Trying to Find Some Ways to Save

Not that I've always paid full price, but I was never really ALWAYS on the look for bargains. I used the occasional grocery coupon and shopped the sale items at the grocery store. Lately though, I have found myself trying to be more budget minded. The size of my family has increased and the hours I work have decreased!! So, I am trying very hard to decrease the amount of money we pay out every week for groceries and other necessities of life.

Take clothing for instance. Since we are not nudist, we have to buy clothes. I find it very hard to pay $20.00 for an outfit for my 3 1/2 month old. That's just crazy. He's growing so fast and doesn't wear them that long. Then, it's hard to try and buy clearance seasonal items for the kids that "might" fit next year. That's why I love Babies R Us. I have the rewards card and when I buy my necessities there (diapers, formula, etc.), I get points that convert into R Us dollars and coupons. So, Wednesday I took my R Us dollars and went shopping. PLUS, they had all their Carters clothing on sale 40% off. YES!!!! I got 2 three piece outfits and 2 two piece outfits for about $25.00, not too bad. And, today I went to Old Navy and got myself a sweater, two tanks, pair of capris, 2 shirts for Mini-Me, and a Dora learning pack for less than $40.00.

Now, my husband's take on this is, you could have saved more if you didn't go shopping at all. True I guess. But, I had the coupons and we do occasionally have to buy clothing. So, why not save some money? I love getting hand-me-downs and often shop at thrift stores, but some new outfits are nice on occasion. And with 8 people in the family, I need to get all the bargains I can find!!

Now, to work on the grocery budget......... My goal is to feed this family on a $120.00/week food budget. That does not include baby food/formula, so I think it's doable (is that even a word?). I need a couple of weeks to build my coupon notebook up, but I'm hoping that by the end of September, I'll be buying our groceries for under the allowed $120.00. I guess until then, we'll be eating a lot of hotdogs, burgers, PB&J, and soups (cheap foods). Bon appetit!! Will work on the grocery budget and post my accomplishment!!