For some of us it’s shoes, others maybe clothes.  My favorite form of therapy is groceries.  I am SO WEIRD.  I can’t stand shopping.  I can’t remember when I last bought myself shoes, I don’t even carry a purse and I have clothes ranging from size 6 to 16, so as I’m losing this baby weight, I always have something new(ish) anyway.

When I get into a grocery store, all my worries fade away.  If I’m with the kids, its less fun, but I do prefer to have them with me.  If I don’t, I WAY overspend.  One of my favorite things to do is save, though.  I have my coupon organizer out and I walk the aisles, checking out that weeks specials.

I think it goes back to when I was a kid.  My parents had four of us, so when my mom would go shopping, she’d buy a boat load of stuff that would last a few weeks.  I’d always remember hearing the horn as she pulled in the driveway signaling us to come get the groceries out of the car.  My mother could come in beaming, receipt in hand, telling me how much she saved.

Those were the glory days, back when there was no limit on coupon savings.  You could double a $3 coupon if you had it.  One of mom’s favorite stories is about the time she was at a store checking out and she had so many coupons and store sales processing, the cash register broke and the entire order had to be completed by hand.  We still laugh about the manager who asked her to please try to refrain from saving so much next time.  Hilarious.

I always hear people saying how some of the upscale grocery stores are the most expensive, and they prefer a super walmart or cheaper store to shop at, but I’ve done my research.  I am signed up with every store in my area and get the weekly specials delivered to my email.  Walmart doesn’t have big sales, when they mark down, it’s not by much and I rarely see any BOGOs (buy one get one.)

The best way to save is to keep your coupons in an organizer and read the email specials of the stores in your area.  I will sometimes go to 3 different stores in a week to get the most for my money, but I’ll never go out of my way.  I only shop at the stores close to my home, I just happen to have about 6 different stores in a 5 mile radius near me.

Don’t use a coupon simply because you have it.  If you see a coupon, chances are one of those stores will have that item on sale in the upcoming weeks.  Hold on to them, and only buy what you need and what’s on sale.  You also may want to check with your store, because at Harris Teeter, my favorite store to shop at (and ultimately the cheapest for me overall) when they offer a BOGO, you don’t have to buy 2.  You can get one for half price.  If I only have one coupon for a bogo product, I’ll get just the one and with the double coupon savings, I usually get that item free.  Even better is when you have 2 coupons, then you get them both and since you have 2 items you can use both coupons.  I’ve actually ended up being paid to get the products for free.

Be sure to look for the triple coupon weekends as well.  All stores will offer them about once a month, and will tell you via email that week.  My favorite shopping story was when I was at a Bi-Lo for a triple coupon weekend, and I didn’t give my discount card and coupons until the end.  We all stood there for 10 full minutes while the computer calculated my total.  My bill went from around $156 to $35.  Can you believe it?!  I had tears in my eyes.  When I got home, I immediately called my mother and hung that receipt on my fridge.

So that’s it.  My retail therapy.  You can see more about saving money in this October’s issue of Parents magazine, where you can also read about the tips I told you here.  Everyone needs to eat, I adore cooking.  To be able to walk the asiles of the grocery store, seeing all the new options and fun packaging they come in (I’m a sucker for shiny packages) and getting 50, 60 sometimes 70% taken off my bill, I am so proud of myself.  I figured out last year, between my store and coupon savings combined, I saved at least a thousand dollars, maybe more.  Feeding a family of 4 is not cheap, but it can be!