Alright, FINE!

I'm posting. I hope you're happy. Blogging is one of those things that I can't seem to commit to, so please know that before we enter into this relationship with one another, I can't promise you tomorrow.

That said:

My New Year's Resolution was to learn to coupon. Let's just be real- I'm pregnant, and chubby already, so losing twenty pounds was not a super choice for a resolution. At least until mid-June, I'm eating- and I mean animal-planet-eating.

Something I haven't ever seriously tried, however, is couponing. Oh, I experimented a little in my twenties, but then, who doesn't? I saved a few bucks, bought a few packs of diapers, but the savings just wasn't anything major. I go through these cycles of wanting to cut my grocery budget about every two years. There was one year where I averaged *gasp* $1000 a month! Now, to be fair, there were diapers and formula on every receipt, but still... $1000! Sheesh! So I cut. I made meal plans for my family with individual ingredients listed for each meal. I shopped at Aldi pretty much exclusively. And I got us down to where we still reside, about $750 a month. Cutting $250 a month off a bill was HUGE, but I think I can do better.

Right now, we're a family of four, but soon, we will have another mouth to feed, so this HAS to be the year I figure out couponing.

This past Sunday, I bought five Tennessean papers and cut out the coupons that were relevant to my family. I organized them into those baseball card sleeves and filed them under twenty-five different subgroups in my Coupon Notebook. And then, I cried. It sucked. My back hurt, my butt hurt, and I thought, "Screw it. $750's not so bad." But it IS. If I can do better, shouldn't I?

My first trip out with coupons was to Kroger. I did terrible. Seriously. In fact, I think I spent MORE because I didn't know what in the fat world I was doing.

Today was my second trip out, my first with actual planning and information. It was better.

Here's what I bought at Publix along with the retail price:

Cinnamon Toast Crunch 2.89

Cocoa Puffs 2.89

Super Pretzels x2 5.98

Jimmy Dean Breakfast Sandwiches x2 11.98

Publix 2% milk x2 5.58

Cheez-Its x2 6.38

Plastic spoons 0.95

Aunt Jemima waffles x4 8.60

Yoplait Yogurt x10 6.00

Kraft American Cheese Slices x2 5.00

Enfamil Newborn Formula 49.18

Multigrain Cheerios 3.49

Apple Cinnamon Cheerios 3.49

Totaling: $112.41 plus tax- so about $121.

Oh, and I made a $1 donation to the Special Olympics.

I paid $71.37. I saved $49.68!!!

Here's what I did:

I made a list of things I need for the week and then a list of things I could buy to stockpile. Then, I went through Publix's website to see what they had on sale. For example, they had their Enfamil on sale for $2 off a big can, normally $25. Then I found I had a Publix coupon for $7 off two big cans and a $5 Kroger coupon off one can. So, I saved $16 on formula alone! I'm really proud of that!

I know that I missed some sales and coupons, but considering that I am just now saving coupons for future use, I'm really proud of my shopping trip! I mean, $50! I think I should get to keep all my savings. What do you think? ;)