Stock .waitforit. Pile!

I've been depressed due to money issues and various first world problems. I've been trying to validate myself as a house maid and stay at home mom. Some days I just want to set stuff on fire and laugh like a creepy kid in a horror flick while other days I'm left with a void stare and some teeny bopper vampire shows.

Today I somehow broke out of that. I don't know if it's the fact that we have enough food in the house to last us a few weeks if need be. (Along with toilet paper, diapers, wipes, toothpaste and deodorant.) Or if it's getting a new phone today or if it's seeing BabyG roll over and over and over and over today. That's her thing today, rolling over. She's been sticking her tongue out and laughing at random things. She's officially the cutest sideshow in town.

Before money didn't bother me because I simply didn't have any to bother about. I'm thankful we have just enough to coupon with. I spend roughly the same amount or less than we did before but now I have a stockpile started it's provided something solid I can put my hand on and say, "if all else, we'll survive until this runs out." It's part zombie survival part making every dime matter. In June all I could think and talk about was how broke we were. How I worried about buying more diapers AND food in the same month. This month, I'm just buying things to fill the holes on the already overfilled shelves. It helps that Hubby is learning that we save even more when we just eat all this food that we have at home instead of eating out all the time. We are also learning the "double use" of things that we have, also. We have easily twenty-five cans of champbells soups. Chicken noodle and Tomato. (I had a Manufacture coupon for them, they were on sale and target had them in their cartwheel for an extra percentage off. I got them for $0.44 a piece! The retail price is $1.52, of course I bought a bunch!) We used a can of Tomato soup in the beef stew Hubby puts together and it really brought the stew to a new delicious level!

I now see coupons as money and dollar signs instead of trash that comes in the mail or newspaper on Sundays. I am a couponer now. Almost extreme! I doubt I will ever do $1,000 at once and get it down to double digits but I'm happy with turning $120 bill into $60 and $65 into $15. The only stuff I "buy" that I "don't need" is the free stuff that walmart allows me to make money on. That's how I ended up with 21 bottles of shaving cream that neither of us use. With the overages I made roughly $9 on it all. So ya see, it's not wasting money it's about making money! I love that I'm inspiring others to save money by clipping a few coupons too. I don't expect them to get all nutso about it like I have but use the cartwheel app when their at target and maybe double check the circulars they have saved up before going on their usual shopping trip.

Before I went off the deep end I was saving roughly $35 each major trip to Target. That's $35 out of the $150 out of pocket, but still, $35 every two weeks is $70 a month. That's [almost] a full tank of gas or IS a full tank of gas (depending on your vehicle). That's $70 you didn't have to fork over!! Even if you aren't saving the mega bucks like me (I had to evolve into it, it didn't happen over night! I promise!) it is substantial and you can't deny how great it is to save money!

I just wish I had started couponing while I was pregnant or before I got pregnant. A baby is really what put us strapped for cash. Babies are NOT cheap! But she's the most expensive, beautiful creature I have in my possession! Until she starts to think for her self, then she'll be the most expensive, beautiful creature that I'm legally bound to until she turns eighteen and I'll be wishing she was small enough to flip upside down and blow raspberries on her stomach again!

Now that you've read all of my ramblings I will provides some couponing links that I visit compulsively almost every hour of every day!

• http://www.southernsavers.com/ -- A couponer on youtube referred me to her site and that's where I found her how-to "class" that really put it all together for me!

• http://www.southernsavers.com/free-coupon-video-class/ --  The coupon "class". I use the word "class" loosely because it's really a combination of videos and a free ebook that you can follow. It works better on Chrome. Firefox hasn't been my friend as far as couponing goes... but that's a whole other thing. I love these videos because she doesn't tell you to go crazy, she just instructs you on how to make a stockpile that will last you six to eight weeks, not five years like you see on the tv show.

• http://thekrazycouponlady.com/ --  Not only are these ladies beautiful but they respond to people in the comments and if you spot out a deal or coupon combination they overlooked they will make a new blog post with it! I love that. Also check out their Youtube channel (under the same name) and they do a good job of breaking down some ways to save with coupons and how to really get the most out of drug store Bonus Bucks. Note: They have a Freebies button on the right hand sidebar. I advise starting there and then gradually adding other stuff to your couponing. I also couponed separate from our normal grocery trips until I got a decent grasp on it so I wouldn't feel overwhelmed at the register with over $100 in product... they touch on this in their youtube channel. They also have a Beginner page that helped me out too!

• http://www.couponmom.com/ - Not a site for the beginner. Or maybe it's just the format that hurts my head? I just want to include it because I know that not everyone has the same brain I do. Maybe you can figure out her methods? Still helpful, I just wish I could access it. ha. There are parts of her website that I comprehend but I mainly spend my time on the previous two.