Score!

Recently, I have been enticed by the possibilities of coupons. I rarely pay retail for clothing for myself or the kids, why pay retail for food, cleaning supplies, etc. if we don't have to? I used to look at coupons like, "save 50 cents on 5 boxes of Cheerios" and roll my eyes. Why bother? There is no doubt that the coupon world is a confusing and -- at least initially -- an overwhelming one. But I am beginning to figure it out. There are doubters... maybe even haters... but so far, my three scores are enough to keep me going. My biggest lessons so far are how to "stack" coupons, to hoard those babies and wait until something is already on sale to use them (I didn't know you could do that) and calm down and focus on things we really already use... unless we can get it free and can use it.

Score #1 -- $2 off of 2 packages of rice. We eat rice frequently. This is not a huge deal, but it was my first time stacking a manufacturer's coupon with a store coupon and it beats saving 25 cents or something silly like that.

Score #2 -- free kids soap from Target. (: As Ella said yesterday, "Rock on!"

Score #3 -- three boxes of Wheat Thins and one box of Triscuits for a total of $5. I saved us $11 on something we buy all of the time. Hooray for us! (I would have spent $1 less, but they only had 3 boxes of Wheat Thins... still a good find)

Perhaps this is all a little 1950's-ish, but it is a way that I can contribute to the family income (by helping us spend a little less of it) since I only work part-time. We'll see if I can keep learning and keep saving. My friend's late father was so good at this that he had a grocery store in his basement full of great finds for his kids. I don't know if I'll ever get that far, but we are starting a good pantry!