HomeSpunThreads: 2010-01-31

Many of the comments left about couponing have been questions about the fact that some families are either on strict diets or shop farmers markets. I'm not sure that I can help you much but I'll try. I grew up with a little brother who from the time he was 13 months old had Type 1 diabetes. From the time he was baby he has been dependent on insulin shots, many finger pricks and a very strict diet. My mom used the Joslin diet and I can not express how strict that diet was when we were growing up. No sugar cereal, ice cream, cokes, etc. NONE! I still think that my mom could have couponed the method I use and have saved plenty on what she bought. I mean, do you see how excited this girl below is...she's killing me.

I have a receipt from Publix

Emerald Nuts Smoked Almonds $ 5.80

BOGO @ 2.90 (saving me 2.90)

Vendor coupon -1.00 off

OOP $1.90

I saved $3.90

Roughly a 68% savings on a can of Almonds

Unless you are allergic to tree nuts, who wouldn't buy Almonds.

I bought two cans...almonds and cashews.

I realized I had two coupons and went back in, so that's why I have a single receipt. I was so excited. I would NEVER pay $5.80 for a can of nuts but I would pay $2.90 and even better $1.90.

I could rattle down my list every week and post a picture of my groceries but honestly it would be a joke for me because I wouldn't be able to get it all in one picture. I'd rather just put my groceries away and be proud of my full pantry. God is truly blessing us since I have started using our money more wisely.

I do hang my grocery receipts on the fridge which stretch from top to bottom and is sometimes folded.

I'm telling you this for encouragement. The thing is, even if you can't use an item on sale with a coupon and it's free, you probably know someone who would use it. Like Country Crock...I only use real butter but it was FREE for me last week. Someone I know uses Country Crock. So keep that in mind when you are considering couponing. In some cases I have made money by buying one product. Like 100 calorie pack box of Honey Grahams, made me $6. I don't even know how but I was thrilled that it did. It just worked out that way. Because that $6 bought my milk and bread which wasn't on sale! FREE!

I am going to post a few receipts and savings below. Please don't think that you can not do this. You can!!! You may not be able to save 50% each time, but you will always try to top your savings each time.

My husband and all three kids unloaded my car last Sunday and darling husband said, "Are you SURE you only spent $$$?" NOW, that felt so much better than...

"You spend how much on what???"

oop = out of pocket (not including tax, what you spent)

Here is how to figure your savings...

to get your total savings on a deal:

add together all your original price
add together your oop
subtract oop from original
equals amount saved

then divide amount saved by original price
move decimal over two spots
viola!
your savings percentage!

Here's a few mine...

Bi-Lo 1/16 $257.46-99.14 = OOP $158.32 (61%)

note: I didn't think I did well at Bi-Lo LOL

Publix 1/16 $225.12 - 109.21 = OOP $115.91 (48%)

Publix 1/25 $153.18 - 69.31 = OOP $83.87 (45%)

Bi-Lo 1/31 $145.34 - 74.89 = OOP $70.45 (51%)

Publix 1/31 $ 176.41 - 97.11 = OOP 79.30 (55%)

Think of it like getting twice the food for what you'd normally spend. I hated that feeling when I'd spend $80 and only have 3 or 4 sacks of food.

So, this is what I recommend. Start small. Collect coupons, don't kill yourself clipping...take your time and try to increase your savings percentage as you go. Saving around 50% for me is what I shoot for each time. That feels good to me!

Note that this does not include my buying beauty and health products from our local drugstores, Walgreens and CVS. Cause if you can shop CVS, they'll give you everything for free!

My friend Jenny swears she does not have a creative bone in her body. But ever since she started looking for housewares at thrift stores, her creativity is starting to well up. She's dying to know how to take something that is not worth much and make it work in her home. There are some great blogs out there that are perfect for teaching you how to do just that. My favorite is Thrifty Decor Chick. So, when we were looking for lamps and shades, I found a shade I liked the shape of but did not like the design. So, I said I'd recover it and she wanted to know how. I thought I'd try a video tutorial...please excuse my raspy voice. I sound awful but if you can get past that and follow my lead, you can recover your lamp shades quick and easy.

Step One