Being a Crazy Coupon Lady . . .

sure has benefits! When I attended a recent class taught by the ladies over at Frugal Living Online, I was told to set goals of why I'm couponing. Don't just do it because. Be purposeful with my savings. So, I definately took that to heart and came up with several reasons why it would be okay for me to be the lady in line at the grocery store who pulls out her huge wad of coupons. So here are a few of my reasons in no particular order.

1. To be resourceful with what I've been given.


2. To cut my previously generous grocery/eating out budget in half.


3. To pay cash for our Christmas gifts.


4. To save for our upcoming Disneyland vacation in '09.


5. To eliminate our credit card debt.

I'm so excited to say that we were successful with our goal of paying cash for all our Christmas gifts this year. There is a huge relief that we did not add to our debt with Christmas, and that come January we just keep chippin' away at our cc instead of watching the balance go up. Another goal that I'm seeing progress towards is goal #2. I have cut our food budget by $220 a month with coupons. In order to pay for Christmas I still pulled out the original amount I would have spent on groceries (I use cash for our groceries/dining out) and kept a portion of that money in an envelope for Christmas. This is what I will continue to do in order to save for our vacation next fall. However, there have been some recent developments with Baby #2 where she is currently on soy formula. Buying formula will most definately increase our food budget. I did manage to do a formula/coupon swap with someone off craigslist and received $30 in formula coupons! Another noteworthy thing to mention is that I am now including toiletries and dog food in this new food budget also. I had never previously figured that into my grocery money seeing as how things like toilet paper and razor blades aren't edible. But! We are still saving money each month and I include food for two dogs and our toilet paper, paper towels, razor blades etc. So, I encourage you, if you need to make some changes in your budget for 2009 . . . you just might look into becoming a crazy coupon lady too!