Oops! I did it again...

I clipped coupons. I scoured the ad and the internet. I went to the grocery store and came home with a trunk load of goods for my storage room and now it's overfull again and needs to be rearranged. Again. It's filled to the brim with goodies like macaroni and cheese, potato chips, taco shells, cake mixes, cold cereal, pancake mix, rice, pasta, sugar, salt, beans, oil, and flour, even laundry soap. I've been working hard on my years supply of food, and while I have a LONG way to go, I am making progress.

They tell us to buy things that we will eat. Well, if you've ever met my family, you will know they are the worlds pickiest eaters.

My husband will eat anything. As long as it contains no cheese or anything related to cheese, no cream or anything related to cream, or anything that might have come in contact with cheese or cream. And as long as it does not remotely resemble a casserole or a salad of any kind... he might taste it. That narrows down our meal choices by about 1/2.

My oldest child will eat anything, too. As long as it's tacos, hamburgers, or full of sugar. That's about it. Everything else he just picks at.

My middle child will eat anything. Literally. Except Stove Top Stuffing. She's not a fan.

My youngest child will eat nothing. Literally. I take that back. She will eat potato chips, macaroni and cheese, cold cereal, brussel sprouts, raviolis, and bacon egg and cheese lean pockets. That's about it. And to think I wonder why she is 8 and half years old and weighs 38 pounds, eh?

I'm not a coupon expert. Probably never will be. It's one of my, what's that quote that says something about being able to do a little of everything but I'm an expert at nothing? That's me. I can officially add couponing to my list.

Anyway... I did good. I spent $120. I saved $135. I got two free movie tickets and $10 towards my next purchase at Albertsons (gotta love those Catalinas).

How do I do it? With sites like Pinching your Pennies. Click on the forums, find your state and you'll find tips and tricks and links to all sorts of things in your area. I like to click on the grocery guide, punch in my zipcode and it pulls up my favorite local stores and lays the ads out for you so you can see just what's on sale and for how much. While scouring, I go through my coupons and see what coupons I have and what I need. I also check out links like A thrify mom, grocery smarts, and the Obsessive Shopper. I'm sure there are dozens of other sites. If I had the time, I'd scour each and every one of them. If I was really good, I'd buy extra papers or collect the coupons out of my mom's, inlaws, and whoever else doesn't want their coupons from the sunday paper. But I'm just not there yet.

Maybe someday I'll even take a class and learn the real way to do this. But for now, I'm doing it my way (which is how I do pretty much everything), and it seems to work just fine for me and my family will actually eat it what I buy!!! WIERD!

And if it ever comes a time when I need to rely on my food storage, we will surely die from all the preservatives in the pantry, but at least we won't die of starvation.