I’m seeing more and more how coupon shopping not only blesses our family, but it blesses others as well. I’m on such a roll about this! We have been able to give to all our immediate family members, friends, etc. from our stockpile. Even at the grocery store I’ll get behind someone in line with my fat coupon binder and watch as the person in front of me unloads her (usually a female) groceries at checkout. If I have coupons, I give them to her. Before you gasp (yes, I know coupons are a treasured item to us coupon shoppers), remember I usually take ten papers every week, so I have plenty of coupons. Doing this not only brings a smile, but it opens doors to conversations!

A couple months ago there was a young mother in front of me at Walmart with 2 kids hanging off her and the cart. She didn’t speak much English. I noticed every once in a while she would have the cashier read the total to her. She paid in cash and I could see the all too familiar “squeaking by” that I’ve done myself on many occasions. There were two items she was unable to afford. They weren’t expensive so I asked the cashier if she would ring those items up on my bill, but put them in her cart (she was still standing near, after her transaction, adjusting groceries and children).

I don’t say this to toot my own horn, but to tell you I’ve never done that before. I don’t think that would have even crossed my mind before I started coupon shopping. I was just so bothered that I didn’t have any coupons for her that I realized we have saved so much money learning how to shop that I could afford to buy her those two small items and come nowhere near breaking the bank.

I only wished I could communicate with her to tell her to go to my website and learn how to save more money! Oh, if we could only teach everyone how to shop!

Please, leave me your comments and bless me. I want to hear how you have been a blessing to others through your frugality. Don’t think of it as bragging. Think of it as nudging others along to be more frugal. The joy!

Here are some tips on how to stretch a dollar.

1. Use GroceryGame.com. I promise it is worth the money. You can try for only $1. I enjoy letting others find the deals for me. It saves so much time (and money) and makes coupon clipping worth it.

2. When you go out to eat order water at restaurants. It’s healthier. If you don’t like water, ask for hot water and bring your own tea bags. For a family of 5 this can save $6-9.

3. When you coupon shop at grocery stores that double/triple coupons, make multiple transactions so all “like” coupons get doubled/tripled. Multiple transactions are time consuming and can bog the grocery line down. If you know you’re going to use this method, you might want to shop during the day when the store isn’t very busy or go to a self-check lane.

4. Carry water bottles and snacks in the car especially if you have children. This can curb the desire to hit the drive through.

5. Stay at home. Spend less on gas, shopping and eating out. Seriously. If you just stay home, there will be less money out of pocket.

6. Unscrew light bulbs in light fixtures. The fixture that hangs over our kitchen table holds 5 light bulbs. Great for when we’re doing school. Not so great when we’re eating dinner and the windows are open (attracts bugs). We unscrew some bulbs before dinner. One bulb on at night when the kids go to bed serves as a kitchen night light. Use dimmer switches and use CFL bulbs.

7. Cancel cable. That’s right. I said it. Seriously, what good is it? What does it promote? For that matter, cancel unused magazine subscriptions.

8. Use a timer when you shower. Our daughter needs this. Without it she would be in there for 45 minutes drawing pictures on the steamed up shower door.

9. Make use of your library card. Many libraries offer more than books. There are magazines, DVD’s, framed art to check out and passes to museums.

10. Garage sale shop. It’s fun! There are certain items I refuse to buy used, but this really is a fun Saturday morning activity if you feel like getting out.

11. Season passes – only if you’ll get more than your money’s worth.

12. Trade babysitting time with a friend/couple who also needs a sitter. This worked well for us when our kids were little. Twice a month we watched our friend’s children and twice a month we got a date night. Worked out well and we’re all still friends.

13. Recycle and freecycle.

14. Bring your own bags to the grocery store. Many stores offer around 5c for each bag you provide.

15. Stockpile. If you run out of something you can run to your pantry and not spend gas and time running to the grocery store to pay full price because you need it now.

16. Learn how to shop at CVS so you get way too much for free.

Anything you want to add? Please leave a comment or email me at Lisa@homeschoolingandfrugal.com