Saving Money

As a single income military family of 4 we are always looking for new ways to save.  One of the ways we are trying to do this is by breaking down the grocery shopping from one large trip every pay day when the grocery stores are often insanely crowded to once a week when it is just me and Amelia since David is now in preschool in the mornings.  By doing this we are able to make a weekly meal plan based on the current sales and take better advantage of coupons and sales.  I also don't have to try to drag 2 kids around a grocery store so it takes me less time since i am not constantly telling them not to hit, no yelling, leave her toy alone..... you get the idea.  I also am able to go earlier so if I am going to the commissary I can get there and do my shopping during the early bird hour then check out once the open the full checkouts at 10am and get back off the Island before the Family Day crowds get to thick.

My husband was not on board with this idea at first because he was afraid that we would buy groceries the first week of the pay period then spend the rest of our money and not have anything to buy groceries the next week.  So in order to make sure this doesnt happen I allow $100 a week (my goal is to eventually be able to do it for even less) and to take the needed amount out at the beginning of the pay period and put it aside.   Another good thing about this method is it curbs those impulse buys because you have to make sure you have enough money to buy everything you NEED for the next week.

We have only done this for 1 pay period and it has worked so far and hopefully we will get even better at it with time.  We are still new to couponing and still learning the ropes and how to take the best advantage of sales and coupons.   

I would love to hear additional ideas on how to save money.   And if you live in the Beaufort,SC area and are interested in couponing I would love to meet up.