Not-So-"Extreme" Couponing

So, lots of my friends saw the Extreme Couponing show on TLC last week and are gung-ho to start your couponing adventures.  I was in similar shoes in December, after attending a couponing workshop with Jill Cataldo and associating with several fellow couponers at Cole's school.  Let me say, for the record, that it has seriously changed the way we shop, spend money and acquire many items for our home.  At current, our stockpile includes more pudding than you could shake a stick (or spoon) at, enough toothpaste to last us well into Cole's college years, pads and tampons out the wazoo, as well as a seemingly endless supply of formula, diapers, razors, body wash, etc.  But, it started out rough.  The first six weeks I was in the "business", it seemed like every good deal required a coupon from an earlier insert that I didn't have.  I couldn't figure out how to decide which coupons to print (I didn't want to wait, in case they ran out, but I also didn't want to waste ink).  I couldn't figure out the right order to stack coupons, sometimes I got the wrong products and sometimes I bought things that weren't really a good deal (like toothpaste for $0.50).  But, after several months of doing this, I'm now able to coupon without a lot of help, confusion or dismay.  Here are some tips for those of you interested in starting:

1. Subscribe to a newspaper.  For Rockford-area people, you'll want to subscribe to the Chicago Tribune.  Florida friends - you'll want to subscribe to The Ledger.  Get one newspaper delivered for every person in your household.  We get two (and if there are really great coupons, I'll pick up one or two additional at the store on Sunday).
2. Take some time to find what the good price points are for an item.  Hip2Save.com offers a really simple breakdown for stores - if the item is in red, it's a good price point.  For us, we won't pay more than $4.99 for diapers (and that's if we NEED them), I usually try to stay closer to $4.00.  I won't pay for toothpaste or pads.  I won't pay more than $1 for a box of tampons.  I try to stay around  5 cents a prepared ounce for formula.  For wipes, around a penny per wipe is about the best you'll find on a regular week.  Sometimes you can get them for less, but the wipes deals are few and far between.
3. Try to avoid being a product hoarder.  If you are going to buy toothpaste and you have 6 coupons and there are 6 tubes left, take 3.  Save some for the other folks, but still get a good deal for yourself.
4. Be as prepared as you can be - have your coupons clipped and ready to go when you go to the store.  Have them ready when you get in line.  If you know you'll be doing four transactions to roll RR's, etc., and there is a lady behind you with a child on the verge of meltdown who is simply trying to buy some diapers - let her go ahead of you.
5. Start a coupon network with your friends who coupon.  Facebook is a great arena for this.  Several mom's from Cole's school participate in a coupon swap.  You can go there to offer up coupons you're not going to use, as well as to obtain coupons you need/want.  We don't use cat food, so we can part with those, but we do use diapers, so we can take those off the hands of someone fortunate enough to be out of the diaper stage.  If a coupon is going to save you $.50 or more, it's worth it to even ask someone to mail it to you.  Just be kind enough to return the favor if the day ever comes.
6. Don't be overwhelmed.  Like I said, I've dealt with having deals go horribly wrong, letting $20 in RR expire, buying items that weren't truly a good deal, etc.  It happens and it will likely happen to you.  Just take it easy.  Slow and steady wins the race.  You'll come to a point where you can get a peelie at the grocery, pair it up with another item and find substantial savings on your own, but it's going to take time to get into that practice.

Here are some blogs I like for saving money:

savingmoney-101.blogspot.com
hip2save.com
stretchingabuckblog.com
totallytarget.com
wildforwags.com

There are others, of course, but those really helped me in the beginning and continue to help me.  For starting out, I highly recommend to use Walgreens.  It's pretty simple to get started there, it's not a huge store to navigate and there are really good deals.  Walgreens is my primary store on a weekly basis.  Since CVS is so far away, I try not to get involved in their ECB's program because it doesn't make since for me to go there weekly.  I also don't go to Target very much.  Again, it's a distance thing.  If I know I'll be going there, I'll look up their deals that week, but beyond that, I don't make a special trip.  I do go to Hilander/Kroger for my weekly grocery shopping and search coupontom.com to see if there are any coupons I can use for my grocery list, plus look up any deals that might be of interest.  I also look for "expiring soon" coupons that I might use, just for snacks, etc.

I would be happy to help any of you as much as I can.  If I can't help you, I can probably find someone to help you.  Good luck!

Our Mini Alarm Clock...

Last night, Hunter woke up and Doug nudged me to get him.  After rolling over, he mutters, "That's unbelievably crazy."  I looked at the clock and knew instantly what he meant when I saw, "3:32" lit up in red.  Hunter wakes up every single night at the exact same precise minute.  Every single night without fail.  The minute does not change.  It's never 3:33, or 3:31.  3:32.  Always.  I could literally set my clock by his middle of the night waking.  Doug and I think it's remarkably crazy.  I know a persons internal clock is pretty consistent, but for a 6 month old to have a down to the minute waking is insane, in my opinion.  But, it is what it is.  I, however, have recently found a way to make life easier.

We used to grab him and put him in bed with us, which would induce another 2 hours of sleep, followed by him waking and being ready for the day.  I'd feed him and put him back in his bassinet until 6:30, when I wake up.  I'm not really sure if he ever went back to sleep, if he laid there and played.  Heck, he might have run to Walgreens to catch a good diaper deal.  One can never be sure...But, in his advanced stage of life, he's learned to hold his own bottle.  So, two nights ago, in my drowsy state, I made his bottle and let him feed himself while he laid next to me in the bed.  Last night, however, I got a little more ambitious...I left him in his bassinet, made him a bottle, handed it over and woke up this morning to a happy, talking baby and an empty bottle by his side.  Again, I'm not sure if he hit up the town once he was done eating, or if he went back to sleep or just laid there and played, but I know I am feeling FABULOUS today!  I got the closest thing to a full night of sleep I've had since late in my second trimester!

Now, I realize that feeding a baby who is laying down can lead to ear infections, or that feeding is supposed to be a time of bonding and snuggling, etc., but I also understand what my needs are and the quality of mothering my children get when I'm exhausted.  I think the benefits, in this case, outweigh the potential damage Hunter will have from feeding himself a few times.  I like to think that I'm teaching him independence and self reliance.  Haha!

And so now, to all you mom's who have informed me that your children didn't sleep through the night until well into their toddler years - I say, BRING IT ON!!  Haha!!!!

The Very Sleepy Caterpillar...

Cole has a tendency to find things and insist on keeping them.  Thursday was no different.  He found a caterpillar in our woods and brought it inside, begging to keep it, as if it were an adorable stray puppy.  I obliged him, and cut holes in the lid of a piece of disposable "Tupperware".  He gathered sticks and grass and all other things he assumed would make a nice home for his new furry friend and off they went.  I had my reservations about the liveliness of this little guy from the moment we first met - but Cole insisted he was very much alive, just cold from being outside and would perk right up out of his fluffy balled up position now that he was inside our warm home.

It's been two days since we've welcomed him into our family, and he's yet to make any physical progress from his initial appearance.  Last night, I asked Doug, our resident caterpillar expert, if he thought he was alive.  At first, he was as confident as Cole.  But, after poking him and making attempts at stirring some movement from this little guy, his confidence plummeted.  However, Cole, ever the optimist insisted, "He's just tired, it's past his bed time, you know."  So, if this little creature goes to bed so early, surely he'd be up this morning, right?  Wrong.  "He's a late sleeper - he stays up all night, like a bat," Cole informed me.

So, my friends, what I think has happened is that I've allowed my child to acquire a dead animal, build it a home and create whatever kind of attachment one can have to a happened upon caterpillar.  Now, I just have to find the best way to break the news to him - your caterpillar isn't sleeping, just like he wasn't cold.  Your caterpillar is dead.  Tough break, kid.  It happens to the best of us.  There will be many more caterpillars.  He's in the beautiful cocoon in the sky.  He's gone to caterpillar Heaven, where all good and wonderful caterpillars go.  Rest in peace, little friend.  I feel like we hardly knew you at all...

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to The International Caterpillar Rescue Foundation.