Just a Few Minutes Makes a Big Difference...

Summer has been so much fun but so very busy. The craziness of being busy these past few months spilled over into my marriage. Although Brian and I were together a lot with the family, we weren't intentional with much of that time.

A few weeks ago, we started trying to take a few minutes each night (well, at least most nights) and chat together. We talk about what's going on that week and how to pray for each other. It has been so good - when we do it. Hopefully we will continue to be disciplined in this.

One of the other things we have been doing during some of these chats is talking about the questions listed here. Ideally, you discuss these over a date night, but our last date night was spent painting the kids bedrooms, so we are taking it just a few questions at a time. It's not that our marriage is bad but we know it can be better. It has been so encouraging to talk to one another about our marriage and how God can help us make it so much better - for His glory!

Coupon Learning..

Back in March, I decided to learn more about coupons. I would set a budget each month for groceries but I would always seemed to go over that limit! I needed to do something to help out our budget so I spent some time researching coupons.

The first couple of months I stayed on target with my budget. I was a little disappointed but then I remembered how much I had been going over each month - so this was a small start in savings.

This past month of August was the best month so far in this coupon venture. I tried to be diligent and intentional in my grocery spending and I actually came in $150 under budget!! Couponing does take time and research but they pay-off is totally worth it!

When I decided to start doing coupons, I knew I needed to spend time learning about the whole process. So I spent a couple of months reading other blogs and websites. Here are a few of my favorites:

Mommy Snacks - Her site has great strategies for savings and walks you through step-by-step in how to get started.

Mojo Savings - This site updates all the time with great deals.

Money Saving Mom - Great ideas about savings and living frugally.

There are several more sites I use that I will try and list later. It's easy to get started and to start trimming you budget!

Diaper Deal!

I haven't been doing too many coupon deals this week - we have had VBS every night so it has been a busy week... but I did read about a great diaper deal at Amazon this week - and they arrive on my doorstep!

Go read more about the deal at Babycheapskate. You can choose the subscribe and save to get 30% off (I just need to remember and cancel after I get my diapers) and then stack more coupons found in Parent's magazine!

Here's Your Chance - Kroger This Week!!!

O.K - this is a great way to get started couponing or just to take advantage of these deals! Kroger is having a 50% off sale of select General Mills items from Wednesday - Saturday. Then use manufacturer coupons on top of that sale and you have a good deal. It's even better if you have a $ .50 coupon for an item because Kroger doubles their coupons up to $ .50, meaning you take off another $1 instead of just $ .50.

The items on sale this week include: (see pics above) Betty Crocker fruit snacks, General Mills Cereal, Fiber One Chewy Bars, Quaker Cereal, Quaker Instant Oatmeal, and Nature Valley Granola Nut Clusters.

Haven't been cutting coupons in Sunday papers yet? No worries! Just go to SmartSource or Coupons.com and print out your coupons. There are several items on there that are included in the sale. You can usually print up to 2 coupons per computer that you have.

I went today and got some good deals on snacks and a little more cereal!

Deal of the Day...

This deal was similar to the cereal deal... Buy 4 (of certain ones) and get a 5th FREE! Then I had 2 Target coupons for $1/2 boxes and 2 manufacturer coupons for $1/2. So the total for 5 boxes of 6-pack PopTarts was $6 or around $ .88.

So, I think we're set for PopTarts and Cereal for this month at the very least...

Coupon Deals This Week!!

This was a sweet deal at Target tonight! They have a special buy 4 get the 5th free on certain Kellogg's cereal. They are also 2 for $5. So that = 4/$10, well really 5/$10 since the 5th one is free. The great thing about Target is they will let you use a Target coupon (you can only use at Target) AND a manufacturer coupon (that you can use anywhere) on the same item - called 'stacking' your coupons. So I had 2 $1/2 (meaning $1 off of 2 boxes) Target coupon and 2 $1/2 manufacturer coupons.
So I got the 5 boxes of cereal for $6!! That is about $ .85 each!

You can find manufacturer coupons in the Sunday papers and online and you can find Target coupons here.

I got these tonight at Kroger for $ .24! That's only tax I think. They were on sale for 2.50 each. I had a coupon that was BOGO (Buy One Get One Free). When you use a BOGO then you can also use another manufacturer coupon with that. They took off $3 for the BOGO price. Then I had a $2/2 (meaning it takes $2 off when you buy 2). Therefore it took off $5, leaving me just the tax to pay! Nice for Brian's favorite!

Check out your Kroger this week! I got these last night for around $3. Kroger is having a Proctor and Gamble sale this week, like last week. Buy 4 items get $4 off! Then add in your coupons and you get a deal! For example, those Gillette body washes above were on sale for $2.99 BUT if you bought 4 of anything in the P&G sale, they ended up being just $1.99. Then I had a coupon for $2 off a Gillette body wash so those ended up being FREE!! The saving creams were around
$ .50 and the conditioners around $ .50 too!



I have just gotten going on this couponing thing and hope to learn more. I thought I would blog here about what I am learning and maybe others can learn with me. I am really trying to cut our grocery budget down to help serve our family