Coupons and the single mom. A match made in heaven.

What’s the big deal about coupons, you ask?

Well, for starters, I’ve saved about $500 over the last 6 months. That may not be a lot to some, but to this single mother of a growing 8 yo boy, $500 can go a looooooong way!

I really started paying attention to coupons and grocery store circulars earlier this year while participating in Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University. Every week, a few of the families would report on their couponing progress. So I sat and listened . . . until one day I decided to act. After all, if it didn’t work, I could just go back to doing what I had been doing, right?

I really didn’t know where or how to begin, so I just bought your typical Sunday newspaper. I pulled out the coupons and started cutting. Then I saved the grocery store circulars that come in the mail every Tuesday and circled those items I wanted for which I had an accompanying coupon. With my “you-must-stick-to-this-list” shopping list, I hit the grocery store. When it was all said and done, I had spent $34.00 and saved $33.00! Yep, that’s 100% of what I spent!!! It was almost as if I paid for one item only to get one free! :)

Each time after that, it became an adrenaline rush to beat my previous saving percentage. Just today I was in Wal-Mart and spent $25.97 and saved almost $13. Seventeen of my 23 items were price matches from other grocery stores, and I had a $1.00 off coupon. (Those are golden tickets, by the way.) Oh, and here’s a little shopping tip: Wal-Mart has a price match policy. If another store offers that exact same item (brand names only) for a cheaper price, Wal-Mart will match as long as you have the circular with you. They don’t match BOGO offers, but they do match on individual brand name prices.

So what used to be something I balked at (“Why did I get behind this little old lady with a million coupons?”), is my new pastime and something I respect 100%. It’s even gotten to the point where I won’t even walk into a grocery store unless I have my Ziploc bag of coupons in tow. :D 

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