Wow. It has been a while but I am couponing now.

Here I am.  Back again.  It has been a long time since I last posted anything on my blog!  So what I have I been up too?  Couponing.  What?  Yep.  Couponing.  My hubby and I are in a bad financial way and so couponing has become a way of life for me.

I use coupons at Bi-Lo so I can take advantage of their double coupons and fuelperks program.  I coupon at Food Lion, Dollar General, Family Dollar, Target (when I am in the town it is in), and anywhere else that takes coupons!  I am getting good at it, but I am ready to learn more.  I have entered a contest on youtube and am hoping and praying that I am one of the winners.  I would love to learn how one lady does her couponing and finds the best deals.  She was on TLC's "Extreme Couponing" and is a master couponer.

I haunt all the blogs, forums, coupon websites, store websites, etc. for the best deals and freebies.  I price match at Walmart.  I do separate transactions at CVS and Rite Aid to save money using ECBs and Up Rewards.  (No Walgreens nearby unless I drive two towns over.)  I have the local paper on Sunday delivered to the house and then walk to the "corner store" and try and buy a Charlotte Observer for even more coupons.  I have friends who save their coupons for me.  I trade coupons with my best friend.  I save coupons for my oldest daughter and another friend.  I send coupons to my mom.  I would even be willing to teach a coupon class and show others how to use coupons and get some great savings.

I look for clearance items that I can pair a coupon with for even greater savings along with stacking coupons on other sales.  I have become quite adept at stockpiling.  It is almost and addiction with me now.  I find I "need" to go that free item even if I can't use it because I know that I can donate to the school I drive bus at because there are kids there who need a leg up and need to know that someone cares enough to see that their basic needs are met when the parents can't.  I can't stockpile too much because I just don't have the room for it, but I like knowing that I don't have to go out and buy toothpaste, deodorant, shampoo/conditioner, toilet paper, paper towels, bodywash, etc. for a while.  I am able to save money by not buying those items for at least 6 months to a year.

Oh yeah.  And lets not forget about the first aid supplies.  Bandaids galore, a brand new first aid kit, Bayer aspirin (five for free and one which I had to .25 for), and a few other things.  I have stocked my oldest daughter up with the first aid kit and a few other things that kids always have need of!

I even have a small food stockpile.  Nothing too major, but it is enough to last me through the summer on most things, maybe even longer on others.  (Two bottles of ketchup, two bottles of mustard, and about 6 bottles of bbq sauce will last me a very long time!!)

My husband has not yet seen my stockpile as he has been out on the road for several weeks now.  He saw it before, but it has grown since then. :)  Go figure.  Of course, part of my stockpile is things my hubby has brought home that was damaged goods (even though nothing is wrong with it).  Okay, so a box got squished a little bit and a company decided they couldn't sell the toilet paper.  Well by golly, I will use it.  So the roll is a bit lopsided.  Do I look like I care?  I am going to wipe my but with it.  I don't care if it is squished or not.  Oops.  One bottle of pine cleaner broke open?  The other bottles are just fine and dandy.  Reject!  Not by me.  I will take all I can get.  After all, there is an old saying, If it is free, it's for me.  I will use it and share it.  I have no qualms with that.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

With times being hard once again, many of us are in the mindset of having to reduce, reuse, and recycle our stuff. I have yet to actually call the local company that does recycling pickup as the few things that I do have I am trying to reuse. For example, my husband asked me why I was saving an empty jelly jar. I told him that I plan to use it my craft room when we get it set up. I can put small craft items like silk flowers for scrapbooking in it.

The other day while I was out walking our dog in the backyard I noticed that my father-in-law had tried to throw some old bricks over the embankment at the far end of the yard. Since we own the house now, and I am in the process of planning several different gardens, I decided that I could use them. We spent about an hour digging what we could our of the dirt and clay. There was a broken Terra Cotta pipe, a few pieces of broken cinder block and lots of clay bricks. Some have the the holes, others don't. There are still more brick down the embankment, but I am not about to try and climb down there to rescue them.

There are several sections of brick that are still attached with mortar, so I will have to get out there with a chisel and hammer and break them apart. I even salvaged the half bricks I found. I figure that I can use the bricks, block and Terra Cotta to edge my flower garden or in front of the house where I want to plant a few flowers or hostas. The brick will be very pretty as it is nicely aged and didn't cost us a thing!