Coupons can trim the family budget

When my daughter was born, it was a bad time finance-wise for my family. My husband and I had decided long before we had children that when we finally did start a family that I would be a stay-at-home mom. I had worked my entire life. Even when I was 8 I had a paper route. So, I did not like the idea of us being in financial hardship and not being able to offer monetary help.

One day I start writing “free” into an Internet search engine, figuring if nothing else, maybe I could sign up for free samples of food or something that would help to cut our costs down. I found a few sites that showed free samples, but nothing that really helped much, so after six months I gave up, figuring that there was nothing I could do to help cut costs in my household. Unbeknownst to me, the secret to saving money was lying deep in the recesses of my childhood, in a drawer that my mother used to keep clipped pieces of paper in.

My son was born and once again there didn’t seem to be enough money to go around. My son ended up on specialty formula and my family was shelling out well over $1,500 a month just in grocery money. It was horrible. So, once again, one day I started plugging “free” into an Internet search engine and ran across these words, “Final Price: Free after coupon,” and my universe immediately expanded.

I suddenly remembered that drawer that my mother used to keep those clipped little pieces of paper in all the time. The “off limits” drawer. That drawer helped my family save money when I was a child and suddenly I started seeing how coupons could help my family save money now.

Since my mother’s coupon clipping time, a lot has changed. We have these great things called “Internet printable coupons” that help to “span the gap” for those of us who live in Alaska and get one quarter the amount of coupons in our paper than in the Lower 48. We have stores like Target that only put out Internet coupons, but offer remarkable savings with those coupons if you use them in conjunction with manufacturer coupons. And we have stores that offer great sales, that if you use your coupons wisely, you can score very cheap or free things pretty constantly.

For instance, just this last week I bought two 4-packs of toilet paper and two things of paper towels at Carrs for $1 total cost after coupons. I have also, in the last six months, gotten free soap, Q-tips, barbecue sauce, mayonnaise, deodorant, toothbrushes, candy, meat…the list goes on. And I can’t even begin to explain the amount of items I have gotten for less than $1 with coupons because it would take pages.

The result of all of these savings is this. My grocery budget was almost $300 per week. Now it’s $100 per week and falling. For a family of four, with two young children, both still in diapers. In Alaska. I have saved so much with coupons. And you can do it to. So, stick with me won’t you as we explore the world of coupons, saving money and living the frugal life. Trust me. You’ll see the savings.

Erika Buswell runs a blog dedicated to bargain hunting in Alaska (http://alaskanbargainhunter.blogspot.com) and lives in Palmer with her husband and two children. She plans to write in this space weekly.