Coupon Queen Speaks

I am a coupon clipper.....(I say this as if I am standing in front of a group of other 12-steppers) In fact it has almost become an obsession with me!!! I look at it this way....coupons look like colorful pieces of paper, right? but it is actually the color of MONEY! It is the manufactures way of saying...Here, person who is going to buy my product. Take this pieces of paper and let's turn it into some money.This friendly agreement between me and the "coupon people" has allowed me to save $thousands of dollars since I first started clipping (about 3 years ago).

I use to be a microbiologist, I always thought I would work. Then a combinations of things happened. I changed positions and was miserable. I mean the type of misery that made me break out in hives at the thought of having to go to work. One day I went to pick up my 18 month old from daycare and she screamed for the daycare worker. She didn't want to come home with me, she wanted her "Baba" (at least it sounded like Baba, but it probably was mama and my heart just couldn't process that). I had already left my "dream job" and taken a huge pay cut when we moved back to the east coast less than a year prior. I just couldn't take the fact that someone else was getting the opportunity to raise my only child while I went to misery everyday. Along came a thunder storm of budget cuts at work and my new position was "eliminated"....I went home relieved. I didn't have to quite and they didn't have to fire me. I had 6 months of unemployment to rethink my whole money wise way of thinking.
It was during this time that 1) I got a rude awaking to how much a stay-at-home mother actually does! 2) I was not good with money and 3) Coupons were GOLD!

In the years since I have developed some great techniques for saving money. Getting lots of FREE stuff and cutting my grocery bill in more than HALF! Before coupons we averaged $600 a month in groceries (mostly at Harris Teeter or as my BFF calls it Taj maTeeter) That is NOT counting the $ we spent going out to eat, which we did about 4 times a week which was easily another $150 a week ($600 on eating out!!!).That was a total of about $1200 a month on FOOD!!!!!. NOW...After coupons I spend about $300 on groceries and paper products. and we only eat out twice a month spending no more than $40.

This blog was the brain child of my closes christian friends who are constantly amazed at my "Savings Stories" each week. I hope that it can and will help others who are looking for a way to be good stewards of their money.

Thanks you all who have inspired me to share my talents :-)



..my first piece of advice: Get a separate email account just for your "coupon, saving, signing up stuff".