To coupon.. or not to coupon

I used to coupon. I would get the sunday paper, look at where the things I needed were on sale, and go to Albertsons, Smiths, and Vons in one day to get everything. I would save money... but I had to go to three stores. Then my newspaper subscription stopped, I didn't renew and therefore stopped couponing.

Then I discovered Fresh and Easy. I LOVED it. I loved the $10 off coupon, the prices, the produce, everything. They got rid of the $10 off coupon, we moved and it was just a little bit further than usual. So I stopped.

Then we watched Food, Inc. It changed my whole perspective of what to eat, how to eat, where to shop. We decided we needed to be a little bit more concerned about where our food was coming from. I started shopping at Trader Joe's and Whole Foods. Our grocery bill went through the roof and I slowly went back to Albertsons...

Now I go about 50/50. I get meat and other items from Whole Foods, and basics like cereal from Albertsons.

But today I needed apple juice. I love the Motts got Tots. I love that it has 40% less sugar, and I love that it doesn't give Lucas a diaper rash. What I don't love, the $4 pricetag. I know, $4 is NOT that big of a deal... but in the long scheme of things it adds up. So I went searching for a coupon to maybe offset the cost. Couldn't find a single one.

BUT- I did find a great new couponing blog-- Couponing to Disney  This mom decided to set a budget each week for groceries. She takes out money for the exact amount of her budget. She coupons like crazy and tries to save a dollar or two. Then whatever is left over she puts in a "fund" that they use to go to Disney World each summer. Brilliant! Now then... I don't want to go to disney. But I would like to pay off the car, buy a new stroller, or go back to Chile! So I am adopting her method for 4 weeks.

So.. here is how it works. You look on bank statements from 3 months and average how much you spent on groceries, eating out, etc... then you divide by 4, which is what you would spend in a week. Take 10% off that amount, and voila! Your budget is set. For us, this is $120/week. I was shocked at how high it was. I cannot believe we have been spending that much on food. I guess this includes household items, diapers, etc... but still, I thought it was high. Not to mention, if we go way under because my couponing skills we can lower our weekly budget, and thus have more in our account for other things. So here are the Coons Family Rules for our new plan of action!

1. $120/week on all food. PERIOD.
2. We will only be going out to eat on Saturday nights. No more lunches (this will be hard).
3. I will start couponing again. I have ordered the LVRJ for Sunday delivery, and will start clipping away.
4. Play "CVS" game. I have heard of this before, but am going to really try and do it this time. I will use my CVS bucks for diapers, toilet paper, toothepaste, etc...
5. Still eat healthy. This is probably going to be the hardest one, mainly because we will still buy our meat from Whole Foods so it is organic... and many of the coupons are for things we do not normally eat. But I am hoping to get some applejuice coupons thrown my way!

At the end of 4 weeks we will see how much the "fund" has. I am hoping this proves to be efficient. The only drawback to this plan is Las Vegas stores are not as coupon friendly like they are elsewhere. They don't "double coupon" or accept all coupons, which can be frustrating. So we will try our best.

I know this is probably boring... but I need to be accountable for this! So please ask me how it is going, if you aren't interested so I have to be honest with myself. And let's also hope we don't have to dig into our new food storage because we run out of money by day three :)

Here's to couponing!! (and a cute picture of Lucas that is completely irrelevant)

Coloring at Pottery Barn Kids Story Time!