Extreme Couponing?

In the past few months, I've started reading a few blogs that teach you how to grocery shop using coupons. It doesn't seem like something that would be that hard, but it does take some strategy!

My desire in using coupons is to steward our resources well and be thoughtful about how we spend our money. I am by no means incredibly skilled at using coupons, and I read some blogs where the women are AMAZING! They go to the grocery store and get most of their groceries for free. One of the blogs has a writer whose grocery budget for a family of five is $100 a month. That is impressive.

There is a new show on TLC that is all about extreme couponing...multiple transactions, buying many of the items on sale, clearing the shelves of all 50 jars of mustard, etc. I am not interested in that.

I have a few things I think about as I go to the store:

• What is on sale? I make my meal plan based on what I already have or what is on sale that week.
• Do not buy any item just because I have a coupon for it.
• Don't buy more of any one item than we could use before the expiration date.
• One rule I almost always break is...only buy what can fit in the freezer. Usually what happens is we have to do the "freezer puzzle" once I get home from the store. Good thing Cliff is so good at it!

Today, without much planning, I grabbed my coupon envelope and the weekly store ad and headed to Safeway. I bought everything pictured below for a little more than $9. I saved 67%! It was my most successful shopping trip yet! It was actually fun!

My $9.50 Safeway purchase today!