Couponing Revisited?

Several years ago, I joined the couponing bandwagon when I attended a workshop at the homeschool convention.  I tried diligently for a few months.  Then I became swamped with toothpaste and frustrated by the inability to find coupons.  I tried Southern Savers to help me out for free and The Grocery Game for a monthly fee.  I stumbled on for a while, but slowly my enthusiasm for coupons dimmed.  I never stopped using them entirely, but many grocery trips would go by, and I wouldn't even crack open my coupon notebook.

Fast forward to this year's homeschooling convention in March.  Jason and I attended workshops by Jenny Martin from Southern Savers.  Her presentation was very straight forward and easy to understand and motivated me to try again.  I dabbled with Southern Savers for a few weeks, and finally renewed my subscription to The Grocery Game.  I have the paid subscription through August, and I'm comparing the two to see if it really is worth it to pay.

Here's what I've learned in my 2+ years of trying to coupon:
* Couponing is more worth it if you are brand loyal.  If you really don't care, a store like ALDI is probably going to be cheaper for you.  If you don't have a local ALDI or Save-a-Lot, buying the store brand is often MORE expensive than the brand name with coupons.  I saw this several times just in my one grocery trip today.  We are brand loyal in many areas.  There are certain ingredients I try to avoid, certain things Jason is allergic to, and just taste preferences that encourage me to stick to certain brands.
* Bigger papers have more inserts.  When I first tried this, I was constantly frustrated that my inserts from the local paper didn't have the coupons that would be listed for the items I was buying.  Finally, it dawned on me that the larger metro paper I would sometimes pick up had more coupons.  (This should have been a DUH moment, but I'm a little slow on the uptake.)  Now, I don't subscribe, I just buy one or two of the larger paper each Sunday.
* You (meaning me) can't do it on your own- especially when getting started.  For those of us in the South, Southern Savers is a great free resource that gives the grocery sale lists each week and matches them with coupons.  The Grocery Game costs- you pay for an 8 week subscription at a time based on how many stores you subscribe to.  I really can't decide which I like better right now.  There are things about The Grocery Game's organization that I really like, but I'm not sure it's worth the cost.  And there are times I see more sales listed in Southern Savers- even though it is free.  I'm glad I have until August to make up my mind. ( You can try The Grocery Game free for a month, by the way.  I couldn't because I've already used my free trial when I did this before.)
* Yes, couponing takes an investment of time (and money- as in buying a paper and possibly subscribing to The Grocery Game).  But, the money you save can definitely be worth it.  Just an example: I am no expert for sure.  I went to Harris Teeter today armed with coupons and VIC sales.  I spent about 1-2 hours this morning getting ready- making my list, clipping, matching sales and coupons. (I could have spent less, but I'm still using both sites right now to compare them, so it takes longer.)  I saved $112 on our total bill, getting almost $350 worth of groceries for just over $200.  I do not know of any part time job where I could make $112 for working two hours and spending $2.00 a weekend on a paper.  I bought all our groceries for this week and added to my stockpile.  (The stockpile is a major principle in couponing where you work toward buying everything on sale with coupons and shopping out of your pantry.)

I can see the benefit of couponing enough to motivate me to continue.  I'm going to keep comparing my two resource sites until I decide which is the most valuable.  I'm keeping a record of expenses and money saved to encourage me.  I don't think you'll ever find me on Extreme Couponers, but I do hope I can lower our grocery bill, 'cause groceries for six of us aren't cheap!

Compassion Sunday

A little over a year ago, our family began sponsoring a child through Comapassion.  I had heard of Compassion for many years.  Just a few years ago, I read of the journey a fellow blogger took when she visited Africa with Compassion.

We decided as a family to give up our every other Sunday night treat of stopping at McDonalds to sponsor James Basoc from the Philippines.  We have been very touched by writing to James and receiving his letters and pictures.  The kids enjoy it because it gives them a wider view of the world, and they are helping a child their age.

This Sunday is Compassion Sunday.  Please visit my Compassion Sunday page; read about our story; and consider if you and your family could choose to sponsor a child through Compassion.

The Ultimate Blog Party Post!

I've posted in the Ultimate Blog Party for the past several years. Even though I'm not an extremely avid writer, I do enjoy blogging, and I've especially enjoyed getting to know other bloggers through blogging and social media.

So, if you're here for the party, come on in, grab a chair and some goodies, and let me introduce myself.

My name is Leah.  I'm the homeschooling mom of four children.  And most days I'm still sane enough to function.

In all of my free time, I blog here at I'm Livin' My Dream- which has an interesting origin by the way.  I also blog about all things homeschooling at The Courtney Six Homeschool Blog.  And I read and read and read and talk about what I've read at Leah's Good Reads Blog.

One of the things I enjoy participating in and blogging about is reading through the Bible in 90 days.  I've done it several times as a part of a community of bloggers. I and my twelve year old daughter, Kathryne, just finished the recent round of reading.

I do book reviews at Leah's Good Reads for several different publishers and for Amazon and Netgalley.  I love to read and am rarely without a book or two or three. I occasionally do a product review or two here, but, I'm not a serious reviewer.

I'm looking forward to browsing around the blogs in the party and getting to know more bloggers.  If you leave me a comment, I'd be glad to visit you back!

And, we are through...

Today is the final day of reading through the Bible in 90 days.  I really hope you've been able to read along with us.  I do not even know how many times I have read through the Bible now.  In my high school years, I began reading through each year.  I've now done the Bible in 90 Days 5 times.  Every time I read through the Bible, God shows me something fresh and new.  His Word never gets old.  His Spirit can speak to my heart every time I read.  I admit that sometimes I read out of habit or to get it done, but God blesses those days too.  He speaks something new into my heart even on those days I am rushing to get through.

^{Psalm 119:16}I will delight myself in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word.

    ¹⁷Deal bountifully with Your servant, that I may live; and I will observe Your word [hearing, receiving, loving, and obeying it].

    ¹⁸Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of Your law.

If you finished reading with us, please send me an email at leah.courtney38@yahoo.com.  If you will include your address, I'd love to send you a little "prize" for finishing.  Again, I pray that God has blessed you through this reading.

Week 13 of Reading Through the Bible in 90 Days

This week should bring us to the end of reading through the Bible in 90 Days.  If you haven't used any grace days, you will finish on Thursday.  If you've used your full 90 days, Saturday will be your finish day.  Please check in on this post to let me know you're still reading.  On Saturday, I will have a final finishers post.

I'm very excited about this week's reading.  Not only is it exciting to think I've read through the Bible again, but I particularly love reading the epistles and Revelation.  Several years ago, I did an in depth study of Revelation because the church I've attended since meeting and marrying my husband is a different denomination than the church in which I grew up.  Our pastor had preached a series on the book of Revelation, and I was very intrigued by the study.  No matter what your denomination teaches about end times, Revelation is a great book to study further!

I'm so excited about coming this far in our journey.  I hope you are still reading with us.  Please check in and let me know if I can pray for you this week.