Grocery Shopping

I do the "grocery game" without actually joining that group. There are lots of free blogs and websites out there with better information, so that's what I use. I clip coupons, read ads, print coupons off company and coupon websites, and read the blogs. On average, I save 50 to 75% off each grocery bill. It's made a huge difference with our finances. I havent paid for toothpaste, toilet paper, mustard, hot dogs, frozen veggies or microwave popcorn in ages. There's a long list of goodies that you dont have to pay for if you heed the ads and match them with coupons. And it's all name brand stuff, which means it lasts longer and tastes better! It takes me a little over an hour each week to clip, sort, and match. That's well worth it!

But going through the aisles to perfectly match the correct size of a specific package with an ad and a coupon is a little hard with three kids in tow. So I have to be creative in how I manage my shopping. I tend to go when Sunshine is in school, which knocks it down to just two kids. Then TLM goes to school for two hours twice a week, so I try to do a lot of shopping during those times. Or, some of the stores have little playyards that are managed by a sitter and TLM loves to go to those. That's handy for when I have the older two with me. Or sometimes, I just wait until Don comes home and I go out after the kids are asleep. That strategy angers my father because he doesnt like me out at night on my own. So when I do that, I like to call him to taunt it. Good times. But then my mom gets mad at me because he stresses out, so I have to call when I get home safely. So many people to look after when I'm just going grocery shopping!!!

Anyways, if you're interested in some good websites to catch deals on, check out Surviving the Stores, Hot Coupon World, A Full Cup, Working Moms Can Blog Too, Coupon Mom or Shortcuts. They each have great coupon match ups to places like Target, WalMart, CVS, Walgreens, Vons/Randalls/Tom Thumb or more. They list good deals, coupon match-ups, sweepstakes, and freebie advice. It's a golden ticket for pinching pennies!

Or a great way to find deals just for your area, is to go to Yahoo groups and search for "coupons" and the name of your state or the nearest big city to you. I host a group in my area and it's incredibly helpful to have people nearby who know what deals and prices are around us.