Saving money!!!

Who doesn't love to save money????

I mean maybe there are people out there who just don't want to, and so they buy everything at full price and don't care to save money, but I am NOT one of them.
Since we moved back to the states, things have been tighter financially.  I'm not complaining at all, because I would so much rather be in the states than be in a foreign country where coupons are almost useless, don't get me wrong, you can sometimes get a great deal over there, but your stores are definitely limited.  Here, in the states, there are SO many more options.  So this past week, I was gearing up for payday.  I was clipping, printing, and researching all the coupons, great deals, and freebies that I could find.  To my absolute delight, it completely paid off!!
First I went through my cookbooks, and decided what I was going to be making for dinners, desserts, and the like, and wrote down my entire list.  Then I went through my Ziplock baggy of coupons that have steadily gotten bulkier week by week.  I pulled out anything related to my list first, I also went through and threw out the expired ones.  Then came the fun part.  I then went to all of my savings blogs (thefrugalgirls.com, moneysavingmommy.com, familyboundmom.com...the list goes on).  They had some excellent hints and tips for other stores.  So I scoured those websites, for any thing that I might need or want for our family.  I printed out more coupons, and wrote down all the freebie deals that were going on.
Pay day came, and I researched even more, all day.  I paid bills...ick!  Then I researched, and scoured the internet for coupons of any kind.  Finally, after my husband came home from work, I went off to Walgreens for my first batch.  Walgreens has their own coupons that are just for their store, but you can also combine those with manufacturers coupons, and if you keep an eye on the deals, you can get some amazing deals.  My main reason for going to Walgreens though was to get cereal.  Since we no longer receive WIC, cereal is a tough pill to swallow.  Financially, brutal.  I mean 3-4 bucks for a box of cereal that lasts MAYBE a week...YUCK!  Anyway, Walgreens had a special going on for buy 2 General Mills for $4 (with in store coupon), not a bad deal at all.  So I went for it.  You can only get a limited number of 4 per customer.  So I grabbed four, and looked through my coupons, Cinnamon Toast Crunch .55 off one, .65 cents off of another, then Honey Nut Cheerios, .50 cents off one, and Reeses Puff cereal, another .55 cents off.  I also needed some coffee, so I grabbed what I could, and then I also grabbed some progresso soups, they were 4 for 5 dollars in store, I had a coupon for $1 off four, and got them for a dollar each, not bad!  I mean they are usually about 1.25 in Walmart, but hey, I saved a buck, and I just happened to be there, so no biggie.  When it was all said and done, I saved 17 dollars on the normal price in the store.  I got four general mills cereal, four progresso soups, folgers coffee, and a candy bar (for my husband) for 15 dollars.  I was thrilled.  Now I will say that the savings was probably a little exaggerated.  I mean if I were to go to Walmart or even Target, it wouldn't have been much more than the 15 dollars that I spent, but it still would have been a great savings.  I can't wait to save even more money though.
The next day, I went to Target.  Again, researching and scouring the internet.  I ended up saving a lot, my original bill was 109 with some change, and my final bill was 63 and some change....oh and I also got an ADORABLE coupon holder book!
I also went to Walmart, and while I stayed in Walmart for a few hours, going through coupons, I ended up saving another 20 there.
Saturday, I dragged everyone with me to go run to do some errands, so I saved even more, went to Michaels and had two 40% off coupons, my husband and I both purchased items, saving me a total of 5.20, then we went to Bath and Body works where I had coupons for free travel sized items.  My husband bought a hand sanitizer for my daughter, and also grabbed me a travel size lotion (normally $5), and we got it all for 1.62.  I also had a coupon, so I got a candle, and another travel size lotion for $4.
Finally at the end of the day, we were exhausted from all of our shopping, and we went to El Chico.  I had a coupon there too.  We bought the huge sampler appetizer, and a meal for all of us to share (it more than filled all four of us up too), and we got $5 off.  We spent 15 bucks on our meal.
I think I've become just a little obsessed with saving money though, lol.  I am happy with my turnout, and am going to be gearing up for more fun savings later on!!