58%

This week I spent $328.24 and saved $416.14, that's a 58% savings. I purchased 138 items (mostly stock up items) including: Tide HE detergent for eight months, Cascade for 12 months, Pampers wipes for six months, Pampers diapers for two months, Prilosec for six months, Oral B toothbrushes for 12 months, 15 boxes of Betty Crocker fruit snacks, Dasani water 24 packs (12 packs for $30), 7 boxes of Mr Clean Erasers, 12 boxes of Kleenex tissue, 24 cups of Yoplait yogurt (you can freeze these if you want to buy a lot when they are on sale but your family won't go through all of them before they expire), Secret deodorant for 24 months (went a little crazy here and will probably give some away depending on how long they last), Gillette razors for 24 months, 10 boxes of FiberOne cereal bars, and other items including orange juice, dental floss, and eye drops.

I have been couponing for three months and am now doing most of my weekly shopping out of my pantry.

My first BIG shop!

I have been couponing for about a month now and today I did my first BIG shop. I spent $256.28 and saved $233.25. I purchased 120 items including $20 in diapers, two DVD's (Kung Fu Panda and Tinkerbell), six units of laundry detergent, 15 cans of Progresso soup, 24 boxes of cold cereal (General Mills and Kellogg's), ten boxes of Betty Crocker cake mix, and a lot of other items. My total also includes our weekly staples (two gallons of milk, two gallons of OJ, two loaves of bread, fresh veggies, etc.). I am not nearly as coupon savvy as these two women but I am learning and am loving the thrill of saving major bucks while feeding my family good food and building my food storage. It took me two hours to prep for my shopping trip and an hour and a half at the grocery store. I filled two carts and was a little embarrassed but when I checked out the person behind me was amazed at my savings and complemented me on my coupon savviness.