2 store in one night...

I am in no way an extreme coupon person... I know it is the "cool" fad going on right now because of TLC's show but I just can not wrap myself around the entire coupon world as these families do on the show! Kudos for them- I admire them but it isn't for me.

However looking at my daycare food budget and my large family food budget I can see that grocery shopping is a place where I can save some money by investing a little bit of time. Last week I did my first 2 store shopping trip. I am a Walmart girl. I love their off brands of most items and I found that unless the coupon is REALLY good, most of my basics are still cheaper there. So why waste the time.

There are items that are close in price at Dillons. Like the 2 packages of diapers. Dillions had them on sale for 8.99 a pack, then I had a 2.00 off coupon per each pack, then when I checked out I received a 3.00 off coupon for my next order. So, in this case, it was a good deal to get diapers at Dillons vs. Walmart.

I like certain brands... like laundry soap. I love ALL, none of my kids have problems with it and I like how it works on stains. I searched for a ALL coupon and was able to find 1.50 off. Which made this bottle 50% off just because I took the time to look. Little deals like this, is what will add up. Like I said, I am so doing the coupon thing small scale.

I also like how Dillons has the 10 for 10 items. It was a great way to stock up on frozen items that make good snacks for daycare. I hate serving processed food to the kids and my family so I try to avoid it at meal times. However a small amount at snacks or a meal here and there isn't going to hurt them.

Another good find for the week... Dustin takes the same lunch to work every day. He loves these chips and with the coupon in the paper last week, I got 1 can free.

I follow a couple money saving blogs... it really opens your eyes to what you can do or save if you put the time and effort into it. My goal is to track my savings this summer and see how we do.
Monday at Dillon's, my bill was 99.00. Between my shoppers card and coupons it was lowered to 74.58. Not too bad for my first week! I think it will go smoother once I have the coupons organized and built up a stock pile! Wish me luck!