I've been away!

Wow! I've been gone for quite a while. My business picked up dramatically at the end of October and kept that way until the 19th of this month. My business is really only this busy during the holidays. Wondering what I do? Check it out at www.GourmetMixMarket.com. Yup, I have to get to updating the site as well! But that's what January is for!

So what's taken me so long to get back to posting? The sad fact is, I didn't have my coupons in order. I had kept up with buying newspapers, but did not keep up with clipping and filing them.

So on Monday morning I set to work. First purging the coupon keepers of all the expired coupons. When I was done, the keepers were just SO empty. And then I began clipping the new (many of the new ones were expired too. It was all very depressing!).

By Tuesday afternoon I had them all filed and ready to go. That did not mean, however, that I had any idea of what was out there... on sale or otherwise! So, I began by going off to my favorite couponing site www.afullcup.com and seeing what the ladies had been getting into over there.

I saw that there were a few deals for soda, crackers, and avocados at Albertsons, and margarine, sour cream, paper plates, and plastic cups at Safeway. (There was also a much better deal at Safeway for the same crackers that Albertsons had, but I didn't see it until AFTER I used my coupons at Albertsons. This is what you get for being out for 2 months.) So I ran over to Albertsons and Safeway on Tuesday to get my goodies! I felt really good about my trip too! I saved 57%. It's not quite the 60% that I aim for, but hey, I've been out of practice for two months! (Hmmm, I wonder how long can I use that excuse?)

Today I went to Walgreens and did about the same. 54% or so. Not bad. But I'm SO excited to get back to saving money! I made so much this past couple of months and I want to hang on to it, not spend it on Groceries! Uggh! But wouldn't you know it? Today while I was out and about, I forgot to go by Safeway and Albertsons to get their new flyers. Oh, no! See? That's what happens when you're out of practice. But, Tomorrow I need to take the dogs to the vet for their checkups and on the way home I'll stop by and grab the flyers. In the meantime, I'll be checking out www.afullcup.com and going to www.safeway.com and www.albertsons.com to see what I can find!