Couponing: Shopping for June

One of the ways I'm able to stay on such a tight budget is by shopping "once" a month.   I use the term "once" loosely.   Do I go to a store more than once a month? Of course.  But what I found that works best for my schedule and budget is to do one big shop at the beginning of each month.  This forces me to plan our meals ahead of time and really try to just use what we have in the house the rest of the month.  I run out for fresh fruits and veggies and milk each week.  But other than that, I don't do much else.  I'm able to free up so much precious time and I find that I save so much this way.  After I do the big monthly shop I can also focus on snatching up some great deals that may come along.

So I start my shopping with a monthly order from Soap.com.  Love love love this site.  You do have to shop carefully, but I've found several items that I can get cheaper than in the store.  Best part, it ships for free and keeps me out of the stores where I'm tempted to buy things we don't need.  This month we stocked up on facewash, makeup, cleaning produxt and snack packs for Kyran.  All for less than I would spend at Target!

After some careful planning, pinning, and coupon organizing, I set out to shop for groceries.  This week was a great trip. I got groceries for the month, some household products, and summer storm supplies PLUS a $50 gas card for $143.00!  I used BOGO deals and over $40 in coupons. Success!

We finished off the monthly shopping with a trip to Sam's club for dog food, coffee and some miscellaneous snacks and a trip to our local farmers market.  The end result: a well stocked house and only a portion of our budget spent. 

YES it's time consuming up front but for me, the reward of not spending every Saturday running around town is worth it. I get such little time with my family I want to make sure that time is well spent.  

Plus, with a stockpile like this I can't help but be happy :)