What I Have Been Up To

I had problems with our computer monitor and I hadn't been able to post. We finally picked up a nice flat wide screen monitor at the thrift store. We all really like it because it's so wide. I saw a wide screen monitor at Best Buy about a month ago and was thinking how nice it would be to have a wider screen. It is much better on my old eyes!

Lately I've been thinking about how to say money on groceries so I have been trying to use coupons alot. With Tim not working regularly we really have needed to watch our spending.  We have been watching Extreme Couponing on TLC to learn how to save money. Some of the shoppers on the show seem to buy things they don't need or won't use while others shop and buy extra items to donate to charity. On TLC's Extreme Coupon page there are links to blogs of some of the shoppers who have or will be on the show.
I found blogs for two Christian moms who extreme coupon and they buy enough items to donate to their food banks, shelters etc.

So I've found several coupon sites and I try to find the best deals. Today was my first day at trying to use as many coupons as possible for the items we buy all the time. We still ended up spending just over $200 but it was at $280 before the coupons so I guess it's better than nothing.
I just need to learn more skills like the shoppers on the show. If you have never seen it before you must watch it on TLC on Wednesday nights from 9-10(two half hour episodes). I thought these shoppers were crazy because some if not all keep their coupons in a binder with pockets. When I saw this I thought that was over the top but DH and I were talking about it and it makes so much more sense. No more hunting around for the coupons you cut out on Sunday.
I bought a photo album with pockets from the thrift store a couple of days ago, attached post it dividers (I got these free from a friend!) and added my coupons.

I really want to be a good steward of the money that God has blessed us with. This is the reason why I want to save at the grocery store. I also want to be able to bless others with the money we can save if we shop wisely.

My husband was just here and he reminded me of the free money we got from CVS today. We earned $5 in bonus bucks for buying two bottles of Advil  at $7.98 each for which I had a $4 off two, another $5 for two packs of Therma Care which I had a $1 off coupon, and another $5 because we bought two bottles of Irish Spring deodorant plus they added another $5 for a total of $20 in bonus bucks and they can all be used at the same time. I was looking at my receipt and I guess they call them ExtraCare Bucks now instead of bonus bucks but thy are definitely a bonus for us :-)
So I guess I just need to learn how to save like I did at CVS.