses, but thankfully, my sister's dear friend, Amy, swooped in to set me straight. You see, Amy is extremely coupon-savvy, not to mention super smart (she just submitted her final dissertation for her PhD in chemical engineering! Congrats, Dr. Amy), so y'all should listen up!

Amy not only commented with some helpful tips (you can see her comments at the bottom of this post), she also challenged me to try out couponing to see if it worked for our family. a.k.a. She hooked me up with a ton of coupons (see visual above). Amy asked me to send her a list of 10-20 nonperishable items that we normally buy, & then she sent 100+ (already clipped) coupons so I could try it myself! I heeded her instructions, which she graciously sent via email, & I was ready to go!

The timing couldn't have been better -- the very week she sent me my coupon-care-package, Harris Teeter was having a doubles week. What does that mean? They were doubling any coupon $1.50 or less! Score! On our first trip, Matt & I walked away with a cartful of groceries & savings of nearly $50 ($19 of in store savings & $30 of coupon savings)! We were particularly proud that we brought home at least 4 free Vitamin Waters ($2 Vitamin Waters + $1 doubled coupon = free!) . Incidentally, Harris Teeter doubles any coupon $0.75 or less everyday. Talk about useful knowledge!

I'm still using some of the coupons that Amy sent (2 months later!), and I'm paying more attention & clipping more coupons of my own. It does take some time & a little extra work, but the savings can be substantial. To me, that makes it totally worth it.

How can you get in on this $$ saving action? I don't claim to be an expert just yet ;), but I recently stumbled across an article from Dave Ramsey about couponing & I think he covers the basics pretty well. One of the most valuable tips Amy gave me was to combine coupons with store sales. That means when Kashi is on sale at my grocery store, I should pull out my coupons (I have quite a few, courtesy of Amy) to combine with the in-store specials & stock up. Also, I do most of my shopping at Tar-jay, and Amy enlightened me that Target will allow you to combine manufacturer coupons with their store coupons (which you can print on Target's website). Now that's what I call a sweet deal!

In addition to Dave's article, these sites can be super helpful. Check 'em out:

• Southern Savers 
• Totally Target

Thank you, Amy!!!