Coupon Tip Tuesday

One of the first things I noticed when I started to coupon heavily is that I had to change my mindset about grocery shopping.

Instead of putting together your menu, looking for items that are on sale and then looking to see if you've got a coupon in hopes of lowering your cost, try doing it backwards:

1. Look at the sales

2. Look for coupons to match the sales to get items at the lowest price

3. Stick to the list

4. Plan your meals from what you have in the pantry.

Do this for two or three months and I promise you - you'll see savings in your grocery budget. I can't really even remember how I used to do my grocery shopping. It was certainly never with a sales flyer, that's for sure. I used to be so surprised when my calculator would hit my budget number and I only had a few items in my cart. There was never any wiggle room for fun stuff. Now, I'm saving tons and I never have to use my calculator 'cuz I've got it all planned out!

So - here's a tip: Get into a bargain hunting mindset before going grocery shopping! Be a tiger - hunt out those deals. Grrrrr...