Crazy Couponing Part 1: An Introduction

I tried couponing a number of times over the years while I was in college and as a young newlywed. It never worked for me and I always ended up giving up after a week or two of trying. It wasn't until about 2 years ago when my friend, Michaela, directed me to Couponmom.com that the pieces started falling into place for me. I found a method that worked for me and I now regularly save between 50-75% of my grocery bill. Groceries!! and I'm not talking about junk food and all the stuff you can buy that you don't need and won't use. I'm talking about food that we EAT and USE on a regular basis. I also get many items for free and often even make money purchasing an item that I can then roll over to an item I need that I don't have coupons for. I'm going to try to share the basics of how I coupon over the next few days in a multi-part series. 

If you're new to couponing, please don't expect to save 50-70% the first week. Give yourself a smaller goal to start with. Couponing can be a bit confusing at first and will take you much longer in the beginning than it will later. Set a small goal such as to save $10-20 per week on your grocery shopping.

It's also pretty easy to actually SPEND MORE when you start couponing because you want to stock-up. It's exciting to find so many great deals and it's easy to overspend and buy more than you need or items you don't need because they're such great deals. Don't feel like you need to purchase every deal you find. Give yourself a budget and stick to it. Purchase what you and your family need for the week and then buy a few items at a time to begin to stock up. Eventually, you'll be able to buy most of what you need at the lowest price point and your grocery bill will decrease.


Couponing is not always the easiest thing to do but if you have the time, it can save you LOTS of money on your household items and groceries. Couponing is second nature to me now so if I don't explain something clearly or organize my thoughts in a way that makes sense to you, please let me know in the comments. Ask questions! I'd love to answer them.

Crazy Couponing Part 1: An Introduction

Crazy Couponing Part 2: Where do I get my coupons?

Crazy Couponing Part 3: Learn What to Do With Your Coupon Inserts

Crazy Couponing Part 4: What to Do With Clipped Coupons

Simply Thrifty Themes

As I’ve been planning out posts for my blog, I’ve been thinking of trying to do a different theme each day. I’m sure some posts won’t fall into these categories but these will be a sort of guide for my writing.

Monday Memory Makers. The purpose of MMM is to provide tips to organize papers, photos, and other information that will help us remember places we’ve been, people we’ve hung out with and memories we want to keep.

Keep It Clean. I’ll be sharing my cleaning tips and thrifty cleaning products that I use.

Wordless Wednesday. I’ll be posting pictures of how I’ve organized some areas of my home.

Organize It. Ideas of different areas of your home that you can organize whether it be wrapping supplies, closets, your pantry etc.

Save A Penny. We’ll be talking about couponing and other areas you can cut costs in your home. After all, a penny saved is a penny earned.

Simply Homemade. I’ll be sharing some of the homemade gifts and creative things you can do at home to help stretch your resources, make your home inviting and bless your family and others.

Recipe Round-up. I love to bake and make things in the kitchen. I’ll be sharing some of my favorite recipes here. 

***New***Simple Kitchen Shortcuts. Little tips that will save you time and/or money as you work or play in the kitchen.

***New***Crazy Couponing. Lessons in how to start couponing as well as tips that will make you a more productive couponer over time.

An Introduction to Simply Thrifty

Since this is a new blog, I feel like a little introduction is called for. My name is Megan and I am a stay-at-home-mom who is married to an excellent husband who loves and appreciates me. I have two beautiful children who make me smile every day. I love the Lord and seek to honor Him with my time and the gifts He's given to me. I have decided to create this blog, Simply Thrifty, in order to share ideas that can help simplify your home, organize it and hopefully save you a little money and time.

In 2009, my husband and I purchased our first home. At the time, my husband had a good job that paid well and we were expecting to stay in the area for a number of years. Eight months after we moved in, March 2010, my husband was laid off at work due to the poor economy. One week before he was laid off I found out I was pregnant with our second child. My husband spent the rest of 2010 looking, applying and interviewing for jobs before he was hired in January 2011.

During this journey of unemployment, we learned how to be very thrifty and cut corners to save money. We essentially stopped spending money unless it was necessary and learned that you can make much of what you need at home for pennies on the dollar. I was a couponer before unemployment but learned how to stretch my money even further during this time.

I love to organize and dream about someday becoming a professional organizer. I would love to share some organization tips with you that will hopefully help streamline your home so that you can spend less of your time looking for things or moving them around and more of your valuable time with your loved ones or doing things you want to do.

From the mouth of my dear husband, I fail at, "sewing, laundry and dusting." That's not a comprehensive list by any means but I want you to know I definitely have my faults. I'm not perfect and want you to know that. I'm sure I'll occasionally show you my failures but the majority of my blog will be about areas where I feel a bit more put-together.

I hope you enjoy reading my blog and learn a little something while you're here. Feel free to suggest topics you'd like to see or share some of your own ideas.

That's a little about me. I'd love it if you'd introduce yourself. What's your name? How did you discover my blog? What areas of your life do you want to simplify or organize?