Sisters of Savings

I have heard of women who go to the grocery store and have a cart full of items and only pay $20 after using coupons. I always wanted to know how to do that but never thought it was worth learning about as a single person. Now that Mark and I are engaged and almost married, I thought this would be a great time to learn how to save money while grocery shopping!

I attended a class called "Sisters of Savings" on Saturday morning. I had so much fun! The lady who ran it taught me all these ways to save 50-80% on each bill just by cutting coupons and checking grocery ads. The lady instructed me to shop at CVS, Walgreens, Albertsons, Kroger, and Tom Thumb...all stores that I would never have shopped at before since I always assume Walmart to be the least expensive. Boy, was I wrong!

Mark and I stopped to buy a double newspaper after church on Sunday. I worked for nearly 2 hours cutting coupons, studying sale ads, and making detailed list of what I was going to buy at each store. Shopping only took me 1.5 hours which isn't bad for going to 3 stores. I usually spend an hour at Walmart anyway.

So how did I do? I bought 48 double rolls of Charmin toilet paper, 2 shampoo bottles, 4 boxes of Coke products, a 24 pack of Dasani water, 3 boxes of Colgate toothpaste, a bag of chips, salsa, a package of 3 Mach 3 razors, a tube of Revlon mascara, and a toothbrush all for $72.88. I saved a little over 50% at each store!!! Had I purchased these items without my Sisters of Savings knowledge, I would have spent over $145. Wow!

I think this was the cheapest thrill I have had in awhile. I know I get excited over the little things but this way of shopping could really save us a lot of money!!! I will say, this is not for everyone -- you have to be a little OCD, have to like detail work, have to love making lists as well as cutting and filing coupons (I have a nerdy coupon file).

It is safe to say I am in coupon heaven and now a Sister of Savings. Can't wait until next Sunday's shopping expedition!!!