It seems at though couponing has been getting a bad rap lately. I believe the tv shows have everybody picturing wild shoppers, clearing shelves and building up stockpiles of years worth of toothbrushes and toothpaste. But this is not how the average couponer shops.
In today's economy I don't believe we could shop for 7 kids at home and 2 adults without heavy duty couponing. It definitely has been a budget saver for this family.
On a regular weekly shopping trip I generally save an average of 50 percent off the total cost of all our groceries, toiletries and dog care.
I have been managing to take care of the family of nine on about $600.00 a month, plus, I try to purchase a bit of food for the local food pantry weekly.
Most of my coupons are found online and in the Sunday newspaper. I have created a binder with baseball card holders for all my coupons.Some great online sites for printable coupons and general couponing information are:
Inside my binder. I probably spend about 3 to 4 hours a week, printing, cutting, organizing coupons, and planning my shopping lists. I visit our 2 local grocery stores and 1 drug store every week.
All in all, 4 hours a week is well worth the $400 to $500 dollar savings I acheive each month.
We couldn't make ends meet without coupons!
You are awesome and don't let anyone tell you different. I for one am proud of you.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing! I spend that much time too and I was thinking I was doing something wrong! Good to know I'm not alone :)
ReplyDeleteI applaud you for doing this. I haven't yet had the mental capacity to devote to couponing. There just always seems to be some distraction going on here, and we are a family of (soon to be) seven.
ReplyDeleteWe're struggling on $600 for our family. Maybe I'll look more into this.