I'm hooked...

I'm hooked. In January my neighbor told us at our monthly neighborhood bunco how she had been saving so much money with 'couponing', yes, I think it's a verb. I was slightly interested, but not so much. Then, a couple of weeks ago a friend told me how they were having triple coupons at Harris Teeter that week from Wednesday through the following Wednesday. Now this got me thinking.... wow, if I had some coupons I could probably save quite a bit.... So, I bought the Sunday paper and clipped my coupons then off to Harris Teeter I went on Tuesday. I have to say that I was a little leary as I usually shop at Walmart except for meat and some produce because the prices there are consistently lower and Harris Teeter (or Harris Cheater as I sometimes refer to it) is one of our most expensive grocery stores, but I took my chances. I was instantly very suspicious of everyone in the store upon walking in as they were obviously there to get all the good deals I was after. (hello? can you say paranoia?!) I became very competitive and took a quick look at my list and decided the toothpaste was a deal not to be passed up and went there first. After getting that in my cart I was slightly relieved. It turned out that out of 3 possible free items, I was only able to get one as the others were out of stock, but I was ok with that. Anyway, I ended up getting all the above items for $33.71 and this includes tax. I saved $30 in coupons!! I have to say that I was thrilled! I came home and told my neighbor about my savings and she said, "That's good, you'll get better." She bursted my bubble just a tad as I thought I had just outwitted the supermarket world with my savings, but I was still very excited! So, I am following a few local websites and blogs that post the weekly good deals with sales and coupons and if there is anything that I **need** (this is key), then I will go take advantage of that deal. I have been saving my receipts this month so I will have to add up all my coupon savings at the end of the month to see how I do. It definitely makes grocery shopping more exciting!