Grocery Store Deals

So one of the things I'd like to do here is write about the great deals I've gotten at the store. I always share my great finds with my husband but he's almost come to expect it now. The enthusiasm is gone! He just knows that I will have a full pantry, fridge, and freezer waiting for him most days of the week despite the fact that my grocery budget for our family is about $50 per week (and that includes cleaning products and diapers). Now I have to say "most days" because right now I happen to be out of milk and until last night we were out of apples. What a crisis that was -- 2 whole days with no apples in the house and 3 hungry children looking for them! It did force them to get creative about their "snack time" and accept some of my other suggestions.

We are lucky to live in a very populated area with lots of grocery store choices as well as WalMart, Super Target, CVS, and Walgreen's within about a 5 mile radius of my house. I usually shop at Kroger because they will multiply coupons (both double and triple) but so do Tom Thumb and Albertson's. However, Tom Thumb will only multiply one coupon per transaction and Kroger will allow me either 3 or 4 -- I think it's 4 but I usually play it safe and only do 3 at a time. Albertson's multiplies and I don't know what their limit is since I only shop there for loss leaders infrequently. The down side to Kroger is that they will not accept internet coupons. For those I have to go to Target or CVS. BUT...I can combine internet generated manufacturer's coupons with store coupons at both of those stores so that can often save me a great deal of money.

So there's a shortened version of "Couponing 101" as I make it work for me. I'll explain some more details as we go along. Hopefully I will be able to show people that you don't have to spend a huge amount of time and effort saving money for your family. The time I do spend on it allows us to live comfortably on just one income while saving for other things we'd like to buy.