Couponing 101

Okay my original plan was to do a coupon/cooking blog since I've had so many people asking about couponing and since I love to cook and have people ask about recipes as well.  Well I got to thinking about it and first of all I've only been couponing since the end of June and even though I did save $567 in July and I have been quite successful at it I still don't think I am to the level I should be to blog about it.  I could blog about it but it wouldn't be the quality that I would want it to be so I'm not going to!  But I have been cooking since I can remember and I originally was going to become a chef but after starting classes I didn't believe I would enjoy cooking large quantities. So continuing on with a food blog still sounded perfect!  Plus since I've been sick cooking for myself and Lee has been one of the most therapeutic things for me.  Anyways so here are some links of my favorite blogs. 

• This site was my 1st couponing site to look at and I still rate it as one of the best! 
• And now this site I fell in love with as well after a few visits.  Here you can find all about writing companies and complementing them and they will typically send you coupons.  It doesn't take much time and they will usually send you alot better of coupons then you can find online or in the newspaper. 
• Now this site is a site that isn't just about couponing...which most of them aren't all the sites pretty much tell you about free stuff in general or saving money but this site really gives you info on saving money and paying cash for cars to houses.  Very good reading material...if you are going to only choose one blog to look at then look at this one! 
• Okay this site is not the best for the simple fact she doesn't post all the time and you never know what she'll post about and what she won't, but I believe she is a TEXAN so she's one of the only ones that I've ran across that actually has ad info for Brookshire's and Albertson's. 
• Now this one might be one of the most popular or well known sites but to be honest I don't check it as often as I do the others.  But this is where you should go to learn the most about couponing.  I have found that you can learn all the basics here! 

Now with all that being said let me tell you where I save the most money at Kroger & CVS!  One of the first things you need to do is read all about CVS, with Extra Care Bucks you can get so much free stuff it's amazing.  And Kroger runs some amazing deals and they double and triple coupons.  And of coarse I love building up my stockpile and getting free stuff but I love getting cheap or free groceries on food that I would already be buying! 

Also another way to save money is shop store ads.  In the city it's so much easier to do than the country but every week I look at my ads and if Olive Oil is on sale somewhere for $3.50 well I'm going to buy me some Olive Oil cuz I go thru it somewhat often and it's normally like $6.99.  Of coarse you can't do this on stuff that'll expire or go bad before you can use it but you can do this with most stuff.  I spend about $20/wk on stuff I don't need right now and then that makes my weekly grocery bill to make 7ish meals only about $30.  And I NEVER EVER EVER pay full price for meat!  I get ground beef in bulk when it's on sale and freeze it in 1lb portions or sometimes I even cook some and then freeze.  And on Chicken I wait till split breasts go on ad for .99/lb and I debone them and freeze them.  It's alot cheaper than paying $1.99lb for chicken breasts on ad.  Meat is the most expensive thing so if you can get it for 50% cheaper than you should.  Right now I have about a month and a half's worth of meat that only cost me about $30-$40.  Which that includes ground beef, chicken, beef cutlets, pork cutlets, ribs, and sausage so I have a variety!

Okay I know I am not the very best at saving money or couponing but considering I had my very good income taken away thanks to being sick we have had to change our lifestyle some and I've cut our monthly grocery bill from over $600 to $200ish.  I learn more ways to save money all the time and if anyone ever wants more info please let me know but I won't be posting too much about couponing I just wanted to atleast have one post to refer people to when they ask questions.  All these ladies and their blogs I mentioned do such a wonderful job keeping us posted on all the amazing deals and if you want to save $5 to $500/mo on groceries then those blogs are the place to start.  Good luck and let me know if you have any questions!