What I do on Sunday afternoon (Or, my secret life)

Sunday is always a highlight of the week for me. For starters, we go to church. Whether that is Brandywine Valley Baptist in Delaware, or Hope Covenant here in Minnesota, we have always enjoyed worship and fellowship on the Lord's day.

Then on the way home after church, we stop at the store and pick up a newspaper.

After lunch and when things have settled down, I sit down with a cup of coffee, some good music and the computer. I print coupons from the internet, and clip coupons from the Sunday paper inserts. Then I look through the grocery ads and match up coupons with sales. I make a menu for the week around what I can buy on the cheap and what I can get for free.

Then the fun part starts!

I make a list and put all my coupons into envelopes for specific stores. (In my Target envelope, I put in coupons for things I'm going to buy at Target . . . you get the idea.) Then when I have to shop, I already have the coupons for the things I am buying all ready to go. When I see items that are on sale or clearance but weren't advertised, I can just look up the item in my box and check for a coupon.

When most coupons are released, that means that item will probably be on sale within the next 1-6 weeks. I never, ever buy an item with a coupon unless it is already on sale. That is really important. Otherwise you really won't be saving anything.

You learn something new everyday.

My coupon box is my fourth baby and I keep everything organized in there. Lots of labeled envelopes, scissors, calculator, a pen and pad of paper, rebate forms, coupon codes for buying things online, etc.

Did you know I do this?

I save so much money. I get free stuff, or nearly free stuff, all the time.

I regularly sign up for freebies online. Our mailbox runneth over with free samples of laundry detergent, toothpaste, granola bars, etc. And most of those free things come with high-value coupons, so when the time is right I can get a full-sized product very inexpensively.

I never, ever pay for paper towels. Why? Because I can get those for free. Our cupboards in our bathrooms are full of dirt-cheap or free brand-name razors, shaving cream, shampoo, soap, toothpaste, contact solution etc. Even though we use cloth diapers on Elin, I can't resist picking up a pack of Pampers or Huggies if I can get them for about $4 (or free).

When I combine an in-store sale item with a manufacturer's coupon and a store coupon (did you know you can print coupons from the Target website? Target coupons for brand-name items? Yes, you can!) and that item has a rebate, then sometimes I even get paid for shopping. I routinely get paid for buying pasta, for example.

I've quickly discovered that food costs less here in Minnesota than it does on the East Coast. So I won't have as many dramatic shopping trips ("Honey, I got $180 worth of groceries for $40! And then I got $10 back to spend at the store on my next shopping trip!"), but I think I'll come out about the same on our food bill. Plus, there's an Aldi's here, so that will help out a lot.

Just wanted to let you know.

(PS - Money Saving Mom is a great place to learn about the art of couponing and get alerts for freebies and great deals. I visit that website almost every day; it's the greatest!)