Not So Extreme Couponing...But Good Enough For Me!

Happy Friday lovelies!  I am loving the weather we are having here in CO, it's finally in the 70s and it's supposed to be up around 80 the next 3 days.  YAY!  I just wish the pool in my complex would open!


As many of you know, I recently lost my job three weeks ago, and money has been EXTREMELY tight.  But I'm strong woman, and I don't let it get me down.  I find a way to work around it.  I'm sure you've all seen or at least heard of the new TLC show Extreme Couponing, where these maniacal savvy shoppers get $1000 worth of food/products they will never use in 4 lifetimes for like $20.  That's not so much me, as I'm too practical.  I only buy stuff I know will get used within the next few weeks, maybe 2 months max.  But, I love the concept behind what these people are doing.

By simply reading the sales circulars that the grocery stores are putting out, and comparing that to coupons you have on hand or ones that can be printed out on the internet, you can save a lot of money.  I buy the Sunday paper every week at the dollar store.  I invested about 2 hours this past week, and got $166.79 worth of groceries for $55.23 - a savings of $111.56 or 67%!  I matched up the sales with coupons and really did not buy anything that I didn't have coupons for.  Here's what I got:

King Soopers... You can see everything in the picture so I won't bother listing it all lol.  Not pictured: 1 toothbrush, toothpaste, cheese, 2 pouches of dishwasher detergent tabs.

Safeway...Not pictured: 1 apple :)

I really don't think I did too bad.  Notice I didn't buy any meat, I stocked up a while back while it was on sale and have too much in my freezer! 

What do y'all think?  Do you use coupons when you shop?  Are you willing to put in a few hours of your time in order to save money at the grocery store, or is it a waste of time?

xxooxoxo
Lia