I know, you're questioning my sanity now.

You know how Men are supposed to be the hunters? And Women the gathers? Maybe that's true, because I don't know any women who don't like to shop, including me. And what is shopping? Gathering. I am totally a gatherer. Over the past few months my method of shopping has changed. It may lead you to wonder about my mental state. I assure you, it is sound.

Actually, my husband is to blame for this. He came across this woman's blog on digg about how she only spent $800 a year on groceries and household items for her family of four humans and a few animals. He asked me to read it, suggesting that perhaps we could use this method to reduce our monthly out pour to the grocery store. I read it, and have come across some other little tips here and there. Now we have made a change in our spending to about half.

It should be noted that I used to spend about $300 a week on grocery items like food, cleaning supplies and toiletries. Now I spend $100-$150 a week. It probably could be reduced even more, and I may decrease over time but right now I am still working on my stockpile. (Sounds crazy, I know.) I've even been hesitant to tell anyone what I've been doing because it seems so bizarre.

Not only have I reduced the spending, I've doubled or tripled what is brought home. We had to put shelves in our garage, basement and laundry room as well as cleared out a bathroom cabinet for toiletry items that were mostly acquired for free. Also I have a 6ft wide pantry that is stuffed as well as a freezer that is as large as most fridges. I was also so busy with the kids during June and July that I didn't do any shopping other than for bread, milk, eggs, occasional meat and fresh produce (about $25-$30 a week) I'm going to try to explain, I just hope I can get it to make sense.

*First of all you must buy your Sunday newspaper. One for each human household member. I buy 4 a week. That is $8 in newspapers but I use $15-$30 per week in coupons. Check the newspapers for coupons, sometimes around holidays there aren't any.

*Clip any coupon that if the item was free you would take it. You may not use them all but it's better to have them than to regret having thrown them out.

*Check Walgreen's ads for free items. It's usually on the back page or one or two pages before. Sometimes it's toothpaste or shaving creme or toothbrushes or deodorant even OTC meds. It will say something like "$5.99 with coupon for $5.99 off your next purchase, like getting it for FREE!" I always buy that item, even if I don't need or want it. Then the register will spit out this little coupon for the amount of that item. I'll then take that coupon and use it to buy something I want that is on sale. Like dish detergent, canned goods, olive oil, peanut butter, shampoo...whatever. Then you can look at it as you got that item free or the other items, however you wish to view it. In the beginning I would go once per day spending about $5 a day ($35 per week) just piling things up. Now I only go about twice per week. CVS does kinda the same, but it's not as good as Walgreen's.

*I try to hold on to my coupons for a week or two to make sure I'm getting the best value for them. I mostly buy at Publix. I've heard Kroger is good too, but I don't have one here. If I have good coupons I want to use, but haven't seen a great ad for them I'll go ahead and buy at Walmart.

*The whole idea behind the coupon/stockpiling thing is to stack offers. Publix always has BOGO offers as well as "essential items" that are things most people use, but have been deeply discounted. So you use your coupons against what is already on sale.

*I'm going to use my last shopping trip at Publix for an example. I told you I bought $108 worth of groceries for $43 and change. Here is how.
I bought.....
- 8 bottles of V8 splash @1.56 each (it was a BOGO)
-4 boxes Stove Top @.90 each (also BOGO)
-4 jars of Ragu @1.29 each ( essentials price) but also had coupon for .75 off of 2 resulting in @.92 each
-3 bottles of Lysol Spray cleaner @ 1.34 each (BOGO price) but also had .40 off coupon that was doubled resulting in @.54 each
-3 bottles of Shout @ 1.50 each (BOGO price)but had coupon for .55 off resulting in @ .95 each
-6 1lb boxes of Velveta @1.80 each (BOGO price) but had coupon for $1.00 off resulting in .80 each.
-3 Louisiana Decaff tea @1.85 each (BOGO price)
-2 McCormick Black Pepper @1.79 each (BOGO price)
So with tax it was $43 and change. I got a full buggy of stuff, but only multiples of 8 items.
This is where it gets weird. You no longer buy what you want, you stock up on what you can get for your best price. I know, you're questioning my sanity now.

I usually do this, spend $20-$30 on perishables and about $15 on meats for the freezer (Only Items that are on sale like .99/lb chicken breast). Last week I spent $100 on just dog food, but I had about $25 in coupons, so I got it at about 20% off AND I won't buy dog food again for 4 months. You also have to stock and rotate just like a grocery store, paying attention to dates.

Also, if I see that we have more of an item than we could possibly use I take it to the church down the street that has a food bank for our neighborhood. That's also where the items I didn't want or need from Walgreen's goes. So as well as being a weird kind of frugal - we're helping others in our own neighborhood.

It takes a little time to get used to this way of shopping and planning. I spend 30min to 1hr a week clipping coupons and planning my shopping trip, but I feel like it is worth it. A good starting point is the Walgreen's routine as well as continue spending the same amount of money for the first few weeks. Just changing how you spend and reducing over time. I've only been at it since April and I'm still learning.