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I can remember being thrifty and enjoying grocery shopping even as a child. My parents would giggle as they would empty my pockets of free ketchup, salt and jelly packets after dinner at a local restaurant. (No, don’t worry, that didn’t lead to a life of thieveryJ

It was an exciting day when my both of my parents would decide a big grocery shop to Thriftway was in order. Despite my dad’s limited income, the cart would brim with Archway cookies, Honey Nut Cheerios and Popsicles.

As a high school student, I can remember my discovery of the valuable coupons inside the Walgreens ad. And, okay I’m strange, but I would enjoy (and still do) checking out grocery stores when on vacation. Publix and Winn Dixie in Florida were my favorite “exotic” early 90’s grocery stores for they had salad bars and restaurants and even a bank.

Fast forward twenty years to adult responsibilities like mortgages, high gas prices and medical bills and technological advancements such as, well, the Internet.  In the last several years, life has happened to my small family of humans and furry and feathery babies forcing us to simplify and scrimp. At one point a few years back, just before Christmas, we found ourselves living on $125 every two weeks for all “discretionary” items- groceries, gas, pet supplies, and clothing, entertainment and Christmas gifts.

 After fretting for days about how we were going to make it, I walked into the local library (one of my favorite thrifty places) and discovered a book about couponing. I’ll admit I was skeptical about how life changing the practice would be but I thought anything could help at this point. I put the book’s major points into practice and voila! I ended up saving 50 percent off my grocery bill.

That was two and a half years ago and I haven’t stopped saving. Sure, some weeks I get lazy  (or overly busy) and don’t do as well with sticking to my coupon plan. But for the most part, with just a little extra effort and planning, I save between 45- 75 percent off my grocery bill every week. And the couponing goes beyond the aisles of the grocery store. We use coupons for hair cuts, hardware stores, restaurants, home maintenance and even gas!

This blog is meant to allow you, as residents of Northeast Wisconsin and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, to easily save some considerable cash and instead use it to enjoy everything our amazing region offers.