I've Turned Into THAT Person

you know, the one in front of you at the grocery store trying to do five different transactions, with a pile of coupons and holding up the line for 10 minutes. i don't know who was closer to tears today, me or the cashier. but it was worth it.

yesterday's goods

{23 cans green beans/corn, 4 bags of sugar and 16 cans of soup}

spent: $21.12
saved: $63.64
total savings: 75%

right now you might be wondering why this was a big enough deal to warrant my first blog post in how long?

let me back up.

i'd thought about coupon shopping ever since we got married but first started to seriously consider it when my friend started a blog called Frugal, Not Cheap last spring. it was kind of like a wake up call for me and this is how i see it: dan leaves our family every day to go work to support us financially. my job is to stay at home to care for our girls and run our household. part of that is managing the finances it takes to do that - which includes grocery shopping. that is the one area i have always splurged and probably waste the most amount of money (somehow i don't feel as guilty when it benefits the whole family) so i decided i needed to put in the time and effort to make the most of dan's hard earned money. for me, that meant coupon shopping.

i never thought i would be THAT person buying twenty of one thing, just because it was a killer deal, or the one going to four different grocery stores within 24 hours just to maximize my pennies and take advantage of great offers. i never thought i would have a filing cabinet dedicated just for 'couponing', with organized and dated folders, or that i'd have a mini accordion folder with the names of grocery stores on each tab that i carry with me up and down the aisles as i hunt for one specific item to match the coupon in hand. i've turned into THAT person.

so for months i watched prices and sales, talked to friends, read blogs, printed coupons, joined pinching your pennies, took a class from dan's cousin {who saves incredible amounts of money}, and will finally sign up for the newspaper today to get even more coupons. i've been convinced.

i will be the first to admit that much of my motivation was THOSE people's blog posts - the ones with the pictures like mine above, of all the groceries you could get for such a little amount of money. i wanted to be able to do that - to save that money and post that picture. and finally the time learning and watching and saving coupons paid off.

i feel like i'm just at the tip of the iceberg and i'm still learning how this whole things works but it makes me SO excited. {i know this sounds crazy but hey, i'm one of THOSE people now.} i can't wait to add to our food storage and cut our grocery budget at the same time and make the most of what dan works hard to bring home.

here's to all THOSE people out there and THOSE blogs and THOSE posts that finally got me motivated!!

**on another note: i've got other posts and updates in the works that just need to be finished so hang on just a little longer. {all that technical stuff i complained about is on the back burner.}
we've been busy but loving it- especially spending time with these little people.