An example...

Before I get into the whole system, I thought I would post some examples of some of my shopping trips, to give you a true idea of the money that can be saved! 

This is a trip I took about a month after I started couponing. Within the first month I learned SOOO much and have, since, started making bigger trips and saving even more. This example is just to show you how much you can save and then you can decide for yourself if you want to give this a try.

Here is the photo and details of everything I bought in this trip...

2 - Planters Big Nut Bars (5ct box)
3 - Jell-o Gelatin (big boxes)
McCormick GrillMates seasoning
4 - Country Time Lemonade canisters
4 - Kraft Bagelfuls
5 - California Pizza Kitchen Flatbread Melts
5 - Oscar Meyer Lunchables
2 - 11.5oz Maxwell House Coffee canister
2 - Tazo Specialty Teas (20ct)
Kraft BBQ Sauce
4 - Kraft Pasta Salads
3 - Crystal Light canisters
2 - Quaker Life Cereal
3 - Cap n' Crunch Cereal
2 - Frigo String Cheese
2 - International Delight Coffee Creamer
2 - Pepperidge Farm Garlic Toast
Albertson's brand french bread loaf
5 - Bayer Quick Release Crystals
2 - 6 double roll Angel Soft
2 lbs red seedless grapes
Lil Sips drink (for Weston)
Mentos
(because my toddler decided to bite off the end of one of them so I had to buy it. Lol)

That's 59 BRAND NAME (aside from the french bread) items that I bought at Albertsons. The total for this trip would have cost me $243.29, however, I paid a whopping....

drumroll please...

$39.77! I saved $203.52 or 84%!

Here are a couple of trips to Walgreens:

This was my trip from yesterday. Here is a list of what I got:

4 - Oust air sanitizer

2 - Planter's Trail Mix

2 - Curel Lotions

1 - Thermacare neck/shoulder patch

4 - LifeSavers bagged candy

4 - Butterfinger candy bars

1 - Colgate MaxWhite toothpaste

2 - RoC Multi-Correction exfoliating scrub

6 - Aveeno Active Naturals lotion (2.5oz)

4 - Aveeno baby Soothing Relief Cream (plus they had bonus samples attached)

1 - Olay Definity Foaming UV Moisturizer

1 - Clean & Clear Foaming wash

1 - Clean & Clear Astringent

Total these items would have cost me on any regular given day...$158.69. I paid...$37.20, PLUS I was then able to submit for a $10 rebate! So I got $10 of that back! Pretty awesome, huh? That makes it like paying $27.20, so a savings of $131.49 or 83%!

My OOP would have been even lower had I remembered to bring a $5 Register Reward that I had from previous week (I left it in the bag at home).

 

Would you believe that on the above items I only paid $.52?? Well, I did! And on top of that, I received $26 back in Walgreens Register Rewards to use same-as-cash on a future Walgreens purchase! 

The total this SHOULD have cost me? $52.60! I saved $52.08, or 99%! :)

(For more on shopping at one of my FAVORITE stores, Walgreens, click HERE)

 I did this by simply combining the coupons I had from the newspaper, online, and other various sources with the deals the store was having on this particular week. Are you simply amazed? I know I was when I started realizing this is the kind of money I could be saving my family! Alright, so that was your little dose of "WOW" to get you excited. Now we'll start delving into the process and hopefully you'll join me for the ride! :) Click HERE to go to my Coupons 101 page to learn more about how to use coupons to save you tons of money on groceries, or click HERE to jump to the Coupon Vocabulary page with useful info on some of the terms used on this site (and others like it) to help you understand better.

I know you may be looking at those photos and thinking..."THAT'S what she feeds her family!?" Well, yes and no. Even though I bought 3 boxes of "sugary" cereal, that doesn't mean that's what I'm feeding my children every morning. I simply stock up when items are at their lowest prices and now that amount will last me months, sometimes a whole year or MORE! By stocking up on items that I can with coupons and getting them for super cheap or FREE, I am able to then spend the rest of my weekly budget on produce and fresh fruit and veggies. I just don't usually post about all of the extra produce and perishables I'm purchasing because this site is focused on the coupon deals and money-saving coupons. I just don't want you to think that I just feed my children junk! In fact, I post a Weekly Menu Plan (which has helped me save even MORE money for my family) you can see just what I AM feeding my family. You can check out more about how and why I plan my family's meals HERE.

You can also check out my weekly "Price Check" series to see price comparisons between items we get for free or cheap using coupons vs. what you pay for Walmart's Great Value brand (which those who don't coupon think can't be beat).