I've been bit by a bug...

... a couponing bug that is!

I have no idea why I failed to see the value (and sport quite honestly) in clipping coupons and making the system work for our family. We, like so many out there, really need to beat our budget into submission get our grocery spending under control. We don't spend on goofy things, and I do cook from scratch often, but with prices skyrocketing it's just common sense for me to save where I can so that I can buy the things that we need. Friends of mine introduced me to the concept of couponing. Wow. It's a new world! I almost feel like I'm cheating somehow even though I know that I'm not. For example, in my first week of couponing I paid $286 for $641 of food and toiletries. So far this week I've spent $2.60 for $28 of items from the drug store. I think that I could get used to this. I'm building up a stockpile, filling shelves, and doing it within the budget that I've set for our family of four. Are there still corners to cut? Yep. But this is a very nice start. Very nice indeed. As a stay-at-home mom married to a self-employed dad anything that we can save (or stockpile for the lean times) is a fantastic thing.

I'm not going to give how-to advice since I'm so new to the game, but I will share some fantastic links. If you are a couponista with loads of good advice, well, hand it over woman! I'll be looking at comments. :)

The Grocery Game... This great website matches up sales flyers with coupons for you. Grab a 28-day free trial. If you sign up please consider listing me as the member that referred you! (email - stephanie @ wildcrickets.com but remember to remove those spaces!)

The Money Saving Mom... great for freebies, discounts, coupons, and learning how to coupon as well as a good listing of deals from various store sales.

The Frugal Find... I LOVE her "how-to" video series. Definitely check this one out. Plus, she has great tips, tricks, sales info, etc. Both TFF and MSS have coupon databases to use for free. Love that! Her tutorials also include links to some great websites for printing coupons as well!

Totally Target... specific to Target finds and deals

Have a great week. Now go save some money!