Hello my little frugalicious friends :)

So, I have had quite a few requests from people wanting me to share my secrets. Well, I really do not have any secrets to saving. All I do is plan ahead. Grocery shopping is one of my favorite things to do. I save a lot because I plan a lot. For a regular shopping trip, I usually spend about an hour or two planning my attack. So how do I do it??

Saturday 12 noon: the Sunday paper (ajc) arrives @ the gas station near my place. I grab it and maybe a scratch off ticket for my own amusement.

I immediately pull out all of the sale ads and begin separating the crap from the coupons (I rummage thru the crap later). I clip just about every coupon I see b/c you never know if it will be on sale in the future.

A few years ago when I did not experience any glitch in my income whatsoever (ok, my husband's income, I used to work for our "free" money...those were the days), I would toss out the coupons or just clip a few if I saw something I liked; but I never used what I clipped. God forbid if one of the "ALTA" moms saw me use a coupon in the damn suburbs...

Now, things are much different, I clip EVERYTHING. Ok, maybe not everything - I forgo the meow mix and the depends - everything else is fair game. My coupon "organizer" is exploding. I close it with a rubber band from my trusty Sunday paper.

Once the coupons are clipped and well organized, I scour the sale ads for deals. Publix, Target, and Kroger. I steer clear of Wally World (Walmart) - I get freaked out there, plus they are weird about coupons and the employees hate their job and take it out on you. Publix has buy one get one free deals that are awesome and if you have coupons - even better.

When you are going thru the sale ads, do not only look for "today," look for the future. Are canned goods on sale? Toilet paper (NOT something you want to ever run out of!!), your favorite air fresheners? When things like olive oil, canola oil, pasta, pasta sauce, frozen veggies are on sale, I stock up - big time. I have food for probably 2 months.

So, go through the sale ads, find what you need now and what you will need later. You have to learn to give up the wants. Those are ok occasionally, but you will also go broke. Put each store's list on a different page (you may find yourself editing a bit). Pull out your coupons for the items that are on your list. It may take weeks to build a supply of coupons that will really make a shopping trip worthwhile. Compare sale ads, does Kroger have their cheese 2 for $5 or does Publix have Kraft (or whatever) on sale 2 for $5? I would go with Publix. Why? Chances are, you have a coupon for Kraft cheese, or you can find one online and print multiple copies.

Make a final copy of your lists. Ones that are all jacked up get confusing. Separate your coupons by store.

Also, the little coupon machines they have in the aisles...snag the coupons!! Who cares what it is, if you can't use it someone else will. Which reminds me, if I come across baby formula coupons that I do not need and I do not know anyone that uses that particular brand of formula, I'll go down the baby aisle and give it to someone that is picking up a can.

Alrighty...that should get you started. I will post at least once a week if not more with great coupon sites, deals, and steals.

Until then, clip coupons!!

Emme