Big Savings is Contagious

Friday evening I checked for comments on my blog and found the following comment:

"Anonymous said...
Dear MorningSong,Thank you! Thank you!! Thank you!!! I used your grocery shopping tips, planned, prepared, prayed, and took a deep breath and ventured to Walgreens today. My daughters went with me and we had so much fun! I'm not on your level yet, but I hope to be one of these days. I just had to share what God did for me today. Armed with my coupons and flyers, I filled a cart full of things that I needed. I spent $ 51.37 and saved $27.71 and they gave me a coupon for $3 to use the next time. I was praising Jesus all the way to the car. The elderly couple seemed a bit impatient with all of my purchases and coupons but seemed surprised by the savings too. With a little confidence and cheers from my husband and our daughters, we ventured to Albertsons. I spent $63.27 and saved $30.80 and they gave me more coupons! Incredible! I may never meet you this side of glory but I just wanted to thank you for your generosity in sharing the gifts and knowledge God has blessed you with. I'm worn out so I'm going to tackle HEB tomorrow.

Joyfully,
Kristi

P.S. I'm having trouble wrapping my mind around the easy saver catalog at Walgreens. Do you always buy the free items even if you don't need them?"

WOOHOO!!!!!!!! YAY Kristi! I know the feeling of wanting to save but not sure if it would work. Is it worth the effort?! What if I can't use the coupon or what if I forget something!? I am so glad to hear your story! It is so exciting to hear how you are applying this life giving skill!

I felt this comment may encourage some of you too, so I decided to share her savings with you! I hope you will begin to save on your purchases and when you do - let us celebrate with you! It is amazing. The more you pay attention to what you are buying and have your coupons handy... things begin to make more sense... and savings begins to happen! I have found that the Holy Spirit never fails! When I put my hand to something and give it my all - He ALWAYS fills in the blanks. If you do not fully understand all of this but you want to - just try it. Put your hand to it and let the Holy Spirit make sense of what is unclear!

My response to Kristi's question -"Do you always buy the free items even if you don't need them?" My answer is yes and no. I do buy things like lotion, deodorant, cleaners, toothpaste, etc if it is free after rebate. It may be a different brand than I am accustomed to using but at the price of free I can try another brand. I do not purchase things I have no real use for. Such as this month they are offering a Men's Hair color for free after rebate. My hubby does have a few brushes of grey in his temple area - but I like it so... we are not buying this product.

We also buy things on the rebate list if we will not use them but we could give them as a gift. (You can not get away with 'giving' hair color as a gift.) So if there were baby products or something else unique like that for free - I could give the baby product at the next baby shower I attend. Think in terms of how you can bless someone else with what you do not use. That is the ultimate goal after we get our savings in order. Prepare your gift giving stash. Once the pantry is stocked, the cleaners/bathroom items/freezer/fridge are all stocked with more than enough - then you can build your gift giving items.

This is so fun! I love hearing from you! There are several others of you who are preparing for your next trip to the grocery store! I hope you will keep these stories coming! How fun is it to encourage one another!?! I love this!