Extreme Coupon Clipping for Non-Extremists

I love my job. I work for an education nonprofit and partner with six school districts in Kansas City. We help a lot of kids get college and career ready upon high school graduation. It's sometimes very hard work, requires a lot of hours, and independent time-management. Translation: sometimes it allows for a more flexible work schedule. More translation: working from home. I love working from home. I am more productive that way. I manage my time very well and accomplish a lot in little time. On days that I work from home, I not only get a lot of work done, but I get a lot of home-work accomplished.

On one such day, I had the TV on in the background and caught the TLC show "Extreme Couponing." I was fixated with this show from about mid-afternoon through early evening. I couldn't believe how near free all of their grocery purchases were! My first reaction was to call my fiance and ask him if we could invest in a larger apartment with storage space for my extreme coupon endeavors. But I gave myself a few minutes to digest this information and reflected on a couple of things:

1. They have to buy ALOT of products to save near 100% on their grocery bills
2. Most of the coupon goods are not foods I typically eat
3. Fresh produce is not included 

These three observations led to a much more sane thought: maybe I can save a little money with coupons. Alright! Yes, much more manageable than creating a mini convenience store in my home. So for about two weeks I'd get the Sunday paper and check Target.com for their coupons. I clipped only the deals that I would use, only products that I typically buy. 

My grocery shopping habits are fairly sporadic right now. Hey, I'm only one person and definitely eat the bare bones in my cupboard on a frequent basis. But who wants to live like that forever? I crave a better plan of action. So I tested my weekly clippings by planning my meals around my clips. I also did not buy anything full price - all items were on sale at least a little bit. I then researched the allusive concept of "doubling" coupons (which I still don't understand completely - someone help!) and discovered that Hen House doubles coupons up to .50. So off I went to Hen House with the following list:

4th of July Week Grocery List

-Johnsonville Turkey Sausage with cheddar

-whole wheat hot dog buns

-tortillas

-1 pound peaches

-Dole salad kit

-Baby carrots

-A1 steak sauce

-Sunbelt Banana Oat Fiber Cereal

-1 Gallon Milk

-Vegetable/Fruit Juice

-New Capri Sun Vegetable Juice (apple flavor)

-3 avacados

-almonds

-1 pound chicken breast

Total (without coupons): $35.77

Total (with coupons): $28.77

Not a HUGE savings, but significant enough to be excited about coupons! I mean, I have fresh fruit here, vegetables, food for grilling on the 4th, and my beloved fruit/veggie juices! Granted, I have some things in my pantry already to help with figuring out something to do with the tortillas. I was actually really surprised. My mom even teased me before I headed out that she imagined the bill would be 40 bucks or more. 

I think the couponing thing will prove to be really beneficial over time.

<3

soon-to-be housewife

Introduction

Greetings interwebs readers! My name is Erin and I am writing this blog is to share my discoveries as I transition from single homemaker to housewife homemaker. We are getting married in 114 days! HOORAY!

I'm not going to mince any words on this blog so let's start our internet relationship off really honestly: I am SO excited to be a homemaker. If this statement makes you throw up in your mouth a little, this might not be a blog you'll enjoy reading. If you threw up a little, but are still intrigued, keep reading.

Listen, I was probably a self-proclaimed "feminist" growing up and still take a lot of pride in being on equal footing with my male counterparts, however, I love everything home-ish. Let me count the ways: design, decor, kitchen, organization, you name it. Essentially if there's a board category on pinterest, I love it.

Here's the catch: I work full-time. I'd venture to guess that I'm not the only full-time working woman in this country that would adore spending more time on the above-mentioned homemaking activities. In fact, I made a deal with my fiance that if I ever get to the point where my etsy account pays me more than my full-time job I get to quit! Long way to go. If I had it my way, I would be a successful seller of my craftwares and spend my days creating a worldly heaven of happy home.

Throw up again? Probably time to leave.

My fiance and I are getting married in October. We will start making our downtown loft apartment our own next week (so much designing I might explode with happiness). I plan to work and be a homemaker and share how I do it here.

Nice to meet y'all! More to come soon.

<3
Soon-to-be housewife