Quick Tip: Keeping Track of Quantities

Whether your strategy for saving money on groceries is couponing, sales-paper surfing, or making a once-a-month marathon trip, knowing how long an item is going to last is very valuable for planning your strategy. For instance, how much laundry detergent do you go through in a month? When the sale for your favorite shampoo/conditioner cycles around, how many bottles should you buy to last you until the next sale?

Here’s a quick tip for keeping track of how long an item lasts. When you open the item, mark the day’s date on the outside with a permanent marker. Then, when the item is gone, glance at the date on the box before you toss it. You’ll be able to tell, literally at a glance, how long that item lasted you.

Book Review: The Coupon Mom’s Guide to Cutting Your Grocery Bill in Half

A great book, the author Stephanie Nelson had me by the title.  Who doesn’t want to cut their grocery bill in half?  New to the couponing realm, I was interested in any techniques that would help me trim our expenses.  What I found in the pages of this book was inspiring as well as revolutionary.

Conquering the Coupon Excuses

I have finally embarked on the journey of couponing.  In the past, I’ve trumpeted two excuses for not clipping and saving: 1) store brands were cheaper than name brands with coupons and 2) finding the right coupons takes a lot of time that I don’t have.  But recently, my two favorite excuses have been excused, and I’ve been left at the threshhold of a whole new lifestyle.