Finding Freedom Friday

I have been reading a number of blogs on saving money and getting debt free since well, I really want to do both! And one I'm enjoying is Cents to Get Debt Free (the button above will take you to her blog). She has begun Finding Freedom Fridays and I figured I just had to participate!

She listed a few questions on her blog and I thought I'd answer them here though most of you already know how I save money on groceries since I talk about it all the time :)

Why have you cut your budget?
- because I'd like to keep more of my money rather then giving it to other people and I also want to get out of debt for good - want and necessity

How have you cut your grocery budget?
- I've always menu-planned since the day I got married almost 13 years ago but ever since my friend turned me on to the Grocery Game I have been much more committed to cutting coupons and saving money and having fun doing it!

What helps you stay on track?
- the fact that I really need to save the money; this blog - I would certainly fall off the wagon if I didn't record everything here; and the fact that it is a great feeling when you actually spend less then you saved!! A 50% savings on your grocery bill (or more) - who doesn't want that??!!

What are your tips?
- find the best method for you for clipping coupons - for me it's the Grocery Game because it saves me so much time and does all the work for me - I don't have to keep track of stores sales (she leaves me no reason for writing down the price of all the items I buy to watch their sales cycle) - she does it for me and with 7 people in our family you can imagine how little time I have!
- check out other stores ads - whenever I see a deal at another store (other then Harris Teeter or CVS) I make every effort to get there and check my coupons before I go
- organize your coupons - whether it's filing them all together by date or cutting them - whatever is easier for you just make sure you do it so you're not throwing free money away!
- stick to a weekly budget regardless of how many stores you go to - right now I'm at $125 but I'm working on reducing that to $100 a week - I have virtually cut out BJ's from my budget which saves me around $300 a month! I can't believe I once spent that!!
- menu plan before you go but stock up on sales

Want to get more coupons for yourself? Head over to eBay Selling Coach - she's giving away $500 of free coupons!!