My Coupon-Clipping Friend

Hey Everybody,

Thanks for all the great comments yesterday! I'm thrilled with the new look and so glad that y'all like it, too! I had several folks check in from my new friend Kelly's blog, Faithful Provisions. So...why not tell you the story of that connection?

For some time now, I have been frustrated with the continuing escalation of prices at the grocery store! I kept thinking, "But I'm staying on my budget! I buy store brands. I plan the meals. I never go to the store without my list. What else can I do?"

Now, I have never been a coupon-clipper. My theory has always been: If time is money, then I don't have enough time to make the coupon-clipping thing work.

If you know my Lord, then you know that as easily as He can just throw you into a new situation/relationship/mindset, He can also very gently work on your heart about something, too, right? Well, this past school year, I had many conversations with a gal who helps at our weekly tutorials, and she was really into couponing. Every Tuesday we chatted while she clipped and organized a humongous notebook of savings. I must say that I was definitely inspired, but I was not completely motivated. Then one day she told me that she had saved $75.00 on her last trip to the store. OK--now I was motivated!

But it still seemed pretty overwhelming to me. There are some things in life that you just need a hand to hold on to, ya know? And I guess this was one of them for me. I am so NOT an organized person. (For some reason I seem to give people that impression, so let me set the record straight. I am NOT. :) ) And coupons looked like something that would need a lot of organizing to me.

The week after our tutorials were out for the summer, I came home from my weekly trip to the grocery. I had not saved $75.00! I had saved plenty on store brands; I had what I needed for the week, and I had even stayed within my budget. But there was a nagging feeling that I could have done more to make the money go further at the grocery. I could have used coupons. That very day I received an email from the editor at HomeLife magazine asking me if I would do a story on Kelly, the founder of Faithful Provisions, a money-saving website! I said, "Thank You, Lord, I know this story is for me!" and quickly sent a YES back to HomeLife.

Turns out, Kelly's is exactly the virtual hand to hold when it comes to saving money! She is not only walking me through this, but visit her site and she'll walk you through it, too! Tomorrow, I'll be sharing some of Kelly's money saving tips! Today, though, I'd love for you to share how you make couponing work (if you do) and any way you can advise me about getting those little pieces of paper organized!

(Don't forget, if you want to be a part of my giveaway, please leave a comment on the "Makeover and Mom Giveaway" post below!)