Couponing....I saved 49% last night!

So it has been 6 weeks since I've started REALLY couponing. I did it before but really only for the products I knew I would use and I saved a little but nothing like now, I have learned so much with the help of some friends! I am so glad "Extreme Couponing" gave some motivation to get started again. In the past 6 weeks, I have saved us almost $800!!!!! And being that I have FOUR boys to feed...I figure the earlier I start learning to save more money the better!!! I remember when my two brothers were younger, they ate everything in sight :-D

Last week I saved 50% on a trip to Wal- Mart. And last night, I saved 49% at Safeway! My beautiful receipt showing me the fabulous savings!!

Did you see my TOTAL savings?!?! $174.02!!! :::patting myself on the back:: I will admit I got a little tingly feeling when the cashier told me my savings LOL I can see how those crazy people on Extreme Couponing get so addicted...it is like a challenge and it's fun to save money or even get useful items for free. I still spent $175 but I think saving 49% is pretty darn good! And this wasn't buying 100 boxes of pain medicine either lol I bought meats, produce, breads, baby things, etc.

So to get myself organized, I ordered a really cute coupon organizer from etsy.com that I can attach to the handle of grocery cart, super useful when I have the kids with me! And it fits perfectly in my purse or diaper bag!

http://www.etsy.com/listing/57554887/coupon-organizer-budget-organizer-holder This Etsy seller was super great to work with! I have even ordered a couple more for birthday presents!

I am learning that grocery stores seem to follow the Sunday paper inserts...so usually whatever coupons are in the Sunday paper can be doubled because they will usually be on sale in the stores. Safeway has a great feature for club card members that allows you to add coupons to your club card online....these deals are not advertised in the store, at least not where I have seen. I would imagine other stores do this as well. You can see these savings on my receipt above...the 'J4U Coupons,' I saved $73.38 by adding to my club card! Not to mention when I print this out, it serves as my grocery list as well!

So subscribed the Sunday paper for the coupons, if there are really good ones in there then I will buy a couple more. Also my mother in law and sister in law share their coupons with me.
And of course the online coupons. It uses a lot of printing coupons but if I really need a particular coupon I will print it. After signing up on a few coupon websites I started getting a lot of trash email, so ended up creating a seperate account that has worked out great!

I used to shop by what I WANTED for dinner that week...regardless of whether I had coupons or it was on sale. The past few weeks I have been letting the sales dictate what I make for dinner. I have quite a 'stock pile' (no not a stockpile like you see on the EC show!!!!) but enough to make dinners for a couple weeks if I needed.

And the bathroom, paper products, soaps, cleaning supplies,etc.....I used to buy certain brands now I buy whatever I have a coupon for. While there are still some products we won't bend on like deoderants, my shampoo ( I am particular about my shampoo :-P) and a few other things. There are SO many BOGO coupons for this stuff, it is crazy! So I figured why not :-)

This site is great! http://www.coupsfortroops.com/
If you find you have coupons that you don't use, you can donate them to the troops! I didn't know but overseas commissaries will honor our coupons up to SIX months after the expiration dates! I bet they get some great deals in the commissaries, I remember shopping there with my grandmother when I was younger :-)

Here are some of my favorite websites I have found or friends have shared with me that I like to check whether they are blogs or coupon sites! Enjoy:-)

http://www.couponing101.com/category/coupons

http://www.mysavings.com/grocery-coupons.asp

http://thekrazycouponlady.com/category/walmart/

http://www.mamacheaps.com/tag/acme

http://www.mamacheaps.com/tag/acme

http://hip2save.com/

http://wildforwags.com/

http://www.couponmom.com/