How is that possible??? $200 for six people for one month???

I have had several people ask me how in the world do I get all my groceries for a family of 6 on a $200 a month grocery budget......so I will do my best to explain how it has worked for me...

BACKGROUND INFO: A cousin, Megan, sparked me onto this whole "COUPON CRAZINESS" which is what my husband usually refers to it as. (Don't get me wrong he's not complaining about me slashing the grocery budget. He just thinks all the rules and how the game works is MIND BOGGLING). So she, Megan, explained the method a bit to me and said go to http://moneysavingmom.typepad.com/ and she will explain it all more...so I did and then I printed off the booklet ($9.95, I think I had to pay to print it). I read through it and then read through it again, and then I asked Megan probably a million questions!!!

THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW BEFORE YOU START COUPONING!!!!!

1. You will not cut you grocery bill in half the first, second, third , or even fourth month......it took me six. You may never cut it in half depending on your situation, but I do know you can knock off a good chunk of money your spending!!

2. I get my coupons fby getting one FW Sunday paper and two CHICAGO papers each week....Chicago papers are not available anywhere around Busco or Col. City that I know of, and you can't subscribe to the paper (unless you want to pay $4.55 per paper and even then I am not sure you would actually get one). Megan lives in LaGrange, she can get papers there. So she picks them up each Sunday and then gives then to Justin's parents at church and of course they then give them to me. Chicago papers run about 2.50 per paper (so I spend about $25 a month). My FW paper is $1.25 a week I think. They more than pay for themselves every month!! The thing about Chicago papers....they have way more coupons in them than the FW paper.

3. It takes awhile to stock pile all your coupons. The point being to have duplicate coupons to use those on the items when they go on sale. SALE PRICE - COUPON = FREE or NEARLY FREE STUFF. You want to be able to buy more than just one..so you can stockpile.

4. Here are the stores I shop at CVS, WALGREENS, MEIJER (not to often because I have to justify the gas and time and all), KROGER, and ALDI.

5. Each week CVS and Walgreens will run deals on items that you can get free. At CVS they might say buy Dawn for .99 and then get .99 ECB. ECB's are your friend!!! Basically it is cash to spend. At first you will spend money out of your pocket to buy these things, in order to build up your ECB's . The general idea is to spend those ECB on items that will replenish the ones you spent. At Walgreens the same concept is true, they call their rewards Register Rewards.

6. Krogers in our region TRIPLE coupons up to and including .50 coupons (so your .50 coupon is really a $1.50 coupon). Meijer doubles up to and including .50 coupons. So every week you would look for the sale items (10/$10 things especially) and then use your coupons to get them free. When those items go on sale you stock pile and slowly build up your pantry. (That is the reason you want more than one coupon, that is also why I get 3 papers.)

7. Anything that I don't get for free, I usually can get at ALDI.

8. If you are brand sensitive on things you might not find couponing as beneficial as our family does. I am only picky on a few things..detergent, peanut butter and that's really it.

9.Your pantry will not be stockpiled full immediately. But it also won't take to long, maybe a couple months.

10. It does require some time commitment..cutting out coupons and filing them. ( I use a binder with a zipper, and bought plastic baseball card inserts (9 count) and then label for each category.) I also look up what the upcoming deals are on Hot Coupon World each week then print it off and that saves me time..then I can know which coupons to pull...then check the ad on Sunday (for CVS, Walgreens, Meijer), or Thursday for Kroger and see what other thing I want to get that week.
If you would like to check out http://hotcouponworld.com/ click on the link and then scroll down to DRUG STORES (to check CVS and walgreens), then scroll to CVS hot deals, or Walgreens hot deals (which ever you are checking). Then you scroll down again until you find the weekly sales you want to view...They usually show about 2 weeks in advance what the upcoming sales will be. To check out Kroger or Meijer look on this same site EXCEPT go to GROCERY STORES instead of drug stores....just be aware that some of the sales might be regional so check carefully.

11. I spent lots of time at the beginning getting used to everything and looking online alot. Now I don't take much time at all..

12. I do not use many printable online coupons...I do use some if I see on some blog, or moneysavingmom that you can print a coupon on a sale item that I don't have a Manufacturer coupon for.

Well I think that is enough info for today...I don't want to overload you in one day!!! I know it can be alot to absorb in one day!! If you have questions just leave a comment, email, or call me. I will post more on "coupon craziness" next week!