Yes, I know that it is March 23, and that I’m just now posting about my savings adventures of a month ago.  Sorry.  Trying to find the time to blog lately has been an Olympic event…one in which I’m not medaling.

Okay, so February.  For the month of February I spent a grand total of $391.07 at the grocery stores.  This includes almost everything:  food, snacks, dog food, toiletries, paper and plastics, diapers, etc.  Big D does occasionally stop by the store for me to pick up staple items like milk and bread, and that total doesn’t include his expenditures, so I guess our total is probably about $20 or so dollars more.  Still…not bad for a family of five.  My savings for the month of February totals $312.20.  I achieve this by buying mostly sales items and using coupons.  I’m finding that I’ve been able to save at least about $100 a paycheck…sometimes even more! 

Recently I set up a savings account and have been transferring some of my savings there towards the end of the pay period.  I’ve decided to save up for a new refrigerator, and I think, if I continue to work hard and be careful, that I’ll be able to purchase it sometime during the summer. 

My favorite deal of the month?  Well, it has nothing to do with groceries…

I’ve had a Cricut machine (an electric die cut machine used for paper crafting) for a few years now, but I rarely buy the cartridges because they generally range from about $80-$90!  But for a couple of weeks in February JoAnn’s craft store was selling them for the special price of $35!  It showed great restraint on my part not to buy two.  Or three.  Or four. New refrigerator?  Who needs a new refrigerator?  Just remember…if you are trying to cut corners in your budget, it’s important to not completely cut out the fun.  You can even find cheap(er) ways to splurge now and then.

I decided originally to post about my monthly savings to sort of boost my own morale and encourage me in my coupon clipping.  But I also thought some of you might be encouraged on your own paths of savings.  So, in that spirit, I’m going to post a plundering tip every month.  This month I want to tell you about coupon stacking.

Coupon stacking is when you use two coupons for the same product,  a store coupon and a manufacturer coupon.  Most stores will allow you to do this, but you might want to check at customer service first just to avoid confusion at the check-out.  By stacking coupons, you can enjoy a really deep savings.  I’ve done this before for sale items and gotten things for free or almost-free!

Manufacturer coupons are plentiful, but store coupons are a little trickier to come by.  First of all, make sure you are on your stores’ mailing lists.  Kroger, for instance, has their Plus Card system.  If you are in this system, then you should be receiving coupons from them in the mail every month or so.  Some are manufacturer coupons, but many will be store coupons.  Publix has some various clubs you can sign up for and receive store coupons.  I’m a member of the baby club and receive several store coupons every couple of months.  I’ve found that Target and Food Lion have several store coupons that can be printed out on-line.  It’s all a matter of investigating the different options that your various stores may have.  (Also, of note, Publix will accept competitor coupons, so you can stack another store’s coupons with a manufacturer coupon there, but they are the only store in my area that allows this.)

If you are unsure how to tell what kind of coupon you have, check by the expiration date.  Usually it is labeled there if it is store or manufacturer in nature.  Be careful about assuming it is a store coupon just because it might have the store’s label printed on it.  Some maufacturer coupon’s will collaborate with a certain store and allow this, but if it is labeled as a manufacturer coupon, then usually it cannot be stacked.

Let me know how you’re doing with your own plundering!