Frugality, necessity or Kristen's new hobby?

Answer: both.

I starting seriously looking into couponing a few months before Hannah was born. I have always been a fairly savvy shopper and quite conservative with my spending habits. John and I knew that we'd have to cut back a lot for me to stay at home with the little one and decided it was worth it...so, now that I have the time (and the need!), I am really enjoying finding these 'deals'.

I started with a simple transaction at Target that turned out even better than expected. My total was $0.04 (ok ok, plus 53cents tax, but STILL) for everything in the picture below. I was immediately hooked. I mean, seriously, free chocolate, body wash, lotion, sunscreen, and bandaids? I take pictures because I'm a dork. Enough said.

Fast forward a few months: This is when I started getting really good at this couponing thing. Total: $6.22. (Harris Teeter) I like to think of couponing as an opportunity to buy 'fun food' for us that I'd normally never purchase, like the mini cookies, bagel-fuls, and snyder's pretzels. The flowers were courtesy of my very sweet husband :)
Another great day at Harris Teeter: $11.11 and YES we actually use all this stuff. Sometimes it's tempting to buy something because it's a steal (and if its free then it is a good idea), but it ends up still being wasteful if you don't really want or need it. This trip was TRULY a great deal because every single thing (even the completely free stuff: Tortilla chips, dressing, grill mates marinades, tuna pouch, icing) is useful to me.
I've had a couple more good days at Harris Teeter during "super doubles" getting lots of toiletry type items for dirt. It's quite easy to stock up on laundry detergent/stain remover, feminine items, shampoo, toothpaste, etc. for very little! I've also enjoyed finding good deals at Food Lion using sales and internet printable coupons.

This is a great way for me to save money and still manage to eat well and have nice items for our family. It's also really fun to be able to share these items with others! I made my sister a 'welcome to your first apartment' basket using deals and steals and a basket from Goodwill that she loves :)

Thanks for reading.