Tuesday's Tip

I'm a day late with Tuesday's Tip...sorry.  Late evening grocery shopping and a mad baby.  By the time that eventful scenario was over...exhaustion hit.

We haven't been at school since Thursday of last week.  And, it's not looking too promising for a full day tomorrow.  Tuesday's Tip this week is for the teachers out there who want to, need to, or just plain enjoy SAVING MONEY!

One of my "new leaves" I turned over for 2010 involves finding ways to save money.  Since we have four children that keep us busy, my career teaching is a full time job, and my husband has a full time job...neither of us have time or the want to for another part time job to bring in a little more cash.  So, recently I've done hours of research learning about "couponing".  In the past, my weekly grocery run was to get what I "HAD" to have for fast breakfasts, on-the-go lunches, and family dinners.  Coupons and sales were out of the question...I didn't have time for that!  After reviewing our expenses for 2009, I was shocked...something had to be done to lower our grocery and household supply bills.

I'm going to be honest...getting groceries takes MUCH longer now.  In fact, I prefer going shopping late in the evening when other shoppers are already at their humble abodes.  Last night, my husband had the honors of helping.  After 2 hours of calculating costs, locating coupons, filling our buggy to the brim, and getting more reusable bags from the car...we checked out.  Much to my surprise, the food and toiletries rang up to ONLY $192.  Now, that sounds like A LOT!  Well, considering I had loaded up TWO carts with EIGHT reusable bags...the grocery trip was a great success!  And, I got an even bigger surprise when I examined my receipt...we had actually saved $177!

My husband had a really hard time understanding that we could purchase something even if we DIDN'T NEED it at the moment.  For example, we bought 12 packages of cheese...well, we don't need 12 packages of cheese at the moment.  However, I only paid $1 each for them because of a store special and coupons.  So, in reality I only paid $12 instead of $40.  Now, that's savings!

There are numerous sites you can visit to learn about couponing.  One of my favorites is the one I have listed in the sidebar, Money Saving Mom.  She posts ideas and links to other sites.  Give it a try!  In our tough economy and our low salaries, EVERY teacher can benefit!