Life=AWESOME!!!!
Love=AMAZING!!!!
Finances=Hahaha (*insert sarcastic sneer here)
The formula above is prreettyyy clear as to what needs to change. You see...just like every other starter family, the hubs and I have some life goals we'd like to accomplish in the future. These goals may or may not include the sounds of little feet scampering on the floors of a home we eventually own.
So, one fateful night, Jono and I stopped making empty promises and actually got down to financing business. I'm talking pen out, furrowed brow, burning up the calculator business. We skipped right over the good and the bad when we got to grocery expenses. The monthly alotted amount for that was just plain ugly!!
And so it was....that I began my weekly sojourn to a place I will keep anonymous. I will call this particular warehouse of delightful deal's *Joe's to protect it's identity. Now, I know what you are thinking, *Joes...alright! A one stop shop.' And to this affect, dear readers, you'd be right. There is no denying that *Joe's has everything you'd need and more. Not to mention the prices!!!! Holy insanity does it GET any better??!! I love *Joe's in oh-so-many uncountable ways---perhaps on a bi-monthly basis. On a weekly basis...oh hoooo...on a weekly basis *Joe's became quuiiteee perplexing!!!! While attempting to save costs, and braving *Joe's every Monday I came across a few questions which still plague me regarding this store.They are to follow:
1) Why is it that no matter what time you go to *Joe's...it's already BUSY??!! I once tried it at 7:00 AM, then again and 10:00 PM and I swear to you on those terrific *Joe's deals,readers, that the very same amount of clientele was in shopping route at each time.
2)How come no matter HOW many people are doing their respective shopping there are only TWO lines open---maximum?
3) Is it realistically possible that no matter which *Joe's you attend, and no matter the time, you till get stuck behind a crying baby in line? And if so...how is that possible?
4) Can a *Joe's shopper ever hope to get through a shopping trip without getting hit or narrowly being missed by someone else's cart or are these constant frightening interchanges all part of gaining that exceptional discount at the end? (I swear sometimes I feel like I'm gearing up for battle circa spartan soldier as I get ready to go in ;)
I kept telling my best friend, each week when we would speak on the phone, "every week I tell myself I'm not doing this again next week. And then, the next week comes, and here I am again. But--five weeks in....I had had it. I spent thirty minutes in line behind a woman with at least 130 items to purchase while I held my meager 15 patiently waiting. At any other time in my life, I could have chalked this up to one bad run and go on my merry way. But, after the past four weeks with similar experiences, I realized that my time is also valuable and considered this the last straw for my WEEKLY shopping (*Joe's doll...I still love ya'..I just can't manage every week. It's not you...it's me ;)
And so it was that I started segwaying towards another local supermarket nearer to my home in DeBary. In order to make this financially feesible, I began clipping coupons fairly frequently from the Sunday paper and organizing them in my trusty coupon binder.
Let the good times rolodex ;)
Sometimes you can find some EXCELLENT coupons that make your purchases completely worth-while and inexpensive. For example, chicken breasts can get pretttyyy pricey at a regular retailer like the place I do most of my regular shopping. The important thing is to keep track of the store's circulars which come out every Sunday with the paper. So I knew the deal for chicken this week would be:
Pretty great right? Not so fast, I also needed lunch supplies like mustard and mayo and clipped some of those from the paper. One of them just happened to be all:
So to recap, I ended up getting two dollars off eight breasts of chicken (not four) and still getting a condiment I needed for lunches!!!!! It does not get much better than that!
Looking for paper products? I discovered that the retailer I shop at has this brand that is super generic. The paper plates and toilet paper actually cost me LESS than at the DOLLAR STORE by thirty cents a piece. Did you ever think you would see the day where you get products for about THIRTY CENTS LESS THAN A DOLLAR! If you're ever in my area..definitely keep your eyes peeled for these:
I also got a really neat nail-file and a buy one get one FREE nail polish and a cheapo 2.09 bottle of vaseline to try this "perfect pedicure" trick I saw on Pinterest. With me...you can guarantee it won't be anywhere near perfect but I'll post pictures/reviews to follow if it's at all worth it!
So....as an instant recap...we have cut our grocery bills with the coupons and started taking our lunches to work in order to get where we want to be. It won't be easy, but it encourages creativity and ingenuity on both of our parts. I'm so happy you'll be reading up on where this takes us next ; ) Until then, readers, I bid you a wonderful day!
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