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