the crazy coupon lady

I remember a time when I used to brag about how much money I spent on stuff.... not that I ever really spent THAT much money on anything. Though I thought I was pretty ok growing up and i never needed or wanted for anything, I did come from a single parent household so i know we weren't balling out of control!

My college days were a little tough. Not horrible horrible because I did make it, but there was a year when I made around $615 take home every month and my rent was $460... that was the time when I made the criticial decision to get on food stamps. I'm not ashamed on it! I was EXTREMELY THANKFUL for my $76 worth of food stamps every month! And I am thankful for government assistance and think it's GREAT for those who NEED it... but the people who take advantage urk my nerves something terrible!

Anyways, my days on food stamps taught me how to budget for groceries and since i got married FRESH off of my food stamps days, i brought those lessons into my marriage.

Anyways, I am THE CRAZY COUPON LADY!! Every sunday, i clip my coupons, scan through ads, and head to Kroger (which is where I shop about 90% of the time). Kroger always doubles coupons valued at $.40-$.50 and triple coupons valued at $.01-$.39.

We are a family of 3 and our weekly grocery budget is roughly $50. Some weeks I spend $35, some weeks i spend $75, just depends on the time of the month usually. I.E. at the beginning of the month, i usually buy the bulk thing of toilet paper and paper towels.

In couponing, there are some things that i hardly have to pay for! I.E. Toothpaste... i can't remember the last time I paid for Colgate or Crest toothpaste because in combining a coupon with a sale, it's usually free! :) Same goes for Bounty paper towels, and SoftSoap handsoap.

Anyway, today I went to the store and had a good old time! Chris kept the baby and I was in my ZONE :)

Here is a list of some of the items I got for extra extra cheap:

Puff's facial tissue with Vicks. Regular $2.29/box. It was on sale for $1.99/box and I had a coupon for buy one box get one free and another coupon for $.50 off which they doubled to $1 off. So, I got 2 boxes of Puff's with Vicks for $1 (fifty cents per box!!)

Biore facial strips and cleanser: The strips were on sale for $7.99, and the steam activated facial cleanser was on sale for $7.99. I had a coupon for buy strips, get the cleanser free so I saved $8 :)

Purex complete 3-in-1 laundry detergent. Regular $7.99, on sale for $4.49, and I had a $3 off coupon which brought my total to $1.49 for a months worth (or more) of laundry detergent :)

Cheerios and Chex were on sale for $2.18 per box, and I had a $.50 off coupon (for each box) which they doubled to $1, which means I got the cereal for $1.18 per box :)

Fiber 1 yogurt was on sale for $1.98 per 4 pack. I had a $.50 off coupon which they doubled to $1, so I got the yogurt for $.25/piece :) And BONUS: it was key lime pie flavor. and DOUBLE BONUS: It's only worth 1 WW point :)

So in this one shopping trip I spent about $50 and saved about $48!!! :) And that is our groceries for the week :)

Remember, God is a provider and gives you all that you need, but YOU are responsible for how you handle what He gives you! I am SOOO THANKFUL that He provides more for me than I could provide for myself :)

x0x0- The Crazy Coupon Lady