I am linking up to
Kelly's Korner!
Couponing has saved our family a lot of money. Since we had Levi last year, I have had the awesome opportunity to stay home with him. Losing my income has impacted our family, but couponing has helped ease a bit of the burden when it comes to groceries and toiletries. Couponing has also become a hobby for me. I love looking at the blogs for upcoming deals, planning my shopping trips and best of all, saving money! My very favorite blogs for couponing are:
The best piece of advice I have would be this:
DON'T CLIP COUPONS! There is an easier way! Here is what I do...
1) I ordered 4 copies of the Sunday newspaper. I get 3 LA times and 1 local paper. I went online and found an awesome coupon code for the LA times subscription. I paid $28 for 3 copies a week for the entire year
2) As the coupons come in, I write the date on the front of the insert with a sharpie.
3) I file the coupon insert according to date. I collate all the inserts (Smart Source, Red Plum, etc.) together so they are easy to find
4) I DO NOT CUT OUT ALL OF THE COUPONS
5) I label the file with the date
6) I check the blogs (mentioned above) for deals at my local stores. They do ALL the work for me. Seriously. It's awesome!
7) I decide what products I am going to get. The blogs will link up sales to coupons. They tell you which coupon to get out of which insert from a particular date. For example, I might want to buy toothpaste from Target that is on sale for $1.50. The blog might tell me to use the $1/1 ($1 off of 1) SS (Smart Source) coupon from 10/23. I will go to the 10/23 file and find the toothpaste coupon.
8)THEN I will cut out that one particular coupon since I know I will be be actually buying that item. I only cut coupons for items I know I will be buying for sure.
9) I go to the store, buy the item, save money and have fun!
10) I often give away items. For example, I got 36 boxes of FREE Hamburger Helper so I gave it to my mom for a food drive at her work.
I love couponing, but I don't think I would enjoy it as much if I were not doing it as simply as possible. I would hate to spend tedious hours cutting all the coupons and organizing them. Now I know a lot of people do that so they can catch a sale that might be unadvertised, but for our family, I am happy with just getting the items I know are on sale.
My favorite stores to use coupons at are CVS and Albertsons. Check out the blogs and they will teach you how to coupon using Extra Bucks from CVS and double coupons that come out occasionally from Albertsons.
Myth: All you can buy with coupons is junk.
I don't just buy junk. I get free or cheap cereal, peanut butter, pasta, pasta sauce, salad dressing, toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, floss, mouthwash, cleaning supplies, cheese, yogurt, salad, razors and more!
I would love to help you with any questions you might have. Happy Couponing!
Photo:ETSY
Photos: Urban Outfitters 
Photo: Target
Photo: Pottery Barn 
Photo: ETSY 
Would you please join me in praying for Cristin and John and their 2 boys today? She is 27 weeks pregnant and they just found out they lost their baby girl, Ruby Jean. They were expecting this since they learned Ruby has trisomy 18. My heart is so incredible heavy for them. I literally can not imagine having this be my reality. The ache and sting of death, expected or not, seems entirely too much to bare. I may not understand why; Why them? Why their baby girl? Why now? Why? BUT, it is not my place to understand. Isaiah 55:9 says, "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." I will never understand why, but I do know that God is faithful, loving and sovereign. He can be trusted with everything. He is a God of the mountain tops and the valleys. He is good. We can give Him our troubles and He will carry us. 1 Peter 5:7, "Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you." Psalm 55:22 "Cast all your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you. He will never let the righteous fall." Please be praying for this sweet family. They have been faithful to trust God and give Him the glory for their good times and bad. Their blog is called Rubies. Please visit and pray. Ruby Jean is in Heaven with our Savior. Blessed be the name of the Lord!
I am linking up to Kelly's Korner!
I love my sisters. They mean so much to me. When I was growing up, I wanted to be just like them. During the era of hair flipping and big bangs, I flipped my hair just like them and made my hair big like they did. I listened to the music they liked (Pearl Jam and Live come to mind) and wanted to watch MTV like they could. I cried when they left from visiting for the weekend. I couldn't wait for them to come over again. My sisters will always hold a special place in my heart. Now that we are adults, I enjoy their company and just like when I was a kid, I can't wait to see them again.
Who me? It's my birthday?
I love my puppy!
Our baby boy is 1!
Grammy and Grandpa
Nana and Papa
The whole gang
Nice moustache, Papa!
Cousin Melissa
Auntie Amy, I don't recognize you with that thing on your face! :)
Uncle Tim looks like Luigi
GG!
I love my new toys!
Opening presents with mama.
Elmo is so fun!
My handsome cowboy
I'm not so sure about this cake thing...
He didn't play with it or eat his cupcake at all. He was very confused!
Thank you to Alex for drawing such fun props for the party! This sheriff is mighty impressive, as were the cutouts and the cowboy town. Yee-haw!
Let's face it, we probably had more fun than the kiddos!
Me and Randy
Grandpa and Grammy
Zach and Jen
Their little guy, Keanan
Brian
Our wonderful neighbors, Ed and Alma
More wonderful neighbors, Ronnie and Lynn
Uncle Danny 
Uncle Tim and Aunt Amy
Cousin Katin
Cousin Mason
Melissa
Aunt Debbie and Uncle Doug
Marley the Moozle
Deepa and Jam
Sarah and Tim
Cowpuppy Marley
Shanny
Megan and Steven
Me and Alex
Eli and Sarah
Great Grandma and Aunt Becky
Grandpa and Grammy
Lily
Lily and Tim
Alex and Kelli
Baby Mac and Travis
The birthday boy
Eli and Lily
Levi and Nana
Lynn and Alma
Marley needed a moustache, too!
Eli, Alex, Megan and Steven
The backyard all set up for the party
I'm a cowboy!
Help! I'm in jail!
Check out my new wagon from Grammy and Grandpa!
The cowboy city, complete with a saloon, school house, jail and church of the wild west!
Have I told you that I love my puppy? :)
The "Watering Hole"
My very own cupcake! Too bad I didn't eat any of it.
Can you believe this cake? My mom has some very talented friends. Thank you so much for designing and decorating this cake, Megan! You are the best!
Howdy, partners!
Thank you for helping me celebrate my first birthday! Thank you for the wonderful cards, gifts and for your love. I had so much fun!
Ya'll come back now, ya hear?