Scaling down to a single income household definitely meant we would be making sacrifices. It has not always been easy, but it is a lot easier than I thought it would be. We definitely don't go out on enough date nights, mostly because hiring a babysitter for 3 kids would leave us about enough money to pick up a dollar menu item at Mickey D's and cruise the 2 mile strand of Smithfield for about 30 minutes. Because more than that would use too much of the diamond laced fuel that our gas hogs like to burn.
But as long as I'm being honest, 3 kids leaves us zero energy most nights. We get a kick out of sitting on the porch off our bedroom and people watching, finding awful Zombie movies on Netflix, and looking up funny videos on YouTube when we dont have the means or the energy for a date night.
I am what my father-in-law calls 'cheap'. His more gentle-mannered wife calls me 'frugal'. I taught Andy early on that sometimes the store brand tastes the same as the name brand. Now Andy is cheaper than me--he recently picked up Food Lion brand 'doritos' instead of the real deal to take to a cookout at his sister's home. Those do NOT taste the same.
I've never subscribed to a newspaper since I get my news online normally so I've never been a coupon clipper. And seeing one or two eps of Extreme Couponers further turned me off. Who has the time for all that? Or the pantry space, for that matter.
But my new good mommy friend Betsy, who happens to have just moved a half block away, has inspired me to look for deals using the abundant resources on the web. There are many blogs that put together weekly deals from the major chains. They make it so simple--you can even select the deals you like, print some coupons linked right there, and print your shopping list. Our favorite is SouthernSavers.com.
If you have never tried it, just check out the site. I have already saved a ton of money on diapers, household necessities like tp, paper towels, and dish soap, and most recently I experienced the euphoria of major grocery savings in Harris Teeter during Triple Coupon Week. Better than drugs, or so I would imagine.
Don't be intimidated. Start small, like I did. So here's my first bit of awesome advice if you just want to test the waters:
CVS: if you have not signed up for the Extra Care card, do it right now. Below is a deal I have done 3 times in the 5 weeks or so since I took Betsy's deal hunting advice.
Diaper Deal: Spend $30 on Huggies diapers and get $10 extracare bucks back.
Jumbo Packs are $10 each on sale right now. Wipes are $5.99 on sale right now.
I bought 3 packs of diapers and 2 bags of wipes refills, with tax it was just over $42.
I used $10 extracare bucks I earned on another deal last week.
I used a $1 and $1.50 Huggies coupon from last Sunday's paper.
I also used a $2 Huggies coupon I found in a case I bought at Target last week.
My total was then just under $30, but you get the Extracare bucks based on the retail total, they do not punish you for using coupons.
I received my $10 extracare bucks to use the next time I shop PLUS there is a $10 mail in rebate on the Kimberly Clark website if you spend $35 on Huggies products, so I'll get that too.
It feels good to be able to save so much money on the things I have to buy all the time anyway, so I hope someone will read this who was unaware of this deal and be on the lookout for future deals. Drugstore deals turn around on Sundays, but this is the 3rd time CVS has had this Huggies deal in the past 2 months. If you know someone who needs diapers, share this with them. And check Southern Savers every week for deals in your stores.
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