A little about me.... Name: Heidi
Age: 32 (Almost 33 on 9/18)
Home State: Well I live in Wyoming (but am from CA)
Occupation: First and foremost I am a stay at home mom to my 5 children. Have been a SAHM for 16 years. And in my free time I run HCW.
Marital Status: Married to Russell (Russ or Rusty), who loves m dispite my crazy coupon hobby. You can find him online under the username kingofthehive.
Kids: 3 Girls and 2 Boys - Ages 16 to 2
Pets: 3 Dogs (Chicky Fuzzy, And Shay) and 3 Cats (Isabella, Pepsi, and Shaggy)
Little Known Factoid: I read really fast. I can read the average length novel in about 3-4 hours if uninterupted.
Favorite Money Saving Tip: Stockpile. Really for me the stockpile mentality is what saves me the most money. Not only stockpiling groceries, but clothes for the kids, school supplies, household items, etc. When I find a great price I buy enough to last.
Budget: Our grocery budget is $400 a month. That number has not changed since I started couponing. In fact it was the amount I budgetted before I found out how to coupon. But since learning how to use coupons I get 4 to 5 times more product for my money, I have added 2 more children (and few new pets) to my family, and most months I come under that and can put my actual real savings towards debt or in my savings account.
Stores I shop: Albertsons, Smith's Food & Drug, Walmart, Kmart, Walgreens, and a local store occasionaly Don's Supermarket.
Coupon Organization Method: I have tried them all at one point or another. But seem to keep comming back to the binder method. I guess it just works best for me. I have 3 binders. 1 small binder for my winetags, frees, rainchecks, and my hot coupons, and then I have 2 large CD binders. One is for food coupons, and the other is non food coupons. I mark my pages A-Z cause that is how my brain works.
I use a combination of baseball card pages (most coupons), photo pages (tearpads), and buisness card pages (perfect for peelies).
Best Advice to Newbies: Couponing is a great way to save
lots of money. It isn't instant, and it takes some work. But you get out of it what you put into it. So read the stickies on Couponing 101, and maybe 102, find your store forum and see what deals you can get in on. Even if you save $5.00 in your shopping trip, $5.00 times 52 weeks is $260.
As you learn your savings will increase, and over time that money can really add up!